His to Keep (Alien Overlords #3) (2024)

Oh moons Taylor Vaughn (Theodora Vaughn and Eve Vaughn) has done it again with another memorable addition to the Alien Overlords series! And NOTHING, you hear me, NOTHING is what it seemed in "His to Keep: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance."

This was Roq N'Thn and Nova's touching story. What started as another solar's breeding ceremony where all 21 year-old New Terrhan women were breeded with the Xalthurians, ends with our alien warrior hero, Roq N'thn, a prisoner of war by the beastly Zaidorian while renaming him Fighter 8410 and on New Terrhan our heroine, Nova gives birth to N'thn's daughter, Glee and lives with an abusive, secretive and demanding no- good man named Dan.

What happened to the main characters was heart wrenching but as the story progresses, their attractions grows, love finds a way as our hero makes her stronger, heroine calms his mind and brings light while sweet their energetic daughter Glee is their happiness together! Yes, little Glee will have to rooting for her parents easily too!

"In return, you will agree that you are mine. Mine to Mate. Mine to Keep. Mine to breed." - N'thn

Also, secrets are revealed about former ambassador/mad scientist, N'Ure's (N'Thn's father) deceptions but you will have to read it for yourself and see why my 5 fast-paced stars are warranted for !!!!!!!!

By the way, this story suggested more storylines in this series!

ARC was provided for an honest review!

A well written love story with lovable characters. Loved the hero so much.
BUT.. I hated their world. Woman were treated as a little more than slaves and breeding machines. Some of the scenes was really harsh. There is no rape scenes in literal sense but women were forced to mate with aliens that too in more than 1 scene.
Beware of triggers as there is domestic violence too.
I wont be reading earlier books in this series but most probably will read next one.
Safety is little tricky in this one. But from hero’s side, yes he was celibate. He even resisted the drug ( mating drug) one of his captors fed him.

Recommended.

So. Much. Rape.

I wanted to like this but the romance is overshadowed with rape and abuse. Breeding experiments, domestic abuse, and xenophobia make this story a downer.

Read in KU

This is the third book in the Alien Overlords series by Taylor Vaughn and I have two words: "YES!" and "FINALLY!" His to Keep is, in my opinion, the best of the series to date. While I didn't hate the first two books, I did feel they failed to live up to their full potential considering the popular writers who collaborated to create the series. That said, this book greatly expands on the human and Xal saga by taking the reader through the heartwrenching and ultimately satisfying trials and tribulations of Nova and N'Thn. There's so much going on that I worry about revealing spoilers so I've decided to just briefly list what made this book shine for me. Things I liked are:
- The details. I, as a reader, appreciate the details given in this book. It made for a far richer and broader story.
- Nova and N'Thn. While the manner in which the Xalthurians and humans fall in love has always been both troubling and suspect to me, this is the first time that I fully buy into it. This isn't an overnight or sweet courtship or romance. While the initial attraction may seem doubtful to some considering the circ*mstances, I can understand how Nova may have been attracted to the way N'Thn ultimately treated her. Despite the distasteful/terrible nature of their first encounter, her life on New Terrahn didn't have a lot of tenderness yet she saw it in him. How both Nova and N'Thn carried a wistful memory of one another was just well done and was what made me root for them.
- Glee. While I'm not the biggest fan of children in books I thought Glee was very well written and likable.
-The inclusion of characters I hadn't expected to see again (that's all I'm gonna say on that note...)
-The direction this book is headed. This book was seeded with future storylines that are filled with a lot of potential. I can't wait!

I was thrilled to have been given an ARC to read and yup, this would be a sci-fi romance that I would have been happy to purchase and read even if I hadn't. I fully recommend His to Keep and give it 4 stars.

4 stars ⭐️

This series just keeps getting better. The storyline is great, tying each standalone book in with the next. As one villain dies another seems to worm their way out of the woodwork. And nothing is as it seems. These books will keep you guessing as to who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.

I really have enjoyed my binge of this series. This one had a little, more serious plot than the other two. It deals with PTSD. I really liked it and I'm looking forward to more to come with these Alien Overlords. Happy reading!!

His to Keep by Taylor Vaughn
Genres: Adult, Romance, Sci-fi, Suspense
🎵 I may add crime or mystery to the genres. Still 🤔thinking on it.
4 Stars

More later.....

DNF

I just couldn't get over the portrayal of abuse victim. Ladies,if you ever got raped or beaten,know that this author thinks you are to blame and deserving of your pain,you are weak and deserve to be punished for that even more. However, author thinks that it will give you great pleasure.

