Reviewed by Carissa
This is a Series Review of The Valespian Pact Series (Books 1 & 2 )
AUTHOR: Lexi Ander
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
SERIES REVIEW:
With book three still in the works, coming to the end of the current two-book series can feel a bit cliff-hanger-y. There is a a lot that we still don’t know, and having to wait for book three to be written is going to mean a bit of uncertainty by the end. I did enjoy both books, and Dargon, Alpha, and Zeus are some of my favorite m/m/m pairings. And really, who can say no to scifi menagé with a side of m-preg and a dash of galactic intrigue?
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TITLE: Alpha Trine
LENGTH: 156 pages
BLURB:
The sole survivor on a science vessel adrift in deep space, Zeus was adopted by the Emperor and Empress of the Mar’Sani, though he is both human and blind, and seen by most as unfit to join the royal family. Though they were able to repair his vision, Zeus does not trust his eyes and the nobles of his parents’ court refuse to ever trust a frail human.
Dargon Kal-Turak, along with his symbiote and lover Alpha, command one of the most dangerous ships in the stars. Narrowly escaping a trap, they dock in a space port to make repairs, but find that the Psonics hunting them are closing in fast. In desperation they kidnap the port Master Mechanic, unaware that the man they’ve brought on board is more than he seems, and will bring far more upheaval to their ship, their lives, and the stars than any of them could have imagined.
Warning: This story contains a threesome relationship
REVIEW:
Left adrift in space as a baby, Zeus is now the adopted son of the Emperor and Empress of the Mar’Sani. They are the only family he knows, and he loves them all dearly. Even if the differences in his biology means he is always seen as an outsider to some of the Mar’Sani.
On his last day aboard the docking station that he currently works at, he meets Dargon and his symbiote, Alpha. It is probably best to say that Zeus is less than impressed with what he thinks is a pirate and his questionable ship. His impression is not exactly helped when he is kidnapped aboard ship by Dargon’s crew. But things are not as they seem aboard the spaceship, and Zeus, Alpha, and Dargon soon find themselves deeply intrenched in a battle that has been waging for quite some time. And if the three fail in their new mission, the whole universe could be at risk.
The first time I read this book was ages ago. Probably before I had read anything else by Lexi Ander. It is a little strange to go back to it now that I’ve consumed so much of the author’s work. Especially since the other series I’m currently hunkered down into is based firmly back here on Earth. But there are some good points to having a second crack at this book, even with all the time in between.
One of the bonuses of rereads is that you get to focus on all the small things you missed the first time around. I saw small hints in the scenes that I never saw previously, and it was fun to see the story from a slightly more knowledgeable standpoint. It also helped a lot with one of my main issues with this series–that being there are so many bloody types of aliens to keep track of. Sometimes it is confusing and frustrating going thru a scene and then having to go back to figure out who is who. With this reread there was less of that, and I was extremely grateful.
The reread didn’t at all diminish my love of Alpha (who is probably my favorite character in this series) and Dargon. I have a special place in my heart for m/m/m relationships that are a little odd in configurations (see my absolute adoration of Jordan L. Hawk’s SPECTR series), and while you certainly see it more in the second book, the relationship between Dargon and Alpha is great.
Zeus is always going to be a harder sell to me. He is well written and all that jazz, but he suffers, I’m afraid, from the fact that I just don’t particularly care for alpha-male characters. And, well, the Mar’Sani males all seem to be very alpha. Even as children they seem to drip testosterone, and that is something that just doesn’t work with me. I do like him, I do, but Zeus is just a bit to brash and bull-ish for my tastes. It isn’t so bad when he is around Dargon and Alpha, but when he drifts more into his ‘fighter’ mode, I just get tempted to skim the scene.
Overall, though, I do enjoy this story. There is just so much going on that it make rereading it a lot of fun. And coming back to these characters is a lot easier than I thought it would be after so long. I am really looking forward to my reread of the second book.
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TITLE: Striker
LENGTH: 307 pages
BLURB:
The peaceful respite for which Zeus and his intended, Dargon and Alpha, had been hoping is shattered when Zeus is unexpectedly drawn to the Waters of Poseidon and told that the safety they’ve been promised is a trap.
But the Fal’Amoric aren’t the only important cargo on the Oethra 7, and countless others are depending on the success of their mission. If Zeus hopes to break the silent siege on Valespia, and protect those most precious to him, he will need not just powerful allies but the fortitude to survive overwhelming odds.
REVIEW:
Striker picks up right where Alpha Trine left off. Zeus, Alpha, and Dargon are still on their way to Valespia with a their cargo of Fal’Amoric royals, though they have been joined by Zeus’s two oldest brothers. But things soon get complicated when a short visit with his other brother sends them on a side trip in a last ditch attempt to find help.
Zeus and Dargon are also having to deal with their impending fatherhood, as Alpha struggles with the pregnancy and his need to protect his Trine. All three are forced to confront old fears and new challenges as they struggle to keep themselves together as the universe seems to be on the brink of war.
One thing that you have to love about this series is the wide breadth of cultures, species, and non-organic sentient characters. I love that this scifi world is not a homogenized version of slightly different colored humans. In fact, the humans play a very small role in this universe.
One thing that you have to struggle with in this series is the sheer amount of ‘aliens’ that you have to keep track of. Because the very thing I love about these books, is the very same thing I struggle with no matter how many times I reread them. I just can’t keep track of all the bloody aliens. I can’t help but feel that this is a story much better suited for a graphic form of storytelling. The wide range of species is great, but having to remember just who looks like what is a bit frustrating when all you want to do is get on with the story.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this book. Probably more than I did the first time around because I wasn’t trying to remember everything so that the various plots made sense when characters would walk into a scene after a long absence. Being able to just sit back and relax, to enjoy the storytelling as well as the story, was better than my first round with this book.
And I loved how the whole pregnancy/childbirth thing is in this book. By far one of the most believable ‘m-preg’ stories out there in terms of biology. Plus that whole scene worked really well to ratchet up the tension in that portion of the book. I am really looking forward to book three (whenever it get written) to seeing how Dargon, Alpha, and Zeus handle being parents.
Because of the way the story was structured, the last third of this book was oddly sedate compared to the middle third. It felt like the climax happened at around the 60-65% mark. The stuff that comes after is interesting and I liked the political stuff, but it was an odd juxtaposition to the whole battle scene that had happened earlier.
This is a very interesting scifi series and this book certainly did the job of creating more tangles for the reader to un-weave as it went along. I am looking forward to finding out who and where the Bespoken is, and to see how this whole conflict resolves itself.
RATING:
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