Title: Trapped
Author: Alison Aimes
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Release Date: March 3rd 2016
Publisher: Indie Published
Print Length: 239 pages
Format: Paperback and Digital
Print ISBN: 978-0-996-4683-1-2
Digital ISBN: 978-0-9964683-0-5
Rating: 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

HIS PLANET. HIS RULES… Trapped by Alison Aimes is an action-packed, sexy sci-fi that takes you to the brink of oblivion on a planet where only the strong survive. When Bella West crash lands on penal planet Dragath25, the only thing standing between her and a mass of brutal criminals is one of their own, a ruthless loner known only as 673. But what starts out as a desperate trade based on protection and raw lust soon blossoms into a scorching need that will push them both to the edge. A tale of unbridled desire, stunning sacrifice, and unwavering love, Trapped is the first book in The Condemned Series.

Cadet Bella West has one simple objective when she joins the scientific mission to Dragath25, the notorious penal planet housing Earth’s condemned. Earn the credits necessary to save her family from starvation. But when her shuttle crashes and the majority of her crew perish, her simple mission becomes complicated fast. Now, to stay alive she’ll have to depend on one of Dragath’s own. But such protection doesn’t come free.

Convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, 673 has become more beast than man after eight grueling years on an unforgiving, hazardous planet of dirt and rock—and even more treacherous inhabitants. He doesn’t look out for anyone but himself and he certainly never grows attached. So when the bold female offers him pleasure in return for protection, he takes the deal without hesitation. He never expects how her touch will alter him. Or the growing realization that saving her may be the key to his own salvation.

But as dangers mount and their ‘simple’ deal unravels will he prove to be her surprise savior or her ultimate downfall? Because caring for someone on Dragath25 may prove the greatest hazard of all.

When reading Trapped, I could barely believe it was the first book I read by this author. Alison Aimes has an unique imagination, and she manages to craft gritty, but believable, scifi worlds. In Trapped, Bella West crashes on Dragath25, a penal planet where a person’s life isn’t worth much. It’s a harsh world, where survival is the only thing that matters, and in order to survive, Bella has to make a deal with 673. He is ruthless, a criminal, but there’s another side to him too.

I liked Bella. She’s always taken care of others, and even on Dragath25, she’s still putting others’ needs in front of her own. She wouldn’t leave without her friends, for example, no matter how dire the situation ahead of them. Throughout the book, she went through quite the development, and the Bella at the end is a more mature and stronger version than the Bella we encountered at the start.

673 started out as rather unlikeable – he cared about no one but himself, or at least that’s what he liked to believe. But soon enough, he starts opening up to Bella, becoming more of the person he was before he was brought to Dragath25, and then he becomes more likeable, and by the end, I really felt for him. He’s actually a decent person once you strip away the layers of guilt he’s felt for all this time.

With excellent world building, great writing, and a lot of hot, sizzling chemistry between the main characters, I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys scifi romance.