Bad Guy: A Science Fiction Romance

I love Ruby Dixon and eat up her books. I lost sleep over this one. She is just getting better and better. She talks about how this one was an easy one to write because she loves the h and H and. MAN. Does. It. Show. Not every book by her is a home run, sometimes the main characters just don't resonate with me (see what I did there, resonate? wink wink). Lol, but trust me on this one. You don't want to miss out and I hope you love Crulden and Mina as much as I did. Slow burn but so so worth it! I just love this particular world of hers. Great story, world building, characters, character development. Outstanding Ruby. I seriously can't get enough!!!

I had heard of this author (as I'm sure like a lot of other people did) from the internet all going collectively crazy for her 'Ice Planet Barbarians' series. Memes happened, watched reviews of people I follow on YT going over the first two books on their channels, but that series never really caught my interest, but Ruby did stay on my radar out of curiosity. Then I heard she wrote a book called 'Bad Guy' - which is a story about a beastly alien gladiator who falls in love with a sassy, stubborn human slave to a cold and uncaring Lord in a (what I believe to be) a facility that houses and trains many other dangerous gladiators like the "bad guy" of the story. First off: I am a SUCKER for the "scary MC hates everyone around them except for their love interest" trope. It FUELS me - especially when it's done right. Which this story accomplishes perfectly. Crulden and Mina snatched my heart after the second or third interaction. Despite his scary appearance and violent outbursts - which he directs at the people who very much deserve said violent outbursts - he's a gentle soul who has no memory of his life before becoming a gladiator. He's a contrast to Mina, who is a no-nonsense gal who is - naturally - not happy about being owned as a human slave to an alien lord who keeps her around as an unwanted pet. Crulden is almost instantly smitten with Mina after she boldly glares at him when they first meet, because he made a huge mess in his cell that she did not wanna clean up. After that, he tries to find numerous ways to see her, which eventually leads to Mina being 'given' to Crulden as a sort of bargaining chip for his cooperation to behave and participate in his training for an eventual championship. Mina is - once again understandably - not happy about this. But, with no actual choice in the matter, she becomes 'his female'. Out of context, this all sounds like a very dark situation, but Crulden. Is. The. BIGGEST. Cinnamon roll. He treats Mina with respect, is protective of her, avoids doing things he knows will upset her, listens to her when she tells him not to do something - I mean, just...absolutely charmed the hell out of me, with how sweet he was to her throughout the whole story. There were even more than a few times he sympathized with her and apologizes for putting her in her current situation. Then we have our heroin Mina. She was great, I liked her right off the bat like I did Crulden. She was sassy, clever and I loved watching her evolution for her feelings for Crulden go from disgust and hate, to genuine love, sympathy and affection. I was smiling by the end of this book over that happy ending. They deserved it after everything they went through together. I was also surprised at the lack of action in this book. Ruby takes the time to develop the relationship of the main characters rather than bloat the book with action, which I actually kind of really like. It's like she valued the relationship over the blood and gore she could have easily added in places it didn't need to be for the sake of filling pages, and I actually appreciate that. (Don't get me wrong, there is a fair amount of action in this book, but its value is put second or third to the romance between the two leads). Though if I had to find things to criticize: (SPOILERS AHEAD) One would be the brief "misunderstanding arc" we had. While it makes sense in the context of Crulden's lack of a past, I feel like Mina heel-turned on him a little too fast. I would think with how close they were at that point, she would have taken more time to think about what she had seen of the "other Crulden" in the vids before rejecting him the way she did. (Though I know it was meant to lead up to the reveal that the Crulden who is our lead is actually a CLONE of a Crulden who was NOT a cinnamon roll). Second would be the dialogue. Most of it was good, but sometimes certain characters were a little too talky and stated the obvious in moments the readers could have interpreted themselves. That didn't happen often though. I didn't notice it until a few ways into the story. And third would be the origins of Mina's name. This is more of a nitpick because I'm not all that much of a fan to movie references in novels, but it's understandable in the context of the story so I can't roll my eyes too much at it. (And it was kind of funny that Crulden considered renaming himself 'Dracula' near the end). For my first Ruby Dixon book, I am not disappointed. This was a fabulous read from start to finish and I adore Crulden and Mina. So if you wanna read something of hers that ISN'T Ice Barbarians Planet, start with this book. Can't recommend it enough.

