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A review by loverofromance
Beast by Anna Hackett
adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
Book Evaluation:
Plot: ποΈποΈποΈποΈ
World Building:ππππ
Cover:ππππ
Hero: π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»
Heroine:π¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈ
Intimacy Level: π₯π₯π₯π₯
Relationship Building: πππππ
Heart & Feels:πππππ
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πππ
Page Turner Level:ππππ
Ending:π§§π§§π§§π§§π§§
Overall View: β¨β¨β¨β¨β¨
First Impressions
Beast is the seventh book in the Galactic Gladiators series, and this is an installment that has been building throughout the series. It's a story that brings together a group of people that through a set of circumstances have formed a found family of sorts. In this book we have a set up where our pair get together early on in the book, their relationship has been building in the past few books, so there is already an established foundation to their bond. It features some challenging issues such a abuse, PTSD, and near death experiences, so keep that in mind and pay attention to the trigger warnings if those are needed for you.
First Line
An enraged road woke her.
The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Vek'ker
A blue colored humanoid warrior, with scars and tattoos that layer his skin, taken prisoner as a child, forced on drugs and to fight in underground battles and held prisoner most of his life. Finds peace in the singing voice of Mia.
The Heroine: Mia
A young earth woman, kidnapped from earth and then rescued from slavers on an alien gladiator world, adopted into the found family of the Galen Gladiators, with many talents including abilities to pilot aircraft and a siren like singing voice.
Summary
Both Vek and Mia have known the experiences of being held captive against their wills and have a strong core of iron wills at the heart. Mia is in a strange world, but has discovered a found family with a unique group of gladiators who help rescue innocent men and women. Mia was rescued by them twice and she now calls them her own even if she is one that could never fight in the gladiator fighting stadium. Vek has only known a life of being a prisoner. He doesn't remember his life before he was held prisoner. He was experimented on with drugs and forced to fight in the underground fighting rings, and even though he has been rescued and in a safe environment, sometimes is unable to control his more animalistic urges that were forced upon him. The only solace he finds is the singing melody of Mia's voice and her sweet compassionate nature. Vek and Mia form a tight bond and their relationship goes into deeper levels, when they go on the search for missing human women in the desert and find only strife, challenge and unforseen adversity that only together will they conquer in the end...
What I Loved
Beast is honestly my favorite book of the whole series, there was something so much more to this installment than what I have read so far. This is not to say that the previous books aren't entertaining or fun in their own ways, however, there is something in this story that resonates for the reader on a deeper relatable level. This relationship with Vek and Mia I have been aching for and seeing it finally come together was truly poignant at times. Their chemistry was stunning and they really know how to embrace each other and support one another when it matters most. There is an almost mystical feeling to their bond.
They also are so in for each other all the way. Vek and Mia always see the core of each other and only encourage one another. They have this 100% support system for each other, no matter what they individually struggle with. They work together as a team and always have each other's back even among the Galen group. Their faith in each other is truly humbling. And when the story pushes their limits, the moment when they need each other, is truly heartfelt. This story will have you in your feels in ways you won't expect or even see coming. I was not expecting this book to tear my heart apart, or to see the struggle be so relatable to the human experience. It strikes deeply to the heart and refuses to let you go. I want to applaud the author for being able to captivate the moment in such a way, you will feel like time stops.
While this story was built up through previous books, it was satisfying and worth the wait completely. I couldn't get enough of these two and they melted my heart from beginning to end. Never worry though that there isn't conflict in the story. The conflict though resides outside of the relationship, and loved the moments of partnership between Vek and Mia that we see built so steadily throughout the story.
What I Struggled With
There wasn't anything I struggled with. This one is a bit more serious than other books though, so keep that in mind as it won't be as fun feeling as some of the others have felt. Its also not long, its only a little over 200 pages so it builds fast. I would have liked to see a bit more about the hero's world though and maybe seeing more grief or loss aspects from the heroine, as she is close to her family and will never see them. We didn't really get much focus on that aspect. Of course, its shorter than your typical novel, so it didn't detract from my enjoyment as a whole.
Overall View
I found Beast to be a captivating installment that delivered in well thought out plot building, sizzling sensuality and moments of heart and emotion to satisfy you in the end...
Favorite Quote(s)
Everything Iβve suffered, I would suffer again for the chance to hold you in my arms.
Iβve searched my entire life for you. I traveled across the galaxy to find my place, and itβs with you. All Iβve ever wanted is to find the thing that clicks, that feels right, that feeds my soul. All Iβve ever wanted is a person to love me just as I am. A person I love just as they are. Vek, youβre my one thing. I love you.
And the future was laid out ahead of them, filled with freedom and bright shining opportunities. But most of all, it would be filled with love.
Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Character Types: Alien Hero, Virgin Hero, Alphamellow Hero, Sweet Heroine, Gladiator, Pilot, Singer/songwriter, Tortured Hero, Warrior/Soldier/Fighter.
Themes: Elements of Danger, Heart/Touching Feels, Found Family, Couple Together Early On, Slave trade/Human Trafficking, Character Experimented On, Mental Illness, PTSD Trauma, Ship Faring Adventures.
Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Protector
Book Perspective
3rd POV
Recommendation For Reading Order
I do recommend reading this series in order due to the overall serial plot developments. For this one specifically, I recommend reading at least "Books 4-6" prior to reading "Beast".
Steam/Spice Explanations
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes. While there isn't a ton of sex scenes in this book, the ones that we have in this story are more explicit in nature.
