I'm not a fan of horror and scary stories, so here are 8 paranormal romance book recommendations to add to your fall/ Halloween TBR lists... 1. The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
2. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
3. Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
4. Bone Crier's Moon by Kathryn Purdie
5. Lore & Lust by Karla Nikole
6. Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert
7. Eternally Yours by Patrice Caldwell et al.
8. Mating the Huntress by Talia Hibbert
What's on my fall TBR list?
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My General Thoughts: Firstly, I love these special edition covers and can’t wait to see what the rest of the series looks like! I think that the Ice Planet Barbarians series is very addicting; I especially enjoy how all the Ice Planet Barbarian books have interconnected story lines and are full of action, romance, sci fi elements, and spice. Since I was already familiar with planet Not-Hoth and its inhabitants (after reading the first 3 books in the series), I loved how I was able to dive right into Barbarian Mine without a lot of preambles – I was especially excited about Harlow’s story as her well-being was left in a cliff hanger at the end of Barbarian Lover (book 3). I would highly recommend this series to fantasy, sci fi, and/ or romance readers such as fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout, King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair, Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert, and The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L Jensen. One downside for me was that I found it frustrating that Harlow’s love interest, Rukh, couldn’t communicate with Harlow through words for most of the book (Rukh doesn’t know English nor the Sakh language because he grew up uncivilized and isolated from the tribe). Lastly, it is important to note some trigger warnings present in Barbarian Mine including kidnapping, isolation, cancer, and pregnancy/ childbirth. I also want to note that it’s important to read the first 3 books in the Ice Planet Barbarians series (Ice Planet Barbarians, Barbarian Alien, and Barbarian Lover) before picking up a copy of Barbarian Mine to avoid spoilers. Book Description: “The fourth novel in the international publishing phenomenon the Ice Planet Barbarians series, now in a special print edition with bonus materials and an exclusive epilogue! Harlow receives the shock of her life when she wakes up to see Rukh, a stranger who has clearly been on his own his whole life, but she soon learns that there is much more to this gruff, barbaric alien than the savage he appears to be. The ice planet has given me a second lease on life, so I'm thrilled to be here. Sure, there are no cheeseburgers, but I'm healthy and ready to be a productive member of the small tribe. What I didn't anticipate? That there'd be a savage stranger waiting nearby, watching me. And when he takes me captive, the unthinkable happens...I resonate to him. Resonance means mating, and children...but I don't know if this guy's ever been around anyone before. He's truly a barbarian in all ways, and he has claimed me as his own. So why is it that I crave his touch and hunger for more?” (Summary courtesy of Berkley and Penguin Random House). Continue reading for an excerpt of Barbarian Mine by Ruby Dixon curtesy of Berkley Publishing, Penguin Random House, and Ruby Dixon… Excerpt of Barbarian Mine by Ruby Dixon: Harlow I need two poles for a travois. Two. No problem. There's got to be trees in the distance, and I'm strong and whole. Okay. I can do this. I can. Aehako's instructions ring through my mind, over and over. We need to make a travois and take Haeden back to the healer. My heart races wildly in my chest as I sprint through the snow, looking for the thin, pink, wispy trees of this planet. Kira's gone, and both aliens are wounded. They need my help, and I can't let them down. I don't know why they don't go back to the alien ship and get healed. They don't trust it, and I guess I understand that. I'm used to technology, and it still freaks me out to think of the cold, emotionless voice of the computer. Also, I know what it's like to fear the doctor. My feet sink into the snow with each step, and my leather boots quickly become sodden. There's no time to fix them or reinforce the insides with warm dvisti fur. Time is of the essence. I trudge forward over a drift-covered hill, and when I see the pink, wispy eyelashes of trees in the distance, I pick up the pace. Almost there. I have Haeden's knife, since he's too wounded to use it. The bone handle is smooth in my hand, though it's a little too big for my human-sized palm to grip comfortably. Everything here on Not-Hoth is sa-khui sized. I'm a decent height for a girl, but the average person on this planet seems to be seven feet tall, and the snows are deep, the caves huge. Really, everything feels just a wee bit too big. It's like I've been transported to a Goldilocks house, except instead of just right, everything's too large. It's just one more thing I must adjust to in an endless stream of new and frightening things. Weeks ago, I went to sleep in my own bed, and the biggest concern on my mind was when I'd start my chemo. Then, a few weird dreams later, I woke up, shivering and weak, pulled from a tube and told I'd been abducted by aliens. Which would have been hard to believe except that I'd come from Houston, Texas, and my air conditioner had gone out, so I'd spent the evening sweating and praying the repairman would come by soon. When I'd woken up? It had been so cold my bare feet had stuck to the metal floors, and strange blue aliens occasionally entered to chat with the humans. It's hard to call someone a liar when they're seven feet tall, blue, and horned. After seeing that, I had to believe. And even though sometimes I want to pinch myself until I wake up, I have to accept the fact that I'm now living on a snow planet with no chance of getting home, and I'm infected with an alien parasite that allows me to endure the harsh conditions of Not-Hoth. Not exactly how I'd visualized my future at all. But . . . at least I have a future. According to the ship's medical computers, I'm cancer-free now. I don't know if it's wrong, or if it's Not-Hoth's atmosphere or the new "cootie" (as some of the girls call it) living in my chest. All I know is that the inoperable brain tumor isn't showing up in scans. And for the first time in the last year, I have hope. But first . . . a travois. When I get to the trees, I move to the closest one and touch the bark with my fingertips. It feels spongy and damp despite the chill in the air, and not sturdy enough to support a massive, muscled alien. I have no idea if this will work, but I'll give it a shot. I owe the sa-khui my life, and so I'm going to do my best to help Haeden and Aehako. Kneeling down, I begin to hack at the base of the first tree. The knife sinks in with a squishing noise, and sap squirts out onto the snow. Ugh. I wrinkle my nose and keep cutting, determined. Kira's gone, and they're wounded, so I'm the only one that can help. The snow crunches nearby. I stand upright, surprised. It almost sounded like a footstep. "Hello?" I turn around and look. "Aehako?" No one's there. The snowy landscape is barren, nothing but rolling drifts as far as the eye can see. I must be imagining things. I'm not alone out here in the wild. There're creatures everywhere, or so the hunters tell me. It could be one of the porcupine-looking things. Or maybe it's a rabbit. Or . . . whatever the rabbit equivalent on this planet is. I can't be a silly chicken and freak out at every little sound, though. I turn back to the tree and continue hacking at it. I hear the crunch of snow again, and a moment later, a heavy thudding. My blood feels like it's surging in my ears, and I press a hand to my head, wincing. No, wait. That's not thudding or drumming. My heart is calm. Is it . . . purring? Something slams into the back of my head, and I pitch forward into darkness. Even there, the strange purring follows me. Excerpted from Barbarian Mine by Ruby Dixon, Copyright © 2022 by Ruby Dixon. Excerpt reproduced with permission of Berkley and Penguin Random House, all rights reserved.
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