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The Infinite City #1

Silent Lucidity

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He’s an alien assassin who has never known a female’s touch—until hers.

Abella hasn’t allowed four years of slavery to break her spirit, but after numerous failed escape attempts, the chances of making it home to her family seem bleak. That is until she shares a passionate, forbidden dance with a silent stranger. His piercing silvery eyes haunt her with a taste of hope.

Intense, mysterious, and deadly, Tenthil may be the key to Abella’s freedom. But as she finds herself increasingly drawn to him, she realizes the truth—Tenthil has no intention of taking her home.
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Warning: Contains darker themes. Check author's website for full content warnings.

392 pages, ebook

First published May 28, 2019

2448 people are currently reading
5296 people want to read

About the author

Tiffany Roberts

54 books5,227 followers
Tiffany Roberts is the pseudonym for Tiffany and Robert Freund, a husband and wife writing duo. Tiffany was born and bred in Idaho, and Robert was a native of New York City before moving across the country to be with her. The two have always shared a passion for reading and writing, and it was their dream to combine their mighty powers to create the sorts of books they want to read. They write character driven sci-fi and fantasy romance, creating happily-ever-afters for the alien and unknown.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 528 reviews
Profile Image for Sunseeker☀️.
437 reviews
May 30, 2019
3.25 stars- was well written and the plot/world building was unique and interesting for what you typically see in the sci-fi smut genre. However, it was very OTT with “sweetness” to the point I started to skim. Normally I love that sh*t so it’s saying a lot when even I think it’s too much! Lol
Profile Image for Andrea.
2,143 reviews1 follower
July 18, 2022

"Something in me recognizes you. Something in me knows that you are mine. That I am yours. I cannot ignore it, cannot deny it. It is the deepest, most primal part of me."


So did I enjoy this book? For the most part yes, but the early actions of the H kind of colored my view of him for the rest of the novel.

description

First through--backstory--In this story we have our h, Abella, a human dancer that has been trafficked from earth to serve as a pet for a cruel and wealthy alien. She is doing one of her famed dance routines when she catches the eye of our H Tenthil.

He is in the seedy underground club to complete his assassination mission when he becomes distracted by Abella's grace and beauty on stage- and insta-love/ lust ensues. Plus a whole lotta chaos.


Spoiler Rant Review:



So yeah, I liked the sci-fi space setting and writing- and might read on to the next book in the series in hopes of something different because I liked the overall premise just not some plot points.
Profile Image for Paula Valadez.
115 reviews5 followers
June 8, 2025
Me gustó mucho la primera mitad del libro, pero se hizo bastante lenta a la mitad y me costó mantener el impulso al leerlo. Creo que se prolongó demasiado para mí.
El final me pareció un poco lento, ¡pero realmente me encantó el epílogo🤭😍!

En general, fue una buena lectura, pero, probablemente no lo volvería a leer.
Profile Image for Somia.
2,066 reviews169 followers
April 12, 2020
3.5 Stars

Kidnapped and sold when he was young, Tenthil was made into an assassin but has never been the obedient tool his master wanted, and when he sees Abella he finds himself for the first time overpowered by desire, his focus narrowing to having Abella and ensuring she is protected. Abella for her part is determined to get back home to her family, the unexpected attraction she feels to the alien (captor) who has taken her, from the fiend who bought her, is one she didn't expect and has her running, until she realises the only place she is safe is with Tenthil.

I have to say the scene where

The romance and action may be predictable but it was enjoyable and the main characters kept me engaged.

I liked seeing Abella and Tenthil's life once they were on Earth, good way to end the book.

Potential Triggers:

Acquired via KU.
Profile Image for Tiblu.
1,255 reviews49 followers
May 30, 2019
Soo disappointed.
The h was such a TSTL and a rather ungrateful one at that.....
We start with Tenthil and while I do agree there was a lot, a L O T of descriptive prose out there, I can't say
if it was too much or not necessarily but it did make me impatient to get to the meat of the story and character and
I found myself skimming a lot. I just saw most of it as world building though and I was grateful for their efforts and saw myself as impatient at the time. Soo I really can't say it it was too much,even though I wish some things had been more to the point,I tried to appreciate they were building a new series...
any way.
Back to what destroyed the story for me : Arabella the ungrateful.
Here you have a young woman ,I'm guessing 24-25 ,she was taken in collage I believe ,who's been held for 4 years by
a monster against her will. From how her interaction starts w/Tenthil ,the Dance,the Kiss I was expecting a woman
who was mature and willing not just to take the consequences of her actions but had common sense and strong survival instincts.
What I found instead of a girl who's willing to take lashes laying on the ground for a moments connection through a dance and a kiss,she'd never felt the like of before. Lashes that were still hurting her a week later. A kiss and a connection she was still thinking about a week later.,that still supposedly worth the pain but when he appears and rescues her all she really gives in return is mistrust and childish fits,assumptions,anger and ingratitude.
WTH?
Tenthil was amazing I thought. He's as much a slave or more soo than Arabella,unlike like her he's totally lost his former self. Tent no longer remembers or knows who he is or where he came from or anything except what his "master" has tried to teach him or beat out of him. In his way he's nothing but caring and loving.
I wanted a h who was going to ask questions first and try and understand first before she made her mind or formed
false assumptions. Arabella wakes up naked sure,sure but w/her back healed and her collar gone w/the male she was willing to take lashes for trying to feed her and care for her and her 1st thought isn't "Thank you! you amazing creature!!!" it's "I won't be your hore or pet!" Seriously ? after your amazing connection,he's killed for you,healed you,wants to care for and feed you and took that F'ing slave collar off your scrawny neck,That's your first thought ?
You ungrateful Itch! Then being as ignorant as ignorant can be the moron w/the brain the size of a gnat wants to either fight him while being chased by assassins (because they only want to kill him for killing her "master") (seriously ?) and then later again she fakes sleep after he's gotten her someplace safe and is again ONLY thinking of her and her safety. Seriously ? where do you think your going lil girl w/a weapon you don't know how to use,one a planet where your only seen as something to see for a quick profit ?
Seriously being that dumb SHOULD be painful. Tenthil of course NEVER complains and only tries to be a better mate to her as he goes against all he knows and his programming.
That poor B deserved better than a TSTL like her who seems to fight him at every move just because just because she's supposed to .... I'm not for those books w/the h has some kinda "Stockholm syndrome" kinda love for that jerk who's kidnapped her. NO! But this scrawny idiot just lacked common sense and gratitude...
Poor Tenthil
Profile Image for Marina Simcoe.
Author 55 books707 followers
June 10, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love Tiffany Roberts’ writing. If you find a quiet spot to read, you can literally ‘watch’ the story unfold in your head like a movie. The descriptions are vivid, making this unique world come alive. And I really envy the authors’ imagination.
I loved both main characters. Complex and well-developed, they felt real to me. And whenever Abella and Tenthil got together sparks flew. Their love was what really made this story for me, the romance was wonderful.
Beautiful storytelling.
Profile Image for Kelly.
5,673 reviews227 followers
August 24, 2019
The silent assassin and the human pet in a dangerous city surrounded by dangerous beings. Not going to lie, this was a fun one. Both Abella and Tenthil had a lot of issues to work through and Tenthil's instinct to protect and claim alllllmost works against him. As you can imagine when the person an assassin claims is one who's been held a captive as a pet for years.

Tenthil is dark and deadly and has been trained to kill since he was a child. Despite her captivity, Abella still has the will to fight back against her captor and attempt escapes. Unfortunately for both of them, she sees Tenthil as her captor after he rescues her and ends up in an unsavory situation or two in her drive to get free of him.

Fortunately, things work out. Sure, Tenthil might have to kill a few aliens who dare lay hands on his lady love, but it's a dangerous universe out there and THINGS HAPPEN, right?

Captivity, danger, love, sexy times, more danger, and redemption of the sort only a trained assassin can mete out. Yesssssss. I'm loving what we've seen of the Infinite City so far. LOVING IT.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
Profile Image for jenn *mother of dragon & snake*.
691 reviews344 followers
April 16, 2020
description

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 fucking amazing alien assassin stars

jesus chricket. just as good as the first time i read this book. i love this soooo much. and now that my other babies have had books made i thought i read this series again and let all my panties burn in my chest of drawers.

no regrets. i'm fully alien trash.

description

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 fucking amazing alien assassin stars

Jesus. Y’all need to read this series if you love aliens.

