If you want love, why not steal some hearts? Hearts of Indesh is a Mate Index Valentine’s Day short storyNazzek Evatuuvar is Indivi, a dying species native to Indesh. After the planet’s few remaining females had long since been stolen away by slavers two decades ago he never thought he would have a mate. He is an aquisitioner, not a pirate, who has gotten bored of his life saving females in … females in distress and the general daily grind. He is not “lonely” exactly, but when he sees an article boasting that a prince was marrying twenty humans, a new species with wide mating compatibility, he decides that the prince really has one too many. After all, wouldn’t a female do far better being rescued and mated to him. Ignoring all objections from his crew, he makes a simple plan: board the Lorgor starship, steal a mate, and haul ass home to Indesh. Things don’t go quite as planned, but a scenic route with a romantic stay-over on a planet of cannibals isn’t too bad. Surely his female would be swayed by a healthy dose of romance!
Nikki Perdit is the daughter of an up in coming regional diplomat who allowed her father to talk her into registering for the Mate Index. He wants to make a good impression on the community by registering his only daughter, she is swayed by thought of a mate of her own. She is surprised, and displeased, to find out she was selected to be one of twenty women to be mated to a Calysii prince. She is less than thrilled, tried to escape actually. Imagine her surprise to be “rescued” by a cocky pirate whose idea of romance is gratuitous oral sex–from her. Despite being convinced her new mate is a bit nut-job, she is charmed by his sweet side. Nikki find herself in short order on the run from a jilted mate, overdosing on aphrodisiac plants, and saving three hundred captive women from a cannibalistic race in order to spirit them away to bring hope and love to the hearts of the people of Indesh. And maybe in the process find her own great romance story…all in time for Valentine’s Day.
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*WARNING* contains explicit adult sexual situations
A couple of things first, one is I loved this story and second is I really hope
Oigr gets a story finding his someone too.
Nikki is loud and fun, just a great character that pairs well with Nazzek who is much the same. Hearts of Indesh is short, but it has everything you expect from a SFR.
It’s really a novella, folks, but worth the read.
Holy guacamole! This is the first time I’ve ever said an advertised short story was really a novella! (It’s usually the other way around!) But because I enjoyed The DaVodok Book 1 so much, I went ahead and got this one… actually bought this one.
And to try to squish the confusion out of sight, this really IS Book 1.5. I see that Goodreads has it as Book 2, but that’s the next one in line. Though technically it’s a standalone by most, you really have to read Book 1 to get Book 1.5, but it’s not necessary to read to get Book 2.
Nazzek Evatuuvar is really a pirate of sorts despite the fact he calls himself a polite, charming, and prepared acquisitioner, not a pirate. (Apparently, there IS a difference.) Unfortunately, his race no longer has females. In fact, most intergalactic races think the Indesh are completely extinct. Perhaps that is how the Indesh prefers it… not. Not really.
So when the word gets out that humans are the universal uterus in compatibility, he decides to relieve a prince of Caysta of one human bride from his soon-to-be harem of twenty. (After all, what is one missing out of twenty? Hardly something to even think about!)
Of the many characters I have been reading about these past few weeks, I think this has to be one of the more entertaining ones I’ve read in a long time. He reminds me of a combination of bits of the Pirate King from Pirates of Penzance, Captain Kivian of the Dancing Fool starship (The Corsair’s Captive by Ruby Dixon), and Ekan the Na’Rith pirate (Blind Fall by Amanda Milo). Despite mammoth barriers hurled between him and his goal, he overlooks them just as easily as if they were mere speed bumps. But he has such a charming naïveté mixed with intriguing cunning that makes me laugh out loud so much. You’d think he was out of his mind… but then, he might be a hell of a lot more ingenious as well as benevolent than you’d consider.
Okay, so his ship crash-lands on a planet known for its indigenous cannibals (if they really are or if that’s only because of an excellent PR department paid to keep extraterrestrials from enslaving its population – you pick!), but it hardly is your standard I’ve-been-abducted-by-an-alien-and-he-can’t-pilot-worth-a-darn plot line. No, it does have a few surprises as does the entire novella.
If you want sneak peeks, read the other reviews. I did enjoy this book. So do don’t judge a book by its cover like the one I saw on Goodreads. I got the one with the Amazon Kindle green alien dude with the interesting horns, but I hear she’s got a professional artist working on the final project. Trust me – it’s entertaining without being sappy. That’s why I bought it, and I don’t normally buy novellas. Nor do I reread them within forty-eight hours.