Never Hollowed By The Stare

*note: long post so you can skip to the end for the tl:dr version if you wamt

Covers like these make it easy to dismiss alien romance as nothing more than smut with freaky body parts. But judgey mcjudgey me should have learned my lesson from Earth Fathers Are Weird. This is Lyn Gala we’re talking about here and she is a master of romances that are out of this world.

I picked up this series because I found out it is narrated by John Solo. He blew me away with his performance in Earth Fathers Are Weird so it’s pretty much guaranteed this was going to be enjoyable even if the story itself might not be that good. Turns out, this was absolutely perfect!

Claimings is so much more than alien meet cute. It is an epic love story, a very unique cultural experience and perhaps, also a mini commentary on human nature. It introduces us to a species known as the Rownt.

Rownt are natives of the planet Parorownt. They are a large, extremely long-lived humanoid species with heights up to 11 ft and lifespans reaching a millennium or so. They have purple skin and tails. They are born from eggs. They are very vaguely based on turtles.

The Rownt are a status-conscious, matriarchal society ruled by grandmothers (who, btw, are total badasses, you’ll love ’em!). They have a highly logical mindset, predatory nature and live solitary lives. They only engage in sex to procreate then go their separate ways immediately after the act. They are highly protective of children but don’t have family units. Their primary occupation is trading and thus live for profit. As Liam puts it, this is a society that “worships on the altar of business acumen“

I am not a detail-oriented reader. I tend to gloss over a lot of things. That I can easily recall these information is a testament to how immersive this series is. This is one of the most fully-realized worlds I have ever come across. The amount of details the author put into these books is astounding. And she did it without making me feel overwhelmed. She made the Rownt feel real and likable yet still truly alien.

And the language! I enjoyed this part so much. It was like she created a foreign language using English words. We gradually pick up Rownt-speak the same time the MC, Liam, is learning his way around it. This is one of my favorite parts of a Lyn Gala book.

I loved how the way the author writes about two characters trying to work around language and cultural barriers. She always does it in an amusing and thought-provoking way. And it further heightens the feeling of being in another planet.

Sgt. Liam Munsun is a soldier, linguist and trader currently assigned as a liason in Prarowont. After many traumatic experiences fighting in the civil war, Liam wants a peaceful, boring life. Trading in the Rownt marketplace is as close as he could get to that.

One day, he met a certain Rownt trader named Ondry with whom he struck a friendship. They had lunches together and spent their time talking about Rownt culture. This went on for about 5 years until Liam had a new superior officer who treated him badly. Ondry saw this incident and immediately made a move to stake his claim on Liam. This is where things get really, really interesting.

Claimings: Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts – Lyn Gala

Liam loves his life as a linguist and trader on the Rownt homeworld, but he has ignored his heart and sexual needs for years. After escaping the horrors of war, he wants a boring life. He won’t risk letting anyone come too close because he won’t risk letting anyone see his deeply submissive nature. For him, submission comes with pain. Life burned that lesson into his soul from a young age.

This fear keeps him from noticing that the Rownt trader Ondry cares for him. Ondry may not understand humans, but he recognizes a wounded soul, and his need to protect Liam is quickly outpacing his common sense. They may have laws, culture, and incompatible genitalia in their way, but Ondry knows that he can find a way to overcome all that if he can just overcome the ghosts of Liam’s past. Only then can he take possession of a man he has grown to respect.

The first book is solely from Liam’s POV. For 5 years, our boy was apparently very oblivious to the fact that he was being courted by Ondry. The astute trader recognized that he is paltea, a certain type of rare individual highly valued by the Rownt.

Because I didn’t even read the blurb properly, it took me a while to figure out what it meant until it was spelled out to me. And so I suddenly realized I’m right smack in the middle of a BDSM set up. A pretty unique one at that.

