If I had known how good this is I would have read it sooner. Blown away. This is part 1 of a duet. Both books are out so you can enjoy Tori and Aderus’s entire story. This is character driven and a very slow burn but the pay off is oh so good. 

This is exactly how I would expect a love story between an alien and a human to develop. The author did a remarkable job of communicating their differences allowing it to truly feel alien; not just in appearance but in behavior as well. 

A first contact story. In the process of escaping their enemies, the aliens ship is damaged and they come into contact with humans. Humans have what they need, for a price. An emergency physician becomes the reluctant liaison between humans and aliens when she is allowed aboard their ship to assess their severely wounded. They find humans annoying and are frustrated that they are dependent on them for resources to repair their damaged ship. 

The Askari are a predatory species who detest weakness and are solitary, not forming family units. He is initially put off by his attraction to her due to their physical differences while she is accepting of it for the same reason. The females of his kind are extremely fierce and while the FMC is not physically so, he slowly realizes she has ferocity of spirit and it pulls him in. And when they do come together, her desire and his primal, animalistic nature is a combustible moment. How he comes to want her is such good character development. 

The way the author develops their love story is a work of art. I appreciate that she doesn’t try to fit their relationship into something that ends up looking very human. She allows their differences to define what that looks like for them. Be prepared to read both books back to back or you’ll lose the lovely pacing of it all.