Bound to the Alien Barbarian

Crashland Castaway #1

by Leslie Chase

Crashed on the wrong planet.
Stuck with the wrong man.
Taken by the right alien.

I'm supposed to be safe on Arcadia Colony. Instead, I'm trapped on Crashland. Most of the colonists in my landing pod are dead, and the one other survivor is a creep. My only friend? A holographic cat.

Until I'm snatched up by an alien barbarian. Kidnapped or rescued? I don't know. All I'm sure of is that I've never met someone as attractive as Zarkav.

He's huge, blue, with abs to die for. And that massive bulge under his kilt scares me as much as it entices me.

We don't have a language in common, but it's not hard to figure out what the alien brute wants with me. His brooding gaze says it all.

The alien wants to mate with me.

And I don't know if I can resist.

Bound to the Alien Barbarian is the first book in the Crashland Castaway romances. Each book is a complete story with no cheating and no cliffhangers - just steamy, exciting SciFi Romance.

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

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 4, 2020

Reviews

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things had started off well for Tessa Ward who, after winning a colony lottery for this otherwise expensive trip, eagerly anticipated being deposited safely on Arcadia Colony for a pleasant life away from the ruins of Old Earth. The description made is sound just like paradise! But instead, when her stasis tube opens, she wakes up to smoke and sirens. There is no connection to the datanet, so she has no idea what has happened. She began to check on the communications and asked Fanwell to see if he could find any of the solar panels outside. Shortly after, she heard a weapon fire. Fanwell was outside the door and some sort of tentacled creature, although shot, was still trying to get to him! Arcadia wasn’t supposed to have any dangerous predatory creatures. Fanwell’s ultrasound generator would have chased a territorial herbivore away. But the animal had come after him! That was when she checked the Arcadia holographic flora and fauna guide Kitty had compiled for her. They were on the wrong planet!

She ends up trapped on Crashland, with almost everyone dead except the nasty Orson Fanwell, and her upgraded companion AI, Kitty Fantastic, a holographic cat for company. And as if that were not enough, she is grabbed by an alien barbarian when Zarkav comes to investigate the crash. With their language problem, she is not sure if she has been rescued or kidnapped! But it just might be exciting to find out which!

The well-written book goes into nice detail about the experiences and the world Tessa lands on. It adds to the tension and makes her surroundings feel more real to the reader. The characters are described well and their internal dialog is enlightening. Grab your copy and see how Tessa does stranded on a planet they were not coached on surviving!

[Space Cowgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where Men🐺 Are Men🐺, And Keep Their Word

ADULT Alpha Alien🐺🍆⛲💪🔪 Romance💕 and Adventure on the planet🌍 of Crashland.

It wasn't Arcadia, the planet🌍 the colonists aboard the Wandering Star🚀 were supposed to land on. They realized their pods🚀 had landed on a largely inhospitable planet🌍 to humans, they named Crashland. It already has inhabitants in the form of huge scaled warriors. Luckily, they are starved for mates!

Tessa💃💋 is one of twelve in stasis in a pod that is sucked from a huge hole in the Wandering Star. Only two survive the pod's landing, Tessa💃💋 and a male, Orson👺, a has been actor. They realize they are lost when their communication bands don't work and can't connect to any network.
*********
Zarcav🐺💪🔪 is the Zrin tribe Master Hunter-Warrior, a tailed, scaled, and clawed color changing humanoid native of the planet🌍 Tessa💃💋 and the other colonists landed on. He's a member of the Temple Tribe🐉, inhabitants of an ancient temple carved into the top of a mountain. The elders saw the pods flaming down to 🌎earth from space, but their superstitions keep them from investigating. The Elder believes the pods bring demons👹!

The hunters are sent out for meat, but told to stay away from the crash sites and go north, not south. A huge rift is growing between the Elder and Zarcav🐺💪🔪, the Hunt Master. Of course, Zarcav🐺💪🔪 decides to go south and investigate!