I was so disgusted by ideas in this book that I just couldn't finish reading it. Terrible book,terrible messages and I am throughout disgusted by authors audacity to send these messages. I will never,ever attempt to read anything of this author again. It is horrible.

5 Plus Alien Loving Stars

5 stars for this outstanding BWWM alien needs a woman sci fi adventure. When you think “what else can they do to add on to this series”? The answer is a lot! I am not proud of this but I am not immune to skipping to the end of a story when it is not going my way. However in this instance, I was invested in this tale from start to finish. Although this a sci fi outer world setting, these ladies (Taylor and Vaughn) somehow incorporate real life issues i.e. PTSD, bullying, true to life human trafficking, domestic abuse. Remember Aliens are people too! This a series and book you should not miss! Bravo!

Quick(ish) Review

So good! This is a dark, sometimes violent series but the story of N’thn and Nova is possibly my fave, or at least right up there with the second book. There’s definitely dubcon issues, but the connection is there, the Firsts are compelling and the HEA is satisfying after all they’ve been through. The setup to the next book is crazy, but I’m here for it. Can’t wait to read it.

Too rapey for my liking. And the next book looks like a MMF love / rape triangle. I can’t

Couldn’t put the books down, I enjoy all of Taylor’s work and this series is also great, just still waiting for Her Dragon king. Where is the rest of the the Nakam

FIYA!
I don't know when book 4 is coming out but they need to hurry up!

I was surprised that there was an actual story here.

Nova and N'th did not have the insta-love story even though they had a child together. Their combined history of abuse and violence was not dismissed away and wasn't used as a plot device. Both leaned and grew with one another under trying circ*mstances.

Can't wait for the next book. I wonder who Ella winds up with?

Another great installment in this series! The plot is getting better by the chapter as well as the drama. Everything is hitting the fan and things may never calm down again. However, Nova finds are love and he comes back to life for her. Such a great story!
#MyBookObsessionApproved

Finally Nova can have her happily ever after with Glee. And I need right now to know what happens to Elle and her baby, it can't just end like that!!!!
And N'Thn turns out to be a whole lot than what she wanted to bargain for. But it turns out that the wild beast she encountered chained to the wall of his cousin's home is the same gentle alien who gave her a lasting memory from the dread of the Breeding Ceremony and the child she loves most in the world. She's afraid to bring Glee I to another dangerous relationship. And N'Thn finds that the women who only existed in his memories to help him survive the fighting pits as a prisoner. She calms his madness and rage and their little girl gives him the hope of a famines never through he'd have. But when their captured by his father to undergo a breeding experiment, they learn to strengthen their weaknesses and learn the tenderness of love.

Potential Spoilers.

This book is so dark and sad and full of rape. I can stand a little bit of darkness in a scifi romance (a little assertive seduction). But, this did not have enough light to balance the weight of the darkness. So much of the story, we see the hero and heroine suffering different forms of abuse. This is not my type of book and felt much darker than the first two for me—and they were dark. Not a fan. I’m giving up on this author.

Can’t wait!!! This series is SO yummy!

I think I would have preferred a different narrator. There were so many different POV’s in this book and weird names. And even though I have read the previous books, I couldn’t remember all the players in this story. Again because the names are weird. So that’s when having a really good narrator is key. She did do different voices, but I found them annoying, and similar. She has one bad guy voice and there were multiple bad guys.

As far as the story goes, there was a lot going on. A lot happened in this. I loved the story between the H and h. I loved their connection from the first time they were together.

But another thing that brought this rating down though was their daughter. Reading about kids in a story is hit and miss with me. I either love it or hate it. In this one, I didn’t like it so much. I loved that she was a part of the story, but I hated how she was written. I can’t stand it when a child is written as if they think they know better than adults, and I especially hate reading about children yelling at their parents and their parents just taking it. I get that it’s supposed to be a moment where they are so overwhelmed with everything that has happened and they lash out like kids do, but as a parent that is the time to reign them back in, and rarely do book parents do that. I don’t let my kids yell at me, so I don’t want to read about kids yelling at their parents. Sorry this was such a small part of the story, but it left a bad taste in my mouth and I was glad when the majority of the story ended up not even having Glee in it.

N'Thn and Nova

I believe this is my favorite overlord book so far. Both N'Thn and Nova have been through so much. Him being a prisoner of war and her a prisoner in her own home. Then after almost finding peace they both are kidnapped by his treasonous father the ex prime minister. Even when he thought he wouldn't be able to save her he taught her to fight to save herself. Although the prime minister was handled and his accomplice I still believe there was someone else helping. 💟💟

The epilogue sets up a couple of things:
- a potential romance with a new human female introduced out of nowhere
- the enemy emperor getting himself a curvy girlie mate to breed with the rest of his family pack
- the Big Red Obstacle who's anti-human asf realizes that the human his half brother is infatuated with is the one he had impregnated and shares a son with --- so many a love triangle there?