This book is awesome. It has so many wonderful layers to keep you interested. There is the overlord only interested in amassing credits who we find out has over spent so desperately needs them. Then you have a sort of crazy scientist who has all sorts of ideas on how to make gladiators fight better through chemically altering them, no matter the consequences. A female slave who was gifted to the overseer and assigned to household duty, just trying to do her job and not be noticed. Then there is a clone, of one of the most violent gladiators EVER. The overseer got his hands on the clone and hopes to make tons of credits from his fights, the problem, Crulden isn’t cooperating and keeps tearing apart his cell. So they send in house keeping, they can’t send in the cleaning bots because he kept destroying them. After Cleaning his cell several times Crulden realizes the female isn’t afraid of him. I won’t ruin the rest of the story, but it’s very good and you will like it. There is a HEA and redemption for the monster. Most excellent book. I look forward to the next.

This story did not disappoint. Mina and Crulden (Mycrul) stole my heart. I didn't expect to cry while reading sci-fi, but these characters touched me. Highly recommend anything by Ruby Dixon. This book is no exception.

This story left me with mixed feelings. It started really strong for me and I liked the pace in the beginning but the story lost a bit of his energy and intensity in the middle for me. I could feel myself losing a bit of interest, I think part of it was because there wasn’t a lot happening. For the most part Mia and Crulden were staying in his ‘cell’ or Crulden was training and Mia was watching. But the last part was again better, the story took a direction I hadn’t seen coming. So for the most part, this story was good but I liked other stories of this writer more. I would have liked some more information about how Mina was abducted by the aliens, it was never discussed and I was curious about it. I really liked the main characters Crulden en Mina and the interaction between them. We got both POV’s so that helped to connect with both from the beginning. Mina may be a slave but she was still sassy and strong in her own way. Especially towards Crulden, he got to see her bossiness from the beginning but he was also the only one who got to see her big and caring heart too. It was beautiful to see how Mina was growing from a cautious, closed-off woman to a someone with deep emotions. Crulden was an interesting character too. At first glance Crulden seemed a dangerous, violent monster but you slowly discovered a very completely different side of him. Or at least Mina discovered this side of him. He’s very possessive of her, she’s just HIS and no one would take her away from him. He’s very caring and gentle toward her and because he’s not used to it, at times it’s very sweet and emotional to see how he tried his best to be what she wanted and needed. Crulden was very innocent when it came to feelings and women. It was so different from his warrior side when he was fighting. I loved it. Their bond was tender but was also hot and steamy at times. ‘Bad guy’ is the third book that I read of the writer Ruby Dixon and after reading and loving ‘The King’s spinster bride’ and ‘The half-Orc maiden bride’ so much, I think my expectations were very high and this story was good but it wasn’t great like the other two stories. But it was still a light, fun and emotional alien story, told in both POV’s. (After reading the book, I discovered that some of the secondary characters have their own story in the Risdaverse series.)

This is my first Ruby Dixon book. So, I didn't know what to expect from the book really. There were only a couple of reviews at the time I bought the book. I've read a few dark books that had to do with captivity, slaves, cells,, etc. So, I had an idea of what I would be getting into. Even though the author was unknown to me. At the very beginning Ms. Dixon has written a warning of possible triggers and letting you know this story may not be for everyone. I've learned to take these warnings seriously. I do have some triggers and have trouble reading some material. This book does have it's dark moments and there are times I hated certain characters in the book. The book is so well written and the story line is captivating. There are several consensual sex scenes between the MMC and the MFC. It ends in a true HEA which up until the last couple of chapters you aren't sure about. I know how most readers hate cliffhangers myself included. That is why I let you know. If you like dark books or think you can handle it definitely give this book a try. You won't be sorry. I don't want to give any spoilers away, but here's briefly what it's about. Crulden the MMC wakes up from a drug induced haze. He hears voices and comes to realize one is his new owner and the other he's unclear on. He can tell they don't seem to agree or like each other. Crulden tries his best to fake unconsciousness and gleam as much information as possible. He has this overwhelming urge to attack, to fight, to kill. He doesn't know why he feels this way. He doesn't really have any memories at all. He doesn't even know his own name. As the days wear on he becomes slightly more aware of things going on around him. He still has the overwhelming urge to fight, attack, and kill. He has learned he's in a cell and they want him under their complete control. They want him to be a fighter for them. He's not sure what he wants, who he is, or what he wants to do. These decisions probably won't be up to him anyway. He hears bits and pieces of conversations in his drug induced hazes. He tries to gain as much information as he can. One day after he's woken up in a rage and torn as much of his cell up as he can. There's not much to it in the first place. He's restrained in a new way with magnetic restraints. He's totally unable to fight much against these. Especially with how he seems to be stuck to the ceiling. He then smells a wonderful smell. It gets stronger the closer she gets. It's a small female human. Well, compared to Crulden she is small. She's come in to clean up the mess he has made. Crulden finds her ugly, but really likes her smell. It's the only good thing he's discovered about this place so far. The maid is a slave female human. She's the stories MFC. Her name is Mina. She's been in this place a few years. Luckily for her until now she's been able to fly under the radar to become largely invisible to most. That's how she has survived this long. Now, that someone has noticed her what will happen? What is Crulden's owner going to do with him? He can't seem to get Crulden under his control. Will he cut his losses and get rid of him or try new tactics to get his way? You'll have to read the story to find out. Hope you enjoy it!

