Review by kina -- The Bonding by Imogen Keeper
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kina
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Review by kina -- The Bonding by Imogen Keeper
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Space warrior Tam finds alien royalty Nissa in an escape pod that was wandering through space after escaping a genocide on her home world. When it opens, she has a space version of hypothermia from staying in the pod for so long. The only way to save her is to Bond, which is a complex physical and mental mating ritual for Tam’s alien race which involves sex and giving her his semen. Doing so saves her and warms her body enough for her to survive, but after they return to Tam’s base complex politics, alien cultural differences and the consequences of what a Bonding really means awaits them.
This book is a sci-fi erotica with nothing uncensored and no “fade to black” sexual scenes, focusing on alien sex and romance more than anything, but even then I feel it falls short. I won’t be graphic, but this book is definitely for mature audiences and the sex is pornographic rather than sensual most of the time. This is not a problem in itself especially in an erotic romance novel, but when it is what the reader can remember most about the novel or plot, it is. Initially, this is a nice change of pace with straightforward descriptions of sex, genitals, and sexual actions. Published erotica I’ve read before seemed to be bent on describing genitals as flowers, clams or other strange objects or using metaphors instead of actual actions. It does keep up with the strange romance novel tradition of treating the hymen as a barrier that needs to be broken and can fall out, which isn’t true at all if research was done and has been proven to be a sexual myth, detracted from the initial sex scene for me.
The scene of sexual assault is not censored, and it is massively uncomfortable, as scenes of rape and sexual assault usually are and should be, but also because of the reaction of characters towards it afterward. The attack on Nissa is seen more as a blight on Tam by his peers for not being able to protect her and her being sexually assaulted. The whole exchange is dealt with grossly in my opinion and did nothing plot wise but cause minor drama between Tam and Nissa besides her being traumatized by her assault. If done right, sexual assault can be shown as the terrible crime it is that happens more often than people think, and the healing that comes afterward can be what brings a couple closer. After the arc, it is never spoken about between Tam and Nissa again, as if it was a strange mistake but now they’re ready to get on with their lives and go at it like rabbits again. It’s disrespectful of actual victims and their trauma and made it much less pleasurable for me to finish reading the book. I’d recommend the Imogen Keeper research more on the accounts of survivors and their healing processes rather than going in a more generalized route that glosses over it as an issue.
The narration switches off between Nissa and Tam’s third person perspective throughout the chapters. I did like that readers were exposed to both sides of a romance and relationship, even if it wasn’t explored in full. Besides the sex and some brief moments where Nissa and Tam speak, I feel they hardly interact besides what is required for the Bonding ritual. They discuss their lives briefly, but not what they like and dislike, or their past experiences and hopes. It is implied the Bonding does all that with a mental link from their exchanging sexual fluids and a sort of chemistry that happens, but it’s a shallow explanation for me. I would have liked to see more of it outside of their minds and them acting like a couple in a more normal way with affection that wasn’t strictly sexual or promising of sexual actions later. Nissa and Tam falling in love didn’t feel gradual, but more forced and pushed to the climax and end of the book.
Besides the plot falling short for me, the actual descriptions and world building were aspects of the book I actually liked. Imogen Keeper is fabulous with settings, and they feel more fleshed out than some of the characters. I could imagine places like Nissa’s home planet and the base Tam resides on clearly, and that made it much easier to get through the book for me. In a way, it’s an alien setting that humans can relate to with a few differences that make it really fictitious. Colors were a strong point in the book, in describing what Nissa and Tam looked like or when they arrived in new places. It was almost like a window to me on those points.
Nissa is probably my favorite character in the book because of how complex she is. She wants to serve her people, but her place as royalty makes her their property as well as their leader in her culture. It causes a rift in her relationship since it is instilled in her that no one can be owned by a race of people and by a sole person they care about at the same time. I would have liked for her to get more character development besides this and her sudden changes in mood. Some of her mood changes are realistic, such as when she is assaulted or starts to Bond with Tam, but others feel forced. I do like what we see of her personality, fiery and caring but also humble. I wish that wasn’t pushed away by the focus of Tam’s narration of her sexual awakening or how she acts when she’s aroused. Tam, in turn, is a little bland to me. He doesn’t have any features or personality aspects that breaks him apart from a standard caring, loyal, athletic, horny male love interest in most novels, let alone romance novels. There are a few interesting parts of his backstory that could have been integrated more into his personality and overall character, but the author seems to forget those in favor of describing his body or how protective he is over Nissa.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. While I did like world building aspects, characters, and rich descriptions, the plot falls short in favor of erotic scenes too many times to be unnoticeable. I feel if there was more care put into the plot and fixing the numerous plot holes rather than putting focus just on how raunchy and detailed the sex was, I would have enjoyed it more. If you like erotica and rich descriptions, but don’t mind a lacking plot, I’d recommend this book for you.
