I really liked a recent story by the author that should shape into a series. So I wanted more while waiting for the next and tried this. It was okay. I really liked a recent story by the author that should shape into a series. So I wanted more while waiting for the next and tried this. It was okay. Eddie plods along a bit and the pace is slow. It's a bit slice-of-light so I tolerated that slowness.
The worldbuilding was interesting with a future semi-dystopia pushing the protagonist into a full-immersion VR system with a long-term in-game commitment so I didn't have to worry about two divergent plotlines with real vs. game. This is good. And the game world had interesting quirks, including semi-autonomous AI playing in-game deities explicitly tasked with dynamic/reactive rules/world extensions.
The details of Eddie's exploration were just interesting enough to pull me all the way to the end. And yeah, that's a reluctant admission. This isn't an outstanding story. It has just enough action to break up the pastoral foundation and pull together a three-star rating.
A note about Steamy: Eddie finds a girl. It's a little sweet, a little awkward, and a lot, um, jejune. That word has been on the back of my mind for, like, a week and I can finally use it. Maybe it'll go away now. Anyway, they eventually "connect" and there is just barely enough there that I choose to call it steam. It's a close call, though, so it'd be at the very lowest possible setting....more
Also, you know mostly what to expect and it mostly delivers. This one goes off-world and I didn't like thatAs third in a litRPG series, read in order.
Also, you know mostly what to expect and it mostly delivers. This one goes off-world and I didn't like that much, particularly as it's a genre change (magical sci-fi).
And I don't have much more than that to say. It's still four stars, which is a bit of a come-down, but still very engaging.
A note about Steamy: We get just barely enough to trigger steam tag on this one. It's not a ton, but enough. So the low end of my steam tolerance....more
This is second in a system non-pocalypse that picks up right where the first left off. Read in order.
I was initially confused because we start with a This is second in a system non-pocalypse that picks up right where the first left off. Read in order.
I was initially confused because we start with a completely new character on a heist. And then things get really confused until we catch back up to the rest of the story and Morgan. Where we get a plot-twist that carries through the rest of the story starting with him getting married. Yeah, he didn't even have a girlfriend in the first book and he gets married to start this one. It makes storybook sense and I almost like his wife more than him, so good times.
If I were to tell you that you know what you're getting because you read the first book you can feel free to laugh at me. Because that is a lie. It's still a great story. And I still liked it for many of the same reasons. Just from different angles.
And I'm totally straining to not spoiler things. Let's get to me giving it four stars because pirates just aren't my thing (and not least because Kerei doesn't sugar coat the smarmy buccaneers even a little) and I didn't care enough about Nicholas to care about his cathartic journey as the god of pirates.
A note about Chaste: There is no steam, even with Morgan getting married. It's a marriage of convenience and Morgan isn't the kind of guy to take advantage of someone just because she's into him. So it's very chaste....more
This is book five of a romping power fantasy in space. It builds character, plot, and other developments over time and this one picks up right where tThis is book five of a romping power fantasy in space. It builds character, plot, and other developments over time and this one picks up right where the last left off. Read in order.
You know what you are getting. You get lots of it. This felt a little placeholdy as there aren't any major developments that disrupt Eve's plans. Which I enjoyed quite a lot because I like Eve and her harem/friends. And by now, that should be pretty much an expectation so there's that.
So this is five stars for delivering the story I expected with characters I love spending time with. If you made it this far in the series, I suspect you'll feel the same.
A note about Chaste: There are definitely sexual shenanigans going on. Including with Eve and her friends. But we only have affection and general banter on-page so this is fairly chaste....more
This is a System nonpocalypse LitRPG and that made it interesting right from the start. The only deaths on the introduction of the "Peacekeepers" wereThis is a System nonpocalypse LitRPG and that made it interesting right from the start. The only deaths on the introduction of the "Peacekeepers" were the proven psychopaths (serial killers, politicians, etc.). Everyone else gets to go about their normal lives with the added task of cycling into "the Game" (3½ days on, same off). There are no lasting consequences for the things that happen in the game. You're only virtually there, so deaths there aren't tragic. But some benefits of play penetrate into the real world, including earning tokens that can be used to cure diseases and prolong life. This makes people eager to buy into the system and play for the benefits.
