OK, I know what you're all thinking: whaaaa, alien romance?! How come?! There is a limit to how much weird can be in a novel this woman reads!

But hear me out!

This is not just any kind of alien romance! This is a story of how two civilizations, at war with each other, are about to get the revelation of the century, and all that because a single rebel ship crashes on a secret planet!

Nem is a woman in disguise. Hiding her true gender, she commands a ship full of rebels - people who want out of the human government and their awful ways of conquering and destroying other cultures in the outerspace. But her plan crashes - literally - when a ship of the Szedez population attacks hers. Now she's stranded on Fyrian, a planet that is hidden from her superiors' radars and that is quite dangerous - its ecosystem forces those who inhabit it to copulate constantly, or else they suffer physically. As if that wasn't bad enough, she's forced to battle the elements with a Ssedez by her side - Oten, the commander who makes her tingle in places she doesn't feel comfortable with.

As I said, this isn't just your typical alien erotic romance. Yes, there is that fanfiction-like trope of "sex chemical" that forces the protagonists to mate like rabbits, but it all serves a higher purpose, and, if you read long enough, you realize it's more bothersome for the heroes than just convenient for us the readers to see some action. It serves as something that not only hinders them in situations of danger, but also complicates serious conversations about emotions and stuff, as both sides can't decide whether it's their hearts talking or just hormones. I know it sounds weird, but don't knock it till you try it!

Aside from that, there's also the factor of two enemies who not only have to work together in order to survive, but are also forced to see each other in a new light, since now they can talk things out instead of relying on what cruel and corrupted politicians have said. Both Nem and Oten are strong individuals, used to order others around and not backing down, and they constantly butt heads in the book, which is wonderful to read, given the dialogues and the wit exchanged.

The story was full of suspense, action, and love scenes. There was too much of everything, and while it may sound as overwhelming at first, you quickly get used to it, and see that it really works for this kind of tale.

I particularly loved the fact that Oten was both shocked AND into the fact that Nem was a woman in disguise, and how it turned out that most of her crew had actually followed in her footsteps and were women themselves (also, congrats on the subtle hints that, given the toxic atmosphere of the planet, they didn't hesitate or care about societal stereotypes if it meant finding pleasure with each other). And I laughed like crazy when Oten and Koviye were about to get into a fight because of the confusion of who was the leader of the human rebels - and thus, their romantic interest.

I'm moving on to the next book - who wants to bet that Oten's second-in-command will get another shot at his own HEA?

***I was given an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated in this review is solely mine, and no compensation was given or taken to alter it.***

My review is 2.7 stars.

This book is about aliens. I have read uncountable books on aliens but this one is full of only two things sex and aliens. I get that the book is about the aliens and in Sci-Fi & Erotic genre. But I didn't get one thing that why the story suffered.

The writing style of the author is good & I liked that but neither I was able to connect with the characters not I was able to get hold of the story. I'm afraid I have to say that I didn't like the book at all. Maybe this book is not for me. I didn't feel the connection I wanted to feel.

I wish the author very best for future ventures.

The story starts off at a fast pace and action that leaves you hoping it stays that way.
Our characters end up stranded on a planet that neither of them know much about..... General Nemona believing that her entire crew may be dead, and her very important mission has been lost, has nothing to lose, but she wants to know how the ship she commanded was boarded undetected and how the hell she will get off this planet.
Commander Oten only wants to wipe the human race off the face of the universe, they have been systematically trying to do that to his race for decades. So after destroying this humans ship, he looks forward in torturing this general for more information, what a big surprise he gets when the “male” turns into a female !!! He can’t understand his reaction to this “human” it has to be the planets atmosphere turning his brain into mush, but his reaction to her may start the bonding process and that’s not going to happen.
And is there a lot of sex in this book. When they’re not only spending time trekking through this new planet they are at it 🤦🏻‍♀️
I felt it a little hard to believe that you hate someone THAT much, but after being on the planet for a short while, your willing or desperate enough to have endless sex with an enemy that only hours ago you had a blaster aimed at their chest !!

I understand that the author wants to set the scene for more books, but to be honest I’d like a little more of the characters and less of them at it.
The book doesn't leave on a cliff-hanger, but it leaves it open for the next book.

So if you like plenty of erotica then this is probably a book you’ll enjoy

Julie 🦋

For a lover of Sci-fi romances, this was a good entry. Toxic Desire is the first story by Ms. Lovett in her Planet of Desire series and it's a solid one.

