Review – ‘Claimed’ by Evangeline Anderson

Blurb

Olivia Waterhouse has just graduated from nursing school and has her whole life ahead of her—until she gets drafted. Problem is, she isn’t being forced into the Army, she’s been chosen as a Kindred bride.
The Kindred are huge alien warriors—a race of genetic traders whose population is ninety-five percent male. After saving Earth from the threat of invasion they demand a reward—the right to find brides among the population. The chances of being chosen are about the same as those of winning the lottery—guess it’s just Liv’s lucky day. 
Baird is a Beast Kindred who recently escaped imprisonment and torture at the hands of the malevolent Scourge. Through the torment and pain only one thing kept him sane—the thought of finding and claiming his bride—Olivia. His need to possess her is a burning intensity that threatens to consume them both.
Angry at having her future and her family taken away from her, Liv vows to fight back the only way she can—by resisting. She has one month on the Kindred Mothership with Baird—their claiming period. If she can keep from having bonding sex with him during that time, she can go home and get on with her life on Earth.
But Baird isn’t going to make it easy for her. Every week he is allowed to touch Liv more and more intimately and according to the contract she signed, she has to let him. She’s determined to resist him but his touch sets her on fire. And just as she thinks she knows what she wants, a twist of fate and an attack by the faceless Scourge AllFather changes everything…

Review  

In the first book of the Brides of the Kindred series, Olivia Waterhouse is drafted to become the human mate of a Kindred warrior. A few years ago, an evil alien race called the Scourge attacked Earth and would’ve decimated the planet if not for a second alien race, the Kindred. In exchange for their help, the Kindred demanded the planet’s eligible single women. 95% of their race is male and they need women to procreate with. The Earth governments agreed and set up a worldwide draft of all eligible women. The thing is, most of the warriors only want women they can psychically bond with so the odds of being chosen are slim.
After six months of torture, Kindred warrior Baird escaped his captives with one thought in mind: find his mate. They’ve been sharing dreams and her presence in his mind kept him alive and sane through his imprisonment. Once Baird finally claims her according to the law set up between the Kindred and Earth, nothing goes right. Though she desires him, she’s also terrified of him and makes his courtship of her very difficult.
Baird is awesome! He’s patient, gorgeous, giving, and stubborn. Even though he understands why Olivia is scared and why she misses her old life, he thinks she’ll grow to love him because they’re destined for each other.
I couldn’t connect with Olivia. Yes, she loves and misses her sister Sophia and her best friend Kat, but she never really gave Baird a chance. For over ¾ of the book, she complains and insults him. She doesn’t try to make their relationship work. When they’re having sex, she’s all for him and wants him, but she changes her mind afterward and blames him for her actions. His pain over her continuous rejections is so strong and palpable that I cried a little for him. Even after she disobeyed a safety precaution and got herself in serious trouble, she’s still defiant and seemingly ungrateful that he saved her.
Sex scenes and arguments took up most of the book, but the action at the end picked up the pace. The scenes with Baird’s brother, Sylvan, were great.
The book could use an edit to fix missing punctuation marks, extra punctuation marks, a few misspellings, and the wrong form of words. Though I like the hero, the world building, and the overall plot, I would’ve enjoyed the book more if the heroine would’ve been a stronger woman.
3 Stars 

Disclaimer – I downloaded this book from Amazon and volunteered to review it. I am not compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.