The Alien's Mail-Order Bride

Risdaverse #0.5

by Ruby Dixon

Though still carrying the scars of his past as an intergalactic soldier, Emvor doesn’t mind the quiet of his chosen life as a farmer. He doesn’t even mind that most nights are lonely on remote Cassa, but he does need help around his farm. A mail-order bride from his homeworld seems like the perfect solution. She’ll be a tall, sturdy female to help with the chores and bear his children.

Unfortunately, the person that arrives is Nicola. She’s small, delicate… and human. She also knows nothing about farming, and she's lied and deceived her way across the galaxy to get to Cassa so she can hide from those that would capture her. She's a problem, and also the most enticing thing he's ever seen.

Now Emvor has to decide… can he keep the woman who’s nothing like what he asked for but is everything he needs?

Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Aliens, Novella, Fantasy, Science Fiction Romance, Paranormal

67 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 2017

About the author

Ruby Dixon is an author of Science Fiction Romance. She likes fated mates, baby-filled epilogues, and cinnamon roll heroes. She also likes to write biographies of herself in the third person, because it feels more important that way.

Ruby also loves coffee and dirty books and will probably be a cat lady at some point. :)

Reviews

[Imme van Gorp · Rating 3 out of 5]

|| 3.0 stars ||

This was cute, albeit a little too short for me to truly get invested. If it had been longer, we could have had that depth that would have made this story be absolutely lovely. It had the potential to be great, but it was still nice the way it was now.
It’s a sci-fi love story with the arranged marriage trope, and I really liked the premise.

Emvor is a gruff alien living a lonely life on his farm, not really having anyone to keep him company. He doesn’t think many people will be attracted to him due to the ugly scars that run all over his body and face after his time in the war. Thus, he decides to find a wife through an agency in hopes of finding a partner that can help him on the farm.
When his new ‘wife’ arrives he finds out he has been deceived, as instead of a fellow-alien, a fragile and dainty human has arrived! Nicola isn’t what Emvor expected, and he doesn’t think he will have any use for someone so weak. Nonetheless, he does not want to send Nicola back either, as he knows a terrible fate will await her then. Instead, he promises to find her another husband in their small-town village, someone who doesn’t need help on the farm and can afford to keep her.
However, as time goes on, Emvor discovers Nicola is everything he never knew he wanted. Her cooking, her smiles, her charming demeaner, her delicate frame, her sweet personality; he loves it all! But will he be able to keep her when she’s not what he asked for?

As days pass, it becomes harder and harder to ignore her presence. Nicola’s like a burst of sunshine that’s come into my life, and her smile warms me every time I see it. Turns out the cute little dent in her cheek is called a dimple, and I live for its appearance. There’s nothing that makes my day better than seeing Nicola grin so wide that she dimples up. She’s been smiling a lot more lately, too, and most of them are directed at me. Makes my heart ache fiercely.

These two were genuinely adorable together. Their gentle, domestic vibe was so sweet, and I loved how they both appreciated each other so much. They were both very kind, and their relationship was honestly just cute.


'Mail-Order Brides' series:
1. The Alien's Mail-Order Bride - 3.0 stars
2. The Wolf's Mail-Order Bride - 1.0 star
4. The Midwinter Mail-Order Bride - 1.5 stars

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised with this short, cute, sexy read! I honestly only picked up this book because it is #1 in the Mail-Order Bride series that is being shared between four different authors. One of those authors is Alexa Riley whom I already really like...but being that her book is the third in the series; and I'm bit OCD when it comes to reading books in order...well, I just had to pick this one up! I'm not a huge fan of alien romances; but I will say that Ruby Dixon created a very sweet and cute story that I actually quite enjoyed! Of course I expected that the books are all going to be short; but it was a nice quirky story to get me through my day!

I look forward to the next three books, to see what the other authors have in store for our mail-order brides! Don't ask me why...but I have always had a weak spot for this type of romance story!!!
I am glad these four authors got together again, to create four more short stories!!! They are all the same ones that did the Princess series a few months back!!

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I wish this was longer 😭 I was left hanging 😭.

