Ranse

An Alien Conqueror Science Fiction Romance (Blades of Arris, Book 3)

By: Starla Night

Narrated by: Hazel Addison, J.F. Harding, Thomas Locklear

I am a lesser? From a servant world? A nobody?
What a joke.
The man who discounts me is the one who loses.
Because me? I know royalty when I see it.
They call me the Kingmaker.
And I am never wrong.

Even on an alien world, he will do anything to possess me.
The Prince of Blades.
His world is in shambles.
His conquerors have turned against him.
All because of a few pesky lessers like me.

I can make him into an emperor.
I can fix his fractured world and bring his generals into line.
But he might not like who he has to become to win.
Us lessers aren't exactly who they thought we were, ha ha.
And me?
Well, I have a few secrets of my own.
And I'll only reveal those to a true king.

Devour the next book in the enthralling, highly acclaimed Blades of Arris universe. One woman from Earth takes on the king of the conquerors, and the universe is never the same!

©2022 Starla Night (P)2025 Starla Night

Maybe better read than listened to

I’ve been waiting for Allie’s, the kingmaker’s, story for a while. To know she would be paired with the emperor’s second son, after what happened at the end of the previous book, made me even more excited. And the author delivers the perfect mix of intergalactic politics and interspecies romance. Chef’s kiss.

Allie, like the other humans she traveled with, has been affected by the lusteal, but with a unique consequence: she becomes super smart when the lusteal is in full effect. She makes connections, finds solutions, guesses outcomes. She’s also bold and confident. She has one objective in the book: saving Humana, her planet, from an orbital change that would destroy it. And to do that, she decides she needs to meet with the emperor, Ranse’s older brother.

Ranse, as the second son, isn’t supposed to become his father’s heir, and he has been pushed on the side all his life. He became a blade, and now he’s running a night club where he entertains guests. But he’s decided that he’ll reveal his father’s murderer, and Allie may be a witness. So basically, when they meet, they’re convinced they’ll use each other to accomplish their goals. But the lusteal derails their plan. They sleep together and bond.

That’s when something unexpected happens, and I was all for it. Ranse, from a race of conquerors, a soldier with blades in his forearms, son of the most powerful man in the universe, submits to a lesser. He trusts Allie with important decisions, changes his home for her, claims he wants to explore her. She has total control over her. I love it when an alpha male devotes himself to the woman he loves.

I don’t want to give away too much about the plot, but let’s just say that Allie has a strong impact on the empire in this book. She basically changes everything. It was an interesting development because Allie is Black, and the slavery subtext wasn’t that subtle this time–the way the Arrisans exploits the universe for their own profit, and think less of other species, etc. So I loved the fact that Allie, of all people, had such power.

It doesn’t happen often, but for me, the narration brought the story down. The male narrator was perfect for Ranse, able to show his softer side as well as his dangerous side. I wasn’t a fan of the female narrator though, especially her male voice. She had some good moments, but oftentimes she droned on. It’s still a very good book but, as much as it hurts me to say, maybe better read than listened to.

Great male narration, mediocre female narration, great story

The male narrator was amazing, but the female narrator didn’t work for me. It took me a bit out of the story whenever she started reading, and I kept feeling like it would have been told better if the male had read both.

I liked the characters, and the unique situation they were in, and there was a lot to buckle in for—in a good way. For me, I would reread the book, but I wouldn’t relisten to the audio version. It just didn’t work enough for me, and I don’t want to ruin a good story because of the narration.

I received a copy for my honest review.

Exciting

This was so good I enjoyed the series but this one is my favorite so far. Ranse and Allie are special and make a great team. They are easy to connect with and I love that together they get things done. This was super exciting with action adventure and romance. The narration was great. Hope there is more to come.

Interesting Storyline

Quite an interesting storyline, the use of the word “lessers” could easily be used by some in our society right now; you know, the ones sitting on their pedestals. Narrators did a good job with characters. Will continue series.

Loves it!

The story is simply outstanding. I have enjoyed the world building into book three and the mysteries of the empire revealed . Ranse and Allie had interesting dynamics and though the political machinations overshadow their romance it was a beautiful story. The reading was ok except the female narrator was mechanical and at times her male voice was simply too fake . I cannot wait for the next book in the series .