Saving Askara

Tori & Aderus, Book 1

By: J.M. Link

Narrated by: Keira Stevens

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

Victoria's day starts out like any other aboard the transorbital ship, Phoenix. Such is the life of an emergency medicine specialist in the age of "post-discovery". 

Sure, she had always dreamed of interacting with intelligent extraterrestrial life - the real thing, not those microbes on distant moons. Who wouldn't? She was still happy with her career, however mundane and demanding it might be. That's what it took to run a ship the size of a small city smoothly. Monotony.

But all that changes one morning, and suddenly, she's not so sure she didn't stick her foot in it. 

Be careful what you wish for.

Excerpt from the book:

Escape had been their only drive, and even death was preferable to the alternative. But they never thought their flight for freedom would put them in an uncharted system. Forced to interact with an isolated world and its inferior, albeit curious people. When it affords them an unforseen and unprecedented opportunity to take back their world from those who seek to destroy them, however, Aderus begins to wonder if it wasn't fate. Earth's proposal is shocking and uncomfortable for a fierce, independent race that relishes in their solitude. But the more he learns of humans, the more he comes to admire and respect them. One, in particular. 

Warning: Not intended for listeners under 18. Contains explicit sexual content.

©2018 J.M. Link (P)2019 J.M. Link

great story, but it is a cliffhanger !!!

it Eas a great story and could build on several New storys, this one is a cliffhanger with no Hea. there is no Number 2 book, so i wish i had seen that before I started on the book ...

omg. really

I struggled through most of this book. It was drawn out. Then it gets to the end and leave you hanging Hanging the hell up. And now there's no book to audible is so bad about that. aggravates me to no end

Great but cliffhanger...

This book kept me totally transfixed. I volunteered to do the dishes and cleaned the bathroom just so I could finish it. Loved the characters and the story. The aliens are actually alien, which is always a plus! The narrator was great and did both points of view with no trouble. The only downside is I might go a bit crazy until I get my hands on the next part!

Beautifully woven story

Saving Askara is a beautiful story of humanity at it's best. Leave it to the healers, Tori in this case to be the bridge between humans and aliens. The Askara came to earth seeking help and all of the military of the world offered help. I'll admit, I kept waiting for the proverbial backstabbing. It has not appeared yet. But this is only the first in the series. You will want the next one. As this one ended with me blurting "no way" The author was new to me and I hope that J.M. Link continues to produce more stories such as this. I loved the detailed descriptions of the Askara, their lives/world, the differences in who they were. Henry was a great addition to the story, almost cat like in nature for Tori - only NOT.

Keira Stevens did a wonderful job as both Tori and the thoughts of Aderus. She was sweet and soft spoken when Tori was mild mannered and yet hot & spicy when Tori was riled up. Keira did a fine job of expressing the frustrations and emotions on both sides for the humans and Askara.

Note - According to the author's blog, the second in the series should be in audio before summer 2020. It is available to read now.

UGH

This is a cliffhanger, and the next part is not available on audio! Hate that!

A Cliffy?? Really??

I admit I'm rather cranky about what I perceived as a surprise cliff hanger. I also admit that after stewing about it, I re-read the description page to see if it mentioned this was a cliff hanger, and right there at the top is the word, Series, so I suppose I could have deduced I would be left hanging at the end of this book. I didn't, and was. I for one, appreciate it when the author notifies me in the description that I can expect an unfinished story.
As far as the story goes, I enjoyed it. It had a good build-up to passion: Humans and aliens meet, each believing the other inferior in some way; weak, brutish, unattractive, etc., Slow acceptance as species begin to work together. Attraction-denial, attraction-denial, etc., until sex is brought up; Mr Alien (Aderus) is revolted,but curious. Finally fruition, with all sorts of problems mentioned...the end. Not a foot less than a 1500" cliff.
To be fair, rumor has it Book 2 will be available here on Audible soon, very soon, and,yes, I liked the story well enough to read #2

Great Sci-fi Alien WITHOUT instalove or fatedmates

Wow I couldn't believe the awesomeness this book was when I finished listening it. I love sci-fi and aliens stories, but never mixed with romance. I don't like instalove, fated mates or mail bride tropes, so it's almost impossible to find a good book. Someone recommend this one to me and I can't thank them enough. The story has heart, the worldbuilding is great, the aliens are really aliens and different from us, the struggle they have with the cultural differences are also very real.

It's the first time I listen to Keira Stevens and although I usually don't like female narrations, she deliver a wonderful job. Her male voices are spot on, the pacing is good and all voices are distinguishable enough.

Brilliant!!

Saving Askara the first book in the Tori & Aderus series is a brilliantly composed and engaging sci-fi romance. If you're a sci-fi romance enthusiast, chances are you're going to love this one. J.M. Link's incredible imagination and world-building captured my attention from the very beginning. The Askarans are not anything like humans. They have humanoid attributes but with plenty of differences, including their own culture and practices.

The characters are great, they are exciting and unique. Aderus is an Askaran and Tori is a human doctor, stationed on a ship orbiting the earth. I enjoyed their interactions and how their connection formed, and I can't wait to hear what comes next.

Splendid narration by Keira Stevens; she does an excellent job portraying distinct personalities, thoughts, and emotions of both Askarans and humans. I wholly enjoyed this audiobook, and strongly recommend it. I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great story and performance

Really enjoyed this one. Believable characters, fast paced story and gorgeous romance between two unlikely characters. If you are after something refreshingly unique in the alien-romance genre, this is for you. It does end on a cliffhanger, so I’m looking forward to listening to the next one!

Loved it!!!

Absolutely loved it!! hopefully The second one will come out in audible as I definitely want to carry on the story!!
The narrator also had a lovely clear voice.
I certainly recommend this book

Magnificent paranormal romance!

This is a fantastic paranormal romance! This storyline had me captivated throughout the story. The story might be short but they pack a big punch! This is a well written story that will have intrigue. The story has action, adventure, intrigue, suspense and romance. I definitely recommend this incredible story.
This is very entertaining storyline that had me laughing out loud.
The narrator’s do a fabulous job with the characters and voices of each character which makes it easy to distinguish between characters. I definitely loved listening to this book. I definitely love listening to Keira Stevens!

More than just a beautiful cover

I recently watched a live question & answer session with this narrator, who has an easy to listen to voice anyway I was gifted this audible book. It took me totally by surprise, what a gem. Of course it has a cliffhanger at a very crucial spot in the story, and know I have to wait, yuck.
Thank you Keira for this book and J.M. this story is amazing.