Review: Taken

Taken by M.A. Church

My rating: 3 of 5 stars





Wait, back up, the government tells the populace that men are "taken" for five years for DNA extraction, and after this time period, they will be returned, and people buy this shit? If the government tells me that male aliens need to "borrow" human men to help repopulate their devastated race, I'd be calling bullshit immediately. As it turns out, I'd be right. This story is about humans taken from Earth and being physically modified. There are many parts to this story that appeals to me.

Men who are forced to submit sexually and be collared to strong alien males, how is this not smexy hawt? On top of this, these men are injected with DNA and physically changed. The change is not exactly a surprise, but it is kind of a mind bender. It's a fun twist in this story and I enjoyed Ms. Church's deviant mind.

However, I still have reservations with this story. While the world building is good, it is sketchy. For those who don't read a lot of sci-fi, it may be a bit confusing. For those who love sci-fi, this will make sense.

The pace of this story is what throws me. It is jarring because it feels as if it rushes and then slows down, then rushes again. It doesn't move at a steady pace. It starts out as a rush with Dale captured and taken when he doesn't fall within the parameters. When Dale meets his "mate" Keyno, it slows down a bit. Meeting Keyno's family is also a bit slow as well as the conflict near the end. Other side stories are thrown in to help create conflict, which makes the story go a bit sideways. Ms. Church does pull it back together for the ultimate conflict.

The conflict is okay. Really, for this type of story, I'd prefer to see more graphic sex and ramp up the BDSM. While Dale and Keyno are working through their mating dance, I'm more interested in the secondary character, Colt and his "master". Especially since Colt's master specifically states he wants to tie him down and fuck him repeatedly until he screams. My heartbeat increased and my panties moistened a little bit. I kept hoping for some harder non-consent scenes. Perhaps in the next book in the series there will be more BDSM and intriguing body modifications of reluctant human males.

Recommended for m/m readers who enjoy a bit of kinky sci-fi sexual slavery.



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