Slices of Life by Ruby Dixon

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Title: Slices of Life
Author: Ruby Dixon
Series: Ice Planet Barbarians #7.1, Ice Planet Barbarians #7.2, Ice Planet Barbarians #8.5, Ice Planet Barbarians #9.5
Published by: Tantor Audio
Release Date: March 31, 2020
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Hollie Jackson, Mason Lloyd
Length: 5 hours and 42 minutes
Genres: Science Fiction, Romance, Erotic Romance
Source: Hoopla
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 COYER Spring
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iTunes ✩ Libro.FM
My rating:

Blurb:

A collection of all Slice of Life short stories!

Having the Barbarian's Baby
Megan's ready to give birth, but she's not ready to let her mate leave her side. When Cashol must go hunting to feed the tribe, they're separated for the first time since resonance. Not a problem, except the baby's ready to be born and there's a storm brewing...

Ice Ice Babies
It's hard being a new mom on a barren, wintry planet. How about a mom... times two? Nora has to find a way to juggle babies, her mate, and friendships while catching the occasional nap. Can she get her groove back?

Calm
One morning, gentle Maylak wakes up and feels a sense of oncoming dread. As the tribe's healer, it is her job to ensure that everyone is safe, happy, and healthy... and they are. So what can be threatening her people?

Aftershocks
On the day the world shook, everything changed for the barbarian tribe. This short story goes back to the event and gives additional insight. How do Rukh and Harlow fare through the disaster? How does the chief handle the destruction of everything he's ever known?

My Review:

OVERALL: 4 stars — Usually when I read a set of short stories, they are by different authors so they’re inconsistent.  But these were all unique but great!

HAVING THE BARBARIAN’S BABY
4 stars — Okay, Cashol was adorable.  Like, start to finish adorable.  I loved the way he would tease Megan and do everything in his power to get her to smile.  At first I thought I’d get annoyed with Megan’s anxiety, but I got it…especially considering what had happened to her in the past.  I forgot what happened to her when she was kidnapped.  I loved the whole treasure hunt thing, and it was just an adorable story.

ICE ICE BABIES
4 stars — It’s kind of fun to get a glimpse of the other couples who didn’t get a full story.  I was a bit slower to get into this one, just because I couldn’t feel the connection between Nora and Dagesh as easily.  But it was funny how it ended up showing how just because they’re on an ice planet, doesn’t mean parents don’t struggle through the same stuff (insecurities, exhaustion, worry).  I loved the side bit with Ashe, I feel pretty sad for her and hope this helps her connect with more than just Nora.

CALM
4 stars — I loved getting to see inside Maylak’s head, since she is such an integral part of the tribe.  I could feel how much she cared for EVERYONE, and how upsetting this “bad feeling” was.  It has me curious for sure.  But mostly it was just an interesting way to see the tribe from a different perspective.

MOVING DAY
3.5 stars — This was truly just a teeny tiny story from Farley’s POV, but it was cute.  It was fun to see things from her perspective.

AFTERSHOCKS
4.5 stars — This was an interesting little short story, b/c it was like a compilation of vignettes.  Because of how big this event was, I really appreciated seeing these different perspectives.  I think my only complaint is that I kind of wanted that middle part from Rukh’s POV, but otherwise I just loved seeing glimpses of Rukh/Harlow and Vektal/Georgie dealing with the motherload of craziness.