Species Traitor

A Science Fiction Dystopian Novel

By: Kate L. Mary

Narrated by: Heather Firth

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

My name is Ava Mendoza, and I am a species traitor.

They came hoping to find a new home after their own planet was destroyed, but Earth was dying as well, and most humans saw their arrival as an invasion. Now, two decades later, the Veilorians have been banished to the District, a fenced-in area on the outskirts of the last known livable land on Earth. Most people do their best to pretend they don’t exist, but not everyone. There are humans, like my cousin, who see them for what they are. Despite the threat of disownment, she married a Veilorian, and now she, too, lives in the District.

Even before I met Finn, I was determined to stand up for what was right, but from the moment I laid eyes on him, we had a connection I’ve never experienced before. But with the election of a new and radical mayor on the horizon, tensions are high, and people are calling for change. They want to make my cousin’s marriage illegal and punish any human who goes into the District, but I refuse to back down from this fight. No matter the cost.

©2020 Kate L. Mary (P)2020 Kate L. Mary

Fantastic- can't wait for the second book!

Species Traitor (A Science Fiction Dystopian Novel) by Kate L. Mary and narrated by Heather Firth is the start of another fantastic series for this duo! I loved this one! Highly recommend if you enjoy sci-fi with a mix of romance and dystopia, or are a fan of Kate’s work.

What’s it about? The story revolves around Ava, who is a human, and Finn, who is half-alien and half-human. Ava only wants to see her cousin who lives in The District as she is married to a Veilorian (aliens). Tensions are rising as new political candidates rise to power and humans struggle to live for various reasons. The story unfolds as the book progresses with no repeat dialogue. You get a good amount of fairly fast-paced action, great world building, great characters (good and bad), a bit of mystery, friends and enemies, family dynamics, and plenty more that will keep you glued to the book. You’ll be rooting for Ava and the Veilorian’s by the end. It does end in a cliffhanger as there is another book in the series.

The narrator, Heather Firth, does a fabulous job. She’s become one of my favorite narrators. Her voices are perfect, has a great pace, and adds to story.

I see a review mentions too similar to what’s happening in the real world- yes you may feel there are some parallels, but that could be said about many books. Overall, I highly recommend as it’s a great story and I can’t wait to hear the ending.

Parental guidance/trigger warnings: branding, violence/hatred against the aliens and species traitors, death, hunger, pregnancy, kissing and sex indicated (not graphic), and other like situations that would arise in a dystopian society. Language used: Fx11, Sx21, damn x7, hell x44.

Cool and intriguing alien invasion scenario!

Narrator does a great job; recommend the listening experience. She has a nice tone and emotion to her voice.

Love Sci-Fi alien type of stories, so I loved that aspect of this story. Add in some romance and I’m there! I also enjoy dystopian type of stories; I do get annoyed at the despicable characters with their depraved minds, but I love to see the rational characters rise above! In this one, aliens come to Earth to find a new hope for life, but of course humans don’t take too kindly to Earth being invaded. Despite the aliens positive aspects, many humans have prejudice against the aliens. Lots of problems arise between the species bringing out the bad sides of many. Ava finds herself knowing what the right thing to do is, but finding it difficult to actually go that direction. Along the way, she connects with alien Finn, but the road is definitely going to be a wild one for these two. I liked Ava’s sass and strength to stand up for those that need it, but her common sense could use some work. I do really enjoy the connection between Finn and her; I’m not huge on the way their story goes, but I look forward to continuing with this series! Things aren’t all solved in this book, so you’ll need to check out the next books for the full story. Overall, entertaining and intriguing premise, cool world building, and a sweet romance!

I liked it

I received a free audio book from the author.

I liked this story. I read fast and listen fast as well....sometimes things get boring. This book kept my attention. The narrator was good and not annoying.

Great Read

Species Traitor (Species Traitor #1) was a great read by Kate L. Mary. Ava Mendoza is considered a species traitor. The Veilorians were finding a new home after their planet was destroyed. They didn't know that Earth was dying as well and the humans believed their arrival was an invasion. After two decades they are banished to a district, a fenced in on the outskirts of livable land. There are some humans who see that there is more to them than what most humans believe. Ava wanted to stand up for the Veilorians, even before she met Finn. But they immediately had a connection that neither of them ever experienced before. Unfortunately a new radical mayor is elected and tensions are high between both the humans and the Veilorians. I really enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.

Too Reminiscent Of The Real World

* I received a free copy of the audio book of this novel from Audiobooks Unleashed. All opinions in this review are my own.

This book is too reminiscent of the real world and I would like more fiction than reality in my books, thanks! On a more serious note, the world-building was so, so, so good. The best part was that the info-dumps were minimal. Everything was introduced as it became relevant.

I think there have been a handful of characters that I despise like I did Dean. He was a bigoted, petty, thirsty lil' b*tch who deserves h*ll to be rained on him for his misdeeds. I was just annoyed that it took Ava 7 hours into the audio book for her to realize that something was off with him considering what he was telling her was contrasting with his actions.

Ava was frustratingly naive and dense at crucial times and it did detract quite a bit from the story. Though I liked how she fought for what she perceived as right and how strong her moral compass was. I also applaud her for jumping into a fight knowing she'll lose to protect someone she believes should have a right to live free. The most frustrating thing about her though was her turning a blind eye on Dean's actions for SO long. I swear there were moments where I thought my eyes would permanently roll to the back of my head and get stuck there.

Finn was very standoffish and stubborn in his dislike of humans from the beginning. I didn't adore him right off the bat but he did grow on me, almost like a fungus some would say. What I can tell you is that he did not, in any way, deserve to be part of a love triangle featuring Dean. There's just no competition there. I found the love triangle pointless in this story because there was already so much going on in the background that we didn't need drama being added to the story.

The ending was so disappointing. I was aware that it would end in a cliffhanger, but that cliffhanger was so annoying. Even if I didn't know I would have seen it coming from a mile away. I haven't gotten this fired up over a novel in a long time! I usually read to relax and let me tell you that the last thing on my mind was relaxing while I was listening to this novel at 11pm. I don't even know if I want to read the second book in this series at this point in time.

The Audio Book:

The narration was great! All the characters were distinguishable from each other and there were no weird noises in the background.