Book Review: Under The Heavens

Title: Under The Heavens [The Ark Trilogy 1]

Author: Ruth Fox

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Rating: 5 Stars

Description/Synopsis:

Even the darkest secrets will come to light. Bubbly social media star Hannah Monksman is captaining  Seiiki  and carrying the last of Earth’s whales to a new paradise planet. Viewers have been following Hannah’s journey, but what they don’t know is her true identity―Kim Teng who won her role as Caretaker with the help of underground operatives known as the Crusaders. Kim forms a close bond with the whales in her care, and their mental Link allows conversation on the lonely spaceship. But when one of the whales, Adonai, begins acting strange, Kim begins to suspect that she is a pawn in a secret mission meant to ensure the whales never reach their destination. Or it may just be the isolation getting to her.

WARNING – SPOILERS MAY ENSUE BEYOND THIS POINT – REVIEW BELOW

This book was an unexpected surprise that I had no intention of getting into – in fact, I didn’t even know this book existed at first. I’d picked up the second book in the series mistakenly thinking it was the first, and after reading about two chapters in, decided there was no way that my assumptions were correct. That led me to find this book, and I thought, well, I guess I’ll start here and give it a try. I was disappointed.

I ended up really enjoying this book. Though at times I still felt like I’d missed a previous book, because the story started off-screen months before the book began, it was still a much easier slide into this book than the second. I loved the way the whales were handled and how the author used their intelligence and ignorance to pose some very human questions about the afterlife, our place in nature, and the future of our kind. Fifteen, the somewhat unintelligent but bubbly wild whale was the unsung hero of the story, and by far my favorite character, followed closely by Adonai.

I loved how the author handled the loneliness of a single passenger on a giant spaceship full of whales, how that affected her mental state, the paranoia that sometimes came with it, and the way Kim used her schedule and the computer to combat some of what that did to her mental load. The story was full of action and tension, but also some beautiful moments of reflection and wonder.

Book Review: New Eden

Title: New Eden [The Ark Trilogy 2]

Author: Ruth Fox

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Rating: 5

Description/Synopsis:

As Seiiki, now escorted by a military contingent from Earth United, draws ever closer to New Eden, Kim Teng must learn to split her role of Caretaker with another, navigate a new relationship with Wren, and deal with the suffocating guilt of having been part of the Crusaders, all while maintaining her cover as social media star Hannah Monksman. What could possibly go wrong?

With tensions rising back on Earth between the Adherants, a sect devoted to keeping humanity from colonizing space, and Earth United, it is even more important for Seiiki and the whales to reach New Eden quickly and safely. But as the contingent comes out of hyperspace, an unknown computer error sends them off-course into an asteroid belt. The military escort ships land badly damaged on New Eden, and the whales are trapped inside a crippled Seiiki, several kilometers from the planned landing site. And it seems their new home planet is not the peaceful paradise they expected.

Strange creatures howl in the night, probes that were sent to populate the oceans with fish are found disabled, and ancient ruins in the jungle nearby suggest the Ark Project wasn’t the first landing party on New Eden. When people begin disappearing from their basecamp, Kim and her friends soon realize that while someone didn’t want them to ever arrive at New Eden, someone—or something—else wanted to make sure they did.

WARNING – SPOILERS MAY ENSUE BEYOND THIS POINT – REVIEW BELOW

If you’re thinking about picking up this book and haven’t read the previous book in the series… stop. Go back and read it. This book does not do well at standing alone, which I, unfortunately, found out the hard way – and even if you do go back and read the first book, there will be times when you feel like you’re still missing a book previous to even that. There was quite a bit of storytelling in this series that relies on the main character remembering and talking about things that happened long before book one ever started, which is an odd mechanic, and I’m not sure why the series didn’t start, you know, at the beginning of the story, when Kim is first sold off and inducted into the trials for becoming part of the New Eden project… but somehow it worked anyway, so there’s that.

