Possessed by the Stryxian by Ella Blake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Xarik Tek-ra is one of few of his kind who do not want to take over the Stryxian empire by force. He is a Vanyi—one of the rare, silver-scaled Stryxians possessing devastating mind powers. When he finds an unconscious human female in the middle of nowhere and returns with her to his settlement, his mala is awakened. She may be his true mate, but she is terrified of him. It was other Vanyi who had abducted her, making winning her trust the greatest challenge of his life.
Andi Belta barely escaped with her life, only to wake up face-to-face with one of the monsters who abducted her. But Xarik is nothing like the other Vanyi who took her. He seems determined to help her find those who harmed her and rescue the other women who are still trapped. As she learns to trust him, she also finds herself powerfully drawn to him. But are her emotions true, or is he manipulating her with his powerful mind control abilities?
When Xarik and Andi dive deep into enemy territory to rescue the other abducted women, they learn this is no simple rescue mission. Dark forces are at work on Stryxia and threaten to destroy the work that has brought the planet back from the brink of ruin. They may save Andi’s friends and bring the traitors to justice, but at what price? How far will Xarik go to win the trust and love of the woman he is destined for?
This is book four of the Stryxian Alien Warrior series but can be read alone with no cliffhangers and no cheating. I write what I love to read, so there is always consent and always a happy ending.
Possessed by the Stryxian
Very good!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 🖤💙❤️💚
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌍🌎
Character development: 🙂🥰☺️😂😀
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration
The heroine: Andromeda (a.k.a. Andi) – she was abducted from earth while walking her dog down a normal street. She was taken to a small windowless room with a bunch of other earth women and held captive. They were sometimes taken to a lab where they were cuffed to a ben and pumped full of hallucinogenic drugs which was basically torture. At one point when one of the drugs didn’t seem to work on her and there was an emergency in the lab, she was able to sneak out and escape. Though she didn’t get far before she passed out.
The Hero: Xarik – he is a Vanyi, which is a different species than the regular Stryxians. The Vanyi have mental powers that most Stryxians do not have. They have the ability to see what is in other individual’s minds and even to push his will into their minds. A lot of the Vanyi had broken from Stryxian society to follow a male that Xarik grew up with called Sleer who thought they were superior to the rest of the Stryxians and should be treated as such. Because of this, many of the Stryxians in his village look at him with fear and distrust.
The Story: Xarik understands why the rest of his people may distrust him, but he does his best to try to reassure them that he is trustworthy. He lives in a small domed village on Stryxia. Since the Morr’ta decimated their planet by using most of their natural resources, they have been making great strides in renewing their planet and making it livable again. They live inside a dome because outside, the air is thin, and they need breathing devices. Though every few days, Xarik travels outside and flies around the area to check the progress of the lands and also to make sure there is nothing to defend against. On one of his trips, he finds Andi and takes her to his settlement.
Andi is immediately afraid Xarik, since he is a Vanyi like those who kidnapped her, but eventually he shows her that she is now safe and that he is not part of that group that held her captive. Xarik immediately starts to feel a bond forming between them, but since Andi is not on Stryxia by choice, he knows he can’t have her as a mate.
This book was different than the previous books in this series. I liked the fact that it took place on the planet of Stryxia and that Xarik is unique in that he is a Vanyi. There were other great characters as well, such as the human female Kira who was a former lieutenant with the UEA, there was also the Stryxian doctor who took care of Andi and Xarik’s friend Arris, who was a bit of a recluse, but he was a mechanical genius who created different gadgets for all sorts of things. The world building was great, and the story was both interesting and exciting, as well as romantic and steamy.
This audiobook was told in dual points of view via dual narration and was narrated by Elle Sonali and Zachary Johnson. I like both of these narrators quite a bit. Zachary Johnson has a deep, clear voice and speaks in a formal manner that works well for an alien male. Elle Sonali has a soft, feminine voice which is very pleasant and sounds very natural.
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