Another great addition to the Ice Planet Barbarians series with a wonderful new cover! I'm excited to be able to recommend these to my patrons as they are definitely leaning into this style of cover art.

It’s hard to describe Ruby Dixon’s books, but IYKYK. It’s warm and fuzzy and sexy and hopeful as are most of her IPB books. This one doesn’t disappoint. Slowly working my way through the series!

I always wonder how Ruby will plot out the next book in the Ice Planet Barbarians universe to give us a new story and she delivers something very different EVERY TIME! We get a lot of world building in Barbarian’s Heart as we follow the Sakh across Not Hoth in search of a new home after their tribal caves were destroyed by an earthquake in the previous book. After being injured during the earthquake our MMC Pashov wakes from a coma with no memory of his mate Stacey or their child 🥺 Stacy is a caring and giving FMC, but at times I wish she would have stood up and said what she wanted! Overall this was a very heartwarming and sweet Ice Planet Barbarians installment. I loved to see Stacy and Pashov grow back together after a tragic event. Also baby Pacy 🥹😍😭

I received a free copy of this book thanks to Berkley Publishing Group; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

I took a long hiatus from reviews, so it's been some time since I read this title. That said, it was a sweet if also sad exploration of memory loss and trauma, while also being a lot of survival and smut. I have not read any of the previous books in this series, but based on this book I'd say they'd likely be very enjoyable.

For sensitive readers, this story contains death, injury, memory loss, trauma, grief, and violence.

UGH I LOVE RUBY!!! What a neat twist in this book - I hadn't read it in the initial release. I really just love going back to the barbarian planet and seeing what they are up to. While Stacy and Pashov weren't my favorite couple, they were still fun, and a great nostalgic refreshing read.

Thanks to Berkley for letting me read this book early. All thoughts are my own!

I thought that I could read this book without reading the others, but I could not. I was thrown into this world with little explanation of anything regarding the world. Which, I guess, is fine considering it is book nine in a series. So, I’ll take the blame for not knowing what was going on.

Outside of that, I do think this was kinda not good. Stacy is so frustrating to follow as a character. She is grieving, and I get it. However, she doesn’t ever really try to understand Pashov’s side. He lost his memory, and is struggling to adapt to this new life he has. Everyone in this book was telling him he wasn’t doing enough or was doing everything wrong, but he’s literally still recovering from an injury.

I think because it’s a shorter book, coming in well under 300 pages, there wasn’t a lot of time to develop their relationship again. They struggled to communicate through it, and I get that it was partly due to circumstance. I just wish we spent more time building back up their relationship instead of pushing conflict.

I’m unsure if I’ll ever read the rest of the books, but I’d probably skip this one.

When is a virgin hero not a virgin hero? When he's got amnesia, duh! Giving one of the barbarian aliens amnesia lets Dixon revisit the greatest hits of the series: when the blue guy thinks it's a great idea to take off with his human mate so they can be alone together and fall in love! When he's surprised she has no tail! When she starts thinking, "is it really such a bad idea to bang this guy I don't really know?"

If you like this series, you'll like this book. If you're looking for serious SF themes, why are you reading the 7th or 8th book in an alien romance series? Take a look at your life choices.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of not loving each book in this series, but this one I was a bit scared of since it had tropes I usually stay away from. BUT I'm so glad I kept going in the series cause I actually ended up LOVING this one. Stacy is such a sweetie and fantastic mother and Pachov is doing anything he could possibly do to make Stacy happy again; it was just so heartwarming! I'm so excited to see where this series keeps going in the new village that sounds more human-speed! The mystery surrounding the village is something I hope comes up in the next books!

This is the 9th book in the series following a woman and her mate who just lost his memories. I really enjoyed this book as the story was refinding love again after the earthquake tragedy. Dixon did an amazing job with writing the story and ensuring all points were made. I loved seeing the couple fight for their love and reconnecting again. The setting does change in this book which you would be able to tell after reading book 8. This series does need to be read an order and this book is told from Stacy and Pashov’s pov.

Stacy is heartbroken after realizing her mate can’t remember her or their son. I felt for her characater but loved seeing how strong she was. Then we have Pashov who lost his memories but realizes he has a mate who he can’t remember. He did make some questionable decisions but I loved how he was still caring of Stacy. There are other side characters and I loved how there were meaingful comments from everyone who supported them. The romance is second chance and fated mates which was well done.