ARC Provided by Prolific Works📚
I also got this ebook with KU.

I loved the story and great world 🌎building in the book, but not the holographic 🐱kitty that is Tessa's AI in her comband. It was silly, hokey, and unnecessary, and in my opinion detracted from the overall sci-fi adventure of the book..

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

"Bound to the Alien Barbarian" is an adventurous sci-fi that involves heroes, villains, dictators, and fated-mates. There is never a dull moment, keeping the story moving along at a fast-pace that is racing towards a very climactic ending! With the majority of the book taking place "outside," for those of us still being "requested" to self-isolate, it's as close as we are going to get to being outside!!! A side-note: in the authors' note, Ms. Chase tells the reader that although this story shares the same planet as a previous trilogy, it can be read independently. Then, which I found surprising AND commendable, Ms. Chase goes on to give a very brief, but detailed synopsis of the previous series that updates the reader to the "here and now" of "Bound to the Alien Barbarian." She does this without self-promoting the other serial as a must-read to enjoy this new grouping. So many other authors push prior series at the beginning of a new series, that when one doesn't, not only is it refreshing, it also has me grabbing some of her other books to explore while I wait for book two of "Alien Barbarian."

[Emily Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much to enjoy here! Okay, so I enjoyed reading most of this book, but it was still difficult to put down. I thought Tessa was a goner a few times while reading all the things she went through just to stumble into another death-defying situation. It was mostly interesting because she always found a way to survive, and her survivability is what made this book so addictive. I'm not sure that I could get into the alien though, and it's unfair to the authors that I had a creepy camping experience with grasshoppers, so I put my own prejudice aside and upped my review rating because I know that my feelings about grasshoppers are just mine, lol. I mean, I don't think he's a grasshopper, maybe a lizard-type, maybe a dragon, I'm not really sure, it was the legs that threw me, and that's all me, honestly. There was a lot going on in this book, I hoped that Tessa would find more decent humans the whole time I was reading it, imagining myself in her experience and thinking of all the things I would have done differently but still getting into her choices too. It's a good addition to the series, it's been a while since I read the last one, but I was drawn into the story right from the beginning.

[Wild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Why Amazon insist on 20 words for a review via kindle, I don't know. Especially when I just want to say that I really enjoyed this book.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t judge don’t judge this is actually a really cute book! Go in with an open mind and you might really enjoy it - give it a shot! 💃

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn’t get the image out of my head

He had “knees that bent strangely, pointing back rather than forward”. Um...what? If you’ve ever seen The Arrival and the alien boy whose knees bent back instead of foreword, you would know this is not a sexy look. Plus, each sex scene had me mentally trying to work out if what the author described would work with legs that bent the other way. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t! Sorry. I’m all for fantasy and suspension of disbelief but I just couldn’t unsee this.

It also seemed like things were introduced out of the blue in a way that suggested we should know what it meant. There was a mention of the planet being outside of some federation or something I and I searched for the word and it was the one and only mention so what was the point? Overall, I wasn’t really impressed with this book in other ways so I’ll probably stop here.

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about drama and suspense, this story is loaded with it in spades. It is one that keep you completely engaged and drawn into its gripping storyline. It has you intrigued as to how it is going to end. The characters are stunningly beautiful and keep you guessing how they are going to proceed. Their personalities are felt throughout the story. I loved Tessa and her strength throughout the struggles that she is forced to figure things out. Zarkav is this strong, loyal, compassionate male that draws you in and let’s you know you have no choice but respect him. Together they have this amazing chemistry that is mind blowing strong. I adored the story and can’t wait to read the next book. This is a must read!!!!!

