Below, I’ve attached an excerpt from the Sci-Fi book Annihilation Aria by Michael R. Underwood. Fantastic book!Let me know if it reminds you of anything.
Specifically Max. I adore Max. I am looking for more fun books with characters like Max (bonus points for a badass partner) . He’s just a little guy with an awesome, badass wife. I love an action packed book, but I find the typical macho man action hero painfully boring.
Help!
“Lahra smiled at Max's estimation of her capabilities. He'd told her that back home, men were coercively socialized to be strong, emotionless, violent protectors, and women to be empathetic, gentle nurturers. He'd rejected that binary at home and rejoiced in escaping it in her galaxy. He'd never balked at her capabilities, never tried to compete with her or degrade her. If he had, they'd have been done years ago.
Instead, he treated her skills and abilities as a given without expecting her to fight his battles for him, even though she would gladly do so. He was her charge but also her partner, which required some re-negotiation of how she'd been raised. Genae soldiers were servants, even when they were life-bound with their charge as the royal guards had been with the queens. But Max did not ask nor expect her to play that role. Instead, he wanted an equal partner, a contrast rather than a support.”
by Frog-Prince21