I really liked this one. I felt like there was something missing but I’m not sure what. Tenthil is everything. A silent assassin who was stolen from his home world as a kid. Has taken a vow of silence but does not let The Master permanently silence him. (AKA acid to destroy his vocal cords)

✦ I seriously love Tenthil
✦ He is amazing.
✦ Uber protective
✦ He’s suffered so much.
✦ If I remember correctly, he’s a virgin.
✦ Yes ma’am.
✦ ugh I need a life for real
✦ just read this damnit.

Jennymort Out.
Profile Image for Mika.
255 reviews31 followers
January 20, 2020
Poignant and original

This was my first time reading anything by Tiffany Roberts and, I have to admit, it wasn’t at all what I expected.

I didn’t expect to be blown away by the quality of writing that graced my eyes within the first few sentences of what I assumed would be another mediocre sci-fi romance that was composed of more sex than story, but boy was I (blessedly) wrong! Oh there were steamy scenes, many steamy scenes, but they were intimate and beautiful; a reflection of true romance and not simply smut for smut’s sake.

I stayed up until four am to devour this book in its entirety, and found myself smiling into a cup of coffee as the sun rose with that same barely sated hunger that follows me immediately after I eat a Starbucks birthday cake pop in one bite. What can I say? I don’t know the meaning of restraint. Like that cake pop, the delicious experience was over too soon, leaving me hungry for more.

Needless to say I’ll be following this author quite closely from now on.

Long story short the book was incredible.

-M
Profile Image for Hillary.
684 reviews801 followers
July 15, 2023
3/5 ⭐️s

I’ve heard this series is amazing, but I’ve also been told you have to get past the first book. Maybe that affected my view, or maybe it’s just the absolute truth…but I didn’t love this book.

Tenthil was very alpha male with a hard-on for Abella, and that’s it. That’s his entire character. He had no depth, and it was disappointing because his past was rich with possible storytelling. I know we were TOLD what happened to him, but we didn’t see any of that really affecting him in the present (with the exception of his scratchy voice). The man’s been through hell. I would’ve much rather seen him coping with leaving an abusive and cult-like past then listening to him constantly be horny for Abella.

Tenthil and Abella together fell flat for me. They were horny. That’s what I felt like their entire relationship was built on. It was hard to be invested in them because they lacked depth.

The world-building saved this for me. I’m really interested in learning more about this planet in future books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kay ❣.
554 reviews91 followers
April 3, 2022
Solid action scenes and environment descriptions, but the romance felt juvenile. I'm fine with most "mate" tropes, but the hero needed constant reassurances that she was his mate. It seemed like there was a reminder of it on every page, of him asking or behaving in a way requiring her to validate it yet again.

Maybe the target demographic is preteens and maybe I'm just too old for this idk. hopefully the rest of the series isn't like this
Profile Image for BookishKB.
844 reviews212 followers
February 26, 2025
This could have been 100 pages shorter

I was so excited to read this! And while I did enjoy a lot of the story, I also found myself getting bored throughout the book.
It was also darker than I was expecting. I don’t mind dark romances but this one felt a bit bleak and depressing throughout the book.

The ending felt a bit dragged out but I did really love the Epilogue!

Overall, this was an ok read. I will likely not reread. A
Profile Image for Under the Covers Book Blog.
2,840 reviews1,343 followers
July 26, 2019
I feel pretty proud of my love for all things sci fi alien romance related. I’m certainly not shy about letting you all know what I’ve read and recommending my favourites. From my experience of reading all the sci fi alien romance I can get my hands on, I’ve found that you could further split down the genre. You have your complete chedder where it’s so cheesy that you have to suspend disbelief pretty hard but, if you’re like me, you are loving every second of it. And, it’s not always about how alien the hero and heroine is, there are some sci fi romances that fit in this category where the aliens look human. Then there are the books that hold the middle ground, they still have that deliciously ridculous edge but they take themselves a little more seriously.