Emvor is a messakah alien and is waiting for his bride to arrive. He needs help around the farm and companionship. In fact, he doesn’t even care what his blue bride-to-be looks like; he just needs someone around. He’s ex-military and is scarred from it, which is why he thinks he’s not handsome, but he’s alone, and that’s why he ordered a bride.

When his bride arrives, he notices something’s off- she’s limiting her movements and isn’t talking much. It isn’t until they arrive to his farm that his bride takes off her mask… she’s not an alien; she’s a human, and she’s looking for safety.

Nicola’s (24) ready to get married and have kids, which is what Emvor’s looking for. Her previous owner considered her a pet, but ever since she died, Nicola’s had to fend for herself. She needs stability and hopes to find it with Emvor.

But Emvor needs someone bigger and stronger than Nicola 😬. He’s willing to help her look for a suitable man to marry.

If only he could ignore the feelings he’s feeling 👀

I loved/liked:
-how jealous Emvor gets 🤣. This alien gets jealous of his own thoughts 🤣😅

—the tension/buildup👀. Yes, it’s a short book, but it mostly focuses on their relationship

—the breeeeding aspect 😉

—the 🔥. Sigh. They’re learning each other, and even though he’s not a virgin (she is), he’s never been with a human.

—learning how to kiss 🔥 and learning what that little nub is hidden 🥵

—Emvor’s regret over being with others 💁🏻‍♀️. Manhooooars all around could learn from this 🤷🏻‍♀️. He wishes he didn’t have the experience he’s experienced, even though it’s been a really long time

—finding out what dimples are 🥹. I thought it was soooo cute that Emvor loves Nicola’s dimples 🥰😭

What I wanted more of: SPOILERS
—there’s breeeeding but we don’t see it 😑. It ends so abruptly

—no epilogue/rushed ending 😐. We don’t see what happens after they’re finally intimate 😭. Babies? Marriage? We don’t see it 😭 it we just had one extra page, I would’ve been happier

Overall, I really enjoyed this ❤️ I just wish we had an epilogue 😭

⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/owd
-racism (of humans)
-mentions of human trafficking/sexual exploitation of humans
-mild OMD- there were men that seem like they could be interested in the h. The H gets jealous of anyone that could have her
-virgin h/it’s been a long time for the H (he used to visit brothels when he was soldier many years ago)
-no condoms/he’s always used protection before/breeding
-HEA/no epilogue 😭

[Mei · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short novella is really sweet!
The universe is still the same: BBBs, Icehome and this novella are all connected - the males are all from the same species! Big, blue, horned and with a tail! LOL

Emvor is a marshmallow - under a tough exterior there's a softy!

Nicole was also very sweet: she's accepted her lot and is not bitter about anything. She accepts Emvor as he is - she sees the good in him without prejudice about his scars.

Emvor is the one who's biased. Humans are soft and weak. What's he to do with such a wife?

But, the heart is not ruled by reason!

A very sweet story. There's no angst, OW problems. Just two people who gets to know each other and fall in love!

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Read - November 1, 2017
Reread - July 29, 2020



5 stars!

I drop everything when Ruby Dixon releases a new book. As soon as I seen that a friend reviewed it - Hi, TriciaLen - I had to stop what I was doing and read it. Of course I wasn't disappointed. I was a little surprised, though.

You see, I am not a novella lover. I actually avoid novellas unless I love the series and/or the author. Novellas, for me, usually mean rushed storylines and plot holes. Those are two of my biggest pet peeves in any book. I need for everything to be wrapped up nicely in a complete and orderly fashion. Nothing should be left unsaid or untouched. As much as I love Ruby, she has rushed through some of her full-length novels so I was hesitant starting this one.

Leave it to Ruby prove me wrong. There was background information given on both main characters. We get to see them face their fears and fall for each other. All in 84 pages! It was wonderful. It was heartwarming. Most importantly, it is a complete story.

All alien-lovers should read this. Highly recommended!

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute intro to the Risdaverse!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘📔
World building: 🪐🪐🪐🪐
Character development: 🤖😚👽🥰

The heroine: Nicola - a human woman who is running away from aliens that see humans as animals or sex workers, she cons her way into the mail order bride program and ends up with a seven foot tall grouchy blue alien.

