This is a full-length sci-fi romance (approx. 70,000 words which includes a bonus full-length novel that is also approx. 70,000 words.)The Scorpion’s Mate Claire has never really fit in with everyone around her, but she’s carved out a life for herself using her own unique style and artistic ability to support herself on the Internet. The last thing she expects is to be abducted by aliens and … aliens and dropped into a research facility, where a genetically-engineered alien soldier chooses her as his life-mate.
Thrax’s pheromones are compelling, and his status as a fellow unwilling test subject makes them allies, but Claire isn’t certain she can trust someone who is convinced she belongs to him, when all she wants to do is find a way to return home to Earth—a place that her devoted alien can never follow, because there’s no way the scorpion-like alien would ever be able to pass for human.
Still, she’ll accept help where she can find it, so she doesn’t hesitate to escape with Thrax from the facility, though their time running from their pursuers in the warrens beneath the research facility will forever change Claire, and could make it impossible for her to return to Earth.
But will there be anywhere else in the galaxy they can go where their love will be accepted?
Plus a BONUS Full-length novel:
Into the Dead Fall
Though she was raised by a survivalist, Alice was not prepared to be ripped from her dimension and dropped without ceremony into the massive junkyard of a parallel dimension.
She’s wounded, alone, and lost in a world her mind struggles to comprehend. When a strange, four-armed alien comes to her aid, saving her life, she has no choice but to accept his help.
She finally starts growing comfortable around her leonine companion, until another warrior intervenes to save her when creatures from the Dead Fall attack them during their exploration, making everything much more complicated.
Alice still doesn’t understand what either of the warriors is saying, and if she can’t find the right words to soothe her beastly new protectors, they’ll end up killing each other.
Author’s Note: 18+ These books contain scenes that are not suitable for younger audiences. It should also be noted that the alien heroes in these books look alien in many ways, and their cultures and mating habits might not be for everyone.
more
Highly enjoyed both stories in this book! All the heroes are alien in appearance and I absolutely loved them. Susan Trombley’s writing flows and her world building is amazing.
The first book features Claire and Thrax, a scorpion-like alien creature who was altered to what he is now from the thing he once was. I loved him from the moment he appeared on the pages. He’ll do anything to keep her safe and to do that, they need to escape the facility that captured and tested on them. Susan made this terrifying creature beautiful, that I didn’t care about his ‘other’ parts being different. I really felt for him when he thought Claire was disgusted by him.
The second bonus story is about a woman named Alice who gets sucked through The Nexus, a gateway to another world and is left to fend for herself. Thankfully, there happens to be another nearby to hear her cries. Iyaren is a lion-like alien who cares for her as she’s injured, nursing her back to health. But he isn’t the only one who wants Alice. There is also Tak, a reptile-like alien who seeks to make her his mate. This story is a m/f/m, but there is no menage. I really couldn’t choose between the two if the males, so I’m glad she got both!
I highly recommend this book! I’m curious about the other characters and wonder if they will have their own books (Nemon, Evie). I know I will definitely be looking into other books by this author.
If you like a good scifi read with romance, this a great hook. Loved it!
Two books in one, this version of The Scorpian’s Mate also includes the book Into the Deadfall. The Scorpian’s Mate is slow to get juicy, because the author Susan has to set up the backstory and relationships, but once she gets to the good parts, it is a rollercoaster of fun! I especially liked how she came up with inventive alien body parts and ways of caring for his fragile human. Scorpian’s Mate begins a series that is unlike anything I have read yet and leads the pack on strange human/alien romances!
I haven’t finished Into the Deadfall yet, but am enjoying it as well. Susan is extremely inventive in the alien imagining department and always describes her aliens so you get an explicit visual of how they look. She should probably collaborate with movie visual effects, because she is just that creative!
It contains the first books of her two SF-Romance series, a good starting point !
Who knew I would fall in love with an insect-like alien? This author did an amazing job because these characters stuck with me for days. It was a beautiful story of them learning to understand one another and find a common ground to build their relationship. I loved it!