Finally, we have books like Silent Lucidty. Tiffany Roberts has started building a robust and interesting and dynamic world full of possibilities. It just happens to be in space. And it just happens to have aliens in it. And this is where she has placed our two main characters, Abella, a former dancer, now slave and Tenthil a ruthless assassin. We now have to see if they survive this world and somehow find happiness together by the last page.

I really liked the hero and heroine, at first they seem very different; however, they are both people who have had their freedom taken away and have no control with how others use their body, despite their mastery over it. Abella is a slave with a master who views her as an animal. She has no control over what happens to her, but she is a very talented dancer. Tenthil is an assassin, but not by choice. Stolen as a child and forced into the Order, his choices were to comply or die. They even attempt, and partially succeed, in removing his voice. Now, as an adult the only way to leave the Order is to die. The parellels in their situations were fascinating and gave them insight into eachother that may not have been possible otherwise.

Although the action and romance follows a predictable path, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. Abella and Tenthil had great chemistry and their romance was both sexy and touching. However, as much as I enjoyed the romance, it was the complex world that Roberts had started to build that I enjoyed the most and I can’t wait to explore further.

This was an intense book, not only did Roberts expertly build the world and really make Infinite City come to vibrant life they also packed in plenty of action and of course some sexy romance. With events happening fast, it was a very hard book to put this book down and if you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend you picking this book up!

Reviewed by Suzanne❤ ♡ Don't want to miss any of our posts? Subscribe to our blog by email! ♡ ❤
Profile Image for Victoria Loraine.
186 reviews2 followers
August 12, 2023
A new fantasy has been unlocked! I need an alien mate! I give it four stars because the writers style was a little hard to get used to. She spent a lot of time talking about things I didn’t care about, like two pages just on the main character going to the bathroom. And the fight scenes were a little hard to follow. I did really enjoy this story by the end.

“Something in me recognizes you.” He met her gaze again. “Something in me knows that you are mine. That I am yours. I cannot ignore it, cannot deny it. It is the deepest, most primal part of me.”
-Tenthil

Tenthil said the sweetest things throughout the whole book! He saw her and immediately knew that was who he wanted! He was an assassin and he would kill anyone who got in the way of getting his mate. He was dangerous and possessive. And I loved it 🥵
She took some time to warm up to him which really made me not like her character at first. It took her a while to come around to the idea of being with him. Her attempts to run away also got her into trouble. He was always there to rescue her though!

“In that moment, she knew, without a doubt, that he was hers. Her mate. She was the entirety of his world. He would do anything for her, everything for her, just to keep her as his own, to keep her safe.”
-Abella

Together they were great partners. They freed themselves from both their captors and found hope and happiness together. I loved that they built a home on Earth and that they were accepting of other creatures in this world.

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Romance: 🩷🩷🩷
Action: 👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ursula.
603 reviews185 followers
April 20, 2020
An enjoyable sci-fi read with some good world-building and writing. I liked both the MCs- he was a rather tortured soul with a good heart and serious combat skills, she was a kidnapped human who had been treated (brutally, I might add) as a pet/slave by a wealthy alien but nevertheless managed to retain her courage and spirit.
Will definitely go on to read the next in the series.
Profile Image for Cat H.
1,972 reviews219 followers
August 8, 2021
4.5 stars.
This was so good!
The world in this book was absolutely massive, with so many different species and cultures and wildly differing landscapes. I mean with this as the first in the series there’s endless possibilities for what comes next.
And it was all so beautifully done.
Tenthil is so hot. Honestly. I always love the ‘mate’ trope. And the fact that he just immediately zeros in on her and totally forgets himself just to be close to her. So fucking sweet. And so fuckin sexy.
And Abella! That girl has a steel spine. Fours years held as a slave, treated like a barbaric pet. Punished harshly for any and all infractions her ‘owner’ perceives. And still she has not broken. Has not let the fear and pain and seemingly hopeless situation dull her spirit. She’s an absolute badass.

Then there’s the action. Holy shit. It was plentiful and complex and a whirlwind to read.
I will admit to skimming some parts though only because I’m impatient as fuck and didn’t much care about the little fights with the unimportant Acolytes before and after Tenthil is with Abella. That’s not really anything against the writing or scenes themselves though. Just a testament to my own impatience.

