https://celebrityreaders.com/2021/04/07/barbarians-taming-by-ruby-dixon/

4 stars — Yay!! I always love it when a book you’re unsure/wary of turns out better than you expect!

I was so worried I wasn’t going to connect with Maddie. And while yes, it was definitely hard at times, I got to see into the heart of her and really feel for some of her struggles. She’s never going to be a favourite, but I definitely saw some fantastic qualities that I wasn’t expecting, and that balanced off her pigheadedness. She could really come across self-absorbed at times, but when she got outside of herself, she was actually a delight. I loved how forthright she could be, how once she saw a need and felt confident she could fill it, she was all over it. She had a lot of leader qualities.

I was just as worried about Hassan. And he was the same deal — there were definitely things that irked me about his personality, but there was also a lot that got to my feels. Somehow Ms. Dixon gave these two enough depth to help me connect with them. I loved that even though he made mistakes, and boneheaded decisions, he really did have good intentions. And when tested, he wanted nothing more than to do everything he could for the tribe.

I really loved how they understood one another, and connected, and saw underneath all the bullshit. I kind of loved the way their relationship/mating developed too. Can’t say more without spoiling though.

And holy mother of god, the other reason I was wary of this story was because the blurbs in future stories (and in the novellas) hinted at something crazy happening. Crazy is an understatement. I am FASCINATED by where things are going to go, and I honestly just want to keep going!