One of my favorite reads by Ruby Dixon yet, and that's saying something because the woman can write! I love how she can introduce us to characters that are not traditionally beautiful, and have us fall in love (and lust) with them through her phenomenal character and relationship building skills. Crulden was no different. He was such a sweetheart I totally fell for him not even a third of the way through. The chemistry between him and Mina (fmc) was tangible and sweet. Loved this! Read it in one sitting, couldn't put it down. Looking forward to her continuation of this world with "Worse Guy"! Ratings (out of possible 5) Character building: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ World building: 🌎 🌎 🌎 🌎 Relationship building: 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓 Romance: 💋 💋 💋 💋 💋 Heat/steam: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 Drama: 👀 👀 👀 Action: 🍿 🍿 🍿 Suspense: 💣 💣 Dark: 💀 Triggers: Nothing noteworthy - the author has a trigger warning at the beginning that you can read but this didn't feel dark to me at all, or have any of the standard themes that typically trigger people. POV: Multiple Ending: HEA Length: Approximately 300 pages Recommend: YES 👍 👍

Wow. What an absolutely epic romance. I loved it. I loved how they became friends and it turned to more. I loved the growth in both characters as they learned to trust one another in a situation that was just awful and hard. I smiled and laughed and honestly got a little choked up on more than one occasion. If you read Corsairs:Kaspar there is some information tied into this story that will hit you all in the feels. 💙 I don’t want to spoil anything, but the tie-in with other series is touching and fun. I always love those moments when reading where you bolt upright and go “oh my gosh! I remember this from so and so!” It feels exciting as a reader. And this romance definitely delivers. I’ve never read a “villain” romance before and I imagine this one is quite mild on the spectrum, which was perfect for my comfort and tastes. Ruby Dixon always includes a trigger warning at the beginning which I appreciate so so much. I am left with a smile on my face and I am just so happy after reading this book. Bring on “Worse Guy” 😉!

Crulden is a slave gladiator, who is very strong and dangerous and is upset, because he is sedated and destroys his whole furniture. Mina is a human slave, who is assigned with cleaning his cell. He likes her scent and he likes it in his haze, that she doesn't reak of fear. When his owner and the scientist ask for his compliance, he demands, that Mina is to be with him at all times ..... I loved to read the book. It has a fast paced and heartwarming story. I like it, that in the beginning they find each other ugly and when love develops they think of each other as beautiful. I highly recommend this book.

This is such a cute and endearing story. First book I’ve read from this author and love her writing, I’ll be sure to read more of her books in the future.

Usually I hate this intergalactic romances, haven’t read one in a looong time, but this one made me want to read them all

I actually read the two books Worse Guy and Bad Guy in the wrong order but loved both anyway! It was great to revisit familiar characters from Risdaverse and the Corsair Brothers. Felt like coming home. Both main characters were likeable and the plot was fantastic. I’m always left wanting more.

What a journey!!!!! I loved loved crulden(sorry mycrul) and mina. I really wanted to read their epilogue but maybe you will mention them in the next book? Can't wait to read Mathiras story.