I must say, I didn't love this one as much as the previous books. Josie is honestly really mean to Haeden. I love enemies to lovers, it's one of my favourite tropes, but Josie is just plain unnecessarily mean. She literally even considers murdering Haeden so that they'll stop resonating???? Yes Haeden is grumpy, but it feels like the pure hatred is just unnecessary.

The plot of this one was really interesting, with the discovery of the other ship crash site and the fallout from that discovery.

I will say I really appreciate the quick refresher at the beginning of the book! A super helpful recap before jumping in to a new story!

Barbarian’s Mate
Ruby Dixon

Genre: Alien Romance
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
Recommended: Yes!

Of the special editions, this was my favorite so far. I absolutely love enemies to lovers so this did not disappoint. I’m so excited for the rest of the special edition books in this series!

Read if you like…
* Enemies to Lovers
* Fated Mates
* Forced Proximity
* Angst

Forever love the Ice Planet Barbarians series from author Ruby Dixon!!

Josie and Haeden is a fun grumpy sunshine trope, but the level of miscommunication is a bit much, even with Haeden being an alien. But once they get together it's plenty of fluff and smut.

A great comfort read, if a bit focused on babies and pregnancy for my taste.

Thank you for letting me read this arc.

I read this a while back on kindle. I absolutely love Haeden and Josie! Second best of the series!! I’m obsessed with the extra bonus chapter and being able to see more of them. Absolutely adore.

I love Not Hoth. I love the Barbarians. I love the love stories and all. Hayden maybe be a grumpy blue guy but he is ready for love. His first mate rejected him and then died leaving him wanting for love and a family. Josie is ready for the same but she just doesn't want it with him. I enjoyed this books a lot! I think they were a perfect pair. Ideally each couple has a khui which pairs them with their perfect match but Josie and Haeden are really special. Dixon's writing style has gotten so much better and in that she has created better world building and character development. CHEF'S KISS!!! The steam is always appreciated!!!! So hot!!! I love this series!

I enjoyed this book which follows the characters Haeden and Josie. I recommend reading this series in order to get more into the story. This book is about a girl who finally mates to an alien only to realize it’s her enemy. I was really excited to read this book as I wanted to see how a pure enemies to lovers book would play out in this alien world but I have to say that I was a tad bit disappointed which I will explain why. I do have to say that the author’s writing stays the same throughout the book which I enjoyed. We get to know more about the world and there was a sneak peek of a potential land. The pacing was great and there were many conflicts in this book just like in the others. This book follows both Josie and Haeden’s pov.

Josie is the last woman to mate only to realize she mates to her enemy and Haeden lost his mate in the past to find out his new mate hates him. Both characters have great development in this book. But this is where my problem came in. Josie was really annoying for me. I understand how her life was hard in the past but comparing her character from the previous book (the Josie I loved) is completely different from this book. Josie was annoying me and then there was Haeden who was lost and hurt himself which made everything worse. The side characters were the same as the previous books with some new babies. This book was enemies to lovers and I ship the couple even though Josie gave me a hard time with her story.

The ending was well done and I’m totally going to keep on reading this series. It’s really well written and I loved the first five that I have read. Even though this is the first book from the series that I rated below a 5. I still enjoyed it.

As the last unmated human female in the tribe, Josie is left watching as others begin starting families. She longs for a child of her own, a child who will be loved and cared for and who will never know the hardship Josie experienced growing up in the system. When Josie resonates with the surly Haeden - her arch nemesis - she's determined to find a way to get a new khui and a different mate. What she finds however - is more survivors.

Josie and Haeden's story is one of assumptions and misunderstandings - but not linguistical challenges. This is likely my least favourite in the series - I found Josie annoying and contradictory. As always your mileage may vary.

The thing about these books is that they are very predictable and formulaic and yet here I am reading all of them.

Take the wonderful world of Ice Planet Barbarian's and introduce the plot of Pride and Prejudice and BOOM, we have Barbarian's Mate!