Our protagonist is a world-champion tower defense guy. As a result, he gets offered the rare class of Station Master. This class acts as humanity's first line of defense against having their territories (in game) be invaded and raided by other factions. Since humanity is a noob and the other races have been playing for seasons, humanity will eventually lose, so the real question is how many perks and tokens can they get before their inevitable loss?
I liked Morgan at first. Right up until he just gave up on the rats and decided that dying a bunch was a good strategy. I mean, the author makes it work in the end, but that rubbed me the wrong way. I eventually got over it because Morgan is otherwise a lot of fun and his new AI friend, Tee, made for a great banter buddy to bounce off of. I particularly like that Morgan found ways to break the game and how he saw that as an opportunity to mess with the moderators who have to come in and fix what he breaks.
And I have to admit that the author does a fantastic job creating unique characters in the other Station Masters and an even better job inventing unique races for the antagonists in the gamiverse. Morgan figuring out how to pseudo-ally with the gator guys made for a fascinating wrinkle. And the author showing how dynamics like taunting and trapping worked to make opponents make poor choices was outstanding as well.
Add a great pace and an ability to make the conflicts truly gripping and this is a full-on five stars and a great deal of fun to read. I'm very sad that there is, as yet, no follow up, though the book ends on a satisfying climax. This author now has three series wins for me, I just wish he'd write faster...
A note about Chaste: Morgan ends up being a big ole (and well-known) hero and that makes it harder to find real relationships. Indeed, it's a huge turn-off for him that the pretty girl in their gamer group suddenly likes him once he becomes both rich and famous. I like that about him, frankly. That does mean that there's no romance and unlikely to be one any time soon, making this very chaste. And I'm more than okay with that....more
This is seventh in a sci-fi romance series and is fairly unconnected to the others. You could read this as a stand-alone, but I wouldn't recommend it.This is seventh in a sci-fi romance series and is fairly unconnected to the others. You could read this as a stand-alone, but I wouldn't recommend it. A bunch of the significance of some of the setup relies on information in previous stories, like Ed's home world destruction and the nanites and the big bad Coruzons. I recommend reading in order. Plus the other books are pretty good, without exception and how rare is that?
If you've read the others, you know what to expect. Ed and Wren are thrown together by violence and intrigue and they bond fast and tight. And I'm all-in for it. Wren's nanites are a bit of a departure from other stories in that they're less "superpower" and more subtle support. I feel like her nanites became a character in their own right and I kind of liked how that worked out, not least as they work out some of their relationship dynamics with Wren during the course of this story.
The relationship is fast and I think Ed attaches a bit too precipitately, particularly given the initial emotional manipulation. He's awful certain of his attachment very early and I feel like the support for that was a bit thin. On the other hand, I really appreciated that we didn't have half a novel of him questioning his attachment and being all die-away about "is this real". So I'm going to give that a wash.
The pace of this is nearly pitch-perfect with just enough down time for the two main characters to establish their relationship. I was deeply engaged through the whole thing and couldn't put it down to the last. I'm going to call it a full five stars, despite some of the qualms above.
A note about Chaste: They have sex, but Diener pulls the curtain at the very last moment possible and still remain chaste (in my evaluation). So this is questionably chaste and if your line is at all more strict than mine, it probably crosses it....more
This is second in a sci-fantasy romance series where each book is a different couple. The couple from the first book are present here, but not stronglThis is second in a sci-fantasy romance series where each book is a different couple. The couple from the first book are present here, but not strongly so. You could read out of order, but it's probably better if you read the other book first—not least to establish a bunch of the worldbuilding.
