The Alien's Ransom

Drixonian Warrior #1

by Ella Maven

"Nothing in my life had prepared me for extraterrestrial motorcycle clubs."

Frankie: I thought alien abductions only happened in movies. But here I am on a strange planet with green soil and a gang of muscled, wicked-horned aliens on hover bikes. All I want to do is go back to Earth, but the alpha male in charge has decided I belong to him. Now I'm on the back of his bike speeding to an unknown destination and super freaked out about liking his biceps and serious scowl. Good thing I have some banked personal days, because this might take awhile...

Daz: The job is supposed to be easy. All I have to do is deliver a spaceship of living cargo to the vile Uldani and they'll release my brother. If I fail, they'll take it out on him. Except the cargo is something I've never seen before--human females. The one called Frankie is beautiful and soft, and I've already spilled blood for her. Now how am I going to save my brother? Because this human female is mine.

The Alien's Ransom is a full-length Sci-Fi romance novel featuring a snarky heroine who tries to find the humor in everything, even when kidnapped by aliens, and a possessive hero with lots of hidden weapons. Big ones.

Genres: Aliens, Romance, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Romance, Audiobook, Fantasy, Paranormal

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 24, 2020

Reviews

[TrippyBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you ordered ice p barbarians from Temu, you would get this.

It’s enjoyable, but it’s missing some charm

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit cheesy but good!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Romance: 💙💚🖤💜
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘
World building: 🌎🌍🌏🌎
Character development: 😳😬🤩🤓

The heroine: Frankie - a human woman who goes to bed one night and wakes up as a captive in a space ship. Before she knows it, they have landed on an alien planet and are herded out of the ship by tall dolphin like creatures. Then a bunch of blue horned humanoid aliens arrive on hover bikes.

The Heroes: Daz - he is the drexel (leader) of the Drixonian clan that is tasked with delivering the cargo from the space ship to the Uldani, a race they were once at war with who now hold his brother captive. He is supposed to deliver the cargo in order to get his brother released.

The Story: The Drixonian males didn’t know the cargo that they were to deliver would be human females. It goes against everything they believe to treat females that way and when one of the dolphin-like aliens hits one of the women, Dax and his clan take the women to safety.

This book was you standard alien romance, with not much different than many others I have read. For some reason I have been liking the aliens lately. I like to hear about different technology, different flora and fauna on alien planets, and different anatomy of the alien males.

This book was super cheesy in parts and some things were a bit unbelievable, but they were also funny. I laugh at some of the steamy language that is used to describe things in this type of romance. Like when Daz and Frankie were cleaning off in a lake and he dives under and comes back up from the water, Frankie describes it like “some kind of erotic surfer commercial.”.

This was definitely insta-love. I can’t imagine being sexually attracted to a tall well build blue male with snake-like skin, horns and a tail within a day of landing on a strange planet. However, it works in a book like this and things got very steamy pretty fast. The Drixonian men also have some very interesting parts in their package.

The book was told in dual points of view and the narration was done by Heather Costa and Jeffery Kafer. I haven’t heard Jefferey Kafer before but he has a clear deep voice which worked well for the Drixonian leader. Heather Costa isn’t one of my favorites, but does a good job. Overall I really enjoyed the narration on this one. The side storyline about the brother and the Uldani was pretty good as well.

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[~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-reading this series with my group:
Midnight's Embrace

Rating: 5/5

OMG!!!! I am in love with this story! This book has changed my view on alien sci-fi tropes.. The very first book to hit all of my buttons, hot and cold. I am in love with this world and the beings who dwell here.

Awesome intro to this series. This plot has been done in this genre so many times. The thing that sets this one apart for me though is... EVERYTHING. This author some how made this unoriginal plot into something fresh, tangible, and Real. Poignant and sexy. Plenty of mystery blends well here, with some answers given and more questions that you'll ask.

Daz is the Drexel of his clavas, the Night Kings..

I am so in love with his blue a&&... Integrity and Honor never looked so lovely. I loved meeting some of the males in his specific tribe as well. I love the creed of these males: She Is All

I like Frankie as well. She handles her situation with a believable myriad of emotions that you would expect someone in her situation to go through. But she's also strong, with common sense. She knows when to wallow in her fear, pain and uncertainty, and when to pick herself back up. I love that in a heroine. I also love that her and Daz's chemistry is white hot here. And they do not disappoint us in that department. At. All.