Haeden is our resident Mr. Darcy.... the grumpy grump of the clan. The man who makes Josie want to rip her hair out and who honestly, doesn't care for her much either. Josie is a genuinely likable character. She might come off as selfish in some moments, but I felt like I truly could relate to her and her frustration of having to resonate to the one person she would have never chosen for herself.

This is the first time we really see someone in the world want to openly reject the resonance and even have the cootie removed to prevent it. SHOCKING! And entirely worth the wait!

Josie and Haeden's tragic backstories (Haeden had resonated before to a woman who rejected him and Josie had a horrible experience growing up in foster care). Their traumas shaped who they were during their resonating experience and I loved watching both characters learn to peel back each other's layers to better understand why they were they way they were.

This is one of my favorites in the series and I cannot wait to see the next installment's new cover!

The new covers are beautiful, but the stories are just as fun and spicy as always. This one centers Josie, the last Earth girl to resonate. She desperately wants a mate, a family... but when she does finally resonate, it's to the meanest, grumpiest alien in the tribe. What's a girl to do? Another great entry in the Ice Planet Barbarians series.

So a good story featuring grumpy meets sunshine but with large blue aliens. I was skeptical about a monster trope but I definitely enjoyed it. A nice enjoyable read.

I had a lot of problems with the content of the first book of the series. Someone told me the later books are less problematic and that the first book was a one-off. Unfortunately, I didn't find this to be the case.

Josie's IUD falls out. “Now, I can get pregnant. Now, I can resonate. I can have a mate! I can have a family, a happily ever after.” I do like that she goes on an independent adventure, but we still see a lot of the same issues with Ruby Dixon's first book of the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

The Ice Planet books are such great lighthearted reads when you're feeling down. This book picks up almost immediately after the last one and leaves you pining for the climax alongside the characters, and that tension makes the moment they finally give in to their feelings/ resonance all the better. This book also provides more insight into the world of Not-Hoth and hints at other stories to be told, leaving the reader excited to explore not only the stories of the other women on this alien world but also the world itself. You'd think after six books there wouldn't be much more to learn but the reader is able to learn alongside the characters that the world of Ice Planet Barbarians is more than meets the eye.

4 ⭐ An angsty enemies-to-lovers alien romance

WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ alien romance
✨ mars needs women trope
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ grumpy x sunshine
✨ fated mates
✨ virgin mmc
✨ miscommunication
✨ angst
✨ 3/5 spice
✨ HEA
✨ tw: past sexual assault and abuse in foster care, death of a previous mate


Summary:

Josie is the last of the human women to resonate, and she desperately wants to find her soulmate. But when her khui picks Haeden, the most cranky, unpleasant, overbearing male alien, she's anything but excited. Josie tries to fight resonance, but it's useless. Their khuis have chosen each other, and their joining is inevitable.

Haeden already had a mate, but she died during the sickness. Now, fate has offered him another chance at happiness. However, Josie doesn't want him, which is understandable considering all he's done since she arrived is fought with her. Haeden's always felt some pull toward Josie, yet his fear has caused him to keep his distance. But with the khui's constant song in his chest, he can no longer ignore Josie and tries to win her affection by proving he's more than just a surly male.


Thoughts:

So happy Josie gets her HEA. First off, Josie had a sad childhood where many terrible things happened to her. Yet through it all, she approaches life with such positivity and love. I really admire that about her and think she is one of the strongest characters in this series. Then, as she settles into life on Not-Hoth, she so desperately wants a mate and a family, yet her khui stays quiet. But that didn't stop her from being hopeful. Until one day, it goes and picks the one person she hates on this planet. The irony. Josie may have fought resonance at first. However, in the end, her khui knew what it was doing and picked the perfect mate for her - one who would understand what it's like to feel unwanted or unloved.


Haeden is the perfect grumpy MMC! He truly gives off 'I hate everyone but her' vibes, but he even didn't really like Josie in the beginning either. A total grump. I honestly didn't like him at first, but over the course of the book, we learn about his past and understand why he's built up so many walls around himself and why it's so hard for him to open up. I enjoyed getting to know him and how he softened around Josie. This quote below had me swooning.

