BOOK REVIEW for "Barbarian's Mate (Ice Planet Barbarians, #7)" by Ruby Dixon

Barbarian's Mate

(Ice Planet Barbarians, #7)

by Ruby Dixon

SUMMARY

'Resonance' is supposed to be a dream - that's when your soulmate is chosen for you. And everyone on the ice planet has hooked up with a big, hunky soulmate of their own...except me. So do I want a mate? Heck yeah. More than anything, all I've ever wanted is to be loved by someone.

Except that the soulmate chosen for me? My least favorite person on the darn ice planet. Haeden's the most cranky, disapproving, unpleasant, overbearing male alien...so why is it that my body sings when he gets close? Why is he working so hard to prove to me that he's not as awful as I think he is?

I hate him...don't I?

~ BOOK REVIEW for Barbarian's Mate ~

*****(5) out of 5 

"You were mine the day you landed in this world.  I felt a connection the moment I saw you, and it frightened me.  When we resonated, I realized that you were always meant to be mine.  And I will keep you safe... You are mine.  That is all you need to know.  If you are taken, I will come after you.  If you are sick, I will never leave your side.  If you leave, I will follow.  You will never be without me, because I will come after you.  Know this...  But do not seek to tell me that you are not mine yet.  Because you have always been mine."

This is my absolute favorite book (so far) in this series.  Josie and Haeden seem like the most unlikely pair, but they are really quite a bit alike.  Which is probably why they butt heads at every turn.  Long before they resonate, they completely get on each other’s nerves.  Which makes it nearly impossible for Josie to accept that the gruff and rude Haeden is to be her mate.  She fights against it so hard that she makes both of them ill from the effects of their thwarted resonance.  And she’s so mean to him that you almost feel sorry for the guy, except that he acts like such a jerk to her.  Only later do we learn the true extent of their sad pasts and how much each has been effected by them.  Once they finally start talking and sharing things, they begin to understand each other and bond.  After some additional trials and tribulations, they finally submit and give in to resonance.  But while that problem is finally solved, they have even more issues with which to deal.   Quite a lot happens in this volume, and it directly sets the stage for the next two books in the series, as well as indirectly for the related Icehome series.  A steamy, romantic, action-filled sci-fi tale that is a fun read. 

"I have never had a mate before, Jo-see.  I will not always do the right thing.  I will not always give you the words you feel you need...  But make no mistake - if you leave this world, I will not be long behind, because I cannot live without you."