The Rownt perspective is especially significant because humans tend to look at submissives as weak and broken. Liam had a really shitty past where his submissive nature was abused (TW: off page sexual abuses). His current situation wasn’t helping either. He’s good at his job but knows he’s not going to be promoted because of his past.

Meanwhile, to the Rownt, a paltea is someone who serves, someone who devotes his life to his chilta‘s happiness. Therefore, such person should be cherished and protected at all cost. They are the closest thing these solitary creatures ever get to a spouse.

While the two did get around their anatomical differences to enjoy sexual pleasures (which involved creative use of twitchy appendages), the beauty of Ondry and Liam’s dom/sub relationship is that it’s not even sexual in nature. It is a relationship of equals where one person willingly gives his complete submission to a dominant who would fight even the gods to protect his beloved submissive.

His very obvious pride of his paltea, his gentle comforts to the wounded man, his growly protectiveness, his single-minded devotion to Liam delivered in unerring Rownt logic, Ondry just makes you swoon!

The dork is so damn proud of his Liam, he goes around town just to show him off. Also, his “unholy glee” whenever Liam bested another trader.

Liam! I was rooting really hard for this guy. Such a cinnamon roll. The man deserves all the hugs! I liked that he has a good sense of humor without being wasn’t overly sassy. I could definitely relate to him wanting a boring life.

This book blew me away so much that I finished it in one sitting. Then I immediately dived into the sequel.

Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfect

Soundtrack: Protect
Artist: High Sunn
Album: Wishes

Claiming: Assimilation, Love, and Other Human Oddities – Lyn Gala

Ondry and Liam have settled into a good life, but their trading is still tied up with humans, and humans are always messy. When political changes at the human base lead Ondry to attempt a difficult trade, the pair find themselves entangled in human affairs. Liam wants to help the people he left and the worlds being torn apart. He also wants to serve Ondry with not only the pleasures of the nest but also by bringing human profits.

Ondry has no hope of understanding human psychology in general, he only knows that he will hold onto his palteia with the last breath in his body, and he’d like to keep his status and his wealth too. Unfortunately, new humans bring new conflicts and he is not sure how to protect Liam. He does know one thing that humans seem to constantly forget—that the peaceful Rownt are predators and when their families are threatened, Rownt become deadly killers. Liam is his family, and Ondry will protect him with his last breath… assuming that he can recognize the dangers in time to do so.

Here we meet another human who attempts to liaise with the Parorownt natives. What she was actually trying to do was, well, let’s just say Ondry wasn’t pleased.

We finally get Ondry’s POV along with Liam’s. I love getting inside the Rownt’s head. He finds humans confusing, amusing. and not very bright. Excerpt of course for his Liam who he adores. If he could bind this human to his very existence, he would.

Our boy Liam is practically a Rownt now. He very much came into his own here. He’s so happy now! I also loved how he and Ondry just sync together perfectly.. The trust between the two men was absolute, the love and affection was infinite and pure.

That scene after they were attacked by a huge predatory animal was, hands down, the most intimate scene I have ever come across with. It’s even more intimate than sex scenes.

This was the part where Ondy was making sure Liam wasn’t injured. I had this weird feeling of wanting to move away and give them privacy. I was holding my breath the entire time! For this scene alone, John Solo deserves an award for his sublime performance.

The second book answers my burning concern regarding the huge difference in Rownt and human lifespans. For which I was so relieved because I don’t want Liam dying on Ondry any time soon.

Rating:
5 Stars – absolutely perfect

Soundtrack: It Would Be An Honor
Artist: Night Terrors Of 1927
Album: Everything’s Coming Up Roses

Admittedly, Liam and Ondry’s caudal bonding might not be someone’s preferred way of interspecies liaising. But freaky body parts notwithstanding, these are alien stories with a lot of heart. Claimings is one of the most achingly tender and breathtakingly beautiful love stories out there.

The first two books are set in Parorownt. The next two take Liam and Ondry to space. I will review them in the future. The series is should be read in order in audiobook as decreed by the grandmothers.

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