The second book in the "Owned" series was slightly different from the first, and I liked that we get to meet the mysterious Eoeans. They are, after all, behind the removal of human males from Earth in the lottery set up to provide them with potential concubines and other species with mates in exchange for keeping Earth virus-free and what remains of the human population healthy and alive.

Alexis is the chosen "sacrifice" in this book, and yes, that is what he sees himself as. His home town handles the lottery quite differently than the one in the first book, and everyone is proud of him for being so lucky. Even his parents, despite the fact he is their only son and heir to the family company. I found that more than weird, but then, it isn’t as if they can do anything to stop the aliens, so maybe it is better that way. Alexis is scared of being a slave (after having survived an abusive boyfriend) and does an admirable job standing up for himself, despite the odds.

Elia is one of many sons of an Eoean prince, and has just come into maturity, He needs a "first concubine" and his father snags him a rare human. Elia isn’t sure what to expect, other than obedience, but that isn’t quite what he gets. From the very beginning he is a lot more understanding than he could have been, and it gradually becomes clear why: his father is a tyrant and Elia has sworn never to become like him. The problem is that this will not be easy, and soon, both Elia an Alexis are in for the fight of their lives.

Much like in the first book, the discovery of the differences and similarities between the Eoeans and humans was fascinating. The descriptions of the alien physiology and mating habits were great, and made for some eyebrow-raising reading.

If you like your science fiction to come with a large helping of cross-cultural differences that need to be explored and figured out, if you enjoy reading about two men who are pretty much made for each other despite coming from different species, and you're looking for a read with lots of imaginative action between the sheets, then you will probably like this novella as much as I did. It's a great continuation for this new series.
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