I want to read the Prequel to this one, since you meet that couple in this first book. So I'm curious about their story, but I'm definitely diving into Sax's story next (Book 2)

Do I recommend? Yes.
Plot/Plight? 5 stars
MMC/FMC? 5 stars
Spice? 5 stars

#DazIsMyDrexel

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I wouldn’t give to move to a different planet right now. And seeing as that’s highly unlikely to happen, this was the next best thing.

Since when did I have an alien kink?”

With plenty of world building and possibilities, Ella Maven has brought her reader a steamy Sci-Fi romance featuring sexy, horned, pierced blue men and strong, independent human ladies which for me was perfect to dip in and out of around work.

[Nikki]

Hard pass on Megan Erickson under any name

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ Okay, I’m actually hooked and diving right into the next book!


WHAT TO EXPECT:
- human women abduction story
- rescued by an alien biker gang
- strong FMC
- possessive MMC
- Insta-bond
- pierced aliens
- vibrating tongues (and cock)
- soul mates
- pregnancy trope


I love the characters (main and side), the world-building is fascinating, and the mate bond is interesting. This book had my laughing out loud a few times, and I read it in one day.

There were some English words the author changed a bit to make alien words, which had me rolling my eyes. For example, Fatas is like Fates, welf is like wolf, flecking is f*cking, and cunt…well, is cunt. Not very creative, but I guess A for effort.

The writing was good, but I found myself skimming a bit towards the end to get to the dialogue and love things along.

But I really did enjoy this and am 100% reading the next book because I just have to know what happens to Sax! Based on that read, I’ll decide if I want to continue reading the entire series.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If this is love, then it is the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced in my life. And if this is not love, then we are what love wishes it could be."

5 stars!!

Holy hell, I did not expect to love this book as much as I did! This is my first novel by Ella Maven, and it will surely not be my last as I absolutely loved everything about this book. Ella's writing is so effortless and captivating, and once I started reading, I did not want to stop. I loved both Daz and Frankie; the humor and chemistry between them was so steamy while the sexy scenes were out of this world (haha)! The secondary characters were also interesting and definitely held their own amidst a dangerous alien world, and I cannot wait to continue this series! ♡

[Tamara]

Santino Hassel's lackey reinvented under a new name. That's a train of nope.

[Antisocial Recluse]

Megan Erickson in alien form, apparently

[Mar, Queen of Darkness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another awesome sci-fi romance series to gobble up! Yay! This was pretty similar to 15 other SFR series I've read, but that's not a bad thing at all! (I keep readin' 'em, folks, so they're obviously doing something right!) Plus, there were a few key differences that stood out to me and made this book feel like something fresh.

For starters, we have big, blue, horned aliens. But they are big, blue, horned goth biker aliens who live in the sci-fi equivalent of MC clubs. So that's cool. And hot.

Also, Daz's tongue?!?!?!?! OMG. Come to mama!!!!!!


We ALL know what every woman was thinking when they saw this!

This was fun and steamy and sexy and exciting, and I'm definitely going to continue with this series!

[Relly]

Megan Erickson under pen name

[monika]

Megan Erickson under pen name, so nope :/

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

[Dani]

holy shit, alien MC??

But instead of motorcycles, it's space hover bikes?!?!
KU is wildin' out here 😂

[QuietlyKat]

Hard pass on Megan Erickson no matter what she’s calling herself now.
#authorfuckery

[Angela (Angel's Book Nook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Alien’s Ransom is book one in the Drixonian Warrior series by Ella Maven.

This was a great start to the Drixonian Warrior series. I’m so glad I came back to the Drixonian’s after reading the Mates of the Kaluma series. We see the Drixonian’s pop up now and then in the Kaluma series and so I was curious.

The Drixonian Warriors are oh so sexy and perfect mate material.

Drax our hero is the drexel leader of the Drixonian clan and is tasked with delivering cargo from a space ship to the Uldani, a race they once were at war with and who still know hold his brother captive. He made a deal to deliver the cargo to get his brother. As we know things don’t go as planed.

Frankie is a human woman who wakes up on a space ship as a captive. She is not the only human women and they are all in a new world with weird looking creatures.

Drixonian’s are protective of women and they didn’t know the cargo would be females. It goes against their beliefs to treat females the way they are being treated. They make a choice; which changes everything.

