Blurb help

[u/MKSauthor]

I’m running an ARC campaign on BookSirens. The click through rate is fine (1221 impressions, 317 clicks), but I got a note from BookSirens that the expected number of downloads (14) is lower than average.

So my cover is working, but my blurb isn’t. Now, it’s possible that when readers see there’s noncon in the book, they choose not to read, which is absolutely fine and expected. But if that’s not the case, and the blurb isn’t otherwise pulling them in, I’d love your thoughts on how I could fix it. Blurb below:

This meet-cute is a meet-from-hell.

ANDIE
One moment, I was a college student with Broadway dreams. The next, I was kidnapped from Earth, sold to alien traffickers, and stranded on a planet light-years from home.

When a giant, winged alien found me in the wreckage of my captor’s ship, I screamed and ran. Now the entire Ptexari kingdom believes I initiated a mating ritual with Crown Prince Dakleth—a four-armed warrior who chased me down and claimed me.

Dakleth may regret what happened between us, but remorse doesn’t erase trauma. I may never go home again. I may never see another human being. But I will never accept this alien as my mate.

DAKLETH
The moment I saw the tiny human emerge from the crashed vessel, I knew she was mine. I believed she had chosen me, according to the traditions of my people, and instinct overtook reason.

By the time I understood the truth, the damage was already done. I will accept any punishment demanded of me, because no sentence could outweigh the shame I carry, knowing I harmed my mate.

Andie may never forgive me. She may hate me until my dying breath. Still, I will spend the rest of my life protecting her, earning her trust, and proving that I would sooner destroy myself than ever hurt her again.

Because she is my mate… even if I no longer deserve to be hers.

Ahelno is a spicy, emotionally intense dual-POV sci-fi romance featuring cultural collision and a slow-burn path toward healing and redemption. It is the author’s debut novel and first in a new series. Intended for mature audiences only.

No cliffhanger. HEA.

Content warnings:
-Non-consensual sexual encounter between main characters
-Trauma recovery
-Suicidal ideation and attempt

[u/winterwarn]

This sounds really fucking good to me, but my preferred genre is edgy character-heavy science fiction. I assume your intended audience is more “romance reader” and less “Warhammer guy who reads genre romance incidentally.”

For my two cents I’d agree with the people saying to start off with the dark aspect (maybe Dakleth’s POV first) and get a little lighter in the second half. I would also rephrase your content warnings to emphasize that this is a story about recovering from trauma, and as such it includes non-con and suicidal ideation.

[u/MKSauthor → u/winterwarn]

Thank you, I appreciate that. I’m actually a sci fi reader myself, and one of my ARC reviewers noted that the book reads more like a sci-fi than the typical alien romance (which she liked), and another liked the focus on the alien societies and cultural clashes.

I think it’s fair to say it’s a crossover, but in the end, the plot is a romance, and there are some scenes that are a bit spicier than would be expected in a typical sci fi novel. But I could be wrong. It’s my first novel, so I’m just winging it as I go!