The Marriage Bargain - Bound to an Overlord 1
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback
Ages: 18+
Earth was ripped apart during the Final War, but the alien Overlords have come down to save us.
Or have they?
Delle: Life is simple for my older sister, even under the Overlords’ rule. She’s happily married and a mother of four. According to our alien rulers, I should be emulating her. But I want more than to be a breeder, having some blasted alien’s babies. Nope. Not the life for me. Then a cruel alien Flight Commander tries to claim me as his own. My only way out is a marriage of convenience… with an Overlord from the planet Asterion. Caide, my brother-in-law’s boss. It’s the last thing I want, but Overlord Caide promises he won’t force anything on me. Sex. Babies. Love.
Caide: The illegitimate son of an Asterion noble, I took a spot on one of the first starships coming to Earth where I built a new life for myself. Now my half-brother, my father’s heir, has died, and my father wants me to return home. In order to circumvent my father, I must marry a human female so the Asterion nobility will consider me tainted. I can’t deny that Delle, my employee’s sister-in-law, with her generous curves and hot temper, has caught my eye. She’s also caught the eye of a harsh military ruler. She needs a way to escape him, and I need a way to escape going home. So I offer her a bargain. A marriage bargain.
One of the stipulations she sets is that we can’t fall in love. But that may be the part of the bargain I can’t keep. As it turns out, Delle is my mate. Whether she believes it—likes it—or not.
Reviews
Reviewed by Cecelia Hopkins for Readers' Favorite The Marriage Bargain: Bound to an Overlord Book 1 by Moriah Blackwood is set on a depleted Earth, sometime after global warming had done its damage, and an ice age had returned. When Zyn generously invites his supervisor home after work, his sister-in-law Delle experiences an unbidden sense of attraction to their guest. While she resents Caide’s status as ‘Overlord’ and conqueror, Delle is not in a position to resist for long. Tarra’s fertility has placed Delle at the top of a planned breeding list, and she is persuaded to marry Caide to avoid being requisitioned as a concubine by a random Asterion male. Can Caide overcome Delle’s reluctance to fall in love and convince her that she is his one true mate? There are exciting obstacles to overcome and a high-powered challenge for Delle’s hand. The Marriage Bargain by Moriah Blackwood was worth reading. The story was light and entertaining and also had a deeper meaning. I enjoyed the narrative because the action was removed from the ordinary by the unique science fiction setting. The plot carried thought-provoking echoes of post-colonialism as the advanced Asterion race was in a position of power over the indigenous human population. I liked the positive vibe created by the representation of individuals from two vastly different interstellar races discovering the value in each other. Delle’s desire to train as an architect in a society that intended to use women as reproductive vessels spoke to my heart regarding equal rights. The story delivered a resounding romance enlivened with a touch of spice and resonant with human warmth.
