Angie
Proceed With Caution:
This book contains mentions of abduction, human trafficking, slavery, and war.
The Basics:
When She Belongs is the fourth book of the series, but it can standalone. It's also connected to Deceiving the Corsair, as all of those characters make an appearance here. However, it is focused on Sophie, the human who was rescued in the previous book, and Jerrok, a loner junk man.
My Thoughts:
When She Belongs is the longest book of the series (and the longest by Ruby Dixon that I've read, by a lot) and one of my least favorites. It's not long because there's a lot going on, but because it drags in the middle when nothing is going on. I did love the beginning and the ending though, so I enjoyed it overall.
I was a bit disappointed that we took a break from the farming planet of Risda III. When She Belongs is set on an asteroid in the far reaches of space and the only inhabitant is Jerrok. Once I settled in, I did like this new location. It was the perfect setting for these two lovers. Jerrok is not happy to have his solitude interrupted by a human and her killer pet. Sophie doesn't want to be trouble, so she does her best to stay out of his way. Obviously, that's not what happens. This is a pretty cute grumpy-sunshine relationship.
In the middle, When She Belongs starts to drag because it's just Jerrok and Sophie being domestic and avoiding their feelings. I don't have a problem with that normally, but when it goes on for this long? It gets redundant. How many times can he think about how he wants her to stay but won't ask her to stay because he wants her to have her freedom? Meanwhile, she's dying for him to ask her to stay but she doesn't want to infringe on his loner lifestyle. We get it, just do something about it!
The last third or-so of When She Belongs was fun though since The Jabberwock shows up with its alien-human crew, and we found out that Sophie's companions have disappeared! I was actually wondering about them for the entire book, because I want some pirate adventures! We kind of get that as Jerrok and Sophie join their crew to go on a rescue mission! It doesn't turn out how I was expecting, but the change in plans definitely made sense for the story.