[OneDayI'll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where no Tessa has gone before

Leaving a dying and overpopulated Earth for a new colony on a lush and gentle planet seemed like a huge win. Waking up to smoking remains of a ship sure put things back in the "oh, crap" corner. The only other survivor in the immediate area is the douche-canoe, Orson. He seems to think that since he has the gun that he's entitled to everything, including her. After he destroyed the radio that was giving the location of other survivors, and then the heavy handed passes that turned into a punching spree, alien jungles with tentacled predators seemed a lot friendlier than the tentacled alpha-hole in the camp. Zarkav is the master hunter in a society tipping towards religious fanaticism. Where priests and hunters used to coexist and lead the people together, zealots have taken the power and are hoarding resources. So, when he's told to avoid an area he gets curious as to what they don't want him to see. When new cultures are introduced sparks happen. The sparks between Tessa and Zarkav could light beacons.

Spoilers ahead.
It's an interesting set up. There's hints that Zarkav's people have met aliens before. Probably not great ones since they set up a religion and said they would be tested. The religion left behind allowed priests to seize control and guide the society to their own ends. Tessa knows about other worlds and the beings inhabiting them. That doesn't make crash landing on one of those worlds any easier. The idiot who survived with her makes it a lot tougher than it needs to be. The authors paint a dark outlook about what people can become without checks and balances. Also, apparently there is a trilogy that came out before this book that somewhat relates. While this is the first of this set, maybe the other sheds more light? We don't get a great deal of world building, but we are left with a lot of mysteries.
*This Eskel language the AI has is nicely vague. The race disappeared, the language left is broken and murky, and the society that speaks the (modified through time) remains of it has an understanding of Sky People as deities but not aliens.
*Zarkav's people took in the human who shot at them as a god to further their own cause? That seems unlikely. He was 1 person, no matter how many shots he could pick off. Also, once ensconced in the temple he could take control of the society they'd cultivated to serve them. Basically setting themselves up to fall.
*Are humans supposed to be the universal breeders here? As in compatible with everyone? Because a race evolved from reptiles, including laying eggs, doesn't work out with mammals.
*Just a thought, an alien with knees that bend the opposite direction is not going to be, um, comfortable, in certain sexual positions. The center of balance has to shift differently. Also, the gait is going to be different walking. Giving this 1 detail and then describing movement as if they moved like humans denounces that feature. More bounds, better jumping, ...
*This is pretty much insta-love/insta-lust. We lose 6 days of bonding time as it's glossed over in travel but could have been used to show readers how these 2 species are learning about each other.
*There's a lot of human slang used by the aliens. Archaic speech patterns are their default, so when it's used it throws readers out of the story.
*The differing reactions to the 2 humans is odd. Orson can't communicate with the aliens, so why when the 2 Sky Gods fought did they side with the 1 that shot at them? Especially after Zarkav's inner monologue about how they protected females from harm. And the fact that she could stumble out enough to be understood. It seemed odd and hypocritical.
*Wounds are sustained by both h/H and then forgotten.
*Not 1 allergy to anything on this new planet? Pollen, food, organisms in the water, herbs, prepared beverages? Nothing?

This isn't bad for a quick read. It fulfills the criteria for a palate cleanse between heavy reads or a lunch break fluff read. There's room to expand on the concept but the emotional investment doesn't seem there because the story is short enough you don't bond with the characters.

[JML · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zarkav and Tessa rescued and loved by a Barbarian warrior

Tessa won the lottery and a first class ticket to Acadia a new Earth colony where she can start her life all over again. During transport her shop is not by pirates as crashes on a strange planet one from from the new colony she was headed to. When she wakes up Tessa discovers that many of the other people onboard are missing either read or ejected somewhere on this new planet. One other survived with her and he's quite the horrible egomaniacal person. In a bid to escape his clutches she runs off into the jungle only for followed and captured by Zarkav. Zarkav, is the lead hunter of his people. They are a blue scaled race that are pre space flight. They have been visited by others from space before and thought they were gods. At first when he sees Tessa he's not sure if she's a demon, God or other. He only knows she awakens his mating instinct and he was to protect her from all harm and devour her with his passion. Language is the big barrier for most of the story, but somehow they manage to connect and understand just enough to realize there is more going on around them. That the e!here of Zarkav tribe have been lying for a long time and know more about off worlders than they tell the rest of his people. Together they !earn to communicate, fall hopelessly in love along the way, save Zarkav's tribe and begin to hunt for other humans who may have survived. This is a fun read, with some good characters but I wish they was a bit more world building. This is the first book of a second series on "Crashland" so I might check out the first trilogy before reading the other in this series just for some more background. Over all few pleasant hours to spend an evening.💖

