Barbarian Lover might be my favorite in the series! In the previous book, we see the obvious attraction between Aehako and Kira, but Kira’s miserable over the fact that her khui hasn’t sung for anyone—especially Aehako.

You wouldn’t think a romance between an alien and a human would be relatable, but I actually found myself relating to Kira a lot. She has many insecurities and self-doubts, and her inner monologue really resonated with me. Whereas the first two books in this series were light and funny, I found Barbarian Lover more emotional and character-driven. The connection between Aehako and Kira was palpable, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for their khuis to sing!

This was an overall enjoyable read and I’d recommend it even if you didn’t like the first two books in the series. Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for ARC of this book!

I absolutely love Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarian Series! Barbarian Lover centers around Kira- the girl with the translator in her ear. She is completely fine with staying single on Not-Hoth while everyone else seems to be resonating left and right. It doesn't bother her.. at all. Aehako has different plans.

This installment was fun and different than the others, focusing on infertility and anxiety (an of course alien romance).There is some suspense but it's mostly fun. Kira and Aehako are a great pair!

If you love the Ice Planet Barbarian series, you'll love this one too! I did!

⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you to Berkley Publishing & NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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Do I love blue alien sexiness? Absolutely I do. The third installment in the Ice Planet series delivers on all accounts - spur play, tails, girl power, and more! While I loved Kira’s character arch, I did feel that the romance in this one didn’t quite hold up to the first two. I also didn’t love the idea that they could only mate for the purpose of having babies - it seems like an archaic thought, even in a series with a breeding and pregnancy kink.
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All in all, loved it. I can’t wait to read the fourth in the series!!!
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Full review will be posted on socials closer to the pub date!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing this ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 Stars/2 Chilis

I should preface that this is the first book of this series that I have read. I have not previously read Ice Planet Barbarians or Barbarian Lover.

Quick Synopsis: A human woman stranded on an ice planet with male aliens who value human women and have begun to wed and mate, Kira is worried about her future on the planet. When a pair is mated, they have “resonated” with their mate. Kira however has not resonated with anyone and since she is barren, she’s afraid that she never will. Aehako is interested in her, but Kira is hesitant to pursue anything when he could resonate with another and abandon her. When rival aliens return to the planet, Aehako and Kira have to figure out how to subvert their attempts to kidnap Kira and take valuable information from the planet.

Trigger warnings include but are not limited to: difficulty getting pregnant, kidnapping, blackmailing, harm to main characters

What I liked:
-Here’s the thing: don’t take this book too seriously. This isn’t a literary masterpiece and it was never written to be so. It’s entertainment, that’s all.
-It was an interesting premise and I think there were some interesting plot points, but also that’s not really the point of this book - it’s more about the romance.
-I thought the way the relationship between Aehako and Kira developed was nice. It played well with Kira’s fears and Aehako’s strengths and drives.
-I liked how Aehako was instantly on her side.
-Since I haven’t read any of the other books, I was afraid I wouldn’t know what was going on, and while there were elements I know I missed, I generally was able to keep up without the other books’ context.
-It really drives home that you don’t have to have a mate to dedicate yourselves to each other. They made a conscious choice to be together which I liked almost more.


What I struggled with:
-The writing is not great if I’m being perfectly honest. It’s quite immature, but it is easy to read.
-It’s very simplistic. There isn’t a lot of description or development.
-The different parts kind of read like mini-short stories rather than one cohesive plot. I’m not necessarily mad at it, but it didn’t feel like a full novel.
-*MINOR SPOILER* I know Kira wanted children, but she was told she physically could not have children due to an incident from her childhood. If that’s the case, and she can't have children, then that’s it. It’s ok to not have kids. If you want children, adopt or get a surrogate, but I’m just really over every single main character having kids when sometimes that’s not their path. In this case Kira is miraculously able to have kids but why? How? What happened? It doesn’t make any sense.

Look, this book is pure entertainment. It was enjoyable and it did its job and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This series is such fun. I liked that Barbarian Lover got into some deeper issues regarding relationships and that we got to see some emotional vulnerability from both Nora and Aehako. Sign me up for the next instalment!