I wanna read about the enemy aliens though 👀👀👀

****SPOILER****
This book had so much potential, I mean it is the third book in the series so we already know the worldbuilding and kind of what to expect since now things have changed around with the new accord that happened once women are allowed to make choices

but my goodness what in the world happen

So we get the Hero who is a prisoner of war and has PTSD, but still remembers the one and only woman he had a connection to and wants to be with her, now has come back into his life

Heroin is in need of help to move her daughter out of her plant so that she can have a better life, she has to search for the baby daddy to take care of his kid.

They find each other and it was not the best time.. Hero is crazy and Heroin just got out of a bad abusive marriage. The Hero is like you can be my mate forever and I will take care of you and my child. Heroin is like nope and runs

Meantime heroin said she wanted to do whatever it took to make her daughter's life better than what she did before, but she runs.

After that, both the Hero and Heroin are captured and taken to a lab to have Sex and breed children together or they will die. WHAT THE ACTUAL !!!!!

We spend the majority of the time in this laboratory prison where they have to breed each other. They are tortured or even abused if they don't do what these scientists tell them to do. The heroine does not have the balls nor does the hero have the mentality to get themselves out of there. Listen I fully understand what the hero is going through because his mind isn't there but the heroin no she needed to step up and she didn't.

I was expecting this story to be a marriage of convenience. Because yes maybe the heroine did not fully love the hero and the hero also had to deal with his past experience it would have been a tough time in their marriage, but their love would have grown. And I also would have loved the mystery of trying to figure out who kidnapped him and why was he tortured so much and what really was going on in the lab that he was in prior to him being saved. But instead of getting a marriage of convenience the hero and the heroine falling in love is a beautiful slow burn. In every chapter we pretty much get rape, I mean disgusting. I could not fall in love with either of them and I could have easily seen myself falling for the hero and the heroine if the story was different

Instead what we get is a heroine who does not have a fight or flight mentality. She was ready to give up and realize that she would die. Instead of thinking let's make a plan let's figure out how to get out of here, thinking of her child first and how she would save herself so that her child could see her again and maybe the baby daddy. Instead, it was let's give up and I'll die here and it takes the hero to finally decide I need to train this woman to fight.

I think the story would have been more compelling if I felt that the heroine was in fighting stands survival mode from the beginning. She has been abused for a very long time and so because of her abuse and her learning to deal with fighting for herself now that she has to think of her child she should have manned up in this story. Because this is a fantasy story I want it to be epic and while I was getting was mediocre with rape the story was not for me I was very very upset about this story I do not think I'm going to read any more books from these authors I felt that there were stories that really had a lot of trigger points and they really needed to put warning instead of saying this book might not be for everyone. No, this book isn't. And how are you going to get to the third book and we're still dealing with the same repetitive story she's my mate I will Rape her because I have the power and I'm a male

. Also come to find out that these men used to be merchants they weren't anything, and that they so call have respect for women because they bear children yet they have no respect for any women, not even their own kind. And if they value order and education why was that not the first thing that they would think about is educating themselves as to why the humans react the way that they do to them. Oh, I hate this story the worldbuilding sucks don't read the story.

Nova was his healing balm

She knew what it was like to be a forgotten unwanted person who was an afterthought being made to suffer only because she was an orphan. Her life had no future after the scheduled breeding ceremony with her giving birth to an unwanted female. But her daughter was the only thing that kept her alive after honoring her marriage contract to her horrible abusive husband Dan. The only bright spot in her life was thinking about the green Xalthurian who was Gore's father. They unexpectedly gave birth to not only a xalling but also love.

As fate would have it, many years later found them bound together again in a secret breeding program lead by N'Thn's evil father. What is discovered is something bigger going on with orphan girls who were thought dead, are not.

