Torment by Tana Stone

4 Stars

This novel was well written and edited, with few typos that I caught in the ARC version of this manuscript. The world building in this novel was excellent, with The Thieves Den coming to vibrant life in this novel. The characterization was also really well done in this novel, with both the hero and heroine being distinct, sympathetic individuals. The development of the romantic relationship between these two characters was fairly natural and organic, which is impressive for a romance this length with so many adventure elements to the plot. The plot and pacing of this novel was complex and exciting, with these two characters having non-stop adventures and complications to their mission of being able to go home to the sand planet. There was almost no angst in this novel, but the stakes felt very high, with both hero and heroine almost getting killed multiple times. This novel uses the Fated Mates trope and the Dothvek series uses the Mars Needs Women trope throughout the series. The plot, pacing, and world building of this novel rates four stars, with the characterization and development of the romantic relationship also rating four stars, for a combined score of four stars. This novel ends on a Happy Ever After ending instead of a cliffhanger, which all the novels I have read by this author do, so that is a major recommendation to read this author. I recommend this romance to readers who enjoy sci-fi romances with alien heroes and a distinct space opera feel. I think I am going to buy myself a keeper copy of this novel, and probably go back and buy keeper copies of the previous books in this series. Each subsequent novel keeps getting better than the one before!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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