This one was very different from the first, as Tayra has a genetic heritage from her race's creation that gives them something called the "yen" if they find a human they consider the perfect mate. And Tony is a cinnamon roll of the highest order so she fixates on him within the first quarter of the story. So a ton of the middle of this story is them dealing with her open feelings for him and him deciding what to do about it (if anything).
And I'll be honest, the thrash on that gets a little frustrating as the author throws one obstacle after another in the way of their consuming the whole "yen" thing. Not to mention that the ultimate bad guy was kind of obvious after about the second exchange of hostilities and that nobody even suspects what is going on by then strained my credulity a bit.
Still, I really liked Tayra and Tony and they make such a fantastic team. So I'm not even going to hold the (view spoiler)[humanizing transformation that happens once Tayra and Tony do it, making her much closer to the being depicted on the cover rather than the beaked bird-headed body she had before (hide spoiler)] against it. So let's call it 3½ stars that I'm rounding up because seriously, Tony is exactly my type and Tayra ended up a great match with him.
A note about Steamy: There are a couple of explicit sex scenes putting this, barely, in the middle of my steam tolerance. As with the first, it's interesting having a male-focused author writing those intimate moments as I think the tone is distinct....more
This was a fascinating genre twist. You would expect it, with that sub-title, to be the first in a harem story. But it seems this series is more like This was a fascinating genre twist. You would expect it, with that sub-title, to be the first in a harem story. But it seems this series is more like you get in romance where each book features a different couple in the same world. So it's more of a romance subgenre than anything else.
And it works surprisingly well as such. There's some fun action and a plot that keeps a great pace for the main characters to bounce off each other despite coming from completely different worlds. So seeing them develop respect for each other that blooms into more was exactly what I'd expect for a decent romance with mystery elements.
I have a hard time with romantic-suspense so I want to be clear that this doesn't have many of those markers. There's danger to both protagonists, but you don't get the isolating and ramping threat more common to that romance genre. So nobody saves the other from dire peril that we see coming half a book away. And for me, that's a good thing.
Anyway, I enjoyed this more than I expected I would and think it's a solid four stars. The romance doesn't quite connect and Velise's arachae physique isn't even a little engaging for me personally. Plus, see below for a note about romance that I found strange. All that said, I'm definitely interested in more along the same lines and can't wait to explore this series.
A note about romance expectations: Most of the romances I read are written by women for women and there's a certain flavor to both the romance and the steam as a result. This is obviously written by a man for men and has a correspondingly different flavor in the romance and steam. I don't want to say that it's written for the male gaze, but that's definitely a factor. I'm not sure I can explain it entirely, but I'd be interested in the experiences of others to see what they think.
A note about Steamy: There are a couple of explicit sex scenes putting this in the middle of my steam tolerance. Velise is not human though she's more-or-less sexually compatible with humans for background reasons. I'm not sure how to process that into how well the sex worked as part of the story, though I did enjoy how different their perspectives were for the emotional aspects of love and sex and the relationship discussions that happened as a result....more
This book is the culmination of the "Shares" series where Ishmael goes from a quarter-share newb to the mostest share Owner. Read the others before thThis book is the culmination of the "Shares" series where Ishmael goes from a quarter-share newb to the mostest share Owner. Read the others before this one and then just get out while you're still ahead because this book is a complete mess.
You'd think that with all the shiny-boy Ishmael so far in the story that this would be the culmination that gets our boy setup as an indie who can chart his own course (customers willing). And, indeed, three-quarters of the story goes exactly that direction. I mean, there's lots of business hand-wavy nonsense, and I'm not sure the whole heiress thing carries the plot weight it should here, but I was willing to go along to get the the good, good Ishmael winning thing.
And he even gets Chief Greta to kick his teeth in a bit about fraternization so that he can be happy wherever he goes! Seriously, some of my favorite bits are her taking him to task for his silly ideas about relationships. And fine, their relationship is shallow and all, but I'm not looking to Lowell for a romantic masterpiece or anything!
