Molly Janson is busy planning the winter party on Honora Station, but when she meets Tav, a sexy Detyen ship captain, sparks fly and all of her plans are thrown off balance. They’ll have to work together to make winter on Honora Station a reality, even as someone on the ship seems determined to ruin the new holiday.
Cute and steamy fated mates romance that’s all about the holiday season! A great short read to tuck in for a bit with a blanket and tea while it’s cold out Enjoy these sweet and alpha aliens cursed to find a mate or die.
Nothing was stirring
The perfect way to bring a little fun and adventure into your holiday! The author took party planning to a whole new level with this story. I love the way the planner really took the challenges head on as she sought to bring happiness to an out of the way station. And the author didn’t disappoint with the soul mate connection. I mean, what more could you ask for during the holidays? This book is a quick, fantastic read that was just right to get me in the mood for Christmas!
4.5 stars. A cute midwinter’s tale out in the vastness of space.
This longish short story (no, not quite a novella but close) is a good read when you need something different yet short and spry. It’s about a female Earther who finds herself the party planner of the spaceways when you want something with a Humanish bent to it. Molly accepts a contract for a winter party on the Honora space station’s inaugural winter party, one she plans to be a show stopper if it weren’t for a thief stealing much needed bits and pieces. And when her staff is extremely temporary, she finds herself constantly looking for more helpers and constantly worrying that her reputation is on the line for biting off more than she could chew.
Enter Tav of Detya, a member of a dying race as its males die at the age of thirty years if they go without finding their mates. The chemistry between Molly and Tav explodes, leaving neither not cognizant that there’s something special between the two. Oh, Tav knows the significance of their recognition though he knows it’ll take Molly a bit to process this primal connection as Humans don’t react well to the physical signs of a true and proper Detyen mating. But by the end of the book (and the end of the First Annual Honora Winter Party), Molly (and Tav) come to terms with this unique connection.
This is a lovely little piece based on the instalove story template. I’m pleased we’re not seeing the usual angst that usually perpetuates this particular story line because it is way overdone. At least Molly realizes and acts on her emotional connection with Tav even before she truly understands the entire nature of the Detyen mate bond. That’s fine with me. There’s a lot of more explore than just agonize over the usual usual which bores me to tears.
For a short story, there’s a surprisingly serious amount of world-building without sounding like you’re back in school. Character development is quite good as I have a decent picture in my head who Molly and Tav are. But what impressed me the most that almost brought me to tears is that for once, I found a writer who knew how to deal with the third person of unknown sex singular. In the English language, we don’t have anything like that. This is the sentence that got me: “A person had to learn to be adventurous if she wanted to live away from her own planet.” Yay!!!! None of this “they”. Since the person in particular is female, then the use the female pronoun was acceptable. That so totally blew me away. I’ve been arguing that you can’t use a plural third person pronoun when we’re dealing with third person singular of unknown sex. We really need to fix this and create a better word, but I am convinced we can use what we have and make it work.
Enough of my little platform statement.
I found this book to be quite entertaining, especially when I had only just enough time for something short and sweet but also satisfactory. I wasn’t in the mood for something with a cliffhanger or something that wasn’t fully developed. For once, i found a great short story that was well-composed. (There were still a few errors that could had been banged out. It should had had at least two read-throughs.) I think The Alien’s Winter Gift will go on my yearly Winter Solstice reading list, very much like watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a requirement to make the Yuletide official.
Even though this is one of her earlier books and I have read almost her entire library, I am only now reading this. Just never stumbled over it I suppose. Anyhow, it fits wonderfully in the ‘world’ (and by world I mean universe because it definitely involves more than one planet) she has created with her Mated to the Alien series.
Tav is a Detyen (her main alien species who die at 30 if they don’t bond with their mates) and a ship captain with a looming deadline of life expectancy (or lack thereof) who manages to find his future on an out of the way space station with a very human event planner. The story is short, sweet, steamy, and fun with a lot of romance and a bit of action and some requisite holiday shenanigans.
If you’re looking for a fun alien romance to warm your heart during the holidays (or anytime, really), then this is a great pick. If you haven’t read Mrs. Rudolph’s other books, this one could be a great introduction though it stands entirely on its own. Enjoy!
Who needs Christmas decorations for a party? Molly keeps trying to host the best representation of a human holiday party she can. It’s a good thing that Tav has found his way to Honora station in time to help setup. I was happy that everything managed to work itself out for a spectaular party and for a Tav to find his HEA. Another fine Dentyen adventure.
All I want for Christmas is – a Detyen!
Kate Rudolph has made a very successful niche for herself, writing some fine alien SF romance with lots of action and danger and derring-do, and featuring what must be hands-down the most sympathetic and adorable alien heroes – the Detyens. Equipped with retractable claws and incredible resourcefulness, they find, and rescue, their denyas (fated mates) by age 30 – or they die! (Hence the resourcefulness). This particular Detyen -denya romance is a bit different; softened alpha-male attitude, no Mission-Impossible-style action, and nobody in mortal peril – but the heart of our hero Tav remains Detyen-true. He finds his denya in Molly, party-planner extraordinaire, who is trying to make Honora Station (sort of an inter-planetary truck stop) into a winter holiday party venue. And being Detyen, Tav goes all-out to give Molly whatever she needs to complete her mission, plus the incredible gift of his undying love. Kate’s Detyen world is a little kinder and gentler this time around: enjoy the gift. I was originally offered an ARC of this book, but elected to make a purchase and leave a voluntary, independent and verified review.
Molly is a party planner working on Honora station.
Tav is a captain of his ship and a Detyen. They did at the age of 30 if they don’t find there denya or mate. When his ship needs repairs he has to stop off at Honora station were he meets Molly his denya. The one woman in the whole universe who can save his life.
Love the story , great action, fun characters, mystery, and spice. It was a fun read that I didn’t want to end. Sci-fi Romance fans will love this. Don’t miss it.
Voluntarily reviewed a copy and I honestly loved it.
Molly has been exploring the galaxy as a party/event planner after she found a talent for it when she ran out of cash during her travels. Now on the busy station she is struggling to control the Christmas/Winter Festival that she has been ordered to stage.
She is struggling with things going missing, high turnover of volunteers and she thinks this just might be her first failure!
Tav is the pilot/navigator of his ship and when it develops engine problems he is forced to land at the station. He did not expect to find his denya as he wandered the station. The Detyen is even more surprised when his very human denya also seems to feel the pull between them. Honora Station is developing a bit of a theft problem and security is not taking Molly’s worries seriously, so Tav is taking on his denya’s problems and recruits his crew and even some of his passengers to help her out.
Great short read. Filled up my lunch time perfectly! Put me in the mood for Christmas. I loves they way Molly just tried to tie up every alien winter festival she could, whilst adding a big dollop of earth Christmas/ Hanukah/Winter festivals.
This is a sweet and steamy holiday romance where Tav finds his Denya in Molly. Molly has a huge job in planning a special party on Honora Station. Her funds and number of helpers are limited but she makes the best of it. Then she sees Tav and is immediately drawn to him for some unknown reason but Tav knows that reason. Before they can figure out their relationship, they have to find out who’s stealing all her supplies. But what happens after the party? Do they get their happily ever after? This is a really enjoyable and easy read.