Acquainted with the Night

By: Lesli Richardson

Narrated by: Daniel Crosby

I hated the military…and now I’m an alien’s pet!

I hated the Terran military. I didn’t volunteer, either. Like so many others, I was drafted as cannon fodder in the senseless Terran war against the Algonquans. Not like I had much of a future ahead of me, though, without a rich family to pave my way or even pay for me to have a wife.

Now, my entire ship’s been captured. If what we’ve been told about the alien race is true, I’ll never be seen again. I hope they don’t eat me.

Turns out the truth is far different than we were led to believe. The Algonquans aren’t vicious, insectoid monsters, either.

We’re now their pampered pets…and they’re using us to help replenish their population to win the war.

You know, maybe this isn’t the worst life after all.

This standalone MMMM, sci-fi romance features humans as aliens' pets (and more), m-preg, a touch of power exchange, and…interesting alien tech. This book was previously published under my Tymber Dalton pen name. It has been revised and expanded for re-release.

©2020 Lesli Richardson (P)2024 Scribd, Inc.

Finally!

This has been one of my favorite books for several years. I have read it several times and never get tired of it. I was thrilled when an audio book version was released.
The narrator is new to me, and did a reasonably fair performance. But it could have been smoother. It kept strangely switching from a smooth, even delivery to a stilted, almost wooden, book report reading. It took away from the enjoyment of the story slightly.

ok I didn’t expect an ugly cry at the end

I legit haven’t cried because of a book in a looong time. But here we are. I’m writing this about 15 mins from the end because I’m already getting feels and know I’m about to be a wreck. thanks for that (sarcasm)

I was expecting this book to be a dark romance, at least going by the description. It ended up being a warm/fuzzy romance, though there were very real trials/tribulations that came up along the way. While there is an overarching plot focusing on the war, the war itself is actually more of a pacing tool to show passage of time and to contextualize some of what the characters are seeing and experiencing

I wouldn’t have guessed, but the actual depth and deeper meaning in the story came from the profoundly rich connections between the main characters, as people and also as lovers and life partners.

The actual flow of the story is the deepening and evolution of these connections over time. So while the war is a plot device to move time along, it’s only background to the real story captured in the characters’ very real love for each other.

Shoutouts:
-positive/nuanced portrayal of a life-long multi-sided poly relationship, with other peripheral poly relationships in other families
-accurate and moving portrayals of grief and trauma
-numerous spicy scenes, but done in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the story

Highly recommend