3.5-4 stars. After a string of betas, Lorgin was a little much with his whole "you are mine, let me take what is mine" alpha shtick. Once I adjusted to the new norm, I grew to like him and his intensity quite a bit. He's a man of actions, not words, and he's very pro-active in seducing Deana to convince her she belongs by his side. I absolutely loved the scene towards the end when he verbalizes his feelings for her. Deana was decently likable, too, and she had fairly realistic reactions to the wild situation in which she found herself. Even so, she annoyed me at times because I thought she stubbornly held on to her "this is just a diversion from my Earth life, I'm going back soon" mentality too long, thus trivializing Lorgin's feelings, his world and lifestyle, and the dangers of his quest. Additionally, the writing style didn't always hold my attention. Sometimes it switched into a formal tone (e.g., not using contractions when clearly people normally would use them in speech) that tugged me out of the scene.
I know this doesn't sound like a glowing endorsement, and honestly, based on JUST the romance and lead characters, this book would've been more of a 3 star read. However, the world building, adventure, and really nifty sci-fi/futuristic setting, plus the other characters (Rejar...be still my racing heart!), really pulled me in and didn't let me go. The otherworldly setting and imaginative creatures, flora and fauna were engrossing, and, when the author got into a writing groove, I could easily picture all of the fantastical things based on their vivid descriptions. That's a sign of a really good read to me, and merits a bump to 3.5-4 stars in my books.
