Down to One: Book One in the Galaxy Games Hostile Planet Alien Romance Series

Start of a new series within the Galaxy Universe. Can absolutely be read as a stand-alone. There are no reoccurring characters, but there is a mention of Sanctuary and it has some of the same reoccurring themes.** There are multiple scenes, themes and references to subjects that will be difficult for sensitive readers. These include abduction, enslavement, forced mating, mental health challenges, and trafficking. A high-level list is included below. **— Although I try to watch it, if you have not read this, the following may contain spoilers. —What do you have when you take 100 slaves and prisoners, place them in an old gymnasium, and tell them whoever is the lone survivor to reach a certain destination receives their freedom and one million credits? Rules? There are none. It is an alien PPV reality show / free for all, that ends up with some NSFW scenes. I am only surprised that one of our irl networks haven’t tried something similar 😁.The story universe and characters are well defined. There are some scenes that made me LOL until tears were running down my cheeks, others that made me gag, and some that were heartfelt and emotional. That is one of the things I am really enjoying with Alana Khan’s stories and series. She always makes them come to life and keeps me engaged.I mention the following for readers such as myself that visualize the story as it is read, because errors interrupt the flow. There are a few grammatical errors, but nothing difficult to interpret. These include incorrect word choice / typos, punctuation, word tense, extra inserted word, and inconsistent data regarding possessive words ending in ‘s’. I uploaded my notes to goodreads for anyone interested.In this story, Titan, was abducted from his home world and forced into slavery about 15 years ago. He is currently being forced to ‘service’ his ‘mistress’ until her mate arrives home and catches them ‘in flagrente delicto’ (Obviously this is rape and a dark subject, but Alana helps alleviate it somewhat with subtle humor). Titan is then lashed with a whip and thought he was going to be beaten to death until his ‘mistress’ recommends he be entered into The Game her mate is producing. Titan is to be treated and drugged before he is transported.Blaze, aka Slayer as she was renamed by her ‘owner’), is a human female that was abducted from Earth about 3 years ago. She was taken straight from her bunk at the military base. Blaze was lucky to have been placed as the only slave within her household. Then her ‘owner’ became aware of her special skills and she was placed somewhere else. When Blaze didn’t perform to their standards she was forced into a hover and brought to an old office. There she was ‘presented’ a 14-page contract. From the look of 🩸 on the floor, refusing to sign it was not an option.Afterwards Blaze was thrown into a room with a lot of other species. None of them look like the type to bring home to meet the parents. Blaze had heard the commercials, so she knew a little about The Game and how it was going to be ‘Down To One’. She has some great skills, but hand-to-hand combat is not one of them, so she knows her best chance to survive the next hour is to get within a group. It becomes clear that is not going to be easy, then a newcomer is ‘escorted’ into the room.Titan is still feeling the effects of whatever it was they gave him. When he enters the room he scopes out the others. There are only a few gladiators mixed in among what appears to be mainly the ‘lowest of the low’ prisoners. Then there is a female human, or Morganian, that is the size of a child in his species. She is staring at him and starts moving toward him.Blaze approaches the blue/green male and gives him her best proposal to work as a team. It is a win/win for him, so he agrees. She can either pull her own weight, provide a distraction to his opponents, or die trying. Then The Game begins. Titan stops Blaze from trying to get out first so the others can battle it out. This also gives them the opportunity to find and secure a weapon. Blaze doesn’t know how Titan is going to do that, but then he rips some piping from the old bleachers. Then they are ready to breach the doorway where they know others are waiting to kill them …There are powerful forces behind the scenes that also want to shut them up … can they find a way to survive, together?⛔️ Story contains references to, or scenes detailing, subject matter that may be a trigger or offensive to some, including, but not limited to: adult language; derogatory terms; mental health challenges with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, etc.; steamy adult intimate scenes with dominance, submission, etc.; violence throughout typical of the alien abduction genre such as kidnapping / abduction, murder / death, torture, assault, rage , fighting, human (species) trafficking, enslavement, pain/kill collar, mental, physical and sexual abuse of adults and children, coercion, etc.

Sexy homicidal alien version of the hunger games. Strong female lead character is always a plus in any book for me.

Book one in the series, featuring Blaze (Slayer) and Xzavic (Titan).Blaze was a sniper in the human military three years ago, when she was abducted by aliens. Now she has been forced to participate in “The Game: Down to One”, where the odds are stacked against her.A slave since the age of fifteen, and a gladiator, Titan is punished for being forced to do as his owner asked. Beaten and drugged, he was forced into The Game, where he teamed up with the tiny human woman.Even though they will end up as rivals, Blaze and Titan need to work together, even when the network broadcasting the game is working against them.This is a riveting sci-fi romance, which pits a street-savvy, tiny, human female soldier and a seasoned, gigantic, alien male together. Rather than spoil the story though, because it is kind of fun when the surprises start rolling, just know it is a lot deeper than sex, or a game show. Deeper themes of slavery and corruption play large roles in the story, and make for an exciting and action filled read.Recommended for sci-fi romance fans.

I think this was the best Alana Khan book I’ve read so far in regards to the action and it keeping my attention the entire way through. I’ve read a lot of them at this point. This has definite hunger games vibes, but had its own unique space alien twist. Fits in the the galaxy world from her other books well, but also can be a stand-alone. The rebels were a nice touch to the evolution of that universe. The characters were well matched and I liked they didn’t second guess their relationship,just took it for what it was.

Fantastic job of writing this story.You jump on and go for a ride. Strong characters and an interesting story about survival and love.Universal themes of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

I was really turned on by this story. You have a way with words for sure. If you can make the Rader angry and disgusted with the villains and able to identify with the good guys then they can become immersed in the story. You did a good job of that.

Blaze and Titan are in a race for their lives. The deck is stacked against them, of course. Lots of action that will keep you glued to your seat. Enjoy

Sometimes the story telling can get a bit glitchy spatially or continuity wise, but aside from that it’s a fast paced and interesting read. I really wish the chapter header images were transparent and not white—migraines plus dark mode then surprise block of giant white graphic is painful. The author does a great job of connecting these individuals in a believable way that doesn’t feel like you need to suspend your intelligence to see. It’s a very matter of fact style of writing. I look forward to checking out the other books in this series. Enjoy!

Kept me hooked and entertained long past time for sleep! Can’t wait for the next book! Keep up the great work!

I read about 40%, I tried but I did something I never do and skipped to the end. It aught to be a good read. It’s not. The storey should be fab but its not written well. There’s a lot of books in this series so someone thinks they’re a good reed but unfortunately this one’s not for me.