And then things start picking up and Lowell destroys everything about this story, starting with anything making even a lick of sense. I mean, (view spoiler)[the big bad, the man who kills Ish's hot girlfriend just when they learn they can be happy together, turns out to be the business man who has been helping him all along? Really? How does that make any kind of sense. This is literally the only guy in the Ishiverse who doesn't have to pull any kind of shenanigans to take Ishmael out! All he has to do is remove his backing on Ishmael's board of directors! He could even do it subtly because heaven knows Ish does what he tells him to anyway every step of the story (hide spoiler)]. This is the kind of plot twist two year-olds impress each other with. And don't even get me started on the mole without a motivation and . . . okay, I'm going to stop here.
Here are the things we do not have at the end of this book: * Ishmael owns a company * Ishmael owns a ship * Ishmael captains a ship * Ishmael has a crew * Ishmael finally gets the girl * Ishmael has friends
This is the dumbest one-star mess I can imagine coming out of this series. Now, I notice that there's a follow-on series where Ishmael lone-wolfs things for old friends and this crappity crappit is exactly what you'd need to do to seed a new series. Be betraying the current series and selling it down the drain
A note about Steamy: Space sure makes people horny. There's references to sex and the occasional start up and aftermath once Chief Greta shows up. But it's mostly closed-page so it's on the low end of my steam tolerance....more
This starts years after Ishmael fixes the previous story so I'm not sure you need to worry about those events, like, at all. It's worth skipping that This starts years after Ishmael fixes the previous story so I'm not sure you need to worry about those events, like, at all. It's worth skipping that one and picking up relatively fresh here if you want to give the stupid nasty bits a pass.
So the reward for a job well done is another job. And I was actually happy for Ish to pick up this "challenging" assignment. The Agamemnon is a smaller ship so there are fewer crew to keep track of and thus the relationship fail cascade has limitations. In a good way. And I liked seeing Ishmael win his crew's loyalty by extending his own and giving clear directives and listening when he's being stupid and gets called on it.
I particularly liked seeing him dupe his main troublemaker and his cargo chief simultaneously by initiating a cargo selection competition to see who can pick better cargo for the ship's profits. I particularly love that he's up front about his motives because he wins whatever the outcome because now he has two people geared towards the important thing in a merchant vessel—profits.
Plus, I like how his compassion plays for the win time and again. I just like Ishmael and this book was finally a grown-up version of him I could enjoy. Except for the whole wife (view spoiler)[cheat, divorce (hide spoiler)] thing. That whole subplot made zero sense and drops my rating down a whole star to four.
A note about Steamy: Man, Ishmael and his wife are sure growing apart, don't you know. Except for the phenomenal sex every couple of months. There's steam here, but it's mostly off page so barely worth the tag at all....more
This series builds over time, but this one jumps four years into the future with Ishmael graduating the academy and all his friends spread to the fourThis series builds over time, but this one jumps four years into the future with Ishmael graduating the academy and all his friends spread to the four winds. You can legitimately start here, though I'm not really sure why you'd want to.
Ishmael gets a posting as third mate on a completely dysfunctional ship that doesn't work, like, at all. I mean, the bully boys are fully in power and they are truly gross. We're talking rape on the regular gross. I spent this entire book cringing, pretty much just going along with it because it is obviously going to be about Ishmael fixing things. Which it is. And he does.
But it doesn't really work because the bad guys are too successful to be stupid and too stupid to be successful and yet...
Anyway, Ish saves the day. The end. Three stars because At least we're clear for him to upgrade to captain in the next book. Yay!
A note about Chaste/Steamy: Honestly, I forget if there is any steam in this as Ishmael doesn't fraternize and he's on board ship so much that I doubt it. But it has been enough days that I honestly don't remember....more
This series builds its character and plot over time so read them in order.