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style seemed overly simplistic for an adult book with sex scenes, without the sex, it definitely would have passed as a very Y/A book. The story held my attention enough to finish the book, but there were some things that just didn't work for me in the story, that pulled me out & kept my enjoyment level down. I purposely had to put some of these things out of my mind (sometimes even put the book down for a bit), to keep reading. Because I've read too many books in a row without reviewing since this one, so can't remember if this had errors that needed proof-reading or not. The world building is ok, it could have definitely been better, though it was sort of learn as the FMC does on the uncharted planet. There really wasn't a world build for Earth & what happened to force people to another planet. I'd have liked more for that, too. I would have liked to see more background for the main characters, so they would have felt more rounded. My big gripe, the author didn't take into account -planning to make him so different -as to have legs that were opposite to humans. But then not to take into account physical movements he did, including sexual, that would not have been possible with reverse legs to the girl. I've written it before in other reviews, some things being just too alien to make it mentally work for me (& I'm not talking about the emotional connection, but the physical), are just distracting in books, for me to work it out in my head. I usually don't finish those that are way too alien in their looks, just because I can't visualize or just absorb it as being possible in this case. This definitely didn't entice me to want to continue with the series.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing and editing of this novel was super clean, with few if any typos that I caught in the ARC version of this manuscript. The world building was excellent, with the alien hero's underground city and the Temple coming to vibrant life. The characterization was also excellent, with these characters being richly drawn and sympathetic. The development of the romantic relationship happened organically, especially considering how much was going on with the plot in this novel. The plot and pacing was exciting, with me rapidly turning pages so that I could find out what was going to happen next! There was very little angst in this novel and very high stakes, which is one of my preferred narrative structures for a romance novel. This novel used the Fated Mates trope. The world building, plot and pacing all rated four stars. The characterization and development of the romantic relationship also rated four stars. The combined score for this novel was therefore four stars. This novel ended on a Happy Ever After ending instead of a cliffhanger, so that is a big element in this novels' favor. I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys sci-fi romance novels that read like adventure novels. I considered it a rollicking good time! I will not be buying myself a keeper copy of this novel at this time, but I may end up buying the whole trilogy if the other novels in this series turn out as good as this one.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Brielle S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

This one was much more in depth than the last series of Crashland, and there was quite a bit more action. There were some things that didn’t add up, though. It seemed like it took only 3 days at most for the natives to get to the FMC's crashed pod, and it took them together 6 days to get back to the MMC's home. That wasn't too off, but they were talking about finding a settlement 10 days away, and that they only needed 3 days of food to reach it, and she said they should go back to her pod to get food (they also should have gone back to get seeds for the tribe). It didn't make sense. It took 6 days, yet they could get back in a day for the supplies? That didn’t make sense to me. Also, the natives didn't really talk like Natives. There was no cultural differences, not really. There was no spiciness that was new to the MMC (not that the spiciness was great, anyways but still...) and they didn't have different meanings for things like, us humans have a lot of jokes, say things that mean other things, but once they could speak nothing she said sounded odd to him. He just didn't really seem very Alien to me, honestly. I really loved the story, though. Lots of running and hiding and in constant peril.

