Blogger’s note: I’m going through my backlog of books to review, and Star Crossed is one of them. Which is to say, I read this literal months ago and am going off notes I made then. Because of that, it’ll be brief.  I’ve backdated the review to reflect when I read it.

Rating: 👍🏻

A thing about Heather Guerre is you can always expect her books to be HOT (capitals intentional). Star Crossed, the first in her Forbidden Mates series, is of course no exception.

A brief synopsis

In this human <> alien romance, Captain Lyra Hallas (the human) is abducted from a mission by an unknown alien species planning to sell her and her crew on what’s basically the intergalactic black market. But Lyra is strong, smart, and unwilling to let that be her future. So she plans an escape. Meanwhile, Asier Mor-Talis (the alien) is a Scaevean Enforcer trying to protect the universe from his own species and their violent tendencies. But then he rescues Lyra from a trafficking ring—and instincts take over.

A brief review

The beginning of Star Crossed actually reminded me a bit of the beginning of Ruby Dixon’s famed Ice Planet Barbarians, since both books begin with human women getting abducted by aliens planning to traffic them. But then again, that’s not a super uncommon plot device in the alien and human romance subgenre.

In any case, the plot device works to raise the stakes for Lyra early in this book. It—along with some of the overarching politics Guerre introduces here—add a more serious—and sometimes dark—tone to the book than I expected. I read this when I was searching for a space western-style romp, and while it didn’t satisfy that particular itch, it instead gave me a great adventure with a more emotional undertone. It also set the stage for the rest of the series.

Overall, this was a quick, hot, and also at times heavy read. While I haven’t yet continued the series, I have plans to.