[NetGalley Review]: "Stud"

Stud by Cheryl Brooks
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (February 7, 2012)
Series: Cat Star Chronicles, 8
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-Fi Romance

Summary (Amazon.com):

THEY'RE GALAXIES APART...



Even for a Zetithian, Tarq Zulveidinoe's sexual prowess is legendary. Believing it's all he's good for, Tarq sets out to perpetuate his threatened species by offering his services to women across the galaxy...


BUT ONE FORCE CAN BRING THEM TOGETHER...

Lucinda Force is the sensitive dark horse in a self-absorbed family, repeatedly told that no man will ever want such a plain woman. Lucy longs for romance, but is resigned to her loveless lot in life-until Tarq walks through the door of her father's restaurant on Talus Five...


Where to Buy*: Amazon | Kindle | BN.com

More Info: Author's Site

Other Books in the Series:
Click on the covers to buy from BN.com; the title links to the book's page Amazon.

Book 1: Slave

Book 2: Warrior

Book 3: Rogue

Book 4: Outcast

Book 5: Fugitive

Book 6: Hero

Book 7: Virgin

My Review:

For years, I've heard great things about the Cat Star Chronicles. I put the first few book on my list and I was going to read them right away. But life happened, like always, and the books are still sitting on my wish list. After having the opportunity to read the newest release in this series, Stud, for review, I'm thinking that it is probably best that the books are still on my wish list...

Stud centers around Tarq, the Zetithian who is trying to repopulate his species by hiring himself out as, you guessed it, a stud, to any woman in the galaxy who can successfully carry his young. He knows all there is to know about working in the bedroom, and he believes that this is the only job suitable for him—the only one he is capable of, as he sees himself as being “stupid”, when in fact he simple has a learning disorder that has prevented him from learning how to read. But all his skills in the bedroom can't prepare him for the troubles he will come across with Lucy, a waitress in a small restaurant he visits while on a job.



Lucy has been stuck under her father's thumb all her life, with little to no experience with the real world. She works for him (for free), she does all the housework, and takes care of her mother and younger sister, both of whom are “unable” to do any hard work (aka, lazy). She's a grown woman, and yet she has about as much control over her own life as a small child. But when Tarq sits down at her table, she's finally tempted to throw off her father's shackles and do something very reckless—like beg Tarq to impregnate her so she can finally know what it is like to be loved. She's got everything figured out: after the deed is done, she will sneak out of town during the night and travel to the next town, where a friend of hers lives. She never thought that Tarq would follow her—or that he would pretend that he cares. But is he pretending...?



Upon reaching the town (after sharing a speeder with Tarq for a few days...and nights) she discovers that Natasha's home and farm have been burned to the ground, with no one in sight. Meanwhile, Tarq, who continued on by request of Lucy, is hassled by a few locals who hate all aliens and want them out of their city—and Tarq is their least favorite, as they see him as nothing but a nasty man whore coming to steal all their women. The men beat Tarq up and take his speeder (which has everything in it, from basic necessities to money). Lucy comes to his rescue, but while she manages to carry our some revenge on the few men who stayed behind, another man took off with all their supplies. Now stranded in the middle of no where, the only place they can run to is the Eradic mountains. Once there, they encounter various beasts that wish to kill them...along with a half a dozen people, including Natasha and her husband, hiding away in a cave. Tarq says that he knows the way out of the mountains—and off the planet—but can he lead the group there safely? And once they arrive to the city, can he convince Lucy that she should stay with him and be his mate—for life?



For many of Brooks' fans, there is nothing sexier than a Zetithian male. Unfortunately, this isn't the case for me. Don't get me wrong—I'm sure Tarq and all the rest of his kind are great men, and sexy as well (to their mates). But for me, their...unusual anatomy, well, it just didn't do it for me. I won't go into details here (if you know the books, you know what I'm referring to; if not, well then the only way you'd find out is from reading one of the books, like I did), but I kept picturing some very odd things while reading those scenes, and frankly none of them were very lust inducing. At least for me! But, 'to each his own' and all that....



I had a hard time connecting with Lucy and Tarq—there was simply something missing, but I can't place my finger on what it was. Honestly, I didn't care much for Lucy, even after the end of the book; I didn't hate her, but I didn't love her either. Basically, she was a bit forgettable, which is never a good thing. Every time she giggled (which was quiet often) I shuddered. It grated on my nerves, as I kept picturing her as this stereotypical blonde (and I don't mean hair color...), giggling and twirling her hair. Sometimes, even when it is not what the author intends, certain words, phrases, and whatnot can lead the reader to picture something (like my vision of Lucy above) that may or may not be true to the character. And yet that is about the only thing that I got from Lucy's character—her giggling. Nothing else stuck. And Tarq, well, he knows how to handle a lot of situations in the wild, which I applaud him for, but beyond that, I'm sad to say that not much of his character stuck either.



Perhaps it is just me. There seems to me many other readers out there that love this book, and this series. But I had issues with it. Perhaps it is due to the fact that I picked up book 8 in the series without first reading the rest of the books. It seems that, according to other readers, reading this series in order makes it a more enjoyable read—not to mention the fact that you will probably understand more of the ongoing plots and whatnot. If this is the case, than maybe my view on the Zetithian's will change after reading the rest of the series. But I won't be taking the time to do that right now—too many books, too little time, and Tarq's magic who-ha just wasn't enough to make me want to run out and buy the other books.



3 STARS! Despite what I've said, Stud wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't, in my opinion, a great book. While I don't regret reading it, I won't be rushing out to pick up the previous books, at least not right now. I was disappointed by what I found between the pages of this book; after all these years, I guess I had built up this high pedestal of how great Brooks' Cat Star novels were, and in the end they just didn't meet my expectations. The romance was a bit lackluster, the characters, at least for this book, forgettable, and the sex was, well, not very passionate. I actually found myself wanting to skip through those scenes, as they seemed to be lacking some key element. If you are already a fan of this series, than perhaps you should disregard my review—you will no doubt find it as enjoyable as you did the previous novels. But if you have not yet read any of these books, and you really wish to, I would suggest starting with book one—don't make my mistake and start a series so late in the game. Even when the books are not strongly interconnected, it never turns out well. I will look for Brooks' other books in the future, but it won't be anytime soon.

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I received this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!