The Hero(es): Emvor - a scarred Mesakkah alien and former soldier moved out to Cassa and became a farmer because he wants peace and quiet. He doesn’t like associating with others, and especially doesn’t like talking about the past. He doesn’t want an emotional connection, but wants a female to warm his bed and help on the farm so he orders a Mesakkah bride.

The Story: Emvor expects a tall, blue, homely wife from his home planet from whom her only wants the barest amount of affection. Instead he gets a tiny, fragile human who is afraid of just about everything and needs protecting.

This was a novella, so I don’t want to give away too much about the story. Though I did enjoy it. I liked Emvor as the battle hardened gruff alien. This book was told in dual points of view and narrated by Mason Lloyd and Jillian Macy in dual narration. I like both of these narrators and enjoyed it quite a bit.

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[♡Tonya♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know everyone is crazy about these blue aliens so I thought I would give this book a go. I might have enjoyed it more if I read some of the previous books. I think I would have been more up on the lingo. I felt lost. That's on me.

My lower rating is based on the extreme amount of pushing away. The couple didn't get together until the 74% mark and for ME, that is just too long. The hero was going to pawn her off on someone else up to that point, even though he was attracted to her. I felt bad for her.

- no cheating
- no ow/om drama whatsoever
-excessive pushing away by hero
- no violence
-safe
-zero epilogue which was disappointing as well

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just so damn sweet! A grumpy alien hero falls for his mail-order bride even after she turns out to be human. A charming story about a couple of introverts finding love and a quiet life together. I loved it.

[buket · Rating 3 out of 5]

not my favorite of hers but reading her books feels like a therapy 👍🏼

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
Great series, I suggest reading all of them. Love what these authors did with the stories.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and funny short story..... I loved it!

Ruby Dixon's Blue Aliens are hot and sexy! Her heroine's are smart and wonderful! Win for everyone!

[Tami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sehr kurz. Und viel ist nicht passiert. Bin gespannt, inwiefern die Infos aus dieser Novella für die Risdaverse-Reihe und Corsair-Reihe wichtig werden.

[♛ Garima ♛ · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is nothing worth mentioning except I was looking for something lightweight romance read and this one looked like a good idea at the time...It was fun while it lasted but I cannot recall a single detail right now. It is all given in the title itself and it is by Ruby Dixon...that's it.

[*CJ* · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Alien's Mail-Order Bride" is the story of Nicola and Emvor.
Now Ive read other RD novels before, and while they were'nt exactly my favorite- this one was pretty good!
Emvor is a scarred dear alien man, who is lonely and hence applies to get a sturdy, alien female as his bride- someone who can help him with manual labor and bear his kids.
What he gets instead is a pale refugee human who's running away after her madame died, conning her way into becoming his bridal candidate.
Initially reluctant, we see our grumpy alien slowly falling for the unexpected ray of sunshine human. Instead of insta love and lust we usually read in these novellas, this one actually had a plot and we saw chemistry and love bloom between these two lost souls, instead of the expected wham-bam-babies-hea.
Very sweet, but I kinda wanted an epilogue.
Safe
3.5/5

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

** First Read** 1️⃣
⭐⭐
2 stars.
February 17, 2020


** Reread** 2️⃣
⭐💫
1½ stars.
November 7, 2023


➕ What I liked :



A new location/planet (Cassa II)
(Not many other aliens or humans on this new location/planet so maybe there will be more stories/books about it in the future ?)







➖ What I disliked :


A missed opportunity to have a FMC that actually was/is tall and sturdy instead of the same old same old… a dainty tiny FMC.
(The MMC would still have been surprised that a human showed up instead of a mesakkah etc.)

No epilogue.

No real backstory to either character (The MMC never told the FMC of his past. etc.)

The romantic build up/emotional connection and also the chemistry was lacking/unconvincing and rushed.


There is very very little world-building about this planet (Cassa II) and that is a little bit of a missed opportunity because Cassa II is another farming planet but all that is revealed about it is that it is smaller in population and not as busy as Risda III.
And that Cassa II is a planet with a single settlement and a space station. The farmsteads are egg shaped buildings that are thermoregulated and are called geo-pods. They are meant to withstand earthquakes, high winds and other natural disasters.
Very very little about the other people and/or aliens and what it is like on the planet etc.