And the sex! Jesus. Not only do we get the alien 🐓with ridges and small knobules, but we also get some vampire type action with sweet cinnamon flavored venom(and other liquids😏). Plus the claws!*sigh* So fucking hot.

I am sincerely excited to read the next book. Alkorin was a very intriguing character and I’m hoping whoever he ends up with gives him just as much hell as he gave Tenthil.
Also. I can’t wait to see what other kind of alien features he has besides his third eye.
Alien smut is top 3 best smuts. For real.
Profile Image for Cara Bristol.
Author 108 books941 followers
February 4, 2021
Abella is a young dancer who was abducted by aliens, to be treated as a pet by a cruel alien master. While she's dancing at an nightclub in the seedy underbelly of the planet, Tenthil, an assassin shows up to make a hit. But he sees Abella, and realizes she's his mate and he must have her. Distracted by Abella, his hit goes awry. He'd also been abducted from his home world, and is forced to work as an acolyte assassin for the Master of the Order. Risking his life, he goes back to the club, kills Abella's master and rescues her. Now, they are both on the run from the Order.

The world-building is very detailed (almost down to the nuts and bolts of the construction of the undercity), the alien races very descriptive, and the action non-stop. Silent Lucidity is an SFR Die Hard on steroids.
Profile Image for Nerdy Housewifey.
445 reviews2 followers
May 29, 2019
Good world building.

So my problem is I love sci-fi especially with aliens buuuuuuuut I don’t really like smut.

Roberts’ books are still a little too smutty and I end up skipping through some because there does tend to be numerous sex scenes (it just seems repetitive to me after awhile 🤷🏻‍♀️) although they’re not as bad as the other series with alien romances.

They have definitely become one of my favorites despite the sex, simply because they consistently have amazing and well developed characters and well built, unique worlds. I’m especially excited for Alk’s book next since I really enjoyed him in this book.
Profile Image for Lily.
261 reviews32 followers
October 6, 2021
On paper, this is everything I love in a scifi romance:

▪️ Good writing
▪️ Possessive hero who is just the right amount of "not human"
▪️ Likable, soft but strong FMC
▪️ Kidnapping/Protecting plot where they have to survive together and slowly get to know one another
▪️ World building that is a little dark and decently intricate

But I just never connected with the MCs, especially the heroine. They never felt "real" so I could not get invested in the story. This is surprising bc I really liked some of Tiffany Robert's other books.

It's worth a read if you really like those tropes I mentioned though.
Profile Image for Amelia Fenton.
12 reviews2 followers
May 30, 2019
Overwritten to the Point of absurdity

I wanted to like this book, I really did, but it is so overwritten that it becomes a labor rather than a joy to read. The authors need to dial it back, because right now they have ornate, purple prose set to max and whoa is it ever tedious. Yikes.

This book is little more than the authors engaging in literary masturbation.
42 reviews1 follower
May 30, 2019
Love love love

This book was so good! I purchased on a whim after seeing the gorgeous cover, and God am I glad I did. The world that was built was so refreshing and realistic. The love and strength in the characters was perfect. I am going back for a reread of this, I just cannot get enough!
Profile Image for Jane.
Author 1 book20 followers
August 25, 2022
Erm this was good, but I kind of found the writing… impersonal? Like although it was written well it felt very flat.
Profile Image for Arenia.
353 reviews26 followers
October 16, 2024
3.75⭐️ rounded up. The couple themselves are sweet; Tenthil’s one of those sort of silent, serious, touch-her-and-die types and is utterly devoted to Arabella. I really appreciated that she reciprocates though and didn’t fuck with his feelings once she acknowledged them.

Plot is definitely a bit suspenseful and it’s definitely a bit gory, so fair warning if you’re squeamish.

Also, loved the epilogue; super fitting for this couple and their HEA.
Profile Image for Kylie.
150 reviews17 followers
July 21, 2024
The quality of Tiffany Roberts books continues to be inconsistent
Profile Image for ReadingDiva Book Reviews.
499 reviews83 followers
Read
June 16, 2020
I started reading this book with no expectations, and I was nicely surprised. I am very much looking forward to reading book #2. The action, the characters and the plot were entertaining. I enjoyed the love story, I enjoyed the fight/action and I definitely enjoyed the interaction between the main characters, very hot and sublime at the same time.
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