RLbooks (in and out)'s Reviews > R'jaal's Resonance

I really liked this new series starter with some familiar faces and settings, but with some newness thrown in as well. This does standalone and Ruby Dixon does have an author note at the beginning to summarize what's happened prior to this series (briefly) since this is a spinoff of Icehome which is a spinoff of Ice Planet Barbarians. There's also a cast of characters at the end of the book with descriptions and relationship connections. I've only read 1 IPB and a couple of the Icehome books and I did think that helped, only because there's a large set of side characters mentioned who've been in the two prior series. But the plot of the book and the challenges for the characters are developed well starting with this book and setting up for the rest of the series.

I'm going to be vague to avoid spoilers. The story starts with Rosalind (h) waking up in a pod and being very confused and scared and then grabbed by an unseen stranger to be tossed in a cell. She has such a rough intro to the planet and its people, unfortunately. But, she's quickly joined by a giant alien in that cell. I loved R'jaal (H), he's a big sweetheart who felt like he was out of options for finding his mate and that he'd be forced to be alone or to take the only remaining single female, who he felt no connection with. He was investigating a cave with others when he's kidnapped and thrown into this cell, but his reaction is very different than Rosalind's because he starts resonating so is joyful and is immediately ready to do anything, *anything*, for his mate. But Rosalind has no idea what's going on, she's in danger (without knowing it) because she doesn't have the nifty lifeform that helps the planet's inhabitants live there, and their captors think she's cursed so won't just release her. They have to get out and get back to R'jaal's village, not easily done. Written in first person, dual POV. No ow drama, tiny om drama from a creep who takes a liking to h, but with no interest on her end. H is a virgin who waited for his mate and h sort of is and sort of not (spoilers).

I really enjoyed how this book balanced the discoveries of who else is on the planet and what that could mean with the relationship development between Rosalind and R'jaal. Of course, R'jaal is all that is devoted and protective (seriously, I loved him), but he also doesn't want to overwhelm her so he does keep some facts to himself. I also liked that while Rosalind is drawn to R'jaal, she questions that draw and is cautious, even though she feels she can trust him. She was a great character with a mix of resiliency, vulnerability, and some humor. Some of the details of Rosalind's personality and memories made for excellent scenes too. Some steaminess starts fairly early, but the full relationship takes some time, and of course eventually all the info that R'jaal was trying not to overwhelm Rosalind with comes out, along with some new info. A lot happens in this book, but it's also a sweet and steamy romance between the h and H.

Once they're back with R'jaal's village, all the puzzle pieces also don't magically fall into place. Adjustments have to be made and as supportive as R'jaal is, Rosalind goes through significant emotional turmoil. I appreciated that there wasn't a magic fix for this and it took some processing and effort. The story ends with a HFN/HEA of these two in love and happily established and with breadcrumbs for future characters' stories to be told, along with breadcrumbs for future challenges/conflict. I thought this was a great read and I am curious about some of the new characters and potential. Risdaverse is still my favorite though.