The ending was great and it’s not the happy ending you might expect with the memories but realistic. I really enjoyed how this book went and can’t wait to read the next book. From what I have heard it’s with an alien FMC.

*this e-arc was sent to me by the publihser to give an honest review in return*

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This wasn't my favorite read. Honestly, I just didn't like Stacy. I felt like she was way too pushy after the accident. I know she was struggling, but the male JUST went through an accident AND lost his memory, I'm sure he was so overwhelmed!

I just couldn't get past her and therefore I couldn't get into the book. Which is a bummer.

I’d like to start by thanking Berkley Publishing Group, NetGalley, and author Ruby Dixon for allowing me to read and review the newest addition to the Ice Planet Barbarians book series.

I’ve read several of the books in this series so far, so I couldn’t turn down the chance to read her latest story! I haven’t read a partner amnesia story in a very long time and it awoke several feelings in me during my time reading it. Thank you for exploring the grief of a loss like this while simultaneously finding ways to move forward with the same but somewhat different man. I can’t wait for release day!

I did not love this one to start, but actually really ended up loving it so much! Marriage in trouble is such a good trope and I love the drama and tension that comes from it.

Both characters were so sweet and real and I loved how they took their time to find their way back to each other. A bit of miscommunication toward the end, but resolved fairly quickly!

This one feels different from the others for quite a few reasons. We are dealing with an established couple here rather than a new couple, and I found the story fresh for the series.
Really liked how this one wraps up. I teared up a little!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an e-ARC for review purposes. As always, all opinions are honest and my own.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 starts

This was my least favorite in the series by far. I very much contemplated just putting it down and jumping to Asha’s story, which I am very excited for. Stacy and Pashov’s story had a good premise, and I thought it was going to be interesting exploring the amnesia trope with their relationship dynamic, as they were an established couple that had already resonated, with a kit. This should’ve been an impactful story about how they had to find themselves again as a couple after the cave in. Unfortunately, this became an extremely repetitive and very whiny storyline.

Stacy was pretty insufferable, to be in her head for this book made my teeth clench. I’m not saying that her feelings were invalid. I’m not saying that her emotions were over exaggerated. She was in a very vulnerable state. She has a kit that was not even a year old, and her mate lost his memory, obviously that’s going be really difficult to navigate. It’s gonna be taxing. They’re going on this journey to find their new home. So much pressure and resdicobery during this vital time as they race again the Brutal Season’s onslaught. There’s simply lot going on, however, she was the one in the relationship with her memory. And I felt like she really wasn’t giving Pashov the grace, kindness, and patience that he deserved. I mean can you imagine waking up and not remembering resonance, which is a huge deal for Sa-Khui? She was very short with him. It was always about her feelings and I hate that in the story everyone else was also validated that stance. It’s as if he should’ve been more responsible and approachable, but he didn’t remember her. He was the victim, he was the one who didn’t have his memory, so why was the onus and pressure on him?

Stacy constantly wanted validation, but wasn’t thoughtful enough to do the same for him. Even when she would have moments of self reflection, they basically remained inside thoughts as she didn’t act on them. Of course, Pashov was following her lead and she fumbled time and time again, and then blamed him for seeming standoffish, when he was clearly insecure and unsure of his place in their new dynamic. I did not enjoy their relationship in this book. I didn’t like the story and the constant misunderstanding. I will not be rereading this one.

This one was so sad and yet also so sweet? It was genuinely heartbreaking to have Pashov lose his memory of his family but I loved seeing them grow back together and bond. Baby Pacy was super cute and overall this was another great installment to the series.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own and were in no way influenced by receiving this copy.

In reality this was like a 4.5 star read for me. I really enjoyed this overall but just like one or two things kept this from being a 5 star read for me.