Book Evaluation:
Plot: ποΈποΈποΈποΈ
World Building:ππππ
Cover:ππππ
Hero: π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»
Heroine:π¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈ
Intimacy Level: π₯π₯π₯π₯
Relationship Building: πππππ
Heart & Feels:πππππ
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πππ
Page Turner Level:ππππ
Ending:π§§π§§π§§π§§π§§
Overall View: β¨β¨β¨β¨β¨
First Impressions
Beast is the seventh book in the Galactic Gladiators series, and this is an installment that has been building throughout the series. It's a story that brings together a group of people that through a set of circumstances have formed a found family of sorts. In this book we have a set up where our pair get together early on in the book, their relationship has been building in the past few books, so there is already an established foundation to their bond. It features some challenging issues such a abuse, PTSD, and near death experiences, so keep that in mind and pay attention to the trigger warnings if those are needed for you.
First Line
An enraged road woke her.
The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Vek'ker
A blue colored humanoid warrior, with scars and tattoos that layer his skin, taken prisoner as a child, forced on drugs and to fight in underground battles and held prisoner most of his life. Finds peace in the singing voice of Mia.
The Heroine: Mia
A young earth woman, kidnapped from earth and then rescued from slavers on an alien gladiator world, adopted into the found family of the Galen Gladiators, with many talents including abilities to pilot aircraft and a siren like singing voice.
Summary
Both Vek and Mia have known the experiences of being held captive against their wills and have a strong core of iron wills at the heart. Mia is in a strange world, but has discovered a found family with a unique group of gladiators who help rescue innocent men and women. Mia was rescued by them twice and she now calls them her own even if she is one that could never fight in the gladiator fighting stadium. Vek has only known a life of being a prisoner. He doesn't remember his life before he was held prisoner. He was experimented on with drugs and forced to fight in the underground fighting rings, and even though he has been rescued and in a safe environment, sometimes is unable to control his more animalistic urges that were forced upon him. The only solace he finds is the singing melody of Mia's voice and her sweet compassionate nature. Vek and Mia form a tight bond and their relationship goes into deeper levels, when they go on the search for missing human women in the desert and find only strife, challenge and unforseen adversity that only together will they conquer in the end...
What I Loved
Beast is honestly my favorite book of the whole series, there was something so much more to this installment than what I have read so far. This is not to say that the previous books aren't entertaining or fun in their own ways, however, there is something in this story that resonates for the reader on a deeper relatable level. This relationship with Vek and Mia I have been aching for and seeing it finally come together was truly poignant at times. Their chemistry was stunning and they really know how to embrace each other and support one another when it matters most. There is an almost mystical feeling to their bond.
They also are so in for each other all the way. Vek and Mia always see the core of each other and only encourage one another. They have this 100% support system for each other, no matter what they individually struggle with. They work together as a team and always have each other's back even among the Galen group. Their faith in each other is truly humbling. And when the story pushes their limits, the moment when they need each other, is truly heartfelt. This story will have you in your feels in ways you won't expect or even see coming. I was not expecting this book to tear my heart apart, or to see the struggle be so relatable to the human experience. It strikes deeply to the heart and refuses to let you go. I want to applaud the author for being able to captivate the moment in such a way, you will feel like time stops.
While this story was built up through previous books, it was satisfying and worth the wait completely. I couldn't get enough of these two and they melted my heart from beginning to end. Never worry though that there isn't conflict in the story. The conflict though resides outside of the relationship, and loved the moments of partnership between Vek and Mia that we see built so steadily throughout the story.
What I Struggled With
There wasn't anything I struggled with. This one is a bit more serious than other books though, so keep that in mind as it won't be as fun feeling as some of the others have felt. Its also not long, its only a little over 200 pages so it builds fast. I would have liked to see a bit more about the hero's world though and maybe seeing more grief or loss aspects from the heroine, as she is close to her family and will never see them. We didn't really get much focus on that aspect. Of course, its shorter than your typical novel, so it didn't detract from my enjoyment as a whole.
Overall View
I found Beast to be a captivating installment that delivered in well thought out plot building, sizzling sensuality and moments of heart and emotion to satisfy you in the end...
Favorite Quote(s)
Everything Iβve suffered, I would suffer again for the chance to hold you in my arms.
Iβve searched my entire life for you. I traveled across the galaxy to find my place, and itβs with you. All Iβve ever wanted is to find the thing that clicks, that feels right, that feeds my soul. All Iβve ever wanted is a person to love me just as I am. A person I love just as they are. Vek, youβre my one thing. I love you.
And the future was laid out ahead of them, filled with freedom and bright shining opportunities. But most of all, it would be filled with love.
Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Character Types: Alien Hero, Virgin Hero, Alphamellow Hero, Sweet Heroine, Gladiator, Pilot, Singer/songwriter, Tortured Hero, Warrior/Soldier/Fighter.
Themes: Elements of Danger, Heart/Touching Feels, Found Family, Couple Together Early On, Slave trade/Human Trafficking, Character Experimented On, Mental Illness, PTSD Trauma, Ship Faring Adventures.
Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Protector
Book Perspective
3rd POV
Recommendation For Reading Order
I do recommend reading this series in order due to the overall serial plot developments. For this one specifically, I recommend reading at least "Books 4-6" prior to reading "Beast".
Steam/Spice Explanations
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes. While there isn't a ton of sex scenes in this book, the ones that we have in this story are more explicit in nature.