Barbarian Mine

Dixon’s eminently readable fourth entry in the BookTok sensation Ice Planet Barbarians series (after Barbarian Lover) delivers both a steamy love story and an adventurous tale of survival. Readers who missed the social media storm this series has caused have no need to worry; this outing does a good job of catching readers up on the adventures so far. A brief introduction quickly sums up the series backstory before readers are introduced to Harlow, a woman stranded on a frozen planet with a primitive community of benevolent aliens. While Harlow is mid-adventure with her new alien friends, she’s kidnapped by a lone wolf who can’t seem to resist her. Rukh, an alien male brought up to think that all other aliens are dangerous, believes he’s rescuing Harlow by abducting her and can’t understand her negative reaction to his good deed. Their situation is complicated by their instant mutual attraction—and the intense feelings that soon follow as it turns out that they are this planet’s equivalent of fated mates. Anyone expecting a few laughs at a potentially silly premise will instead find themselves deeply invested in the characters and eager to come back for more. This, like the series at large, is a surprising treat. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Sept.)