The Interstellar Brides series takes place at a time where aliens are real and there are several different planets and species. There is a galactic enemy known as the hive, which is a technological species that invades planets and either kills its inhabitants or transforms their captives into one of them. A coalition was formed between the planets who are at war with the hive. Each member of the coalition is required to supply soldiers and brides to the cause. Soldiers to fight the hive, and brides to repopulate the diminished that have fallen victim to the war. Earth has become a member of the coalition. The Colony Series takes place alongside the interstellar bride series, but focuses solely on the residents of the Colony. The colony houses veterans of war, tainted with Hive technology. They cannot or will not return to their home worlds because of their cyborg hive tech, so they live the remainder of their lives on the colony. Even though brides have been sent to the colony through the interstellar testing system, it hasn’t been enough. Especially for the Atlans and their temperamental beasts. That’s where this spinoff comes in. Through hard work and PR, the human females of the colony have inspired a network to create a reality show for Atlan aliens. Similar to the Bachelor, women are narrowed down until one remains, and the beast offers his cuffs to the winner (opposed to the final rose and a proposal). Unfortunately, anyone who knows how Atlans work, would know that this setup is doomed to fail. Atlans are humanoid. They are massive in size (the largest of the alien species), and they have a split personality of sorts that is referred to as their “beast.” Their beast lives inside them, very much with its own personality, and only comes out during danger or mating fever. When the beast comes out to play, they grow bigger - with elongated fangs, sharp facial features and bulging muscles - and their main personality takes a backseat behind the scenes. Their beast won’t accept just any mate. They are very particular about who they consider “mine.” Did I mention that the Atlans are my favorite of the alien species? 🫶🏻
Written in first person, Maid for the Beast is book 2 in this series and follows the human bride Angela Kaur and her Atlan cyborg Warlord Braun. We first met Braun in book 3 of the colony series “Cyborg Seduction.” He has made several appearances since then, and I must admit, the poor guy has been shafted too many times. He made a claim on Lindsey in the pits before Hunter Kiel showed up to claim her as his marked mate. He sat next to Makarios, sharing intentions on how he planned to woo Gwen, as a bunch of warriors fought over her in the pits. Gwen unfortunately turned out to be Mak’s mate. He even lusted after Lucy, who was Olivia’s babysitter that came with her to the colony. Unfortunately, she saw Braun as a big brother opposed to a mate or lover. The guy just couldn’t catch a break. So I was completely thrilled that he FINALLY met his mate in this book. Braun was chosen to be the 2nd contestant for the bachelor beast show. During the filming delay, he ran into Angela, a maid for the hotel, while cleaning his room. His beast knew instantly that Angela was the one for him and the rest of the book was filled with mishaps and idiocy. Braun was distracted by drama involving Angela’s ex to get his cuffs on her. I was screaming at the book while the two were on their knees getting ready to be held for questioning “fucking tell her now Braun!” But no, he didn’t, and he was transferred back to the colony without her. Angela ease dropped on a meeting that mistakenly misinformed its listeners claiming that Braun was on the colony with his matched mate. Because her calls to the interstellar office were going unanswered, she assumed the rumors to be true. Then, when he finally transported back to Earth to claim her, Braun sees Angela curled on the couch next to her gay best friend and misconstrued the situation. Instead of knocking on the door and getting clarification, he chose to die of mating fever back in Atlan’s holding cells. 🤦♀️ Thank god Braun knocked Angela up, which forced her to seek guidance from Warden Egara, or this book would’ve had a completely different ending. I have never been as frustrated as I was with this damn book. 🙄🙄
There have been way too many romance novels I’ve read that had me frustrated and yelling “Jesus Christ, when are they gonna fuck?! Get to the good shit already!” When we’re 50% in, and the main characters have barely kissed each other, leaves readers like me aggravated. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a well written buildup to sex, but most are anticlimactic. This is NOT one of those books. While Grace Goodwin has added more adventures as the series progressed, it is still, quite literally, word porn.
If you are reading this book, and all its associated spin-offs, in chronological order, I recommend reading this after book 21 of the Interstellar Bride series and before book 3 of the Beast series. As I’ve read through this series and all its spin offs, I can attest that the plot is incredibly addictive. I am way too invested in each book, in all its adventure and romance. This book was no exception. Highly recommend.