Customer Reviews

Seized

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This novel is surprisingly short for the price. It's only 160 pages and it's not small type. This novel is a sequel to The Empress' New Clothes and can't really be read without it. Certain parts of that novel are repeated in this one. I liked Geris and Dak. I wish that their romance had a greater part in this novel. For some reason, the author chose to put in segments about other characters who I can only assume will be featured in other novels. During these times, the main characters are not even mentioned.
Also, if you're in favor of complete monogamy from your characters as I am, this isn't the book for you. I found the love scenes to be rather more a description of sex than love making. I didn't find it to be nearly sensual or stimulating enough. And here again, I don't think the main couple was focused on enough. I can only recall one love scene that was properly described between the two of them.

This is book 1.5 of Jaid Black's Trek mi Q'an series. The first one is The Empress' New Clothes.

We see the main female and male character in the first book: Geris Jackson and Dak respectively. It is recommended to read book one first. However, I do wish that Jaid Black combined this book with the first one. This book is only about 145 pages; and it is not small print. It does not have enough content to stand on its own.

The Plot: Geris Jackson, best friend to Kyra (heroine in the first book) was present when Kyra got kidnapped by Zor (hero in the first book). Kyra and Geris share a strong bond, fashioned by a common tragic loss of a parent. They have known each other since the age of 5.

Kyra has been kidnapped to another galaxy, where time passes at a shorter rate. It has been 3 months since Kyra has seen Geris, but to Geris, it has been 3 years on Earth since she has seen Kyra.

During those three years, she has searched long and hard for Kyra. As a last resort, she goes to a psychic who tells her that she would find her friend in Vegas. Geris does not believe the psychic at first, but after the psychic describes "Zor" to her, Geris ends up going to Vegas.

Meanwhile, Dak, the hero of this book, Seized, sure that Geris is his sacred mate (his other half) comes from another dimension / galaxy in search of Kyra. He goes to Vegas dressed as Elvis Presley, under the misconception that this is what all women find desirable on Earth.

In Vegas, Dak and Geris meet. She is perturbed by the way Dak possessively runs his hands on her "micro braids" and all over her anatomy.....but she yields to her passion. (If you are familiar with the series, it is important to remind you that they cannot consummate their relationship till the "joining" process. However, there is a lot of intense foreplay till then). She also cannot help wanting to please him, her heart full of regret anytime she says something not very nice to him.

Geris has some form of a fainting spell, after Dak places the sacred mate necklace on her. Taking advantage of her disabled state, Dak begins to whisk her away to his planet.

The journey of Dak and Geris is not a love story but more of a voyage towards this joining process in my humble opinion. That is what the book is all about - when are Dak and Geris going to finally join? There is a minor sub plot that is somewhat interesting, but it does not constitute enough relevance to fill even one chapter in a complete novel. This sub plot involves the mistreatment of giants in a mine. A character stands out called Yar'at, who is hinted to be the future life mate of Dak and Geris offspring....

My Critic: A lot of people find this series humorous but I fail to see the humor in it. Besides, I am not looking for romantic comedy when I pick up this book. To me the "humor" should be an added bonus, but not a central driving force in the plot. The romance should be.

I found the eroticism extremely foul. Pun intended. I shall explain. There are different species in this other dimension or planet called Tryston. One of them is called a "pugmuff". It is a "spotted guy" with a "butt where his face should have been" and a "beady little eye popping out of each cheek" who produces a stench that is "vomit-inducing" according to the author. These pugmuffs supposedly have talented tongues and during a visit to their home - about 5 of them give Geris a taste of their talent.

Another species is called a Rustian. A Rustian is a "foot tall human looking creature, handsome as sin and dumber than a box of rocks" who has a "gluttonous" appetite for a woman's essence, as written by Jaid Black.

Now, it is kind of funny to talk about in concept, but when you are reading the book and having "butt faces" performing foreplay on the main female character, I have to say that it is not very charming. Furthermore, whilst the Rustians are displaying their "gluttonous appetite" Jaid Black mentions that Geris can hear them belching and burping....

I am not a big fan of bathroom jokes. I found these nuances quite nauseating. This is definitely not erotic romance to me at all.

Moreover, although at last Jaid Black now gives us some more insight to their personalities (she fails to do so in my opinion in the first book), this book still lacks in character development. Jaid Black provides us with behavioral patterns, but this only produces a character blueprint or an outline. I still do not get a sense of who the characters are, and frankly, I really do not learn to care for them.

I have no idea why they even loved each other being that they never knew each other. I do not buy into this sacred mates thing. It is becoming too abstract for my taste. (Perhaps Jaid Black should read a Christine Feehan's Dark Series for reference on lifetime mates...). Why can't they find their sacred mates in Tryston? Why are their sacred mates born 400 years later and on earth...? Why is it so important to have a sacred mate? How can their sacred mate be human? I can go on and on with the questions....

