Viken Command

LUST—LOVE—DESIRE—NEED—TRUST As with the other Interstellar Bride books by Ms. Grace Goodwin, they read great as a continuing saga, but each book will read well as a stand-alone. In this story, Whitney Mason from Earth will volunteer for the bride's program and to leave Earth and all the troubles behind caused by her family. She will be matched as mate to Vikens, Alarr, Oran, and Teig. Vikens males mate as three to one female. The males will each be chosen from a different sector of Viken. “I’d never been pushed out of my comfort zone when it came to sex. But I knew that was going to change, and the thought both thrilled and terrified me. Started over. Remember that. No rules. No history. Just me. And them. My mates. All three of them.” The problem with the testing and sending females to their chosen mates is that the computer system does not take into account where the males are at the time. They will receive a quick warning that a mate is on the way. For Alarr, Oran, and Teig, they are IC and on an undercover mission at Trixon Pleasure Resort on Planet Viken. They are limited to what they can do and how they will claim their new mate, Whitney. In the tradition of the Viken, a true claiming will include three males, claiming their female. “I wanted three. All three. Dedicated to me. Touching me. Taking care of me. My family had been a mess my whole life. Liars. Con men. Thieves. Not to be trusted. I had always—always—had to take care of myself. It would be so amazing and wonderful to be able to trust someone else. Three someones. I could trust my new mates. Finally, I could trust someone. Fall in love. Give them everything. I’d already given up my world, my planet. Everything I knew. For Alarr and Teig and Oran. My mates.” The story has mystery, suspense, passion, secrets, and angst. Not everything is as it seems, and things don’t always work out as planned. While each of the three is attentive to her when they are with her, they are issues—and what happened to the claiming? Whitney has thirty days to accept the match or request a new one. Has the past with her family clouded her judgment with the present? Whitney doesn’t know who or what to believe—has she been naïve in trusting her chosen mates? Have they made a fatal error in keeping her in the dark about their mission? She is the one who must decide if she will accept them or allow Warden Egara to find her a new match. “We’d wronged Whitney in so many ways. Used her mind, her body—and her heart against her. We’d lied. Deceived. Used. Yes, we’d been following orders, but that did not lessen Whitney’s pain. We should have trusted her, as she had trusted us.” “Trust can only be given if someone possesses two traits, the courage to take a chance on knowing someone might hurt you, and the confidence to know you’re strong enough to survive if they do.” The story will bring Whitney, Alarr, Oran, and Teig together, and yet they must learn how to join their lives and responsibilities. Sometimes the job will not allow emotions to come into play—but just maybe there is a way to have a bit of give and take. The chemistry between Whitney and her chosen mates sizzles on the pages, and they just feel right together. When it comes down to it, each person or alien needs someone that is in their corner has their best interest at heart and has the love and passion for making life better. Not everyone needs to be judged based on what happened to you in the past—just look towards the future. “One dark playboy, one fair dominant, one red-haired alpha leader who kept us all connected. A gray uniform, a brown uniform, and a black one.”

I have never been disappointed in an Interstellar Brides book. Even though the Atlans are my favorites among the different alien species in this series and the Vikens my least favorites, every single book is at least a good read with most being great. Even though this book is set on Viken, these three warriors are part of the Coalition's I.C. and once their mission is through, they will return to their post with the Zeus Battlegroup (so, it has nothing to do with the politics on Viken and the troubling VSS). And because it has nothing to do with the war against the Hive, it is truly a standalone. This book seems shorter than previous books and Whitney gets the most characterization. Alaar, Oran, and Teig are given physical descriptions and a little bit of personality traits to help distinguish them from each other. There are some hot scenes as Whitney's mates try and keep her occupied and out of harm's way. It is a fairly quick read (it only took me about 2 hours) with a small twist towards the end. While this story has a happy ending for Whitney and her Vikens, my heart was hurting for Kayson and his friends (read the book - that's all I'll say) and I honestly felt that Kayson and crew were more intriguing and compassionate than other characters in the story (all fingers crossed that Kayson and his friends are the next to hit the Interstellar lottery). Overall, another good book, just not one of my favorites, as I prefer Hive action or Colony heartaches or just a big freakin' Atlan!

Whitney Mason knew she was restrained in a chair being tested at the Interstellar Brides Processing Center. But the three guys were amazing! Warden Egara asked if she was okay, then smiled and told her the test was successful and she was matched to a Viken male – and they mate in units of three, one from each sector of their planet. Whitney was eager to meet her mates and to leave Earth. She had not committed a crime, but her family had used a pyramid scheme to steal millions from unsuspecting people. Everywhere Whitney went, he was treated badly, lost friends, could not get a job. She was innocent, but she was the one people could point at and blame. The three men who had just been matched were deep undercover on a mission for the Coalition Fleet's Intelligence Core and arguing with Dr. Helion, their commander, that they could not allow their new mate to be there and in danger while they completed their mission tracking the illegal shipments of Coalition weapons being transferred on Viken at the Trixon resort. Leaving the mission now would blow their cover and all that work would be lost. Dr. Helion was not willing to let them go over a female, and they had to acknowledge that he was right. Captain Alarr, Oran, and Teig finally agreed to stay on the mission under certain conditions. Having their bride here would also give them access to more areas of the pleasure resort. This was the best compromise they could do – and she would be protected at all times. But trust is all-important to Whitney. Because of her family, she will not tolerate or forgive lies for any reason, orders or not. When the truth comes out that her mates lied to her and did not divulge the truth of the situation, would she reject them, despite their love for each other?