The Clecanian Series by Victoria Aveline
Choosing Theo*
Freeing Luka
Saving Verakko
Tempting Auzed
Using Fejo*
Releasing Maladek**
Resisting Maxu
Ruling Sikthan*
Bewitching Rhaego
*My personal favs in the series **A novella that is part of the universe but not part of the series
So I finished this series today and I have to say it's pretty good. The first book, Choosing Theo, was recommended as "everything you wanted IPB to be but unfortunately wasn't". And honestly, that is a very good description for the book. It starts with an alien abduction and getting dropped on an alien planet, except that it has more... world building and plot.
As the series progresses you even get more into the politics too. You discover more about the culture, about the struggles and the realities. There are reasons why human women were abducted, why they were brought their, and why they keep being brought there.
This is a race and society that was absolutely devastated by a horrific illness that killed most of the female population, and left many of the survivors with some level of infertility. Now, a few hundred years later their population has 20-to-1 male-to-female ratio. Most of the viable, successful pregnancies produce sons. And for all their research and searching, the closest they have found to viable solution was the illegal procurement of humans.
It is really interesting to see this alien society that's been so horrifically affected and stands on the edges of extinction. The solutions they've come up with for the issue are so different than what you'd expect to happen here on Earth. Temporary short term marriages for the purposes of procreation, assuming that the wife decides her husband would make a good father. Females are precious and treasured because they are so rare, but also for the sacrifices they make in duty to their people.
And then humans start popping up because of illegal abductions, and suddenly they are calling forth mating marks in the males. Something that hasn't been seen in over a hundred some years. And they can successfully procreate with the Clenanians. But there are only so many human women available, which is not nearly enough to lift or ease the burdens of the Clenanian females.
So in the background of all these romances is this political and social landscape continues to grow and develop and just break your heart so much.