Ishmael is working towards his full share rating (in all four categories, naThis series builds its character and plot over time so read them in order.
Ishmael is working towards his full share rating (in all four categories, naturally) and this is his story of getting there. We have all our familiar friends developing with him, the trades are coming together, and in this one there's some fun failure analysis that makes a very fine secondary plotline.
Ishmael is very much a golden boy at this point, and a lot of the last half is uncertainty over his current post being lost once their current project (failure analysis) is complete. That anxiety is papered over by his captain (and friends) talking him into going to the officer's academy.
Not a lot of surprises, though I do give kudos to making data visualization and analysis play a fascinating role in the plot. That's hard, because it's confusing, but Lowell actually pulled it off. If I were getting tired of the main character at all, it'd start showing here, but I'm not, so we're still in five-star land.
A note about Steamy: We culminate this book with Ish and former good friend, now hot lover Bev finally doing it. A lot. And hitting the academy together so maybe they'll even be a thing (don't hold your breath, I'm thinking). It was cute, but again, Lowell pulls out before a ton of steam happens on-page so it's still on the light end of the steam tolerance....more
This is second in a series that builds up over time. I recommend reading in order.
And you mostly know what you're getting with Ishmael and Pip and theThis is second in a series that builds up over time. I recommend reading in order.
And you mostly know what you're getting with Ishmael and Pip and their trading co-op. I really like how the officers of the ship seem truly invested in their command, helping their people expand and grow in place as well as they can.
We also get some answers on the anti-fraternization rule and its effect on the relationships and emotions of the crew. No relationships allowed (nobody pushes it so I don't know the forfeit) and that makes for some people who are interested, but keep an odd platonic tone to their interactions. I liked this effect even if I suspect it was a little too simple in its consequences.
I'm still into this, still like Ishmael and his friends, and will definitely move on to the next book. Four stars and either the dialogue is getting better or I care more about the characters so don't notice it as much.
A note about Steam: Crewmembers help crewmembers, and that goes triple when everyone needs to get laid. Ishmael goes on the prowl and makes some impressive pulls. We only get the start, some vague bumps, and some endings but it's explicit enough to count, just at the lower end of my steam tolerance. Frankly, I think this was a mistake by the author because Ishmael connects with people, it's part of what makes him special, and that includes his one-night stand. He pines a bit so skimping on the intimacy doesn't do the story any actual favors....more
This is the fifth book in a cultivation LitRPG in space. Read them in order.
This is the tournament book. At tier 10, the Empire's pathers converge forThis is the fifth book in a cultivation LitRPG in space. Read them in order.
This is the tournament book. At tier 10, the Empire's pathers converge for a tournament that happens every five years. It's time for Matt and Liz to go and compete. This is also where those who need to hide their identities adopt a mask to do so; this includes Matt and Liz who are dangerous enough that competing empires would wipe them out if they caught wind of their true capabilities. So we see Matt and Liz competing twice, once for their true identities where they sandbag to finish in the middle of the pack, and again in their masks as Quill and Torch—identities built to deliberately obscure their actual skillsets.
This is a fun story of the year of the tournament. Unlike your expectations if you are coming from cultivator stories with tournaments, this one follows almost none of those tropes. In the Ascension universe, there are over a million combatants entering the planet-wide contest (a planet built specifically to host the competition) and a lot happens to create friction between the competitors. Add rift diving as a part of the competition and individual brackets for different skillsets (including crafting), and it's way too diverse to support all the weird shenanigans of typical cultivator stories. I for one, really liked that the author didn't warp his vision to include the silly over-the-top weirdness of those tropes.
There isn't a lot of development for Matt and Liz, and yet I still enjoyed this way more than the previous where they advanced four tiers in the single book. I liked the creativity of the challenges and that the friend sphere expanded and deepened at the same time. This makes this story easily five stars and I enjoyed it immensely.
