Review copy was received from Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Genmate Mistaken by Cara Bristol Series: Genmate Dilemma #1
Published by Self-Published on January 17, 2022
Genres: Romance, Science Fiction
Pages: 155
Format: eARC
Source: Author
Goodreads
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Vengeance keeps ’Topian Edwin Mysk from surrendering to the pain of the destruction of his home world and the loss of the genmate he might have had. One day the Xeno Consortium will know his wrath. Until then, he will pursue his self-imposed mission to locate and reunite the massacre survivors.
When he lands on Laxiter 4, he finds the ’Topian settlement abandoned, except for a lone woman. Lala. Their immediate, intense bonding proves she’s his genmate, the one female his genetics have chosen for him—the one he’d believed lost forever. With Lala at his side, he resumes his search for the others.
But Lala is not the ’Topian he thinks she is. She’s a shapeshifting Xeno, a disgraced former general in the consortium military wrongly convicted of helping ’Topian insurgents escape annihilation. Edwin Mysk offers her best chance to locate the escapees and receive a stay of execution—as long as he doesn’t discover her secret.
Will the gulf between hatred and love, despair and desire, prove too wide for them to cross? Is their genmate bond a tragic mistake?
His world was destroyed, family gone, and then he was forced to flee across the galaxy. Now he wants revenge. Her brother betrayed their people, but she is the one under an execution order. Then she is offered a new chance at life. Cara Bristol’s sci-fi romances pull the reader into her sci-fi worlds and make one root for her characters to find their happily ever after.
Genmate Mistaken is the first in the Genmate Dilemma trilogy telling Edward Mysk’s complicated romance story and I was anticipating this one practically since the moment he was introduced in the earlier Alien Castaways series. I would recommend readers not start with this book, but with the Alien Castaways series, but, in a pinch, readers wouldn’t be totally lost if they did start with this one.
Always the man who helped, found a way, and got it done. Now, it is Mysk’s turn to go back to the stars to find his genmate and soothe his tattered soul after his enemies, the Xenos destroyed everything. He is a Veritol and would like nothing more than to mind sync with his very own genmate. But, his thirst for revenge might overshadow all that.
I was curious what sort of alien female he would be matched with and felt some amusement and a lot of trepidation that he gets paired with Lala, a former Xenos Consortium general, who is under a death sentence when her brother and former council member, Chameleon, warned the Topians and possibly helped evacuate many before their planet was destroyed. Lala, as family to a traitor, by law must be executed, but the Xeno Council wants to use her to find if Chameleon successfully evacced Topians so they can finish their genocide project.
The pace was swift and the plot was full of tension once the two main characters were introduced and had their encounter. Things go sideways when Lala and her sentient AI ship encounter a solar storm and she ends up on a planet with Mysk who she must fool into believing she is Topian, discover what he knows, and get a report back to the Council even while fighting an attraction to him and her growing sense that Mysk and the Topians were wronged by her people.
The side characters and some side plot threads caught my attention and I loved the way they helped add layers to an already good story.
Genmate Mistaken is the first in what feels more like serial than series because it ends abruptly at a cliffhanger and the next two installments will pick up the story and they release swiftly after this one. I thought as cliffhangers go that this one got right to the spot I was most interested in once this pair met. I can’t wait to see what comes next. Definitely a good one for sci-fi romance fans who like it spicy, but also the worldbuilding developed well.
About Cara Bristol
Cara Bristol continues to evolve, adding new subgenres of erotic romance to her repertoire. She has written spanking romance, contemporary romance, paranormal, and science fiction romance. No matter what the genre, one thing remains constant: her emphasis on character-driven seriously hot erotic stories with sizzling chemistry between the hero and heroine. Cara has lived many places in the United States, but currently lives in Missouri with her husband. She has two grown stepkids. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading and traveling.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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i have got caught up in a few serials, but no more. i have deleted more than one from my tbr and don’t want to keep track. it’s hard enough to keep track of series i want to finish….that i don’t. lol happy reading
Yeah, I get that one, Sherry. Fortunately, this is only a trilogy and I knew what what was coming so I was ready. These all release about two-weeks apart, too. It’s starting great. 🙂
I’ll check out the Alien Castaways series first. I think it’d be better to wait until the next one since this is just part of the story anyhow. I like the sound of this one and have wanted to try Bristol. Wonderful review, Sophia!
Yes, that is definitely a good plan. There are three of these and they are all out by the end of this month. 🙂
It’s a good thing the next book will be coming out soon. Cliffhangers are fine if you don’t have to wait too long for the next installment. (this applies to books, movies and tv shows)
Exactly. The author made sure readers knew what to expect and kept the releases close.
what a cover and great review but it kind of sucks that you have to go back to another series to understand it all. Oh well it’s only time right LOL Thanks Sophia Rose I know you love your sci-fi romance
Debbie, I don’t think that you you have to read Alien Castaways first. Genmate Dilemma stands alone. You get a backstory, and get to meet Mysk in advance, but I wrote the trilogy so that new readers can enjoy it.
They are fast reads. LOL and, you’d love them so its worth it. 🙂
But, in a pinch you could start here as this does begin a new series arc thread.
Thanks for the great review! I especially liked the way you described the story. You’re a great blurb writer. Lol.
Why thank you, Cara! Appreciate you stopping by and also enjoying my wording. 🙂
I really need to try one of these alien romances. They sound like so much fun! I am glad that you enjoyed this one.
I agree. These are fun and I think you’d enjoy them, Carole. 🙂
I’m definitely going to read this. I just got done reading Braxx. I love her books.
That was another good one. I think you’ll love Alien Castaways and these, too, Mary. 🙂
I haven’t seen this series yet. I’ve gotten behind on her books. Looks like another good one. Wonderful review, Sophia.
Yes, she is putting out some good SFR lately and I’m loving it. This Genmate trio is a spinoff of the Alien Castaways. I’ve enjoyed them all even more than the Intergalactic Dating Agency ones. 🙂