This was a new one for me. I haven't read an erotic romance in a while and I'm new to aliens playing a prominent role in a romance. This was a good one though. I did enjoy the story of Nem and Oten. From the beginning they hated each other but as they traversed the planet Fyrian something brought them together. I thought this was an interesting premise and perfect for an erotic romance. I was surprised by the choice Nem made in the end but with the connection to Oten it seemed the only choice. I am very interested to see where the author goes with the next one. I would recommend this one. 3.5 stars

Twilight In Space, with less stalking and more sex pollen

Yep, you read that right. Sex pollen as a trope has made it out of the fanfiction world and into mainstream publishing. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, enter it into the search box at TVTropes.org. You may never emerge again.

This is basically Space Porn with Plot - a human woman crash-lands on a planet with an alien soldier, and literally everything on the planet turns out to be a toxically strong aphrodisiac. They should hate each other, but instead they can’t wait to get it on. He’s a Superior Species - he’s literally golden and shiny - and by the Power of Magical Wang he makes her shiny too! (See? Twilight. He even has fangs.)

There are an awful lot of tropes thrown into this excuse for a plot - there’s All Men Are Evil In The Future, Women Will Save The Human Race, Humans are DNA-Coded to be Imperialist Aggressors, and more, but frankly it’s making me tired to think about it. The author worked very, very hard to stay away from the icky non-consensual issues which make sex pollen a very problematic trope to work with, but in doing so she managed to fall head-first into a whole bunch of other stereotypical pitfalls.

The sex was hot and well-written, but my god, there was a lot of it. I cringed just to think about the heroine wandering around a hostile alien landscape wearing nothing but boots and leather pants (yes, that is a thing which happens. No, I am not making this up). And then the race of voyeuristic aliens turns up.

The writing was good, and the editing top-notch. But for that hot mess of Porn With Plot, I can’t award any more than two stars.

From a sci-fi standpoint this was a really good start to the series. It had interesting and well thought out world building. I loved the conspiracy of the Ten Systems and the quiet rebellion we see in Nem and her crew. Then there’s the alien life we encounter along the way. The Ssedez were fascinating and Oten was such a condratiction, with his ingrained respect for women and his equaling ingrained hatred of all things human.

He was a bit rough around the edges but I loved that once he realizes that his feelings for Nem were real and not just a side-effect of the toxin in the air, he laid it all out there. His character delivers the majority of the limited romance and warm fuzzies in this read. In the beginning (and well into the second half of the book, both MCs say and think – via inner dialogue - some pretty messed up things to and about each other. Their people’s past history plays a big part in how they act and why but Oten was able to redeem himself from his past actions. Maybe because he struggled a lot to cope with his Attachment to Nem and his turmoil made him more dimensional? IDK. All I know is he surprised me and I liked that he was able to change for the better.

This is more of an erotic sci-fi read rather than a traditional romance (aka a lot of sex but not enough emotion to back it.) The emotional connection, for me, came a lot later on and the love/hate between the MCs was drawn out almost to the very end (to be fair, this was mainly because of our h.) With all the obstacles both MCs kept bringing up and predicting the doom of their relationship before it even began, I was hoping the ending would give us some much needed closure. Instead it was wrapped up fairly quickly and painlessly with Nem doing a complete about-face. It felt too rushed to be completely satisfying.

This could have used an epilogue that highlighted their relationship outside the endless whirl of smexy times. And I wouldn’t have minded a glimpse of Oten’s world either, just saying!

Nemona can’t believe she’s crash landed on the planet Fyrian with the brooding, golden-skinned alien who destroyed her ship and scattered her crew. She should want to kill him. But everything on Fyrian is an aphrodisiac. So she just wants to have him. Now.

Revenge. That’s all commander Oten has wanted against humans for more than a century, ever since they tried to destroy his kind. He never thought he’d end up in bed with one. But the desire the sex planet stokes for this human female is eating him alive. Keeping his hands, his mouth, and his vampiric fangs to himself proves impossible—especially when she’s begging him to touch her.

Nemona has no idea what endless sex with a Ssedez will do to her. But Oten knows all too well. They need to get off this planet. Before their coupling stirs an alien mating bond that neither of their hearts can withstand.

Review:
Whoa Momma! that was one sexy story!

This is my first time reading this Author, but it will definitely not be my last. This erotic sci-fi story is full of action and not just the sexual kind. I loved the enemies to lovers story and that it was set out in the universe was very enticing to me. Without giving away too much of the story, we have Nem and Oten who are of enemy species who have been at war for 100's of years. After attacking her ship Oten and Nem land on the "Fire" planet. It is named the fire planet for a whole another reason than they think. It is sexually toxic. Everything makes them want to have sex. As they try to survive lots of exciting things happen that put them in danger and on adventure to love and understanding. That is all I am giving away.