It’s a truly fun alien sci-fi romance to read. We learn about new technology, different anatomy, and landscapes. It’s an insta-love romance and the author made it work. The romance didn’t feel rushed or forced. There are some cheesy parts, but they make you laugh. We are treated to dual points of view from Drax and Frankie. It was great to get both sides.

The Alien’s Ransom was a fun start to the series and I devoured the rest. I’m enjoy Ella Maven’s Science Fiction Romance novels.

Rated: 4 Stars

[Niki {Still a Widow but reading more} · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Blue horned aliens with very agile pierced 7-8 inch long tongues, who also live in motorcycle gangs and wear leather like pants with no shirt. They have super sharp blades that come out of their arms, back and head and they have fangs. Got that?!

There are fated mates for the Drixonians which leads to Dax and Frankie, falling into lust then love pretty insta like, but they had a lot of battles and obstacles to overcome to get their HEA. I liked both the characters, they were tough cookies. I liked the overarching storyline and many of the side characters that will feature in future books.

It wasn't too overly done but I hate when authors make alien words just a play on english words. They worship Fatas like the Fates, they had wolf animals called welfs, their souls were solas, and last but certainly not least cunt was cunt....how wonderful lol.

[Ivy Deluca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick(ish) Review

I really enjoyed this book. Even though the main bonding plot device wasn’t my favorite, there’s so much more that did work for me that I can look past it. The world building intrigued me so much that I immediately went to Amazon to see if the second book was out. it isn’t out yet but I can guarantee I will be back for more. If you’re into alien sci-fi romances, I would recommend this.

[Shauna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf 26%


Spoilers ahead


The insta-lust was too quick for my taste. Frankie was kidnapped by aliens and then is with someone that she thought was possibly another captor yet she immediately started perving on him.  He got naked, slept in bed with her and the next morning she let him lick all over her hand and kissed him.  She probably would have done more if not interrupted.  Her inner dialogue was also contadictory:             

"I’d been objectified plenty. I was familiar with the expression someone wore when they had no interest in who I was as a person and only in what I could do for them. I considered myself a good judge of character."         

Then a couple of pages later:           

"I could have sworn he desired me. I’d never been able to read human male social cues worth a damn."           

Which is it?  She can or cannot read people?

Maybe it's me and I need to take a break from alien romances because I was just bored. I couldn't connect with the characters. There was literally no chase involved. I don't expect it to be completely realistic but I do like a little bit of a realism. I don't mind a little insta-lust but there was no build up at all.

[OneDayI'll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second star to the right and straight on to madness

Frankie goes to sleep in her own bed but wakes up in a medical room that doesn't look like anything back home. You know, on Earth. The pale, one eyed alien with the blowhole is reinforcing that "not in Kansas anymore" feeling. Her panic brings on another helping of sedatives but the next wakeup seems somehow worse. There are armored bears standing over her and 5 other women. Did she wake up in a bad Golden Compass remake? And who are these big blue guys? Just cause they took out grumpy bears 1-12 for hitting her doesn't make them the good guys. Right? But hopefully they are because the humans just got kidnapped, again, by blue and friends.

