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A review by magnafeana
Unnatural Selection by Amanda Milo
dark
medium-paced
I loooved this! Again, thank you taramisu for reccing Amanda Milo!
Theresa. FMC. Mother of three wily girls. Mate of a Gentle-male (Tranq) and a fighter male (Avox), and she loves them, and they love her (no MM). Well-adjusted and well looked after by Keeper. Names Kory “Kory”. Comfortable in her body.
Kory. MMC. Ornamental human. Has sired dozens of children he never met. Crude. Angry. Hurting. Bestial. Asshole. Softy for kids. Realizes he’s wrong and wants to make amends. Rad dad. He’s schweet.
This was a book that is far into the days when humans have been captured as a species and bred by aliens. We’re focused on this current species of aliens that humans called Whistlers, because they whistle their noises, meaning they can’t understand “human humming”.
Theresa and Kory are set to be mated, by Keeper. Theresa has never known life outside two places, and Keeper makes an effort to keep her, Tranq, Avox, and their daughters happy and healthy. He treats them not as pets but extensions of his family, even if Tranq and Avox have leashes and cages.
Kory is a rude motherfucker, but this tethers to his mistreatment by many people. Being forced away from his mother, being a stud, never meeting his children, constant abuse from previous owners—he’s done with it. And seeing Theresa, in his point of view, is seeing someone who threw away her identity as a human to be a Whistler’s pet.
As Kory stays on Keeper’s property, however, he gradually learns how different it is. Keeper is endlessly patient and very mindful of Theresa, the men, and the daughters. Rather than punishments for them, he does give them stern talking-tos. He’s more than happy when the girls whistle and learn his language, and he communicates to them like they’re people, caring for them when they’re sick, and such.
This doesn’t detract from the fear that the humans sometimes have with Keeper. He is still their owner. He’s still treating them like dogs to breed and tame and give treats to. He’s capable of selling them off. He won’t. But how would we fully comprehend that?
In time, Kory redeems himself when he sees how hurt Theresa is from his actions and words. He redeems himself to Avox and Tranq as well, but the girls love him. And he loves them—and his son.
Who may or may not love JoAynn’s daughter 😏
This was a great sci-fi book!
<b>WHAT WOULD HAVE MADE ME GIVE IT A 5 STAR</b>
✨ More Kory bonding platonically with Avox and Tranq. I think Kory would’ve liked the fighting rings Avox goes to. But I wanted to see more masc friendship.
✨ While I understand why a non-linear story may work, I wish it had been linear. The flashback stories, to me, didn’t really reveal much how they were placed.
✨ A bit more individual time with Theresa and Avos and Theresa and Tranq. They both had unique dynamics with her. I wish we saw how they came to be.
✨ A bit more why choose. We see Kory and Theresa together at the end. I wish we saw how all four of them act together as an adult unit.
This was still an excellent book 🫶🏾
Theresa. FMC. Mother of three wily girls. Mate of a Gentle-male (Tranq) and a fighter male (Avox), and she loves them, and they love her (no MM). Well-adjusted and well looked after by Keeper. Names Kory “Kory”. Comfortable in her body.
Kory. MMC. Ornamental human. Has sired dozens of children he never met. Crude. Angry. Hurting. Bestial. Asshole. Softy for kids. Realizes he’s wrong and wants to make amends. Rad dad. He’s schweet.
This was a book that is far into the days when humans have been captured as a species and bred by aliens. We’re focused on this current species of aliens that humans called Whistlers, because they whistle their noises, meaning they can’t understand “human humming”.
Theresa and Kory are set to be mated, by Keeper. Theresa has never known life outside two places, and Keeper makes an effort to keep her, Tranq, Avox, and their daughters happy and healthy. He treats them not as pets but extensions of his family, even if Tranq and Avox have leashes and cages.
Kory is a rude motherfucker, but this tethers to his mistreatment by many people. Being forced away from his mother, being a stud, never meeting his children, constant abuse from previous owners—he’s done with it. And seeing Theresa, in his point of view, is seeing someone who threw away her identity as a human to be a Whistler’s pet.
As Kory stays on Keeper’s property, however, he gradually learns how different it is. Keeper is endlessly patient and very mindful of Theresa, the men, and the daughters. Rather than punishments for them, he does give them stern talking-tos. He’s more than happy when the girls whistle and learn his language, and he communicates to them like they’re people, caring for them when they’re sick, and such.
This doesn’t detract from the fear that the humans sometimes have with Keeper. He is still their owner. He’s still treating them like dogs to breed and tame and give treats to. He’s capable of selling them off. He won’t. But how would we fully comprehend that?
In time, Kory redeems himself when he sees how hurt Theresa is from his actions and words. He redeems himself to Avox and Tranq as well, but the girls love him. And he loves them—and his son.
Who may or may not love JoAynn’s daughter 😏
This was a great sci-fi book!
<b>WHAT WOULD HAVE MADE ME GIVE IT A 5 STAR</b>
✨ More Kory bonding platonically with Avox and Tranq. I think Kory would’ve liked the fighting rings Avox goes to. But I wanted to see more masc friendship.
✨ While I understand why a non-linear story may work, I wish it had been linear. The flashback stories, to me, didn’t really reveal much how they were placed.
✨ A bit more individual time with Theresa and Avos and Theresa and Tranq. They both had unique dynamics with her. I wish we saw how they came to be.
✨ A bit more why choose. We see Kory and Theresa together at the end. I wish we saw how all four of them act together as an adult unit.
This was still an excellent book 🫶🏾