"You are mine. If you are taken, I will come after you. If you are sick, I will never leave your side. If you leave, I will follow. You will never be without me, because I will come after you. Know this."


I absolutely loved the bonus Honeymoon content in Berkley's special edition! This focused on Josie and Haeden further exploring each other and their sexual preferences. There's spanking, safe words, and lube . . . and both Josie and Haeden get their happy endings (if you know what I mean 😉). Overall, a fun and sexy addition to their story.


Even though this is a smutty alien romance, I'm so invested in the world of IPB and the overarching plot. Just when you think the series would end since Josie is the last of the human women . . . something exciting and unexpected happens that will carry us onto the next book. Ruby Dixon knows how to keep things interesting. I can't wait to continue with the series and find out who will be mated next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

While this can be enjoyed as a standalone mild spoilers for the books prior

CW: sexual assault (past), abuse in foster system (past), suicidal ideation (brief), death of mate (past), animal attack, consensual kink

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f scifi romance
-fated mates
-frenemies to lovers
-grump/sunshine
-hate everyone but you
-virgin hero

What happens when you're the last single gal on the planet and the guy you're fated to be with is a grump who you are pretty positive can't stand you? Josie has been watching all of her friends fall for their big blue aliens and has been anxiously awaiting her turn. But she finds herself mated to Haeden and not happy about it.

Neither Josie and Hayden handle the situation perfectly, plenty of miscommunication and just figuring out the other all while dealing with so much sexual tension. Both had to shift their original impressions of the other. Harden was just so soft and protective, not doubting Josie, but understandably scared for her with his past. My favorite parts were their scenes together as they learned more about each other and just learned the other's love language and how to communicate.

Definitely a well deserved HEA and that honeymoon was steamay.

Steam: 4

I'm always surprised by how much I like this series. Human women abducted by aliens and crash landed on an ice planet with blue aliens? Mm, doesn't seem like I would enjoy it, but Ruby Dixon writes with a self-aware nod to the insanity of this plot and speaks directly to the fantasy of the fated mate that is totally devoted and invested in the wellbeing of other. It just hits all the right notes and is genuinely funny, sexy, and sweet with coherent world-building. LIke, how? What dark powers is she harnessing to execute this? I handsell this series on the regular at my store.

One thing that can be a tricky sell for the fated mates trope is giving the characters some semblence of free will in the face of Fate. Rosie and Haeden's story explores this tension -- it's a classic enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine tale. On the surface neither wants this pairing, but once they interrogate thier supposed hatred of the other, they find other motivations at play. It's really well done. Ruby Dixon strings longing and tension and humor with solid world-building in a way that reminds me of Kresley Cole, but with more cinnamon roll heros than alphahole heros.

I really liked this one! I will admit that the dynamic between Josie and Haeden was super similar to the dynamic between Raahosh and Liz, but that didn't bother me too much. I really enjoyed every bit of this one, and I can't wait to see how the story continues! I'm intrigued to see what the new plot points have to offer!

‘Barbarian’s Mate’ is my absolute favorite of the Ice Planet Barbarians series. Josie and Haeden are such an odd couple, both immediately opposed to the other as their mate given their first impressions and equally tragic backstories. Neither of our main couple is particularly well liked, Josie especially has been thought of as really annoying by other characters and some fans but I loved her right away. She’s so charming in her own way, especially once you get to read her POV. Haeden is a bit of a Mr. Darcy character in that he comes across really cold and rude but is really a sweet guy who can’t communicate. I loved that so much of their story is about choosing each other, even with the khui and resonating. They’re meant to be but they have to work on themselves and their relationship to make that enough and I love it.

This is book 6 in the series and it has the perfect amount of romance and character driven storyline with just enough plot to keep the ongoing IPB story interesting. I love this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Still give this a solid 3.5 stars on the reread - justice for Josie! I will not tolerate slander against her