Another great book in the Ice Planet Barbarians series! I really enjoyed getting to know Kira and Aehako and there rocky road to becoming each others mates! I also think Ruby Dixon does a great job of letting the readers keep up with the other stories in this world as well as introducing us to couples we are going to see form in later books! Can't wait to read Harlow's story next!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot stop reading these silly alien books. This one is a bit lower in rating for me because I think infertility is fine as it is and I wish that maybe that had been a plot point here but I know that the breeding stuff is big on this Not-Hoth planet. So, whatever.

3 stars.

This was my favorite of the series so far! Much better storytelling. More plot and kept me invested.

This was definitely my favorite of the Ice Planet Barbarian books so far - it's friends to lovers and is the first book in the series to not feature an instant resonation or soulmate matching, which I found really refreshing. Aehako was a total simp - but he was also unintentionally hilarious. The courting gift? Amazing. It also featured a fair amount of action - and the return of the abducting aliens. I can't wait to read the next entry!

There was something about the way this book was presented to me that made me curious about a genre I had never really read into, but I have mixed feelings.

The Good...
The beginning was really intriguing as I got into the back story from the two previous books I haven't read. It seems that a group of women were abducted from earth by a group of aliens and something happened that deposited them onto another planet with yet another species of aliens. Interesting enough.

I learned more about the characters, trying to get a sense of the community these people lived with and realizing right off the bat they really loved their orgies, lol. Poor Kira, the main female character, had a translator fused to her ear so she could hear all of the naught going on around her clearly. Oh boy.

This is where things got weird.

The Bad...
With every great scifi, world building is really key. Since the reader has no sense of space and other planets, you really need to paint a picture that resonates and makes them feel as if they are there. I really didn't get that. From what I gathered, these people lived in a cave on a cold planet. Not much to look at there and really lacking in world building from the get go.

Its very possible all this could have been explained in previous books, but I'm not ready to go back and read more at this time.

The second thing that I found strange was the dialogue used. I can understand the current terms being used as these people were recently abducted and left on a strange planet, but when one of the characters refers to the aliens they are all screwing as "the guys," It made me feel weird and out of place. This type of dialogue happened often, throwing the whole scifi vibe off.

I could go on for days about the flow and pacing of the story and the lack of chemistry I felt between Kira and Aehako, but I'm pretty done with this review.

In Closing...
There was enough in this book to still make me enjoy the read and figure out that maybe scifi romance is not for me. As a huge nerd of the scifi community, I think my allegiance lies with more traditional tales of aliens. I can see how others would really enjoy this steamy genre with sexy "guys."

Crack. There is no doubt crack in between these pages because how else am I so hooked on these novels! I absolutely love love love this world. Blue aliens are my love language.

Total floof but so fun and surprisingly sexy despite the somewhat odd sounding descriptions of the aliens (I picture them as kind of a cross between a Na'vi and a demon). I glommed the first three in one day ;)

Aehako was a complete darling. On the other hand: I can see how some people would see Kira as a downer... but I actually thought her behavior was realistic. <spoiler>Having been told that you and your compatriots are welcomed because they will be much-needed and desired mates and baby factories, how would you feel if you believed yourself to be barren? Pretty unwanted, right? And her concern that Aehako would resonate for someone else and she'd lose him was warranted, IMHO. I actually really enjoyed that they made a conscious decision to be mates regardless; <spoiler>their happy ending was then the cherry on top.</spoiler></spoiler>

Now I have to wait for payday before I can buy the next three in the series, lol.


Rereading in 2022: I was granted access by Netgalley, Berkley and Ms. Dixon to an ARC of the brand new re-released mainstream version of this title. I really could not tell if anything had been substantively changed from the original. I did appreciate the author's note, which seemed like it might have been expanded but who knows.

