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When I’m trying to get out of a reading slump, I usually end up reading something from Ruby Dixon. There was a series I hadn’t checked out of hers so I added all the books immediately to my Kindle Unlimited without reading the synopsis of them beforehand. I figured I was getting into another light-hearted sci-fi book series that was maybe 400 pages at most and the majority being sex scenes. That’s not what happened when I started reading Aspect and Anchor. For starters, I would not class these as science fiction, other than the fact they don’t take place on earth (though one of the main characters in the first book came from there). Aspect and Anchor is more fantasy than science fiction (even though it’s classed as such on Amazon). So, I thought I would give my overall thoughts on the series rather than talk about each book individually.
Bound to the Battle God Synopsis
When I went to my neighbor’s apartment to investigate strange sounds, I never expected to fall through a portal into another world. Yet here I am, a stranger in an even stranger land…and I’m stranded. In this world, might makes right, men carry swords, and gods walk the earth. Within minutes of arriving, I’m enslaved.
Fun place.
How do I get home? GREAT question. Wish I had an answer.
The one person that might be able to help me is also the one person I want to throttle most. Aron, Lord of Storms, Butcher God of Battle, is my new companion. Or rather, I’m his. As Aron’s anchor to the mortal realm, I’m the one that’s supposed to be guiding him through his exile in the mortal world.
Ha. Joke’s on him. I know nothing about this place.
But Aron and I have a common goal – get home. And we’re bonded – anchor and god – with a bond unlike any other. So we travel together. We bicker. We bathe together. We fight our many, many enemies together. And sure, he’s a god, but he’s also an arrogant jerk. Brawny, smoking hot, irresistible jerk. I should want nothing to do with him. I certainly shouldn’t want to do things to him.
Mortals and gods don’t mix. We stick to the plan and ignore our attraction. Focused, with one goal in mind.
One task. One goal.
Focused.
I—oh heck, I’m going to end up kissing him again, aren’t I?
Book Details
- Published: June 30, 2019
- Page Count: 660 pages
Sworn to the Shadow God Synopsis
Adventure.
It’s what my boring life is missing, so when I fall through a portal into another world, I’m excited. Here, I’m important. Here, I’m special.
I find out just *how* special when I meet Death.
Yup. That guy. He’s been exiled to the mortal realm to work through his flaws, and he’s just as spoiled and awful as you’d think. Rhagos, the Shadow Lord, is arrogant and rude and controlling and demands to get his way. He’s selfish. He’s impossible.
He’s also utterly gorgeous. Magnetic. Lonely. And strangely protective of me.
Thanks to a magic bond, I now serve him as his anchor to the mortal realm. It means that I’m his conscience, his guide…and the target for any assassin or glory-seeker. After a few days of this, I’d rather go home than continue on this ‘adventure’. I need a way back to Earth, and fast.
As the world falls down around us and we’re hunted simply for existing, I find myself wondering what it’d be like to serve the lonely god of death…in all ways. To kiss him. To touch him. To bed him.
Except…I’m supposed to be finding a way home, not trying to kiss Rhagos. No matter how tempting he is. No matter how much he stares at my lips.
No matter how much I want it.
Book Details
- Published: February 14, 2020
- Page Count: 646 pages
Wed to the Wild God Synopsis
When I find a gorgeous stranger in an alley, covered in blood, you’d think the logical thing would be to go to the authorities.
Not me. I take him home.
I’ve got my reasons, though. See, Kassam is cursed with hedonism. He’s a god from another world, accidentally stuck in ours. Anyone (and everyone) around him falls under his spell. It’s impossible to resist. Like scratching an itch. And being around Kassam? Boy, do I itch.
But trying to send the god home to his world is a near-impossible task. Between everyone we meet trying to kiss him and the gods of this world trying to get rid of him, I’m in over my head. There’s only one solution that will keep me safe — marry him. Being the wife of a god will protect me from immortal machinations.
Now, I just need to figure out a way to protect my heart from Kassam himself.
