I liked the beginning, although I was annoyed with the behaviour of Xera's human crew. I didn't like anything after they left the first planet. Two and a half stars. ( )

It starts off with a human crew (Galactic Explorers) and an alien crew (Scorpio) both crash landing on a dangerous planet after being in a crippling fight with each other. Xera Harris-daughter is a translator for the human crew under Captain Asshole (oops I mean Khan) who despises her. Commander Ryven Atarus is the leader of the alien crew . With no choice the humans and the aliens must now join forces to survive a trek to a safe cave on the planet.
There are evil plots both political and personal, dangerous aliens, space battles, kidnappings, and more all while a human and an alien form a lasting love. ( )

This is my third book from Autumn Dawn, and while I liked this one, my feelings were a little mixed. I feel that's partly because the tone of this book was so much more subdued than her previous books. In her werewolf books (Teasing Danger), Dawn gives the reader an impression of danger, at first from the hero and his people, later from outside sources. As a fan of romance with some suspense, I ate that right up. There are dangers in this book too and threats to life and limb. Commander Ryven -and his hot, flame-colored eyes- is initially Xera's enemy, and the tension that later builds between them, the distrust and sidelong glances beneath the pleasant faces, while Ryven is still uncertain Xera will attempt an escape add an edged, realistic element that I enjoyed. Xera is a sensible, reasoning woman that I could see in my own friends. She immediately sees the honor in Ryven, an honor not present in her own fellows. (I really liked that Dawn recognized the real fear present for a lone woman faced with the prospect of being marooned with a military company for an extended period of time, while other authors might dismiss or skirt around this.) However, she and Ryven do not magically fall in love. She is smart enough to know that an enemy is not necessarily a monster simply by merit of being an enemy though. *coughparanormalscough* I also liked that Xera is not Miss Patriot or blind. She joined the military with certain hopes and eventually comes to be disillusioned by her leaders. I liked that real element too. That makes her later actions more convincing as well. These characters also sometimes have ulterior motives, sometimes take misguided action, etc., and I would have liked to have seen more in this direction for the secondary characters, who are not very developed. I would also have liked to have seen more development of Ryven's world, where this takes place. We learn a good deal about him and his people, but --maybe I'm greedy-- I would have liked to have seen more, perhaps a look into the politics or history of his people. It's difficult for an author to write an entirely alien culture with no basis on known cultures, though one can certainly recognize elements, so the more details the better. The gender roles in Ryven's culture, in particular, were different and interesting and this was not explored in depth. Their mode of dress, however, is. I liked those descriptions, and where can I get Xera's wardrobe? LOL.I was also a little jarred by the brutally sudden death (non-explicit) in the beginning of the book. The characters' reactions seem brief and a concession to necessity. Ryven's action is never really explained to my satisfaction. It is risky for a hero to kill anyone in a romance. That requires convincing motivations or explanations. This act seems to have been a part of his culture (and this is where more exploration of his culture would have helped). Xera's reaction is also a little mild. That aside, Xera and Ryven's relationship is realistic and convincing. They come to admire and like each other, and Xera's reactions and concerns in her position are plausible. She was never shrieking, irrational, stubborn or annoying. However, since in much of the book she is adjusting to a culture with no immediate danger to her person, etc. there is not a lot of suspense aside from the romantic kind for a time. We wonder whether she will come to accept Ryven, whether he will compromise with her, respect her feelings and so on. In other words, it's very much a relationship book, in scifi.So while I liked Teasing Danger better, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a romance between (reasonable) enemies. That's fun. Dawn has a competent writing style, and I should warn anyone interested that the bedroom scenes are brief, kind of glossed over.On a side note, it seems prerequisite in scifis for the baddies to be generic insectoids, LOL. What's up with that? The unknown isn't our greatest fear-- bugs are. LOL. Kind of Hollywood. I liked the political conflict though. And the cat-girl. Let's have more of that. ;) ( )

Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Dec08

“No Words Alone” was my first read by Autumn Dawn so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I got was a pleasant surprise and a sensuous and interesting futuristic romance. For readers who are s/f fans like me, this is a more romantic s/f story with sex…nothing very explicit, and definitely not erotica, but more of a romantic bent than is found in most s/f books.

It was hard enough when Xera was the only female in her spaceship crew. Then they had to crash land on an alien planet…along with one of the enemy Scorpio spaceships they had just been battling! As translator and the only person who knows ANY Scorpio, of course she will be front and center in any ‘discussions’ with their little-known and mysterious enemy. Little does Xera know she’s about to get an up close and personal education on Scorpian culture from the enemy Captain.

Ryven isn’t just the Captain of the alien spaceship, he’s the son of one of their rulers! He’s disgusted and appalled by the barbarous treatment of the sole female in the earthmen crew. He doesn’t trust the Earth captain at all and when he sees him attack the female he steps in to protect her. He’s captivated by her courage and beauty and unless he wants her to end up in prison on Scorpio’s home planet, he’ll have to think of somewhere else she could be of use!

I agonized over the previous descriptions of the main characters because they are much more than they sound. But you’ll just have to bear with me because every edit sounded even worse! This book delighted AND frustrated me at the same time. There were some places where I was sure some important information must have been edited out. But then the author did a beautiful job of describing the anxiety and fear of a lone woman suddenly stranded with two shipfuls of men! When she added in the realistic descriptions of two people trying to forge a relationship while also learning about each other’s cultures, I found it fascinating.

Callous and greedy corporate raiding on a planetary scale, an Earthly planetary government too weak to be in control, monstrous blood-feeding aliens, handsome humanish aliens, descriptions of technology that were an interesting mixture of cutting-edge and futuristic…there was a lot to admire about Autumn Dawn’s first Dorchester Publishing release. The information gaps and couple of plot stutters in “No Words Alone” weren’t enough to mar my enjoyment of the author’s tale. I’ll be keeping an eye out for her next mainstream publication titled, “When Sparks Fly” (no firm release date). I think other fantasy/science fiction fans who appreciate an extra dollop of romance will enjoy this one too! ( )