Review - The Alien Medic by Eryn Ivers

The Resistance's second in command, Garret, has always had a bit of a crush on the group's doctor, Maxwell. He spends what little spare time he has with the medic, and even if Maxwell doesn't return his feelings, he still likes doing things for the overworked physician. Maxwell is finding it increasingly difficult to resist Garret's advances. He's gone years without the comfort of another person's touch, but he knows Garret would reject him if Maxwell revealed his secret. He made the mistake of falling in love and telling the man his identity once, and that didn't end well. Maxwell vowed to never let himself get close enough to someone to let them control him ever again.

Although the books in this series can be read as stand-alone stories, I would highly recommend that you read the previous book, The Alien Infiltrator, before picking up this one. Ideally, you should read all of the books, in their published order, to get a full picture of the future in which the stories are set.

Both Maxwell and Garret have appeared as minor characters in some of the previous volumes of the series. Garret's extreme dislike and mistrust of the Torvar was made very clear in the last book, which makes Maxwell's dilemma all the more painful. Aside from his nearly irrational hatred of the Torvar, Garret is a very likable character, and his treatment of Maxwell for most of the story demonstrates a tenderness you might not expect.

Maxwell is a very sympathetic character from the very start. The “doctor who spends all his time caring for others while not taking care of himself” may be a bit cliché, but as we learn more and more about the abusive relationship that made Maxwell swear off falling in love, it all makes sense.

This is turning out to be quite an interesting series. To be honest, the first book was not very promising. It wasn't bad; it was just a little lightweight with a plot that didn't quite come together for me. However, the last two installments, in particular, have featured compelling characters in a plot that kept you reading to find out how things would turn out.

“The Alien Medic” is available from Amazon (commissionable link).