First read by this author.
Whilst on a camping/ufo hunting trip, Claire is ironically kidnapped by aliens.
Poked, prodded and abused, Claire it seems is doomed to the fate of the alien scientists.
Especially when she is put before Thrax a fellow kidnap victim…unlike Claire, Thrax was physically ‘modified’ and bio engineered to become a even more of a weapon, than his original form a hostile self reproducing emotionless giant scorpion. The scientists dartardly plan is to breed them and create super soldiers to protect and further their cruel race…
Neither Claire or Thrax have any choice, but when the opportunity appears to escape…Claire cannot resist the internal compulsion to Trust Thrax.
Great concept and I liked that Thrax was an actual alien! As opposed to…a humanoid like alien.
That his physiology was different before and after he was altered. His internal struggle with his before and after was intriguing and his lack of understanding emotions other than a want to feed was cleverly done.
My only grumble was that at times the book felt rushed, especially the ending. I could have done with a epiloguebor a few more chapters.
I will be looking for more from this author.
So there are two stories in this omnibus and in my opinion both were good enough and long enough to be in a stand alone edition.
Each was very different and if I had to pick a favourite out of the two book one “The Scorpion’s Mate” won it hands down for me.
That’s not to say the second book in this omnibus “Into The Dead Fall” is any slouch either I enjoyed that one also.
Now I’m a strange one, and this sort of story, aliens that look and act like real aliens is a real guilty pleasure of mine, And as I like my stories well developed with a proper connection between the principal characters, the pickings for this type of fiction and that is also well written, is so very slim indeed.
I’m a huge fan of R. Lee Smith who is another fantastic author of these types of books and had yet to find anyone to live up to her alien stories.
I am happy to say, Susan Trombley has and I am keeping my fingers crossed that she has more of this to come.
So the first story”The Scorpions Mate” tells the story of Claire who is kidnapped by aliens and locked up in a research facility.
Claire is a quirky sort who has never quite fit in on earth, in the research facility she is mated to Thrax a genetically engineered Soldier who was a sort of deadly giant scorpion before they spliced his DNA for experimentation.
Thrax imprints on Claire and as she falls for an unlikely hero Claire realises to stay with Thrax is to renounce returning to earth as he could never fit in there looking the way he does.
I loved this story like so much, it’s hard to explain you’ve just got to be there to get it.
I loved how wild and protective Thrax was towards Claire while still being completely deadly to all else.
The second story “Into The Dead Fall” is completely different and actually involves two aliens and no it’s not a menage it’s more of a two husbands kind of story.
I wasn’t a fan of this and would have prefered to have kept to the one alien
In this one, Alice is sucked through a nexus into a post-apocalyptic landscape
nd is initially injured luckily for her Iyaren is there to rescue her and nurse her wounds but with a language barrier between them, it’s a hard slog.
Iyaren is a kind of lion-like alien and lonely is happy for the company.
Now I would have been happy to rest with the sexy lion but here we have another alien also attracted to Alice Tak a sort of Lizard-like creature sees and bonds with her
when the two realise Alice cant choose they suggest both taking care of her.
Tak and Iyaren are from the same planet and can communicate Tak can also understand Alice as he had a procedure done to allow this,
there is a lot more to these two imaginative tales but I’ve given you the bare bones above to give you a rough idea.
Please don’t be put off by the very real aliens contained within these pages, give this a try, what have you got to lose, you might actually surprise yourself and really enjoy the tales told here.
So anyway these are well written, emotive and engaging and from what I can see there is plenty of opportunity in both landscapes for future story growth.
The author has set this up very nicely.
I really can’t recommend each of these stories enough and I enjoyed every word.
This omnibus is currently free in KU.
Let me preface this by saying that this is an alien romance and the alien hero is seriously alien. I loved it. I wasn’t sure I was going to, but I think if the world was a perfect place every woman would end up with a mate as dedicated as Thrax. It was an awesome book. I also enjoyed the bonus book that was included – it was equally enjoyable – with two alien heroes!