Tribes

by Mia Frances

They would never have dared venture beyond the allowed area if he were still here. They'd been afraid of him. In retrospect, it was that fear that kept them safe from harm. Alex had thought his strictness cruel, but it was actually proof of his love and caring. Alex had been too lax with the kids. Less an authority figure than a buddy or a friend. Never stern or demanding, she tried to reason with them rather than dictate to them. Allowing the line between adult and child to become blurred.

There is a happy medium between the two!

"The girls," Alex pleaded. "What happened to the girls?" Martha shifted her gaze to Alex, stammering, "Raped. They raped them."

Damn. As I’ve said, the very worst of what humanity is capable of.

She felt like crying. What was she doing? Trying to seduce him? Couldn't she just leave well enough alone? He was alive and well. That's what she wanted. What she'd prayed for. Why wasn't that enough for her? Let him go and be done with it, the voice inside her warned. But logic couldn't assuage the nagging need inside her. Alex tried to hate him; but, try as she might, she couldn't. Her mind dredged up images of his strict rules and harsh punishments, but her heart wasn't swayed. For all his faults, he was a good man. Alex kept thinking back to the night they'd freed the girls, wondering what would have happened if he hadn't been there. Could she have saved them on her own? Or would she have gotten them all killed?

I only want him back if he realizes he needs to treat her as an equal

She'd wanted nothing more than to be rid of him, get him out of her life; but Wolf was like a pestilence, a plague with no cure.

Alex had every reason to hate him, yet she didn't, she couldn't. The good in him far outweighed the bad.

With her back to him, Alex began to speak. "I need you," she explained, her voice tremulous. "Not the meat! Not the supplies! You! I know that now. I feel alive when I'm with you. You give me hope. I don't want you to leave me Ben. I don't think I could bear it. You see, the thing I wanted to tell you that night when I went out looking for you, when I was so afraid I'd lost you, was that…that…I…I love you." She began walking toward the tiny office in the far corner that served as their bedroom. As Alex approached the doorway, her hands moved to her shoulders and the thin straps of her nightgown. Alex blushed as she slowly twirled around to face him. "Of my own free will," she whispered as the straps slipped from her shoulders and the nightgown dropped to the floor. Wolf's eyes glistened with tears. He opened his arms and Alex launched herself into them. He kissed her fiercely. Their lips igniting in a dizzying kiss that left her lips scorched and wanting more. "I love you Alex! You're my life. Without you I'm nothing. We'll start over. Put the past behind us. I know we can be happy together." Alex nodded, her body melting against his. She breathed in his scent. This was where she belonged. Her long journey had ended. In the comfort and safety of his warm embrace, she found what she'd been searching for…her future! The End

So they never resolved any of their problems, never discussed working together as a team, how the children should be disciplined, or drew any lines about discipline for her. I’m severely disappointed. Remember “The Day After”, the 1983 movie about the immediate aftermath of a nuclear war? It was a horrifically real depiction meant to raise consciousness and help make sure it never became reality. It is not a feel good movie and certainly not a romance. Though this novel contains two people who get together and have sex, it doesn’t meet my definition of a romance. I found it categorized under “Science Fiction Romance”, so I was severely disappointed. There were no reviews anywhere to correct my expectations, which is why I felt especially compelled to write this review. If you are looking for a “romance” with good feels, hot sex scenes, a generally hopeful feeling, a leading man with good qualities