[JLH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tessa is on a space pie that crashed on the planet crash land. She and one person was a survivor. He thought that he could dominate everything since he is very crafty in the woods and such. But when he becomes aggressive she makes a run for it. Zarkav have been the master headhunter in his tribe. he followed the scaling try to investigate the flaming ball that came from the sky. They think it’s sky people. They’re not their humans. So Tessa makes a run for it and Zarkav catches her in the woods to avoid her getting eaten by a predator. From there she uses her AI to try to decipher the old dead language and communicate. That’s where their adventure begins. Orson, who was that dead or who attacked The other members of the tribe believes that he is the sole survivor sky man person. So now this adventure turns Zarkav need to learn how to communicate with his Tessa and protect her from being called a demon. And that’s only part of it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Karen Nastasio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing and it kept you entertained throughout, after Crash landing Tessa realizes that everyone else dead but Orson Fanwell and herself, now she and and trying to work out where they are and with the help of herAI kitty fantastic and about who else lives on this planet. With Fanwell making advances on her and Tessa fighting him off this time she realizes she must escape before it’s too late. With the twists and turns, drama, action, suspense and a hot alien hero that melts her heart and raises her lust level to the extreme but at the same time, isn’t the biggest obstacle they have it is the language barrier and with each step they make towards his village learning words from each other moves them closer to understanding one another a little better. What happens between them when outside forces (his Elders) try to keep them apart and from telling the truth to Zarkav‘s people. Does it all work out get this book to find out.

[Shelley G · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I found the beginning of this book a bit hard to get into and the alien language and behaviour a bit strange overall it turned out to be a very good story. It had quite a bit happening in it to keep the reader interested and a very dramatic rescue and ending.
It was well paced and the character descriptions were good.
I think it did rely a touch too much on explicit sex scenes which was ok but seemed like there needed to be more description needed to get to compatibility between the alien species and human not just jump right to it with human words and descriptions etc.
a bit less of the sex scenes and more description with the story line might have helped esp in the first half of the book.
overall a good book worth reading.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost the same story as Torran (Crashland Colony Romance Book 2) by Leslie Chase, with a few minor differences: different aliens, different setting but same one A-hole human guy who tries to put himself in charge. (Why can't colonization of a new planet insist on no chauvinistic, self-centered, gun-toting A-holes?)
Appears to be starting to fill in some of the blanks from Ronan (Crashland Colony Book 3) of the abandoned village inside the pyramid, which is interesting. No explanation as to how the villagers go from thinking humans are Sky Gods or demons, to literally accepting Tessa because she is their new leader's girlfriend? Not the best thought out nor original story, but still some fun and adventure.

[AND 1515 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Laid Plans....
by and1515

Tessa's life was changing for the she'd won the lottery and now she has a spot on the Wandering Star with her final destination being the Arcadia colony.
However one wishes sometimes the best laid plans just don't happen the way you hope.
Ending up on an unidentified planet check, stuck with a major jerk who tries her patience another check.
The questions are endless with little answers but trying to figure out a direction to take and when push meets shove will Tessa be ready for a future that just might give her everything she'd ever dreamed of.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Obsessive Booknerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lot in this world and it made for such a great read. It was a well detailed world build with lots of characters that made the book a really good read. Things for Tessa had started out so well and then went south quick, but she found her way in the new world. I really enjoyed the culture that was built for the planets inhabitants and the subterfuge that was core of it. It was rewarding at the end to watch it crash down around the greedy.
It had action, suspense and romance. I love alien Sci-fi romance reads and this one was one of the better ones I've read.
I received a free copy via booksprout and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

[Melanie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

More survivors on Crashland

Tessa is one of the human survivors of her colony ship’s crash. She has her personal AI, a holographic cat. A fellow survivor and would-be demagogue drives her into the wilderness where she learns that other aliens live on Crashland. Zarkav saves her and recognizes his fated mate, but between them and HEA lie corrupt priests, thuggish henchmen, the would-be demagogue, wild predators, glitchy techno-troubles and the Everest of language barriers. Relax: read and enjoy the action, the suspense, the hot sexy scenes, and the excellent world-building. HEA guaranteed.