Spoilers ahead.
Frankie uses humor to get through everything going on. She's scrappy but not a fighter, sweet but not saccharine, strong but not perfect. Daz is sweet, funny and not an alpha-hole. The initial language barrier doesn't slow things down much. And while the culture that Frankie finds herself in is explained, a lot doesn't gel and the backstory has some holes.
*The bonding thing doesn't make sense. Ok, scenting blood triggers a chemical reaction. Sure. But killing what caused that blood is what finishes it? Um, no clumsy people? If the pair gets separated, does it halt it? If the bad guy dies before they can kill them, would that stop it? And how would a human display alien mating marks before a blood exchange or fluid swapping, or anything that might affect their normal human make up?
*They are warriors. They are known for protecting females. Sure they lost their ships and spaceports in the war, but the other aliens have to hire guards. Steal their ships! Stop the kidnapping of females by taking their rides.
*There are so many alien terms used for everything. And then trees and bikes? Why would they call their hover transportation bikes? If they have names for scales and hearts and water why would trees be called trees? It was a little jarring.
*Did not a single one of the Drix never think, not even once, that a race of aliens known for experimenting just might be behind the virus that killed the females?
*Are the scales more like pangolin than reptiles? Because their homeostasis abilities are more mammalian like.
*Moving hair is mentioned a couple times during sexy time but not a consistent thing. Is it intensity related? How does the hair move independently? It's described as fine textured, not thick or coiled.
*I'm guessing that while women did everything but the military, medical advancement wasn't one of those things? Or did the virus move so quickly that there wasn't time? Because it was rather Ebola like, which is highly transmissible, but can also be contained- if the people understand enough to quarantine, wear protective gear and such. If they had space travel then they had space suits a.k.a. protective gear.
*How did the Drix end up on Torin? Ok, we were told something vague about guard service until an Uprising. But is their world inhabitable? Were any left there?
*Why did nothing affect the human females? No allergies to pollen, animal dander, soaps, plant fibers in clothing, foods, a different level of oxygen in this new atmosphere, ... Even if they were chosen for their health (no kidnapping asthmatics or cancer patients) statistics would say at least one case of hives or at least some sneezing.
*Same gravity as Earth?
*What's the cultural significance of the piercings? They are different for each Drix.
*They have intelligent people. Tark makes translators. Although why I'm not sure. All the Drix already have one. One converts a standard gun into a sniper version. If they can create weapons and tech, couldn't they cobble together a ship? Or some tanks to raid and steal ships?
*If there are up 60 males in the main group, why did only a handful go to try to take back his brother? Luring them out of the walls? Good. Not planning on them tossing dozens of armored bears/aliens at them? Not smart.
These seem nitpicking but it's where my brain goes when reading. When I discover a new world I want to know. The focus isn't specifically on the characters, there's some world building. It was entertaining, though.

[Torrey]

dnf at 30%

will probably give another series by this author a try

[The Book Scientist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, an unsuspecting Earth girl gets scooped up and dropped into alien chaos—this time smack in the middle of a gang of alien bikers.🏍️👽 (Yes, you read that right. Bikers. In space.) Frankie, or Fra-kee as Daz adorably calls her🥹, is just trying to survive and maybe find a way back to Earth. Daz is supposed to be rescuing his brother, but one look at Frankie and he decided, mine.💥

This book was such a solid start to the series. It's exactly what I came for—fast-paced, entertaining, and full of chemistry. Yes, it’s alien romance. No, I’m not here to pick apart the science or the logistics. These books make me happy, plain and simple. I read them (or in this case, listen) to get swept up in something totally different—and that’s exactly what this delivered.

Daz is intense, protective, and all in from the start. Frankie pushes back, holds her ground, and keeps the banter going strong. Their dynamic was a lot of fun, and that line—

“And if this is not love, then we are what love wishes it could be.”

I mean. COME ON. That line alone deserves an extra star.⭐

And in case you’re wondering, the spice is top tier. These guys haven’t had women on their planet for many years thanks to a virus that wiped out their females, so they’re… inexperienced. But don’t worry—they've done their research. Thoroughly. And when they finally get to put all that theory into practice? Let’s just say they understood the assignment.😏

Ella Maven really understands her audience—alien bikers, fated mates, and a world that might sound wild but she makes it work. The worldbuilding is quick and engaging, and the characters are fully locked in on each other. Just how I like it.

Special shoutout to Heather Costa and Jeffrey Kafer for bringing the story to life—Heather nails Frankie’s stubborn streak, and Jeffrey’s deep, growly Daz voice was perfect.🎤🔥

If you’re into alien romance with obsessive MMCs and strong FMCs, you’ll want to give this one a listen. I’m already ready for the next!📖🛸

[Inna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. I like this series quite a bit overall, and have now finished all the audiobooks available on Hoopla.

This book, being the first of the series, was probably my favorite just because the world and concept was new. Books 2 & 3 were pretty similar in structure and that ruined my enjoyment of the stories a bit. I like more variety, and I mostly knew what to expect with those stories. Book 4 is slightly different and I would rank it higher as well. Still, I really like the overarching storyline in these books and wish that it was moving faster. As it stands, I highly doubt that even reading the entire available series will net me the ending to the war that's brewing among the different species on the planet. I doubt they will even be close.

Safety is good; heroine has been with others before being abducted, but no attachments, hero is a virgin as all of his species females are dead.

[^Kalinka^ (Hiatus-C-U-On Jan 15th) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this one in the box set.

[•Kate•/ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read! Really good. Totally worth it. Characters were easy to distinguish from one another and memorable. Ticked all my boxes.

I don’t know any other way to say it’s good! It’s like opening a box of chocolate and not knowing what you’re gonna get but you manage to grab the most perfect truffle in the box.

