Beneath the Surface by Alainna MacPherson

4 Stars

The writing and editing of the ARC version of this manuscript was clean, with no typos that I found. The world building was fairly vibrant, with M'Nai culture and post-invasion Earth being well described. The characterization was okay, though not exceptional, with the heroine being way too passive and accepting of her slavery for my taste. I had hoped for her to confront the hero about his people's atrocities, but she never did. The development of the romantic relationship was fairly natural and organic. The plot and pacing was exciting. There was surprisingly little angst on the heroine's part, considering she was falling in love with a slave owner. There were high stakes, which I typically prefer in my romance novels. This novel used the Fated Mates trope and the Enemies to Lovers trope. The world building, plot, and pacing were all four stars. The characterization was three stars, and the development of the romantic relationship was four stars. I rounded up and gave this novel a combined rating of four stars. Unfortunately, this novel did not end on a Happy Ever After ending, though it was not quite a cliffhanger ending. That was deeply disappointing to me, and I probably would not have read the novel had I realized that. I recommend this sci-fi romance to readers who are not triggered by slavery and enjoy ongoing romance series featuring the same couple. I do not think I will read the next book in this series, simply because the heroine was so passive and accepting of her status as a slave. I will not buy myself a keeper copy of this novel, though I did enjoy it up until the abrupt ending.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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