[Christal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has nonstop action, steamy romance and delightful characters. After Tessa's pod crashes onto an unknown planet, she worries about the only other human in her pod - a creep who thinks he's the boss and she is his. Not on her life. Then she is saved from that threat by an alien named Zarkav with so much muscle, she gets flustered at his whole package. Next they have to work together to save his tribe from the "creep" who plays this God but Tessa and Zarkav know the truth. Language makes things difficult but their chemistry is off the charts. Great love story with a happily ever after.

[Lisa Bing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written fast paced story full of danger, betrayal, culture and sizzling romance

This was a really engaging series opener and I got sucked right in to the story and invested in the characters. An alien culture filled with complexities, politics and corruption took me right along with Tessa in her exposure to Zarkav's world. So much going on but their chemistry was off the charts, making me root for an HEA for these two, despite their differences. Danger abounds, and mystery about the Zrin's history, has me anxious for the next book in the series. Good fun!

[S Allred · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Tessa won a lottery she went on a trip to the Arcadia Colony. When she awakes from stasis instead of being happily on Arcadia she finds herself smoke, alarms blaring, under attack and even worse one of the few survivers to crash on Crashland. When Zarkav goes to investigate the crash site he takes Tessa not being able to communicate causes issues between them. This can be read as a stand-alone, it and does not leave you with a cliff hanger.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very intriguing read with plenty of action, suspense, mystery, and of course steamy romance to keep you hook from beginning to end. I especially liked Tessa she definitely wasn't a damsel in distress. You could see her strength throughout the book and even though she struggled she was able to figure things out. Overall a enjoyable and entertaining read and a great start for a new series. I voluntarily read and review this ARC no monetary compensation was received and the opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Elizabeth McDaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tessa and her crew were crash landed on a foreign planet. She thought it was only her and one other that survived and he was a jerk that she ran away from. Zarkav saw Tessa as she ran and was intrigued. Then he wanted her. They both couldn’t resist their attraction. Then the unimaginable happened between them. Then all heck broke loose. Tessa and Zarkav had to fight against both their peoples to attain their HEA in this fun and exciting adventure

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay

I read this through KU. There were some pros and cons. Prob not gonna continue reading. Possible SPOILERS...




Pros: interesting setting & premise. Love the fish-out-of-water trope. A stand-alone book with a HEA. Love the smart female.

Cons: Not overly fond of spanking/ punishment and it felt unnecessary to the tale. There were nonsensical plot points-- e.g., decision to return to depleted crash site to get supplies instead of the friend's house or the mid-way hunting cave makes no sense. Wish the female's specialty was used more.

Hence, 3 stars.

[Sara Munoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this action packed book 1 in the Crashland Castaway Romance Series. The characters were well crafted with a language barrier that would be natural with species/aliens from another planter. The story was well written and enjoable. Must read if you are a sci-fi and romance lover. Cannot wait to see if there are more books by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kristine L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book in the Crashland Castaway Romance. The story was very interesting. Crash landing on the wrong planet and then snatched up by an alien barbarian. Language was a problem and Zarkav was blue, huge and he not only scared me but turned me on. Loved the characters. The plot was very engaging and the story was a page turner and you wanted to finish the story in one sitting. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Monica Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that this was not your typical Alien Romance novel. I really liked that the charecters had to fight to understand one another. Most Alien Romance novels dont do that. The charecters were interesting and likeable and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. If Alien Romance novels are your thing then I would definitely recommend this one.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Am Goff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story line is romantic, a big blue kilt wearing alien named Zavkov rescues Tessa, a human woman on her way to another planet when their ship crashed. she finds out that she is better off with the alien than with Orson, a not so nice guy the only other survivor of the crash. This story flows easily and has adventure and discovery with lots of passion for their HEA.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.