I really loved this story, it has a lot of depth besides the sexy goodness. I will be patiently be waiting for the next book in this new series.

4Stars
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher.*

Toxic Desire by Robin Lovett is the first story in her Planet of Desire series, and part of Entangled Publishing's steamy Scorched imprint. It's an erotic science-fiction romance about sworn enemies who find themselves on a planet designed to enhance sexual attraction – to the dismay of them both!

General Nem fought as hard as she could for her crew on the spaceship Origin, but the takeover by the alien Ssedez warriors, determined to get revenge on humans of the Ten Systems for a massacre of their people decades ago, leads her with no choice but to abandon ship. Unfortunately her escape pod ends up being for two, with Commander Oten along for the ride to the steamy jungle planet Fyrian.

It's not just the air that makes things hot on Fyrian. There's a chemical in the water, and the plants that increases sexual desire to the point of incredible pain, unless something is done to relieve it. For both Nem and Oten, this means the only way to stay alive is to succumb to that desire with each other. For Oten, it's also the start of the 'attachment' when it appears that this human, his sworn enemy, seems to be his fated mate. With no choice but to work together and an attraction that grows stronger by the hour, will they find a way off the planet before they are permanently linked? Or would that be so bad after all?

As a friend on social media once said, sometimes you just want to read some 'out of this world alien sex' (or words to that effect). No worries here, there is plenty of that to keep Oten and Nem occupied. If you haven't read an erotic sci-fi before, this may be a bit overwhelming but for fans of the genre it will be a familiar scene. Every alien has their own special attributes and Oten is no exception, with his golden hued skin shield armor that advances and retracts at will and fangs with venom meant specifically to bond with a mate. Nem finds herself not just being attracted to Oten, but becoming like him when she ingests his venom. It's a surprising and not very pleasing discovery at first but the idea of becoming semi-immortal has its perks.

Of course any good sci-fi romance is dependent on worldbuilding, and the author does a great job here, describing the reasons for the conflict between humans and the Ssedez, as well as the toxic environment on Fyrian and the struggle for Oten and Nem to survive and try to find more of Nem's crew. As a general Nem had insisted on gender neutral names and armor so no-one would know which of the crew was male or female, to prevent age old misconceptions that a woman would not be an effective leader. Oten is surprised and displeased by this, as in his culture woman and men have different attributes that make them work well as a team. He shows Nem that her femininity is part of her strength.

The story is complete with a happy ending for Nem and Oten as they work through their differences and come to understand each other. There are some loose story ends that look like they'll be the focus of more to come, and I can't wait to see where the series is heading to next! If you're a fan of steamy erotic romances with some otherworldly action, you'll enjoy this story!

This review has been posted at Harlequin Junkie and feedback updated with the link. It has been posted at sale sites, and goodreads.

This is the story of two enemies stranded on a planet that seems to emit aphrodisiacs through its flora and fauna. Nem is a woman used to being in charge and yet now here she is at the mercy of her own bodies cruel desires. Her only companion is Oten, a Ssedez warrior who hates humans and yet everything in him yearns to Mate with his enemy Nem . Together they trek towards the wreckage of Nems ship but their burning need to constantly jump each other's bones leaves them facing unimaginable changes!
While I did find this book interesting, my only complaint was personally there was too much sexy times. I started to skim those parts. I think the plot was fun and interesting and I would be very interested to find out about the secondary characters.

I DNF at 43%.
When I read the blurb I thought it would be like the Ice Planet Barbarians series so I gave it a shot because I loved that series back in the day.
Once I started reading I saw how wrong I was going into it this.
It consisted of nothing but sex, sex, and more sex! That is basically all this is. I made it to about 43% before I had to just quit. We weren’t getting anywhere story wise and I couldn't read about them having sex anymore.
I’m all for erotica as long as it somewhat has a plot.