Things I liked:
-Seeing a family with a child, caring for them, how they feed and change baby, all that stuff was really cute. We've see it from other characters pov looking in on the families, and we've seen it in the novellas, but getting a whole book dedicated to mom/ someone who has already gone through resonance was really nice
- The metlaks. I think they're going to become an even bigger part of the story with time and I'm really looking forward to that. So far they seem to just be misunderstood. And since learning even more about them in Lilah's book, with their semi communication skills using their own sign language, and now seeing the scared mother risking her life just to get her and her baby food. I love these little guys and I hope they get their redemption arc soon.
- Getting to explore the new home more! We only got a tiny bit right at the end but finding out so much new stuff about this new place is fun and I'm looking forward to seeing what else this place has to offer, and how they improve it with time.

Things I didn't like:
- That we didn't get to see them discover the new houses/ pick their house with the rest of the group. Yes it was nice they got the alone time together but missing out on the discovery with the rest of the big group was sort of disappointing.
- The miscommunication towards the end with Pashov wanting to be Stacy's mate and Stacy wanting Pashov as her mate but instead both being miserable... I hate that. Like you love each other just talk to each other!

Amazon and B&N reviews will go up when released
Imgur link goes to Instagram graphic scheduled for Jan 22
Blog post goes live Jan 28th
Will be covered in upcoming Youtube review

**TL;DR**: Another installment in the ICP series - this is the one that’ll probably make you cry.
**Source**: NetGalley and I have pre-ordered my own copy!

**Plot**: This takes place almost immediately after the end of the last book follow Stacy and her mate who has amnesia. It’s very melancholy for a good portion of the book.
**Characters**: As usual we focus on the love pairing, but a few side characters did shine through.
**Setting**: Not Hoth seems horribly cold and I never want to live there
**Romance**: I 100% loved this pair. They were so cute together and their story of falling back in love was amazing.

**Thoughts**:

Barbarian’s Heart continues the ICP series immediately after the earthquake of the previous book and we see the story of Pashov and Stacey. Pashov takes a heavy blow to the head during the earthquake and ends up loosing all his memories of the humans, and most importantly Stacey and their son.

Here is the thing, this one messed me up! I knew exactly what I was going in for but the melancholy, marriage in trouble, like some of these things hit close to home. I would put the book down and just go cuddle my husband because wow. Ruby can write funny and Ruby can write ‘make you so sad you need a cuddle’. Stacey struggles, even as Pashov tries to court her again and tries to remember and make their life over. She wants the old Pashov and she has a hard time coming to terms with what happens. But as this is a happy ending I think you can figure out what happens.

I did really like the ending here, I like the teasing we’ve been getting about more of this world and I’m always excited to finish another ICP and wait for the next new reprint.

4 out of 5 egg breakfasts

Barbarian’s Heart by Ruby Dixon is the ninth installment in the Ice Planet Barbarians series, and it proves that the author still has plenty of emotional depth and drama to explore among this group of stranded humans and their alien mates. This time, the spotlight is on Stacy and Pashov, whose once blissful life is thrown into turmoil after a devastating accident. With Pashov losing all memory of his mate and young son, the story delves into the complexities of rebuilding a bond when one partner is essentially starting over.

As always, Dixon excels at immersing readers in the unique, icy world of Not-Hoth, and the emotional stakes are high as Stacy grapples with heartbreak and determination. The concept of rediscovering love with someone who’s forgotten you is ripe with tension and vulnerability, which the book explores well in parts. The chemistry between Stacy and Pashov remains compelling, especially as they navigate the awkwardness and yearning of their altered dynamic.

However, Stacy’s characterization felt underwhelming at times. While it’s understandable that each heroine in a long-running series should stand out, Stacy’s defining traits—her cooking skills and fixation on rekindling their physical intimacy—didn’t add much depth. It was frustrating to see her reduced to pining over Pashov’s affection rather than developing her individuality.

Despite these flaws, Barbarian’s Heart delivers on the series' signature blend of romance, heartache, and world-building. Longtime fans will likely enjoy revisiting the Ice Planet and rooting for Stacy and Pashov as they work to rediscover their love. While it’s not the strongest entry in the series, it still offers moments of warmth and connection that keep readers invested in these characters and their icy adventures.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I am absolutely obsessed with these repubs of the IPB series! Each one has been so amazing and has allowed the story to be more fun and incredible. It was a joy to return to Not-Hoth and all the women and their aliens. It was genuinely so fun and I can't wait to get my greedy hands on the next one!! I loved this slow falling-in-love again story with Stacy and Pashov, so sweet!