I can’t wait to read more.

She is all.

[Averie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Definitely an interesting alien romance! It's basically about a group of alien men that are in a motorcycle club and come across a group of human women to save. It was a fun read! But the alien-made up curse words kind of got on my nerves. I think I will continue on with the series though!!

TROPES: alien romance, fated mates, language barrier

[Chris ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥]

Ok, I take everything back, this was ridiculous! I mean I was kind of expecting it to be cheesy when I found out they were space hover bikers with pierced 🍆…but I wasn’t prepared for THIS level of ridiculousness. 😂 Not for me. Dnf

[Katie [Jupiter] ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

...better than Ice Planet tbh (for me at least). Love me a good Alien Romance 💙

[Luna Lovesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me get the obvious out of the way, then I’ll get to my feelings on the plot and writing.

No one owns big, blue horned aliens, but someone’s definitely done them extensively, famously, and well. In case you’re wondering, like I was, how similar these aliens are to Ruby Dixon’s, here is my list of similarities.

Ruby Dixon’s corsairs say keffing; these aliens say flecking.
Ruby’s heroines’ speech that the heros don’t understand is rittenlikthis; this heroine’s speech is ritten lahk this.
Ruby’s barbarians lost most their tribe’s females to a sickness; so did these aliens.
Humans are dropped on Ruby’s planet by slavers; so are these humans.
Ruby’s aliens and humans are mated through parasites which call to each other; these aliens are mated when the man kills someone that drew his female’s blood—then tattoos appear on both mates’ skin.
Ruby’s humans are forced to accept a parasite to survive; these humans are forced to accept a translator, which is stapled to the ear, much like Ruby’s translators are.

Here’s my opinion: the world and its rules are somewhat derivative. It’s almost like Ruby’s world was the basis for this one, with the details changed to avoid too much similarity. RD recommended the book, so she’s cool with it. She has recommended derivative books before this one, too. No big deal.

There is enough originality and humor in this book to keep me interested. An alien motorcycle club? Yes, you got me! The stakes for the hero are high, as he must decide between saving his only living brother or his new mate, keeping in mind that his people will die off without females like her and her human companions.

The copyediting failed to catch several details. For example, though the book uses US spellings, there’s a “judgement” rather than “judgment.” There were a few, similarly minor, issues. They didn’t necessarily detract from my enjoyment of the book, though they were noticeable to any grammar nerds.

This is a full-length book, but I zoomed through it pretty quickly. I recommend this to anyone who can’t get enough of blue aliens and/or motorcycle clubs. It’s fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously, though there is enough grit for sci-fi romance readers. I will give future books in the series a try, as well. This one is 4 stars for me due to the above-mentioned pros and cons.

[Janessa ❁۪ · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a lot of things public school didn’t prepare me for. How to balance a checkbook. How to change the oil in my car. The proper way to load a dishwasher. But public school, most freaking definitely, did not prepare me for how to deal with extraterrestrial motorcycle clubs. Yeah, you heard me. E.T. motherfuckers on wheel-less bikes that hovered above the ground.

Yeah, you read that right. Alien biker gang. After reading the reviews for this book first, I was full on expecting an MC style alien romance but there isn't much emphasis on the "biker gang" part of the story after around the 15% mark. They end up just being a little gang of friends who happen to wear vest with patches and ride around on hover bikes.

Biker gang aside, the story was ok. A bunch of girls were abducted and then they're saved by blue guys. Frankie and Daz get separated from their group and have time to fall to love with each other while running from the dangers of the planet and then they try to save Daz' brother who was kidnapped by the evil guys that abducted the girls. It was insta-lovey and while I don't mind insta-love, I know a lot of people don't enjoy it. There is spice super early on in the book and it's pretty continuous until the end. Ugh, the ending. Now I feel like I need to read the next book. There are so many things left open-ended and unanswered. I'll get around to it but it's not the first thing on my list.

I also feel like there were some jabs at IPB. The FMC mentions in the beginning of the book that she's glad she didn't land on an ice planet. The aliens also have a 'spur' (yes, the author did use the word spur) but instead of just rubbing like Ruby Dixon's aliens, these aliens' spurs have a little suction that latch onto the clit. Mhmmm. & the of course, they're big, blue, & horned. While I appreciate these pierced emo aliens, it just felt like a lot things were heavily inspired by RD. Why couldn't the author just make them purple or something if they were going to use so many similarities? C'mon.