A note about this particular story: Yes, I'm way ahead of this storyline on the Royal Road site and still an avid follower. I picked this up to revisit the past for Matt and Liz and was just as engaged as I was originally reading this in thrice-weekly installments. It held together remarkably well as a single story. Also, it was way fun reading knowing the true identities of some of the side PoVs (Like the spies Allie and Zack).
A note about Chaste: Liz and Matt are a strong couple, absolutely devoted to each other and that includes sex. Probably. Unprovably, because any of that kind of thing happens off-page. So this is very chaste....more
This is fourth in a cultivation fantasy in space. Read them in order or you'll be extremely confused about pretty much everything.
You know what you arThis is fourth in a cultivation fantasy in space. Read them in order or you'll be extremely confused about pretty much everything.
You know what you are getting. Like the second book, this is kind of a placeholder while Liz and Matt grow, experiment, and take on random challenges on their way to the big thing that happens at the Tier 10 tournament that's due in the next book. They go from Tier 6 to 9 and months and weeks are skipped along the way as we learn more about how growth and expansion work in the Realm.
This book starts with Melinda and their team still hanging around and they occupy a lot of the first parts of this because much of the structure of the book takes place in that initial Tier 6 phase. I'm not that big a fan of Melinda and cohort. They're interesting enough, but the contrast with Liz, Matt, and Aster does them no favors.
As usual for this series, my main draw remains Aster, the Winter Fox and Matt's bond companion. I love her development and that she maintains her frivolous side (and love of ice cream) despite managing to keep up with the more driven Matt and Liz and be a true and contributing part of their team.
I'll leave it there. This is four stars, though barely that high. It really is a lot of flavor/filler on the way to better things.
A note about publication: I'm still following this on Royal Road so I'm technically waaaaay farther in the story. I pulled this to support the author and read it just for the nostalgia of their younger days. It didn't fully pull me in, but it entertained me enough that I kept reading to the end. Maybe it really does deserve all four stars right-out given that's the case.
A note about Chaste: Matt and Liz are definitely a couple and sleep together. There is zero steam and nothing explicit. I don't even remember much kissing. The author just doesn't go there, though their intimacy and bond is clear. It just isn't germane to the story being told....more
This is book seven of a series and I highly recommend reading them in order. Mostly. This book follows closely on Network Effect which is book five. IThis is book seven of a series and I highly recommend reading them in order. Mostly. This book follows closely on Network Effect which is book five. It continues plot and story from that book so I highly recommend that you remember that book very well before starting this one. It's worth a reread if it has been a while.
I don't have a lot to say about this. If you don't know MurderBot well by now, you aren't following directions and I don't know what to tell you except follow directions. It's like talking to some who has stabbed themselves with a fork who wants to know what's planned for dinner. Go to the emergency room and get treated and then move on to dinner.
Aaaaanyway. This is a bit of a twist on MurderBot because its dealing with [redacted] for the first part of the story and it's a bit in before it feels stable enough to reveal the issue to itself (and thus to us the readers). So its uncertain in ways we aren't used to up to this point. Wells is such a good author that this feels like a natural part of its growth rather than simply inserted drama for drama's sake. Seeing MurderBot's growth through this, and the support of its friends, was all the heart I've grown to expect from the series.
I'll leave it there, I think. There's good action, a spanking pace, and MB's internal dialogue is as fun as ever. And seeing the Art/MB team work together in impossible situations to save the humans isn't ever going to get old, I don't think. Five stars. And I really hope there's more coming.
A note about Chaste: Romance isn't a thing for MB. Some of the humans get up to shenanigans, but MB self-censors that stuff because it is icky. So it's very, very chaste....more
I was drawn in by the concept despite the lurid cover, knowing I'd be skipping lots of sexual antics. Fortunately, the concept paid off with the origiI was drawn in by the concept despite the lurid cover, knowing I'd be skipping lots of sexual antics. Fortunately, the concept paid off with the originality I had hoped for and skipping the dumb bits was easy enough.