Taylor Vaughn wrote a highly imaginative sci/fi story that kept my attention. It is an otherworldly take of his a race or aliens seek to overcome the effects of the Extinction Virus by Inger breeding with humans in a very tough and overbearing and cruel way, until their new Qel, Kira made chances. Just like any other societies, there is always a faction that is against species mixing. And there is a faction that doesn't like the direction their politics is going and want to overthrow the status quo. This story also tells of the effects of a three-generation war has on its Xalthurian warriors, just like with human soldiers are similar. It also shows how contact with a different species and the learning of each other's cultures is not always a bad thing. Nova helped N'Thn with his mind rot or PTSD with learning mindfulness and yoga techniques and filling him with love, a concept that was so foreign to him. But in the end, his little Star was the healing balm his mind needed along with the touch of his daughter and her calling him Daddy was all it took for him to fight to have his HEA with his family. This couple literally went through hell years and even after finding each other again, it was a rocky road. Nova's Green Giant taught her how to fight for their freedom so they could be a family with their daughter Glee. That as the greatest gift the could give her. Glee had faith in them when they did not have faith in themselves.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this series and I can not wait for the next book to drop. L'Gon is in for a rude awakening!

So much more than just a continuation of the story! The pieces of the whole book come alive with every page, as more and more details fall into place. The overall plot of the series is complex and as soon as I think I have it figured out, BAM!, new twist! I couldn't put it down once I started reading it, it was honestly that obsession feeding kind of good. N'Thn and Nova and Glee are just so easy to root for, I wanted them to be happy so bad, they'd all been through so much! I am dying to know who the benefactor is, I thought I had it figured out, but that was a lie. Now, I'm enthralled with the K bull-type aliens finding out about Earth and what they might do with that information. The plot twists are numerous but so wickedly bent that I didn't see them coming. I tried not to give anything away in my review, but just know that I am so looking forward to reading the next one in the series!

I receive this free book for my ARC however again I still bought the book to own. I believe in supporting great authors and Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Vaughn did not disappoint. His to Keep is the third installment of this crazy alien romance. The struggle for happiness that both N'thn and Nova went threw had me glued to every page. Their journey was definitely not a easy one but it was one worth travel because in the end they both realize they were worthy and could trust one another. That twist though near the end had me like WTF can't wait for the follow up. If you are new to the series recommend reading from the beginning the overall story arc is shaping up real nicely. Cheers to another great read ladies.

This has to be to the best one yet!! I loved book one so much because it gets you going with the series but this one takes to cake. Nova and N’Thn story tool me on rollercoaster ride of emotions and feelings. He was once a prisoner of war and her being a survivor of a abusive relationship. These two seem to make a unlikely match but their past and pain only made the stronger together.This is must read for any and everyone.

A good read.

His to claim is still my favorite book in this series, but this one was decent, even if it lacked the swoon and deep connection that the first had.

Lots of abuse in this book. Girls being prostituted and forced, beaten up. It left a very sour feeling in my gut.

Still, it’s extremely well written and I’m anxious to find out what happens in the last book.

Can it get any better?

This series just keeps getting better and better. The last book should be off the chart with all the drama and excitement going on in this book. Can't wait!!

Binge worthy and enjoyable!

Not for the faint hearted, but much better than the first novel of the series, which lacked so much substance I didn't finish it.

The Good
This book gives the protagonists their fair share of trials and tribulations, twists and turns and some complexity that allows the reader to figure things out on his own as the story unfolds. Nothing extraordinary plot-wise, but an honorable effort enough.

Nova and N'Thin felt like 3 dimensional characters with real backgrounds, especially with all we learn about N'Thin's childhood feelings of abandonment, betrayal and injustice that leave him with some consequential daddy issues. In my opinion, knowledge of the treatment inflicted to his mom allows allows the reader to better understand why he was capable of attaching to his human female.

The arc between alien and human seemed more plausible as they both worked their way to overcome their psychological trauma and found a special connection ... obviously the endless rutting helped with the bonding ;). I found them both to be rather likable.

It was also interesting to watch N'Thin evolve from demanding she submit to him and be his mate before he's abducted, to empowering her later, when she's brought against her will to him in the space lab for breeding purposes.

The Bad
The sexual violence in this book was way over the top and at times were plain distasteful as well as unnecessarily sad*stic. The crazy alien who bones a woman to death and then keeps on shagging her dead body, in my opinion, wasn't an indispensable necessity. The breeding programme was already pretty sad*stic in itself.

The Funny
So mom and dad didn't appear to me as stereotypes, though their daughter's positive attitude to a monster-like dad she had never met appeared artificial... but then again she teaches her mom yoga and meditation ... most probably metta meditation for deep compassion towards all sentient beings (ha ha ha!)
The references to yoga, meditation and the "Universe" as means for the couple to grow emotionally were simply hilarious in the midst of the crazed rutting/breeding shifts. The fact that the hero manages to meditate his way out of shagging another female character after he's been given a double dose of the most potent aphrodisiac known to his kind was absolutely ridiculous and hilarious. Ok the bond with Nova was a great healer, but still! Come on! Ha ha ha !
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But all in all, a fun read!