I would not recommend this book because to me there is absolutely no reason why anyone should read this book. I have no idea what you would gain by doing so to be honest. All I know is that you will be loosing your $.

I have loved interracial books for years. Even when there was none except horrible anti-bellum, slave/master relationships that were just demeaning and insulting. Except I read them because when I was growing up I had difficulty with reading; I HATED reading. Until one day my mother tried something different. She took me to the library and we went through book after book until I find something I thought I wanted to read. We discovered I loved books. I just needed to read something that I found interesting enough to devote the effort. But then I discovered that reading a book was pleasurable, finding a book was the difficult part. I couldn't find books with characters that looked like me in them. Those were the stories I wanted to read. Needless to say, I was always very frustrated and devastated with what was available to read. On the other hand I was grateful when I found anything; especially the ones where the author really seems to love the black character created. Most of the time the "negro" characters were weak sidekicks, uninteresting stereotypes and basically there to help the author develop the white character story (period).

I just spent about two hours trying to discover what this book was about. I read a lot about the other books in the series and thought, okay maybe the author has created a book where the black woman is treated with as much care and diligence as all the other female characters in the series.

Again, I would love to read this book and would have hoped that the author treated the black female in the book with all the care and devotion she showed for the other female characters in all her other books.

However, after doing my research, I'm afraid I am right. And because I don't want to hurt again by the mistreatment of a black female character, I don't think I will be able to stomach this one (and it will have nothing to do with the storyline).

First the novel is really not a novel at all, its a novella (only about 150 pages). Thus it would seem that the author did it just to get it over with. Second, "micro braids"!!! Come on, micro braids is a hair SYTLE not a characteristic of black females. Third, not all Africans have "full" lips. Not all Europeans have "thin" lips. (Would you give your European females the same description, "her thin European lips".) Again using stereotypes are a lazy way to create character and if you don't really want to create a story about a character you don't really like or know anything about, it's a cheap way out. Fourth, how would a black woman speak? What is her way of expressing herself? How would she react to specific situations? Happiness, fear, worry, loneness, love, sexual desire? Note: you can not use stereotypes. In other words, you will have to know your character even if she is a black woman. If you have to wonder if you're using stereotypes, you are!!!! With Fiction you can "create" characters that you can give all their characterizations to. But with African, Native, Asian, Hispanic characters, YOU CAN'T MAKE IT UP, YOU CAN'T GUESS AND YOU CAN'T USE WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW.

So with that being said. There is a easy way to do this and a hard (genuine) way. First, the easy way. Create a story that is creative, full of depth, create a story that you can just get down deep into. Make all the characters white, if that's the easiest for you. Give them all the characterizations you can muster. Finish the book, edit it once. Then (this is the only hard part) go back into your story and change only the physical description of the character you would like to make black. Don't change their name, don't change their body size, don't change whether they have relatives or siblings. Only change their physical description. Please don't say African lips, say "she loved the look of her full lips, her caramel colored, smooth skin and her hair that she could easy wear naturally curly or straighten it with a blow drier and a stiff brush. She thanked her African ancestors for that one." And yes, if you create a character that is well educated, has a bit of money, can hold down a job for more than a week, you're going to find that most of us, even black women, will speak and interact with others just about the same exact way, as a white woman, specially in public. Now when we get around each other, and away from other races now that's a different story. Just don't create any black family reunions in your story. (LOL).

Now for the hard way, read as many books as you can by black women authors about black women characters. Read books by black men about black women characters. Not the old stuff, read the newest stuff you can find. Don't watch TV and think you can use what you see there. Don't watch movies and think that same thing. See we as black people have an advantage. We see whites all the time, work with them, go to school with them, met them on the train, bus, plane. We can just sit on the bus and listen to how whites interact with each other. But many white people will not have the luxury of that. Again this is the hard part. Ask if you can have an editor that is a black woman, edit your book. Ask if another black female author could look at your book.

Why should you take my advice? You should because I'm a reader, writer and a teacher but most of all I want to read your story; I just would have liked for it to be one I could have loved as well.

This story fits between The Empress's New Clothes and No Mercy. It is Geris and Dak's story. Geris is determined to find her friend Kyra. She has looked for three years and goes to Las Vegas on the advice of a pyshic. What she finds in Las Vegas will change her life and reunite her with Kyra.

Dak is determined to retrive is ebony skinned mate from the planet earth. Little does he realize what a fireball Geris will be. His life will never be dull again.

The entire series of Trek Mi Q books will leave wet and sweating. My husband always appreciates my reading these stories.