Victor is a workaday kind of guy with enough superpower to stay independent in the villain gig where his "job" is essentially to make up-and-coming superheroes look good by losing to them in a flashy way. I found it interesting that he doesn't actually make any money from crime, but rather from his PR work making heroes shine. It's a fun conceit and seeing him walk the line between more nasty, actually-evil villains and his own niche was entertaining.
I'm a bit sad that none of the women who attach themselves to him like limpets have any discernable personality. Okay, it's not quite as bad as that. They're all one-note characters, but each note is different and all of them are just a little bit bent (as befits people who would hang out with an avowed villain). But that's not the same as having any complexity or discernable motivations beyond hanging out with Victor and doing their schtick.
The plot is strong enough to keep me interested and with a good pace. There wasn't anything like a longer arc going on, but I did like seeing Victor go up against some of the world's big-bads and holding his own, demonstrating that his sideshow gig really is by choice. He isn't any more inherently villainy than any other normal(ish) guy and he really is in it for the freedom to pick his jobs and do the best he can in them.
I'm going to give this four stars, which is pretty much the maximum I can with a cover that lurid and harem shenanigans I have to skip to maintain any respect for the story. I'll admit, I'm likely to read the next just because I don't think the author has tapped out his creativity with this one and I'd like to see what happens next.
A note about Steamy: It's a harem story. There are three or four explicit sex scenes that would put this in the middle of my steam tolerance if I hadn't skipped them entirely. I'm sure they had all the acrobatic detail you'd expect from a story with harem as a theme and bad-girls demanding someone do them dirty....more
There was a lot that I loved about this story. The crew, the plot, the pacing, the worldbuilding, the mysterious Eldritch (space elf) they rescue, allThere was a lot that I loved about this story. The crew, the plot, the pacing, the worldbuilding, the mysterious Eldritch (space elf) they rescue, all were fascinating. You can hear the "but", right? But the heroine, Reese, is a giant downer that dragged the whole thing down for the entire story.
It isn't that Reese is prickly. It's that she's all the prickly of a cactus planet. By which I mean a planet actually made of cactus. Worse, she's prickly to the detriment of her crew, the story, and the very nice man they rescued whose only crime is that he's some kind of telepath. So she judges him, the entire story, on things he might possibly find out about the very boring thing she's afraid he'll know. Like it's some super secret that she has conflicted feelings about her home and family? She took him to her home! He knows! Okay, fine, she's also concerned he'll know she kinda likes him without her telling him. There's some interesting trauma there that I'd love to explore if only it didn't involve her being so stupid about it.
And I'd be more down with this being about a growth arc that she's embarked on if it weren't that all the catalyst for reexamining her stupid emotional state came from her crew telling her to stop messing things up. I mean, it was cool the first couple of times. Like, she needed to hear it and they care and that's kinda cool. But she never learned to do it herself. Which is the point of character growth—you know, actually growing.
Which sounds dreadful, but the surrounding story really is quite fine. I liked the universe here. And the side characters were outstanding. And Eldritch guy (whose name I'd have to look up because it's, like, fifty syllables long and who can remember how to spell that?) was very awesome, and his backstory has all my attention. And empathy.
I'm going to give this 3½ stars that I really wish I could round up because I'm definitely interested in the next. But I very nearly stopped reading once or twice when Reese was being a particular pill. So three it stays.
A note about Chaste: With Reese being the main character and so uptight she'd vibrate in a strong breeze, there's no sex at all. Nor any intimacy, really. There's some non-sexual nudity, but with zero detail. So I consider this pretty chaste, though you could definitely go the other way on a tighter definition....more
This wasn't bad as an actiony romance with sci-fi roots. But it wasn't great, either. You can tell that the romance is the main genre in this because This wasn't bad as an actiony romance with sci-fi roots. But it wasn't great, either. You can tell that the romance is the main genre in this because a bunch of the sci-fi, or, well, plot, doesn't really hold up to scrutiny. Which is why it was majorly important that the romance be rock solid for this to work. Sadly, it wasn't.
