Cara Bristol
Breeder
Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley for free, with the intention of providing a review. All thoughts, notes, opinions are my own.
I will include vague spoilers but nothing that would ruin the story line, just potentially give away a few character and plot points.
Where do I even start with this book.... I've had highs and lows with reading this. And honestly? At one point I struggled to pick it back up again. But I did, and I'm glad I did.
First off, I'd recommend completely skipping the first page which gives a lot away. Go straight to chapter 1. You wont miss anything as everything is explained. I did and I think I enjoyed it more.
At first I thought this was another book that wasn't my usual genre. Set on a different planet, similar to ours, we meet the main characters within the first chapter. Commander Dak is an 'Alpha', a highly ranking ruler of a province on an alternative planet.
You find out that whilst this race is similar to ours in looks, they are not in customs and traditions. Woman are seen as inferior and only used as slaves and what they call "Breeders". Basically their job is to produce offspring for the Alphas and then after that they are relegated to cleaning etc.
Our anti hero, Dak, is searching for a Breeder when he meets Omra. I wont go into specifics as the way he meets her and how are parts of the main story line further along so I wont ruin it.
The first half of the book is basically them adjusting to each others new roles and how they deal with their lives now they have each other in it. Obviously they engage in a romantic relationship which is severely frowned upon and they both have to cope with the implications of this.
So before I continue, i'll do a first half briefing. I absolutely LOVE this. I'm completely engaged and drawn in by this fantastic alternate world with their quirky dressing, their language, their weird ideas on how woman work and act, alien animals and transport. Its incredible. I'm already hoping this is the first of a series (it is) and that I will get to read the rest (I will).
Then the next bit happened. Dak's and Omra's sexual tension becomes too much and they do the deed. They apparently like it so do it again. And again. And again.
This is where I struggled to pick it back up.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a young 32 year old. I'm also married and have been with my husband for 10 years. We have a son. I'm not a prude, by far. But when it comes to reading (and writing) I think a lot can be left to readers imaginations. When I write, I imply and I lead up to but writing sex scenes just isn't for me. I'm an adult so if its implied, that's cool, power to them. I don't mind reading them, at all. I've read 50 Shades. We've all read 50 Shades. I'm definitely not a stranger to it (also looking at you James Herbert with 'Once').
What I'm not a massive fan of is 13 chapters (exaggeration) of solid sex.
Again, its cool. Its well written. Due to their language some of the gross words normally used are replaced so its not unbearable.
What mostly upset me was that I felt a lot of the book was taken up with this. I kind of had an idea of how the story line was going to go, which I was looking forward to, and subsequently did happen. But I felt like it was rushed. The big built up, anticipated, final event was over so quickly. Cara could have really made a big deal out of and written so much more about what happened.
She wouldn't even need to cut the smut. If the last event and the lead up was more detailed, not so easily resolved and had a bit more drama to it, it would have been balanced. Which is a shame because once I got over that hump and picked the book back up I thoroughly enjoyed it.
To be fair, once that main chapter or two of sex stuff was over it wasn't as intense. There was a lot less of it and when it did happen it didn't drag on. But I do feel like the depth of the story line was compromised due to the extent of the word porn in the middle.
So to summarise, I think the book was great. My copy included two chapters from the next one which looked interesting. Same place, same characters, different situation. And Cara explained enough about the characters in Breeder to captivate your interest for the next book. Which I will be buying. The story line was brilliant. I think this alternate world shes created is wonderfully done. Its alien but its believable!
Would I recommend this book? Probably. Not to my Nan though.
Where do I even start with this book.... I've had highs and lows with reading this. And honestly? At one point I struggled to pick it back up again. But I did, and I'm glad I did.
First off, I'd recommend completely skipping the first page which gives a lot away. Go straight to chapter 1. You wont miss anything as everything is explained. I did and I think I enjoyed it more.
At first I thought this was another book that wasn't my usual genre. Set on a different planet, similar to ours, we meet the main characters within the first chapter. Commander Dak is an 'Alpha', a highly ranking ruler of a province on an alternative planet.
You find out that whilst this race is similar to ours in looks, they are not in customs and traditions. Woman are seen as inferior and only used as slaves and what they call "Breeders". Basically their job is to produce offspring for the Alphas and then after that they are relegated to cleaning etc.
Our anti hero, Dak, is searching for a Breeder when he meets Omra. I wont go into specifics as the way he meets her and how are parts of the main story line further along so I wont ruin it.
The first half of the book is basically them adjusting to each others new roles and how they deal with their lives now they have each other in it. Obviously they engage in a romantic relationship which is severely frowned upon and they both have to cope with the implications of this.
So before I continue, i'll do a first half briefing. I absolutely LOVE this. I'm completely engaged and drawn in by this fantastic alternate world with their quirky dressing, their language, their weird ideas on how woman work and act, alien animals and transport. Its incredible. I'm already hoping this is the first of a series (it is) and that I will get to read the rest (I will).
Then the next bit happened. Dak's and Omra's sexual tension becomes too much and they do the deed. They apparently like it so do it again. And again. And again.
This is where I struggled to pick it back up.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a young 32 year old. I'm also married and have been with my husband for 10 years. We have a son. I'm not a prude, by far. But when it comes to reading (and writing) I think a lot can be left to readers imaginations. When I write, I imply and I lead up to but writing sex scenes just isn't for me. I'm an adult so if its implied, that's cool, power to them. I don't mind reading them, at all. I've read 50 Shades. We've all read 50 Shades. I'm definitely not a stranger to it (also looking at you James Herbert with 'Once').
What I'm not a massive fan of is 13 chapters (exaggeration) of solid sex.
Again, its cool. Its well written. Due to their language some of the gross words normally used are replaced so its not unbearable.
What mostly upset me was that I felt a lot of the book was taken up with this. I kind of had an idea of how the story line was going to go, which I was looking forward to, and subsequently did happen. But I felt like it was rushed. The big built up, anticipated, final event was over so quickly. Cara could have really made a big deal out of and written so much more about what happened.
She wouldn't even need to cut the smut. If the last event and the lead up was more detailed, not so easily resolved and had a bit more drama to it, it would have been balanced. Which is a shame because once I got over that hump and picked the book back up I thoroughly enjoyed it.
To be fair, once that main chapter or two of sex stuff was over it wasn't as intense. There was a lot less of it and when it did happen it didn't drag on. But I do feel like the depth of the story line was compromised due to the extent of the word porn in the middle.
So to summarise, I think the book was great. My copy included two chapters from the next one which looked interesting. Same place, same characters, different situation. And Cara explained enough about the characters in Breeder to captivate your interest for the next book. Which I will be buying. The story line was brilliant. I think this alternate world shes created is wonderfully done. Its alien but its believable!
Would I recommend this book? Probably. Not to my Nan though.
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