Barbarian’s Taming

Ice Planet Barbarians Series, Book 8

By: Ruby Dixon

Narrated by: Hollie Jackson, Mason Lloyd

Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

As a newcomer to the alien tribe, I've struggled to find my place. It might be because I'm a tad headstrong at times. And yes, I might have thrown a few things at people's heads. But I had a good reason to pitch a fit - my shy sister was stolen away right under my nose. Of course, now she's back and mated. Everyone's happy...except me.

I need...affection. Attention. Okay, I'm lonely. Really lonely.

Strangely enough, the only person that I think understands what I'm going through is the same blue-skinned brute that stole my sister. It's wrong to hook up with him, even as a mindless fling.

Except...I'm not so good with the whole "rules" thing. And he's not so great with the "fling" thing.

Contains mature themes.

©2016 Ruby Dixon (P)2018 Tantor

I love it

It was great form being to the end and the voice acting is great to

My favorite couple!

I love this story. Maddie is hilarious! I like the bad boy in Haeson. It’s very different from the other males very sexy!!

Shut up and take my money!

I had been eagerly anticipating this installment and the author did not disappoint! If I have one complaint, it would be to wish it were longer. The heroines in these stories are always well-rounded and most of the time a bit sassy, giving them a nice realistic outlook. And the barbarians are...barbarians. They are unapologetically honest. There is no such thing as a metaphor or figure of speech. This book, in particular, has a couple of flawed characters in the leading role and I LOVE that!
The narrators are nothing short of genius as well, really immersive experience, thanks for all the work that goes into them!

I liked this

This was the BEST of all the ipb novels. The sex was quick, dirty and goooooood. The two characters it centred around, Hassan and Maddie, were stellar because of their edginess and willingness to flout norms and standards. As they should, I mean who died and made Vektal the pussy police? The character Liz sort of had Maddie’s spirit (in book 2) but Liz was a motormouth who lost all her resolve in the face of authority. Maddie made her own rules, including speaking truth to power, which is genuine strength.

Unfortunately the author couldn’t keep up with her own creation. To offset the mfc’s outer brashness Dixon gave her a weak inner monologue. And a weird (plaguing!!) insistence that she was “acting like a victim”. This mfc was anything but a victim. Though she did worry way too much about her deaf sister (the same sister who didn’t give a shit about her in the previous book, opting to run off with her ice planet lover AFTER BEING KIDNAPPED TWICE rather than demanding to be taken back to set her sister’s mind at ease). With family like that who needs enemies.

Like I said, I loved the parts that were limited to just Maddie and Hassan. And I loved seeing Maddie give Vektal a smackdown at the end. But I could leave the rest.

It would be nice if just once, we could get a female character in one of these books that just does whatever the hell she wants to. No internal angst.

Favorite in series so far

I loved this! Maddie and Hassen are my favorite couple so far. Their shared feelings of loneliness helping them find each other was touching. I cried when Hassen talked about how he was expendable and should take on the dangerous, difficult tasks because he had no one who needed him. And his quiet desperation for company during his exile. Maddie, who sure, may have been a little whiny sometimes, is the heroine whose reaction makes the most sense to me. Everything she knows is suddenly gone, she is in a harsh environment, and her sister is focused on her new family. Maddie's jealousy, her anger, her snark are very human and realistic. And it sucks that the rest of the tribe, especially the other humans, couldn't be more sympathetic to what she was going through.

I was so invested in the romance, I didn't need a suspense plot. But we got one! I'm so relieved to see this series shake things up and provide real stakes to all of the characters. And I'm pleased that Hassen and Maddie were the couple we could follow during this traumatic event. Their romance was complex and nuanced and they had to often make sacrifices for the tribe instead of constantly being around each other. It made the scenes where they were able to find joy together all the more meaningful.

Many of the sex scenes in this book felt meaningful - the way they used sex to find connection or to express caretaking for the other was a nice touch.

I doubted any of the Ice Planet books could ever be a 5 star. And I was starting to get bored with the repetitiveness of the books. But this hit so many emotional beats, didn't follow the normal pattern, and I'm excited to see where the series goes from here.

As always, Mason Lloyd's and Hollie Jackson's narration was perfection. These books are best experienced in audiobooks.

The funniest one! 😂

This was by far my favorite with two characters originally made to look like troublemakers. The redemption was perfectly done and I LOL’d the whole book. I love Maddie and Hassan!

Okay Then Maddy

Totally enjoyed this episode and I don’t know if the narration rocked it as much as the story or the other way around but I loved it and I love this series!

This one was one of my favorites!

This one had some different unique plot points, the spicy ness was well distributed. The character development was so good and really natural and good set up for the next.

Maddie is Awesome!

The story for the couple in this book is Fantastic and Entertaining as Ruby Dixons books always are. Highly recommend. Performance by the voice actors is Spot On once again. Loved every minute. Didn't want it to end.

Maddie is my favorite female character

Maddie is my favorite female character bc she just doesn’t care what anyone thinks. I’m convinced she would actually fight a man over her man.