Domesticating the Alien

Beastly Alien Boss, Book 5

De: Ava Ross

Narrado por: Patrick Zeller, Hollie Jackson

I've been hired to teach an alien warrior social skills to woo a mate. But now he's trying to woo me.

When the elderly duchess I cared for dies, her slimy son—my ex—tells me he wants me back. Um, no. I flee, and at the Intergalactic Employment Agency, I'm offered a job teaching an alien warlord sophistication so he can woo a mate at the upcoming Match-Mating Soiree. If anyone can domesticate a brute, it's me.

In between teaching Forje how to converse politely and dance without crushing his partner's tail, he shares his battle scars and unusual poetry. He's sweetly cute in a gruff, grumbly way, and it's not long before I see he's awesome, even if he doesn't know which fork to use with the main course.

But when we arrive at the Match-Mating Soiree and alien females cluster around him, I'll lose the guy I'm coming to adore. Unless I can convince him to domesticate me.

Domesticating the Alien is book five in the Beastly Alien Boss Series. Each book is loosely connected and features an Earth woman hired for an off-world job who meets an alien who can't resist falling for his fated mate.

©2023 Ava Ross (P)2023 Podium Audio

Ok

Not too bad I think the other stories were better. Fast forward at times was bored.

How to Train Your Warlord

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💜💚❤️🩷
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 😋😀😍🤓
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

🎧 Audiobook Review: Domesticating the Alien (Beastly Alien Boss, #5)

Author: Ava Ross
Genre: Science Fiction Romance / Alien Romance
Narrators: Patrick Zeller and Hollie Jackson

🦸🏼‍♀️ The Heroine: Kalei

Kalei’s arc is defined by displacement and vulnerability. The death of Duchess Viola, both her employer and former mother-in-law, removes a stabilizing force in her life and exposes her to renewed pressure from her ex-husband, Rich. Viola’s strict adherence to protocol contrasts with Kalei’s emotional attachment, underscoring the tension between duty and affection. Rich’s reappearance at the funeral signals the reassertion of patriarchal control, positioning Kalei as a woman caught between autonomy and coercion. Her decision to seek employment off-world reflects both a pragmatic survival instinct and a symbolic rejection of Rich’s dominance.

🦸🏻‍♂️ The Hero: Forje

Forje embodies the archetype of the warrior unversed in intimacy. His military role situates him within a society defined by external threat—the Torvian beasts—whose regenerative qualities metaphorically echo his own inability to sever ties with past failures. His lack of social fluency, particularly in courtship, highlights the novel’s exploration of masculinity constrained by martial identity. The tension between his battlefield competence and interpersonal ineptitude creates fertile ground for Kalei’s role as instructor, positioning her as both catalyst and equal partner in his transformation.

📚 The Plot

The narrative juxtaposes Kalei’s flight from domestic entrapment with Forje’s struggle to reconcile warrior ethos and social expectation. The Intergalactic Employment Agency functions as a narrative device to broaden the scope of Kalei’s choices, contrasting mundane caregiving roles with the more dynamic challenge of teaching a warlord social skills. Her selection of Forje’s assignment is not only expedient but thematically resonant: she escapes coercion by embracing a role that requires her to shape another’s capacity for consent and partnership. Rich’s vow to pursue her across the galaxy intensifies the stakes, framing the romance within a broader conflict of autonomy versus possession.

🌟 Strengths

• Forje’s social ineptitude is rendered with humor and serves as a structural counterbalance to his martial prowess. His awkwardness in performing gestures of courtesy underscores the novel’s interrogation of cultural rituals and gendered expectations.
• The mutual attraction between Kalei and Forje is presented as symmetrical, avoiding the imbalance often found in alien romance narratives where one partner dominates.

💔 Limitations

• The narrative’s emphasis on interpersonal development occasionally sidelines the action-adventure elements typical of the genre. The Torvian threat, while conceptually intriguing, is underutilized as a sustained source of tension.

🎙️ Narration

Dual narration by Hollie Jackson and Patrick Zeller enhances the text’s thematic contrasts. Zeller’s deliberate pacing and tonal depth align effectively with Forje’s alien identity, reinforcing his outsider status in matters of human interaction. Jackson’s delivery, though mature in timbre, conveys warmth and optimism, complementing Kalei’s resilience and emotional intelligence. Together, the narrators create a balanced auditory experience that mirrors the protagonists’ evolving dynamic.

💬 Final Assessment

This audiobook situates its romance within a framework of autonomy, cultural negotiation, and the redefinition of gender roles. While the narrative could benefit from a stronger integration of external conflict, its focus on character-driven transformation and the interplay between martial identity and social fluency provides a distinctive contribution to the alien romance subgenre.