I stand by my original review: I felt that Kira was realistic. Not everyone would enthusiastically jump into this life (I mean, it's an ICE planet, that alone would be a deal breaker for some people, possibly me included) and Kira is also hyperaware of her limitations. I think I would be hesitant too. Looking forward to seeing more of Ms. Dixon's books in mainstream publishing :)

The next book in the Ice Planet Barbarian series doesn't let down. Building on our understanding of the world, this book offers an intriguing plot and we are given an interesting look at some of the actual fears and insecurities faced by the human women left on Not Hoth if they haven't immediately found their "mates." Definitely a great and quick escapist read, with a bit more focus on plot, character building, and "fluffy" romance than just sex scenes.

Best couple yet! Kira & Aehako are such a cute match. Definitely still fluffy little romps, but this one had a little more plot to enjoy. I liked that "Barbarian Lover" included infertility concerns, although I was a little disappointed when these concerns were conveniently healed by some alien parasite magic.

Recommended to anyone looking for a fun bit of escapist reading. Looking forward to reading more of this series!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

This third installment is probably my most favorite one yet.
It was a true gem, we have flirty hero and reluctant heroine. They have instant chemistry but she knows she is barren so doesn't want to allow a deep connection between them. He has no idea why she is so reluctant but does not give up on perusing her. That is my catnip with romance novels, an unrelenting hero.
Another reason why this is my favorite in the series is because we get such an abundance of background knowledge about the planet, how the blue aliens got there, and so much more. It built a better foundation of understanding for me and the bigger story.
I love the heroine's character development as well, when she finally is honest with the hero and lets herself fall for him. This book had me swooning the most out of the three that I have read.
I truly enjoyed Barbarian Lover for all new reasons than I did for the past two books. Which is just a testament to how much Dixon's writing kept evolving with each book, as well as the story of all the character involved further expanding.
I almost want to recommend to start with this one to fully grasp the setting and better understand the first two books.

This is the 3rd book in the Barbarian Alien series and follows the story of Kira and Aehako. It was cute, steamy and Kira and Aehako were a great couple. They definitely had some challenges to overcome, specifically the return of the little green aliens and Kira's self-esteem issues but they made it and got their happily ever after.

This book was different than the other two in the series because Kira and Aehako chose to be mates without the resonance. Kira is unable to have children and therefore will not resonate with anyone and a big part of the book is getting over her feelings of being unworthy to be with Aehako. As usual the chapter alternate perspectives so it was nice getting to read Aehako's thoughts on Kira and how he still wanted to be with her no matter what. The book also sets up the next in the series after one of the girls seemingly disappears. I won't spoil it but am definitely looking forward to the next book.

Overall I enjoyed this and it was pretty fluffy and light and a perfect beach read.

I was provided a copy of this book through NetGalley.

I feel as though I shouldn't love these as much as I do?? But they're absolutely escapist reading. They're exactly what I need when I just want to not be around people and want to turn off my brain. I'll read all of them, because I know exactly what I'm getting!

I absolutely love and enjoy these books way more than I possibly should. They are escapist reads that take you to far off places. But even with that, there are problems. And I think highlighting or being aware of those problems don't take away from the joy I felt while reading this. The special editions are so fun and it was so great being able to read and spend more time with Kira and Aehako. I'm a fan and will absolutely be looking forward to book 4 getting the special edition makeover!

CWs: mentions of forced abortion, miscarriages, infertility, birth control, “healed” infertility

Maybe my favourite so far! I loved the relationship between Kira and Aehako. Having them choose to be mates even though Kira was sure she was infertile. While I loved how absolutely in love Aehako was with Kira, I wish we had gotten the chance to see these two without Kira being healed and getting pregnant. Obviously this is an alien romance with a healing parasite soooooo like, I get it. But also, ya know??

But there’s never been a man (or alien) that more than a simp like Aehako is for Kira. I really loved the bonus content in this one!

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this installment in the series. I had been hoping for Kira's book from the beginning, and I found the actual romance really sweet.
Sadly, I felt like Dixon wasn't very sensitive to the infertility issue that Kira faces. It could have been worse, yes. But it also could have been better. I loved it until that moment towards the end where all of the growth that our characters had gone through went out the window to me.

But, I loved that there was more of a plot in this one as opposed to the previous novel. I'm looking forward to continuing.