Kristie J’s review of Kraving Khiva (Krave of Everton, Book 1) by Zoey Draven
SciFi Romance published by Amazon Digital Services 21 Aug 18
Back in the days before I started e-reading, a big motivator for starting were Futuristics – or SciFi romance as they are called now. I loved them lo those many years ago, but then they just seemed to dry up and I couldn’t find any new ones. But! They were available as ebooks, so I knew, even though at the time I said I’d never be able to give up paperbacks, I’d be getting into e-books sooner rather than later.
And this book, THIS book is one of the reasons why. I adored it. It’s everything this genre should be. It takes place in a universe completely different from ours, with oodles of fascinating characters. Eve Tesler is our heroine. She lives in kind of a backward time for women. Finding a husband is one of the more important things a woman can do, but Eve is different. She was left an inheritance by her beloved father and doesn’t need a husband. Add to that she’s somewhat awkward around men and her chances of finding a husband aren’t looking too great. But she wants to experience what happens between a man and a woman, and when she hears about a “pleasure” place where the “pleasure masters” are from a different race and are apparently simply superb in what they do, she gathers her courage and goes to see one of them. She is given Khiva to tutor her in the “pleasures of the flesh.” But unlike most other women, she sees Khiva as a real person, not just a means to an end. and she finds him captivating. In turn, Khiva finds Eve unique in that she lets him be in charge and treats him as simply a man with thoughts and a history of his own.
And Khiva is so much more, as we learn. He became a whore for lack of a better world when his planet was destroyed. He was almost royalty where he came from, and it destroys his pride at what he is now forced to do. And forced he is. In truth, he is nothing better than a slave, and Eve is horrified when she finds out what the real truth is. By this time she and Khiva have fallen very deeply in love. She works to free him and his fellow “Krave” – the name they are known by – but Khiva thinks it’s a hopeless cause with no way out of his own hell.
I love both these characters. Their love for each other is very poignant and it’s almost a case of star-crossed lovers. They are so well written. If one is an emotional type reader like I am, we feel their pain, especially Khiva’s.
One thing I must note, this book is extremely hot, much hotter than I’m used to. Even though I live alone, I swear I was blushing while reading it. I very often skim over the sex scenes, but I didn’t with this one. They are very well written and, well, very, very steamy.
Grade: A
Summary:
At 25-years-old, unmarried, and untouched, Eve Tesler is an outcast in the Everton colony’s society. Loneliness plagues her daily life and fearing that will she never know true intimacy, she does something uncharacteristically reckless: she pays the steep price for an unforgettable night with one of the Krave, legendary alien lovers with unparalleled skills and non-human abilities in the bedroom. Only, she never expected him…
When Khiva’s home planet was destroyed during the Great War, his race scattered among the stars and survived any way they could…including selling their infamous ‘services’ for credits. Now, residing and working at Madame Allegria’s elite brothel on a human colony, Khiva’s only goal is to earn enough for passage off Everton. But when a beautiful, lonely human female visits him one night…everything changes. Suddenly, he craves her with an intensity that should frighten him while her lush curves drive him to madness.
It was supposed to be only one night, but Eve finds she can’t stay away from her mysterious and forbidden alien lover…even if she has to pay for him.
No excerpt available.
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