******
The Bonding
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2 out of 4 stars
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Space warrior Tam finds alien royalty Nissa in an escape pod that was wandering through space after escaping a genocide on her home world. When it opens, she has a space version of hypothermia from staying in the pod for so long. The only way to save her is to Bond, which is a complex physical and mental mating ritual for Tam’s alien race which involves sex and giving her his semen. Doing so saves her and warms her body enough for her to survive, but after they return to Tam’s base complex politics, alien cultural differences and the consequences of what a Bonding really means awaits them.
This book is a sci-fi erotica with nothing uncensored and no “fade to black” sexual scenes, focusing on alien sex and romance more than anything, but even then I feel it falls short. I won’t be graphic, but this book is definitely for mature audiences and the sex is pornographic rather than sensual most of the time. This is not a problem in itself especially in an erotic romance novel, but when it is what the reader can remember most about the novel or plot, it is. Initially, this is a nice change of pace with straightforward descriptions of sex, genitals, and sexual actions. Published erotica I’ve read before seemed to be bent on describing genitals as flowers, clams or other strange objects or using metaphors instead of actual actions. It does keep up with the strange romance novel tradition of treating the hymen as a barrier that needs to be broken and can fall out, which isn’t true at all if research was done and has been proven to be a sexual myth, detracted from the initial sex scene for me.
The scene of sexual assault is not censored, and it is massively uncomfortable, as scenes of rape and sexual assault usually are and should be, but also because of the reaction of characters towards it afterward. The attack on Nissa is seen more as a blight on Tam by his peers for not being able to protect her and her being sexually assaulted. The whole exchange is dealt with grossly in my opinion and did nothing plot wise but cause minor drama between Tam and Nissa besides her being traumatized by her assault. If done right, sexual assault can be shown as the terrible crime it is that happens more often than people think, and the healing that comes afterward can be what brings a couple closer. After the arc, it is never spoken about between Tam and Nissa again, as if it was a strange mistake but now they’re ready to get on with their lives and go at it like rabbits again. It’s disrespectful of actual victims and their trauma and made it much less pleasurable for me to finish reading the book. I’d recommend the Imogen Keeper research more on the accounts of survivors and their healing processes rather than going in a more generalized route that glosses over it as an issue.
The narration switches off between Nissa and Tam’s third person perspective throughout the chapters. I did like that readers were exposed to both sides of a romance and relationship, even if it wasn’t explored in full. Besides the sex and some brief moments where Nissa and Tam speak, I feel they hardly interact besides what is required for the Bonding ritual. They discuss their lives briefly, but not what they like and dislike, or their past experiences and hopes. It is implied the Bonding does all that with a mental link from their exchanging sexual fluids and a sort of chemistry that happens, but it’s a shallow explanation for me. I would have liked to see more of it outside of their minds and them acting like a couple in a more normal way with affection that wasn’t strictly sexual or promising of sexual actions later. Nissa and Tam falling in love didn’t feel gradual, but more forced and pushed to the climax and end of the book.
Besides the plot falling short for me, the actual descriptions and world building were aspects of the book I actually liked. Imogen Keeper is fabulous with settings, and they feel more fleshed out than some of the characters. I could imagine places like Nissa’s home planet and the base Tam resides on clearly, and that made it much easier to get through the book for me. In a way, it’s an alien setting that humans can relate to with a few differences that make it really fictitious. Colors were a strong point in the book, in describing what Nissa and Tam looked like or when they arrived in new places. It was almost like a window to me on those points.
Nissa is probably my favorite character in the book because of how complex she is. She wants to serve her people, but her place as royalty makes her their property as well as their leader in her culture. It causes a rift in her relationship since it is instilled in her that no one can be owned by a race of people and by a sole person they care about at the same time. I would have liked for her to get more character development besides this and her sudden changes in mood. Some of her mood changes are realistic, such as when she is assaulted or starts to Bond with Tam, but others feel forced. I do like what we see of her personality, fiery and caring but also humble. I wish that wasn’t pushed away by the focus of Tam’s narration of her sexual awakening or how she acts when she’s aroused. Tam, in turn, is a little bland to me. He doesn’t have any features or personality aspects that breaks him apart from a standard caring, loyal, athletic, horny male love interest in most novels, let alone romance novels. There are a few interesting parts of his backstory that could have been integrated more into his personality and overall character, but the author seems to forget those in favor of describing his body or how protective he is over Nissa.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. While I did like world building aspects, characters, and rich descriptions, the plot falls short in favor of erotic scenes too many times to be unnoticeable. I feel if there was more care put into the plot and fixing the numerous plot holes rather than putting focus just on how raunchy and detailed the sex was, I would have enjoyed it more. If you like erotica and rich descriptions, but don’t mind a lacking plot, I’d recommend this book for you.
******
The Bonding
View: on Bookshelves
Like kina's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Diary of a Snoopy Cat by R.F. Kristi
