Review: The Lasaran (Aldebarian Alliance #1) by Dianne Duvall

If you’ve read any of my reviews before, you’ll know, I don’t post spoilers of any kind or reveal any plot twists in my book reviews.

Here’s what the official blurb has to say about the story:

New York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall brings readers the first novel in a thrilling new sci-fi series full of action, intrigue, humor, and romance.

Taelon searches the galaxy for his younger sister, who mysteriously disappeared while on a diplomatic mission. When an ally reveals that she was seized and is being held prisoner on Earth, Taelon descends upon the blue planet, intent on freeing her and exacting vengeance. However, all does not go as planned. Before he can find her, Taelon is captured and becomes the subject of torturous experiments. For what feels like an eternity, all he knows is pain and fury… until a mind tentatively touches his own and a woman’s voice forever changes his world.

After suffering tragic losses, Lisa is finally beginning to carve out a future for herself when chance sends her to the Anomalous Cognition Research Institute. What at first appears to be a benign organization seeking participants for a psychic study instead turns out to be a government facility harboring a much darker intent. Lisa discovers this too late and soon becomes the unwilling subject of a terrifying experiment. Just as fear and desperation threaten to consume her, a deep, compelling voice penetrates the looming insanity and lends her hope.

Having seen only the worst of humanity, Taelon is shocked when Lisa risks everything to free him. Together the two make their escape, and Taelon finds himself fascinated by the small human woman who—despite all she’s suffered—can still laugh and tease and lure smiles from him. Friendship swiftly grows between them as they work together to evade soldiers intent on capturing them and find themselves hunted by mystifying preternatural beings. Through it all, Lisa steadfastly remains by his side, stealing more of his heart each day while she helps him unravel the mystery of his sister’s fate. Can they find his sister before the hunters find them? If they survive their quest, will Taelon have to bid Lisa farewell… or can he coax her into leaving her planet and joining him for the adventure of a lifetime?

So, what did I think about it?

I really love Ms Duvall’s writing style and find her books very easy to read (but impossible to put down! Lol!). She writes intelligent, engaging stories with a collection of well written characters, set against an imaginative world that cleverly mixes fantasy and reality. She makes it so easy to submerse oneself completely in her books. The pace of her stories are usually fast, full of action and contain a couple of plot lines that run alongside the main romantic story arc. But fear not lovely readers, she always manages to pack it all in without making you feel overwhelmed, bewildered or lost.

The Characters

If you’ve read my reviews before, then you’ll know that I connect to a story more when the main female character is intelligent, resilient, self-reliant and has plenty of gumption. I wasn’t disappointed here. Lisa was amazing and someone I could believe in, she certainly had oodles of gumption and a great big heart. In fact, it’s because all of the characters within these pages have been written with personalities that we can see in the real world around us adds that level of believability to this tale for me, even though the majority of them are mythical or extra-terrestrial beings.

I loved The Lasaran and couldn’t put it down! This book had everything that I look for in a 5 star story.

• ✅ Intelligent writing style that showed us rather than told us.
• ✅ This was very easy to read and understand the intricacies of the plot.
• ✅ The main protagonists – Taelon and Lisa – had personalities that felt realistic (even though they’re fictional, fantasy creations).
• ✅ There was a range and depth of character in the supporting cast that all played their part in the story.
• ✅ The background to the story and the setting felt believable.
• ✅ There was a good balanced mix of relationship and/or romance scenes to action scenes.

I was left breathless, wondering where on earth Ms Duvall would take us next in this addictive series! (Pun definitely intended!) 😉

Content Warning!

Due to the graphic nature of the violence and sex scenes, I would only recommend this book to adults who are not offended by content of this sort. Readers who enjoy stories with strong alpha heroes and independent capable heroines, tense and often traumatic and brutal confrontations and hot lust/romance scenes.

This is Dianne’s first foray into the science fiction genre. As a newbie to the genre myself, I was completely captivated and can’t wait to read more.

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Visit DIANNE DUVALL‘s own little corner of the web. Support her by buying a copy of this (or any of her books) directly from her website!

Thank you for stopping by and for taking the time to read my review. I hope that you’ll add this amazing book to your already towering TBR piles! 😉