So here's where the plot lost me: (view spoiler)[You have the bad guy holed up on the bridge. You have ambush points with the bad guy in sight. And yet, you're only able to nail a couple henchmen and completely miss the actual bad guy. What, nobody thought to make that first shot count? How was there not a person on each of the three pincer teams given the duty to shoot the bad guy first?!? (hide spoiler)] This makes no kind of sense. Unless, of course, the author is saving it for some dramatic play later on. Which only makes this worse!
Also, if you're going to double-down on the femiverse bylaws where nobody is allowed to rescue your heroine except herself, then please don't put her in situations where it's ridiculous for her to rescue herself. You can tell the author had to cheat because she had to cut the scene after the initial play. I don't know about you, but I want to know how you can go from tied to an upright table to free as a bird with a headbutt. I mean, cool, she head-butted the bad guy. Girl power. Only. Then she's free? Also, why didn't she take the bad guy out while she was at it? I mean, if we're exercising the power of womanhood here, why not just Rambo the whole bad guy team?
So yeah, this doesn't really pass muster on the sci-fi or action front. And frankly, I think part of the problem with the romance stems from not letting the hero be a hero. He's the captain of this mission. But all we see him do, really, is moon over this not-a-nurse and promote her to his second in-command for no reason. Also, trust a completely unreliable AI for no rational reason. Except that his babydoll wants him to. Let's just say that I'm glad I'm not a passenger on this love boat.
Okay, I've griped a lot. But I never put it down and I did find it interesting enough. I'm a fan of powerful women, even if they have to use the author as a prop to get there. It's three stars despite all the chaff I'm laying down. The background is interesting. And the AI struggling with how to be a good person was at least interesting. Plus, the bad guys at least made sense and the plot held together at least on that level. Which isn't nothing. I'm not sure if I'm interested in the rest of the series based on this one, but maybe.
A note about Steamy: There are two kinda-steamy sex scenes putting this on the low end of my steam tolerance. They're detailed enough for some steam, but not terribly explicit even so. It was like the author didn't quite want to commit to the full deal so we get some detail and then pull back. That's not necessarily a bad thing and fit the story well-enough so don't take this as a negative (unless you really like the dirty-dirty in your romances)....more
This is fourth in an ongoing sci-fi series that builds characters, plot and other story devices over time. Read them in order.
You know what you're getThis is fourth in an ongoing sci-fi series that builds characters, plot and other story devices over time. Read them in order.
You know what you're getting with this one. Still over-the-top power fantasy in a sci-fi setting with all the things we have come to expect.
This one culminates a ton of ongoing plots by the end. Enough so that I wonder if Medrano will actually continue the series after all. An afterword seems to indicate so, but I have doubts as there's not a lot more to drive a story. I mean, (view spoiler)[Evelyn finds her parents and rescues them, the angel gets her wings, the kidnappings plot is taken care of, heck, Evelyn has taken out an entire universe(hide spoiler)]. There's just not a lot left she can do. And I'm good with that.
I'm giving this four stars, mostly because I had to just go along for a big part of the last quarter or so. A lot of events just happened to fall right to allow them to progress while lining up the conflicts in exactly the right order. Like, there's no way we should have expected (view spoiler)[cooperation from the alien to infiltrate their own plans and species (hide spoiler)]. It felt like a lot of special pleading that I had to just roll with. Not that it wasn't entertaining, but it wasn't enough to clench the fifth star rating.
A note about Steamy/Chaste: There's still the harem and those relationships are actually quite endearing. We get some lead-up to intimacy and sex, but nothing really explicit enough that I'd consider it steamy. And it's enough I can't justify calling it chaste. So neither tag applies on this one....more
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