BOOK REVIEW for "Alien Hope (Alien Invasion, #5)" by Honey Phillips

SUMMARY:

Torn apart for ten years, can they reclaim their love?

For as long as Emlan could remember, T’renan had been part of her life - friend, protector, confidant - but when she tried to show the massive alien warrior she wanted more, he left her. When she heard that he had been killed, she couldn't let herself believe he was really gone.

Ten years later, just as she finally starts to move on with her life, word comes that he is alive. At first she is overjoyed, but the protective warrior of her youth has been replaced by a bitter, angry male.

T’renan never wanted to leave Emlan, but neither could he resist her innocent advances. A temporary assignment guarding trade routes seemed like the best alternative - until his ship was captured and he was enslaved in the mines of Quatar. Only the memories of Emlan keep him sane during the torturous years of his imprisonment, but when he finally manages to escape, nothing is the same. He has lost everything else - is he going to lose her as well?

Fate kept them apart for ten years; can they overcome the distance between them and find their way back to each other?

~BOOK REVIEW for Alien Hope~

Emlan and T’renan are a delightful couple!  Despite having been separated for ten years, under horrible circumstances (him held prisoner in a slave labor camp, her thinking he was dead), the two actually reconnect surprisingly quickly and easily.  It is actually after they are reunited that the trials to their union kick in, coming from a variety of sources.  But everything just serves to help them be stronger as a couple.  The secondary characters in their tale are enjoyable as well, especially Budra, O'kami, and T'gaira.  The story itself is full of intrigue and drama, with several unexpected twists and turns.  But it all eventually leads to a very happy ending for this lovely couple.  

I did find the backstory a bit lacking and rather confusing.  I never was entirely sure what their relationship was before T'renan went away.  Did he work for Emlan's father?  Was he her bodyguard?  Her betrothed?  And if the latter, why did he feel it necessary to leave?  None of that was ever made clear, nor exactly what was a L'chka.  (Perhaps some of this was explained in other volumes of the series?  But not having read any of those except for the prequel, I was a bit lost.)

Still, the story was good, the writing flowed well, and the characters were very endearing.  Definitely a sci-fi romance that I would recommend to those who enjoy the genre, and a series that I would be willing to explore further. 

I received a free eBook ARC of this title from the author,

and have willingly provided an honest review.