Book Details
- Published: November 30, 2021
- Page Count: 466 pages
Thoughts on Aspect and Anchor
The overall premise of this series is that there are eleven gods tossed out of the heavens in order to deal with their flaws by the High Father. Each of those gods is split into four versions or aspects of themselves that represent a carnal sin: apathy, arrogance, hedonism, or lies. But they need an anchor to allow them to stay in the mortal world. Someone has to volunteer to serve in that role as an anchor. It cannot be forced. This individual becomes their one weakness, meaning the only way to kill that aspect is to kill their anchor. The anchor also has to do all the mortal things like eating, drinking, and sleeping for both of them. They also cannot be far from their aspect or they will be in severe pain as a result. When one of their aspects dies, the others take on that aspect’s quality. So, if Apathy dies, then all the remaining alive versions of that God take on that personality for about a week before returning to their previous state. And the only way the god can return to the heavens is if they are the final aspect remaining and their anchor is sacrificed afterward. So, not exactly a sign of happily ever after, but we don’t learn this until the mid-way point of the first book.
As I mentioned, I would not class these books as science fiction. Science fiction usually takes place in a dystopian society and contains elements of advanced technology, or involves aliens. While fantasy includes mythical creatures and supernatural powers. There isn’t a single element of the former in Aspect and Anchor, but there is a hell of a lot of fantasy. You’ve got gods, powers, and mythical creatures. Not to mention a lot of worldbuilding and complex political elements. You don’t find that in science fiction books. So, I’m considering these fantasy even if they’re listed primarily as science fiction on Amazon.
I don’t think Ruby Dixon is going to cover all twelve of the gods in this series (eleven of whom were kicked out), though I could be wrong. One of them would be interesting as they aren’t the typical four Aspects. They’re the Spidae (fates) but instead of four there are three and they don’t have to battle each other. Not to mention, they all share the same Anchor, who volunteered for that role during the first book. This book is apparently coming in October, so it will be interesting to see how Ruby Dixon does this since she’s never done a polyamorous relationship as far as I’ve read in the past.
The twelve gods are:
- Magra, Lady of Plenty
- Tadekha, Goddess of Magic
- Riekki, Peacekeeper and Knowledge-bringer
- Anali, Lady of Light and Health
- Belara, Goddess of Beauty
- Aron, Lord of Storms, Butcher God of Battle – Bound to the Battle God
- Kalos, Lord of Disease
- Gental, God of Family
- Kassam, Lord of the Wild – Wed to the Wild God
- Rhagos, Lord of the Dead – Sworn to the Shadow God
- The Spidae, Lords of Fate
- Vor, God of Seas
I do find it interesting that the gods typically all went to somewhere in Aos, the fantasy world that most of the heroines were dragged into and where those gods are worshipped, but there are some gods that ended up on Earth instead, like Kassam.
I loved Max in the second book. She is a gamer that works in the corporate world. If that doesn’t reflect me in real life, I don’t know what will. Especially as she’s a bit klutzy and airheaded at moments. She forgets things and spills them. Both are very representative of me. Though she is far too trusting for her own good, which gets her into a lot of situations where I was like “girl, seriously?”
I’m curious which of the other gods are also going to get books. Ruby Dixon has mentioned a few of them on their upcoming page, so there are more in the works. I’m also curious about which aspect each of them is going to be. We’ll see how the other gods go, as we’ve seen Aron (Arrogance), Rhagos (Lies), and Kassam (Hedonism). Especially the Spidae, as they don’t have those traits, nor are they trying to kill each other as the other gods have to go through when going through the Anticipation. I do know that Ruby Dixon has said that Apathy will probably never be one of the focuses, which I can totally get. The way it’s written, those gods just want to lie in bed all day and do nothing. It wouldn’t exactly make for the most interesting tale as the other three do.
Overall, I would give the series a 3.5 to 3.75-star rating. I love the more world-focus on these books, rather than purely the romance. It’s there, but there’s more plot (outside the main character’s relationship) than some of the other Ruby Dixon series which I really enjoyed. This might be my favorite series from Ruby Dixon purely for that element, though don’t get me wrong I’ll take my blue aliens any day. They are comfort reads when I need something to turn my brain off to and get out of a reading slump with.
Love ya,
Mae Polzine
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