Reviews
Tarrant-Arragon, the Djinn Tigron prince, has traveled from the planet Tigron
to "collect" his bride to be, Djinni-vera. The problem, she does not know who
he is, and, according to the tape recording he is listening to, she wants
nothing to do with him at all. But Tarrant-Arragon is here to take her by force
if need be, and to return her to Tigron for the Imperial wedding. Pretending
to be a fellow Saurian Knight, the Djinn prince tricks Djinni into drinking a
drugged toast, and escaping with her to his starship.
Djinni-vera is terrified of mating -- with any man. But the horrible tales
of the Djinn prince, Tarrant-Arragon, have her in a near panic. When she is
duped into partaking in an ancient Saurian ritual, Djinni is furious with
herself and vows to escape. Her various attempts only make her admire her captor as
he manages to thwart her every move. Still unaware of whose clutches she is
in, Djinni finds herself falling in love with Tigger, the name she has given
Tarrant-Arragon.
Again Tarrant-Arragon tricks Djinni into saying the formal matrimonial vows
in front of the entire Tigron nation, and it is not until he is whisking her
away does Djinni realize just whom she has married and that he is not the tyrant
the Saurian Knights have said he is. But feeling betrayed, Djinni refuses to
tell Tigger her true feelings, but when an attempt is made on his life,
Djinni cannot help but place herself in front of her true love. Even if it means
losing her own life.
The premise for FORCED MATE is truly creative and imaginative. However,
there is no background information as to who or what the characters are. It is
almost as if the reader is supposed to discern from a few words exactly what a
Djinn prince is and why the Saurian Knights are fighting the Tigron Empire.
Tarrant-Arragon is definitely an alpha male. He is amused at Djinni's
disparaging remarks regarding his sexual prowess, yet when he is face to face with her
terror, he goes out of his way to make the transition from captive to lover as
pleasant as possible for Djinni. When Djinni is first introduced, I was
impressed by her stubborn and very warrior-like attitude, but as the tale winds
on, she becomes this almost shirking violet that made me want to smack her and
say, "Get a spine, wimp!"
Secondary characters are plentiful and, again, without the detailed
explanation as to who and what they are, their function is lost, leaving me confused
and frustrated. Dialogue between characters left me unsure of what exactly was
going on, and at times, having no clue as to what had just occurred. While
scenery was narrated descriptively, the lack of character background and the
leaping between ideas and concepts had my brain spinning.
All in all FORCED MATE was a vast disappointment to me. I am sorry that I
cannot recommend it.
~ Catherine McHenry
www.romrevtoday.com
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