NOTE: SEIZED should not be read without first reading THE EMPRESS' NEW CLOTHES (book 1, Trek Mi Q'an series)

In this long awaited book, Black tells the story of King Dak Q'an Tal and Geris Jackson. Picking up where we last left her in EMPRESS, Geris is standing in a parking lot alone after two 7 feet tall men abduct her best friend. Three years later, Geris is still searching for Kyra. She is accosted in Vegas by one of the men that snatched Kyra. Turns out Kyra has been transported to another planet, where she's married one of her abductors. The other kidnapper, the one standing before Geris today, is Kyra's brother-in-law. He also declares himself to be Geris's sacred mate.

Readers of SEIZED will find themselves firmly enmeshed in Black's warrior world. Old friends are revisited as Dak and Geris's relationship unfolds. Tongue-in-cheek humor and classic over-the-top male behavior keep the tale brisk. While I did find creatures such as the pugmuffs and rustians to be a bit excessive, I enjoyed this story. Though containing no big surprises, this book should be read by Trek Mi Q'an fans who want to round out the series.

Geris Jackson sizzling romance starts off where Kyra Summers(The Empress'New Clothes)ends. From the moment Geris sees the tall gorgeous giant of a alien named Dak the sexually attraction is instant and fast. She doesn't want to be drawn to him but she is. No matter how she fights and argues with Dak he's love for her is strong and unyielding. He wants to take Geris to his home planet, but Geris is against it. It doesn't matter she loves the pleasure he brings to her body she has no clue what is waiting for her on his planet and truly she doesn't want to find out. She agrees to go only after Dak tells her he can reunite her with her bestfriend Kyra.

The journey Geris and Dak go through is full of sexaully experiences that would make most people blush. If you aren't into reading about detailed sex scenes this book isn't for you. But if you are then buy your copy today.

I found the book well-written and very entertaining. You never knew what kinky sexual pleasure Geris would experience next with her blond-hair alien Dak.

It's a steamy page turner! Keep the water close by you will need it after reading this book.

This is a good story. It's part of the Trek MI Quan series. I think even though it is a good story it wasn't as good as the first story Empress New Clothes. I'm glad that we got to learn more about Geris and Dak.

By TT reviewer Amy L. Turpin

After the disappearance of her best friend, Geris Jackson spends the next three years of her life obsessing over finding her friend and the men who took her. Well, one of them anyway. No matter how hard she tries not to think about the golden haired giant, her thoughts always seem to wander back to him. Having had so little in her life, Kyra is the only person she has ever let past her icy, hard exterior and she knows she'll do anything to find her friend and bring her home.

King Dak Q'an Tal helped his brother to spirit his bride back to their homeland, but he found himself enamored with the "onyx wench" by her side at the claiming. He knew then that he would have to come back for her to "test" her to see if she was his Sacred Mate. When he finally makes his own bride quest, he finds he has no idea how to win this woman's heart, but knows he is willing to do anything to make her love him, even if it means feeling like the fool everyone thinks he is.
To say Geris is a bit overwhelmed by all the changes Dak imposes on her is a galactic understatement. Not only is her dress less than adequate, but she finds the customs of other worlds a bit unsettling, to say the least! As one event after another boggles her senses and her affection for Dak grows even when she feels she has every right to despise him, Geris finally demands her space from Dak and the results are nothing like what she envisioned. That is when she realizes what it truly means to have a Sacred Mate.

Not understanding all his culture represents but loving Dak more than she is willing to admit even to herself, Geris is just trying to hang on for the ride until the barbarian who has wed her makes good on his promise of reuniting her with Kyra. Now, if only she can overcome her insecurities regarding relationships and return Dak's heartfelt words of love and find the happiness he seems so desperate for her to find with him.

This episode of the Trek Mi Q'an series went a different direction from the other books. For the first time, I felt a true sense of vulnerability with these great warriors. Ms. Black took a character type she has used throughout this series and transformed him into something more human, more "real." I was totally impressed with the way Geris handled some of the situations she found herself and in the way Dak dealt with Geris in response. The ending left me wanting much more and I can't wait to see where it all ends up! Definitely another winner from Jaid Black!

Seized fills in the missing parts after Kyra (The Empress' new clothes-1st. in the Trek Mi Q'an series) is kidnapped by Zor & taken to a new universe. Dak, Zor's brother didn't have time to scan Geris to see if she is his sacred mate. He go's back to Earth 3 years after to search for Geris, finding her in Vegas.

Geris cannot believe what is happening to her, everywhere she goes there are all different creatures jumping on her & feeding of her. It is hillarious. Although terribly shocked & embarrased by the things that is happening & done to her, Geris finds that absolutely anything goes in this new world she finds herself in.

I can't wait to get No mercy, the next in the series. This one is the 3rd brother, Rem's story.

I watched others w/this book and wondered what was so interesting.
Having read Ms. Black's other work I felt rewarded for reading it.
It's always fun to find new avenues w/in the romance and suspense genres
Now I can add sci/fi to the list.