Cringey.
The way the MMC talks/thinks about the FMC is a little creepy or/and almost predatory but also cringey ( things like the fragility of her form… the delicacy/daintiness of her wrists... comparing her “frailty” to that of birds etc.) ...seems more like he is describing a porcelain doll and not an adult woman)


And that the heroine is being described as fragile or too delicate just sounds so weird/wrong …. like the hero is talking about a 95 year old little lady or something.
And it exaggerates the size difference and Not in a good way.
(Fragile is not a particularly positive sounding word or a word that has any correlation with attractiveness/sexiness.)


The authors tendency to overuse the words fragile, delicate and small/tiny when describing the FMC/heroines. (Very often no matter her size/shape and height.)
(Yes the mesakkah are bigger and taller but they are not humongous giants and the humans are not little tiny pixies or fairies.)




Even for a novella length story this is rushed and too short.
There is not that much happening either… the MMC picks up the FMC and the secret is revealed about her and they live in the same house but hardly interact in the beginning because he wants to send her on her way.












****Note to self: Do Not re-read this book again.****

[Serena Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

No puedo tener suficiente de estos aliens azules con cuernos y cola!


The alien's Mail-Order Bride de Ruby Dixon libro 1 serie Mail-Order Brides


Mí humilde opinión:

Emvor Vas Kilasen es un mesakkah. Un ex militar viviendo ahora una vida tranquila en Cassa. Pero se da cuenta que necesita compañía femenina.

Así que pide una novia por correo, una mujer fuerte que le ayude con su granja y su soledad.

Sin embargo, es engañado porque la mujer con quién va a casarse no es de su especie sino humana.

Nicola necesita la ayuda de Emvor. Solo él puede protegerla ya que los humanos son vendidos y maltratados en el planeta. Solo quedándose con él podrá estar a salvo.

Emvor no entregará a la humana, no es tan desalmado, le encontrará otro marido en la próxima reunión de vecinos y así se librará de ella.

Solo que el plan le sale mal... Nicola se hace lugar en su vida y en su corazón, y ya no está seguro de poder vivir sin ella.


Ruby Dixon es la mejor! No me canso de sus aliens azules, enserio.

Y siempre tiene historias súper entretenidas, sexy, dulces y románticas.

Esta fue corta y amena. La leí de un tirón.

Los personajes me atraparon, me gustaron mucho. Que él fuera gruñón y solitario, que ella fuera delicada pero a la vez perseverante.

Una pareja que conectó muy bien.

El final fue Bum-se-acabo-todo-ya, brusco y me faltó epílogo. Me hubiera gustado saber más de ellos después.

[Jacqueline J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and don’t generally downgrade novellas because they’re short but here I just really felt like so much more could have been done with this story.

[Fanny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ya empezaba a extrañar el no leer nada de Ruby Dixon, por lo que fue una autentica suerte encontrar esta pequeña novela.

The Alien' s Mail Order Bride fue una historia corta, simple y entretenida que me hizo pasar un momento genial, obviamente me gustaria que hubiera tenido mas paginas, pero quizas de haber sido asi, no me hubiese parecido tan dulce y amena.

En fin, una lectura rapida y agil perfecta para leer en esta epoca del año, donde tal vez ya estemos un poco cansados de historias complejas e intensas.

2.75 Estrellas!

[Raine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good short story by Ruby Dixon!

This is the story of an alien ex-soldier who has decided to make a life as a farmer after he was wounded in the war and has requested a bride to help him on the farm and to warm his bed. He expects a blue alien female like himself and instead get a virginal human.

One thing I am curious about is if this is the same planet that the alien and human who escaped from the planet prison are on. That would be great!

[Kimmylongtime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect audiobook for my work commute today. I originally read this on Kindle at the beginning of 2020. It was a very strange year but Ruby Dixon helped me stay distracted in so many ways. This read like many of the others in this series provided me just enough escape everyday. This was just what I needed during the long months at home.

What an amazing read. Each time it is better than the last.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would benefit from an epilogue in a year or two's time.

[Under the Covers Book Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it was just because I read this book in December that it made me feel festive. Maybe it was because it was so darn cute and had a theme of new beginnings that it got me thinking about Christmas. It was probably the former as I read this whilst eating the carcass of a Lindt chocolate reindeer, they complimented each other perfectly.

