The Alien's Steel

Craving the Heveians, Book 5

By: Ella Blake

Narrated by: Dani California, Eric MacArthur

"We were not supposed to come here."

Claire

He is my patient, my subject. The gorgeous cyborg who has fought so hard to regain the memories taken from him recalls most of his life, except his childhood. We journey to the village of his youth to be reunited with his family. The journey brings us closer, blurring lines I swore I would never cross. But Craal's resurfaced memories don't match what we find at his village, and I can't escape a sick feeling that we were not supposed to come here.

Craal

I was turned into a monster in order to destroy my own people. Slowly, I'm remembering who I am with the help of a human woman. Claire is beautiful, intelligent, and I'm powerfully drawn to her. When we arrive at my family's village, my memories don't line up with the behavior of the people there. A pulsing sound that can't be traced gives Claire headaches and is likely the root of the mystery. As we dig deeper, we uncover an explosive secret, and someone will stop at nothing to keep it hidden.

Contains mature themes.

©2023 Ella Blake (P)2024 Tantor Media

Cyborgs, Headaches, and Heveian Heart

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚💜💙❤️🩷
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌏
Character development: 😋🙂😘🥰🥰
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

🦸🏼‍♀️ Heroine Spotlight: Claire

Claire, a forty-seven-year-old human woman abducted from Earth, refuses to be defined by her past. Since joining the Heveians, she’s carved out a new life with grit and grace—volunteering early to train under the brilliant Heveian doctor Jorok. Her drive to contribute meaningfully and heal others speaks volumes. In a pivotal moment from the previous book, Claire collaborated with Jorok and a scientist to upgrade Craal’s cybernetics, transforming him from a patchwork survivor into a state-of-the-art warrior. Her compassion isn’t passive—it’s fiercely proactive.

🦸🏻‍♂️ Hero Spotlight: Craal

Craal is a one-of-a-kind Heveian cyborg, forged in trauma and rebuilt in defiance. His cybernetic arm and leg were cobbled together by alien captors who saw him as nothing more than a tool. After a devastating crash, he was sold to the UCP for experimentation—an attempt to weaponize him against his own people. Though his memories were fractured, his core identity endured. Craal’s journey isn’t just about recovery—it’s about reclaiming agency and rewriting the narrative forced upon him.

🔥 Plot Pulse

With Jorok’s help, Craal begins to purge the corrupt code in his brain, regaining fragments of memory—though his early years remain elusive. When the Heveian crown prince dispatches a mission to Bacca, a vistran-mining village coveted by the UCP, Craal is chosen to lead it. The twist? Bacca might be Craal’s birthplace. Claire, ever loyal and intuitive, volunteers to accompany him, hoping the journey will unlock more of Craal’s past. But Bacca holds secrets—some buried in the mine, others pulsing beneath the surface.

❤️‍🔥 What Hit Home

• Bacca hums with unease. A strange, headache-inducing pulse only Claire can hear hints at something sinister.
• Craal’s reunion with his mother is raw and poignant, especially against the backdrop of a town where every Heveian bears scars.
• Standout side characters include Craal’s quietly powerful mother and a resilient orphan girl who communicates without sound but speaks volumes.

🤨 Room to Grow

• Personal preference alert: While Claire’s maturity adds depth and realism, I sometimes crave the escapism of a younger heroine. It’s not about ageism—it’s about the fantasy lens I reach for when I read. That said, Claire earns her spotlight with strength and sincerity.

🎧 Narration Vibes

Narrated in dual POV by Eric MacArthur and Dani California. Dani’s deeper voice lends credibility to male characters, though her pacing feels a bit rehearsed—more read-aloud than lived-in. Eric’s tone is pleasant, but for a character like Craal—towering, intense, emotionally layered—I craved a voice with more gravitas. The performances are competent, but they didn’t fully match the emotional weight of the story.

📝 Final Thoughts

This installment blends sci-fi intrigue with emotional reclamation. Claire and Craal’s dynamic is built on mutual respect and quiet bravery, and their journey to Bacca is more than a mission—it’s a reckoning. While the narration didn’t quite hit the immersive mark, the story itself pulses with heart, mystery, and the promise of healing.

Craal and Claire

This book was great! We got action, mystery, angst, yearning and then a HEA. I really enjoyed the relationship with our doctor Claire and our half heviean half cyborg Craal.

Craal is secretly in love with his human physician Claire. She has helped put him back together physically and mentally after being kidnapped and tortured by another alien race.
Claire was one of the women who woke up from being put into a sleep stasis after 52 years. She also is secretly in love with Craal, her patient. But she lacks the confidence to realize he feels the same.

They go on a journey together back to Craal’s childhood home to help him with his memories and to check out the Mines for the Prince. This is where the story gets interesting!


I also really enjoyed the Narrators