What a great story. Sweet and meaningful. If you like strong women and adorable men, this is the book for you! It made me laugh out loud and smile with the sweetness. Of course, there's some angst! Another wonderful Ruby book! Keep em comin!

When I first started reading this I was not really liking it. I thought Melody was throwing herself at someone who didn’t want her. But Brux felt like he took advantage of her when they first met and he wanted to take it slow and get to know each other. I found myself enjoying this. An average alien, with allergies and an average you know what (which is still pretty big to me)not wanting to take advantage of someone, he deserves a green flag. Loved the ending as well.

I have read and reread the Risdaverse novels (and,let’s be honest, all of Ruby Dixon’s novels) and this short story is one of my favorites. I love being immersed in the Risdaverse. The characters and their unique storyline were so fun to read. Brux is such a enduring character with real concerns and worries that haunt him over and over. He constantly needs reassurance from Melody, which makes him so real and charming. Melody’s personality is totally opposite of mine but I love that. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it. Basically the only thing I hated about this book was how short it was! I’m so excited to see Aithar get his happily ever after.

So, I don’t know about anyone else, but I read fantasy because it’s different from real life. The sexy times on this book were a little too common and everyday for me. You want the MMC to be ridiculously endowed, ridiculously handsome, ridiculously confident etc. Would you want that in real life? Of course not. The awkward getting down to it bits and changing positions when it’s not quite right with your partner? Totally happens all the time in real life. Do I want it in my fantasy? Of course not. The authors note at the end refers to our MMC as the mess, and I absolutely disagree. He may have been self conscious of his looks and behavior, but I believe his reservations about her motivations were absolutely correct. His wanting for her to actually know him before they had sex, to have a real relationship based on more than that? How is that messy?

I love these Risda III stories. Ruby always has such an interesting mix of heroes and heroine! I totally loved Brux. I have loved that he was the one that said I need to know you first cause that is how I feel. I also loved Melody. She knew what she wanted and even when she didn't get it at first she was strong enough to try and let it go. I could write my own novel on how much I loves this story. It made me laugh, it made me smile and sigh with how cute they were. Just a perfect story. Thank you Ms. Dixon for letting us into your mind with these amazing couples! I can't wait till the next story!

Love this short story! Brux and Melody are both damaged goods. He thinks she can do better. All she wants is him. Highly recommend!

This was not my favorite Risdaverse short, but I still enjoyed it. The shorts don't add much to the epic story land that Dixon has built. There is no time for any extra world building, or interesting side characters. We just get a short, sweet how two people find their HEAs. Melody is a bit of scrapper human, finding treasure in discarded projects across Resida III, a farm planet set up as a refuge for abducted humans. Melody gets excited when she comes across the alien who saved her five years ago and hasn't seen since. Brux likes her, but definitely has too many issues around his self-worth to feel comfortable making any advances, or accepting hers. We get a very small peek into the Cantania being built by the Anai. Cute story to cozy up with for an hour or two.

Very cute. It was an adorable story and I liked the main characters so much more than I expected. I love the Risdaverse so much!