As you can guess from the title, this novella follows the mail-order bride type story line. But instead of a lonely rancher in a small town in the Old West, we have Emvor, a world weary alien veteran now farmer on a small agricultural planet. Emvor wants a sturdy woman who can help him on the farm and keep him warm at night. What he doesn't want is a small weak human woman, even if she does make his house seem warmer and more homely. Even if the sight of her, even if she does look a little strange with no tail or horns arouses him like no other female.

I think you know where this story is going. And although the story is predictable, it is sweet and grumpy, reclusive Emvor, despite his size and scars, is bound to make your heart melt. If you have read Ruby Dixon before, you will recognise the world this is set in and the type of alien Emvor is. If not, this is a great introduction to her books and I highly recommend you start her Ice Planet Barbarians series next.

Reviewed by Suzanne❤ ♡ Don't want to miss any of our posts? Subscribe to our blog by email! ♡ ❤

[Christi (christireadsalot) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg stop this was so good! The Alien’s Mail Order Bride is a short novella part of the Risdaverse series and I’m so glad I finally got to it! As the title suggests this is a mail order bride, sci-fi/alien romance, and it’s a super short novella (like 70 pages).

Emvor is content with his quiet life on Cassa as a farmer. He has physical scars and injuries from his past as serving as an intergalactic soldier. He realizes he needs help around the farm, wants someone who enjoys the quiet life like him, and wouldn’t mind the companionship so he orders a mail order bride! He’s expecting someone strong and sturdy from his home planet, but then Nicola shows up…she’s small, knows nothing about farming, and is human! He finds out that Nicola lied on her forms to deceive her way across the galaxy to hide and stay safe from others who might want to capture her.

Once he hears her story, he decides he will help her find someone else. But then he finds everyone else is just not right for her…as he starts to feel pulled to her more and more every day. I loved this one from start to finish and seeing Emvor and Nicola together. My only issue with it was that it was too short, I wanted more with these two!

[Hayat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars!

The first chapter of this book put me off due to the hero's cold attitude and repulsive comments about the kind of woman he expected would apply for a mail-order bride. I almost quite after that but I decided to keep on reading and I'm so glad I did! The author was trying to make a point and I did enjoy the character development of the hero from a grumpy, selfish, antisocial ex military alien guy who just wanted to be left along to take care of his farm and then slowly transforming into a caring, loving sweet hero. The character transformation was believable and the romance/emotional connection was sweet and satisfying for a novella. I just wish the story was a lot longer because i enjoyed it so much. Also, i wish the heroine had a bit more fire to balance out her amiable, sweet super feminine character. But the author explained why she was like that through the plot and it makes sense. It's just that I tend to prefer stronger female characters who are cheeky, self confident. All in all, this was a hot fun read and I can't wait to read more of Ruby Dixon's work.

[Jac K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two of my fav's MOB & Aliens. 👽👰
Super short (84pgs) novella perfect for a fluffy quick read. Emvor is a scarred lonely ex-military loaner looking for a MOB to share farm work, and have a family with. He sends off for one of his kind (mesakkah) but is surprised when he’s tricked by Nicola a human trying to flee potential slavery.

This is a pretty sweet, slow burn romance between two weathered, but not broken souls. There really isn’t any drama, or obstacles in the couple’s way. There’s no push/pull or frustrating denying feelings. Emvor isn't cruel, and Nicola isn’t annoying.

Bottom Line- Quick, drama free read with an alien and human free to read with KU.

[Lit Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable short piece about a Human girl and a Messaka farmer set in the outter-most part of the Galaxy (?): this fits the IPB Universe, in the sense that the main reason why the heroine goes to this planet is because of the shady trafficking going on explained in previous books.
Good character chemistry and interaction, lots of tension and steam, more than good enough!

[Ari Reavis · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Ehh. One sex scene.

[Kimberlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just really love anything Mesakkah. Them blue aliens are lovely, wouldn't mind one of my own really.

[Corandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me encanto el desarrollo de la historia.
La baja puntuación es por el final tan abrupto y la falta de un buen epilogo.

[Elle ♡ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was super short, but really cute. Definitely one of my favorite Ruby novellas.