The story starts out with an edge of the seat action scene. Normally, I don't like action scenes as openings, but this was one of the few that kept my interest. Our main characters end up stranded on a planet neither of them know much about, with Nemona believing that possibly her entire crew being dead, and her very crucial mission - the first steps in ending an oppressive and murderous empire - has been lost.
Everything about the planet is an incredible aphrodisiac - the air, the contact with the plant life, everything. And it's more than an aphrodisiac, its effects make people completely crazed. Crazed enough to want to have sex with your enemy. Crazed enough to forget what you were doing, what you were supposed to remember, in the first place.
And oh boy, is there a lot of sex in this book. They're not only spending most of their time trekking through this new planet to the crashed ship, but they seem to still have the energy to have sex every few hours. I sure wish I had that stamina! ;)
After spending so much time together, and intimate time at that, the two enemies feelings of hatred for one another become complicated. They turn to love, but the hatred towards the others species is still there. And of course, you can never truly love someone while also waging genocide against the rest of their species. Of course, much of these conflicting passions could have been tempered if the two - mainly Nemona - were more forthright with each other. I could understand why she was initially wary to reveal her true political stance to him, but there were plenty of opportunities along the way where it was clear that her revelation would do nothing but help them both.
The highlight of the book is when we meet the main indigenous species of Fyrian. They are a bit more accustomed to their planet's nature, and have sex frequently, openly, pleasurably, and with everybody. The contrast of a species who is largely serial monogamous and private with sexual activities is humorous and light-hearted - the perfect comic relief for the stressful events building up and pending all around them. Nem and Oten take the Fyrians sexual openness with a light heart and open mind, and are willing to set aside their cultural relativism to indulge the curiosities of this hospitable species.
The book doesn't leave on a cliff-hanger, but it leaves in a way that stimulates the imagination into what might happen to interplanetary relations in the future - and of course, for potential sequels :)
Oh boy is there a lot of sex. A lot. An inhuman amount.
The Fyre people - seem creepy, but then cool and funny. Almost slapstick
Everything would go smoothly if they actually talk - espcially when they realize the other isn't so bad.
Slow reveals about Sedez culture
Humans are humans and gross, using ideaas of gentic superiority to oppress.

What do you do when you're stranded on an island (that happens to be pumping an aphrodisiac through the air/water/basically everything) with a super hot golden-skinned snake-like alien guy? Well, that should be obvious. This was a pretty quick read (maybe a little too quick? I would've liked to stick around a little longer with Nem and her female crew, but it seems like this book is setting up for an ongoing series so I'm thinking we'll get to know some of her fellow rebels soon) and also pretty sweltering on the heat scale, phew! Definitely check this one out if you're looking for a new fun sci-fi/alien romance. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Toxic Desire is a very strange book. It's more sex than anything else, so more erotica than erotic romance which is not my thing. I like my stories to have a plot even if they are erotic and for there to be romance. Instead what we have is two enemies stranded on a planet where everything - the flora, fauna, water and air, all emit an aphrodisiac that is impossible to ignore, so Oten and Nem are at the mercy of their physical desires and need for release. It's a very sexy book. The sex is hot and there's A LOT of sex. I didn't get very far because there was too much sex and not much in terms of plot. As far as I could gather, they were stranded on a planet, trying to make it to a downed spaceship while bonking their brains out every chance they got because the sex hormones on the planet it impossible for them to control themselves. I debated whether to put the book down and read it occasionally, picking it up now and then until I got through it or to leave it. Ultimately, the story didn't grip me. I'm not a fan of the enemies to lovers trope, nor am I a fan of erotica although I do like sex in my stories. I'll be the last person to criticise sex in my stories but even I have my limits. I get that there's a misunderstanding between Oten and Nem which they eventually clear up (I kinda skipped to the end) but it was not enough to motivate me onwards. Don't get me wrong. Ms Lovett's writing is good and she writes good sex, but I think I need more than just sex to stay interested in a book. I have to admit, my feelings towards this book surprises me because I generally love anything from the Entangled Scorched line. Most of them are sexy as heck with a good dose of romance which keeps me engaged. This is not going to stop me from reading more from the line. It's still one of my favorites from Entangled.

This story was HOT, talk about chemistry, the two main characters had it in spades my glasses started steaming up!!

Three and a half
I do love the pure escapism of a sci fi romance so spotted this and thought why not try a new author ? Hmm first I thought it was a romance but having read it I'd personally say it's more erotica than I'd previously thought. Not necessarily a bad thing I admit but I did think that there was more sex than actual plot . I guess I'd just wanted a lot more substance.
Essentially it's the story of two enemies stranded on a planet that seems to emit aphrodisiacs through its flora and fauna. Nem is a woman used to being in charge and yet now here she is at the mercy of her own bodies cruel desires. Her only companion is Oten, a Ssedez warrior who hates humans and yet everything in him yearns to Mate with his enemy Nem . Together they trek towards the wreckage of Nems ship but their burning need to constantly jump each other's bones leaves them facing unimaginable changes!
So yes lots of sex and it's the first in a series so clearly more to come from the planet Fyrian with its very unusual life forms. The humans have previously tried to remain asexual but I can't help but wonder whether or not those they are escaping from will find them . Plus the Ssedez are a very unusual race that could be very interesting to read about if the author chooses to expand this story line. Not a lot of action here if honest but as it ends the author has left hints of which characters she will catch up with as this series continues.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and all thoughts and opinions are my own and I believe are honest.