The book overall, was interesting and engaging. It felt very different from the first book in the series now that Kim is out of isolation aboard the Seiiki. Instead of the creepiness of possibly losing her mind and finding out she wasn’t alone on the ship as in the first book, this time around there’s the great unknown of landing on a planet and not knowing what else is out there. Is there life? Is it intelligent? Is it dangerous? Do little blue gnats present an immediate threat? Who knows! Whereas the first book was a whole lot of action and a little bit of phycological horror, this book felt more geared toward adventure and aliens. Either way, it worked.

I liked the story, the narrative voice, the characters – all of it. Except maybe the religion part of it. Honestly, I could do without it, but I get that it’s part of the political lore. I’m certainly interested in reading further in the series, and it’s one I recommend to anyone who likes space operas and colonization stories.

Book Review: The Deja Glitch

Title: The Deja Glitch

Author: Holly James

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Time Travel, Science Fiction

Rating: 5 Stars

Description/Synopsis:

To break out of a 24-hour time loop, all Jack needs is for Gemma to fall in love with him in a single day. All Gemma needs is to remember him first . . .

Gemma Peters is doing fine. She’s making a name for herself in the L.A. music biz as a radio producer. She’s got a ride-or-die best friend in Lila, and she gets to come home to Rex, her loving Labrador, every night. But ever since her rock star ex-boyfriend used her to get a record deal from her rock legend dad, she’s made a “no musicians” rule when it comes to dating that’s becoming more like a “no dating” rule, period.

So, when Gemma crashes (literally) into Jack one Thursday morning, at first she feels like fate might finally be doing her a favor. After all this guy is cute and, wait, is she imagining it, or is he staring a little too deeply into her eyes? And how does he know her name? Even harder to explain is the funny feeling of déjà vu she gets every time she looks at him. It’s not at all like Gemma to kiss a man and forget him completely, so then how can she explain the dreamlike memory of his lips on hers?

The truth is this is no ordinary Thursday. Not for them. In fact, they’ve lived this day over and over for months. And while Gemma has been totally oblivious to the time loop, Jack has been agonizingly aware of every single iteration. Luckily, Jack has a theory to bring his own personal Groundhog Day to an end. And it’s simple. Before the day is over, he just has to get Gemma to fall in love with him.

WARNING – SPOILERS MAY ENSUE BEYOND THIS POINT – REVIEW BELOW

I had so much fun reading this book. I’ve always been a sucker for a good time travel or in this case, a time loop, story. There’s freedom in being stuck in a time loop in a way because the day can be predictable, but also, you have the chance to try new things, see new outcomes, and dare to do things you never would have before had there been finite consequences.

In the case of this book particularly, it was nice to see a “stuck” character that wasn’t just a jerk, trying to “be good” for the sake of escaping. There was no “perfect day” to aspire to. Jack wasn’t a bad guy. He was bored with his life and deeply unhappy, but he was a good person deep down, stuck in the never-ending loop of meeting a stranger in a coffee shop. More importantly, the time loop wasn’t necessarily about him.

He was the domino tumbling into Gemma’s life.

Gemma’s life was a mess. She was beyond just unhappy and bored. She was estranged from her father, betrayed by her ex, separated from her brother, and immobilized by her fear to change anything in her life… until Jack. I loved the premise that these two strangers that should have never met, somehow did, and the world around them stumbled to a halt until they could get their lives together enough to fall in love. It was incredibly sweet to see their last day in the loop, and I adored them both as characters and as a couple.

Writing-wise, the book was very well put together. Even having read an uncorrected proof, there weren’t a lot of typos or grammatical errors. The narrative flowed smoothly, and as crazy as that last day in the loop was, everything fit together seamlessly. This is one of those books that I would happily read again and again just to get to experience that last day with Gemma and Jack. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves time-loop stories.

Book Review: Volunteer 4711

Title: Volunteer 4711

Author: Olympia Black

Genre: Science Fiction, Romance

Rating: 3 Stars

Description/Synopsis:

I was forced to volunteer.
Transported to an alien world.
Stolen by an alien pirate.
I must integrate to gain my freedom.

WARNING – SPOILERS MAY ENSUE BEYOND THIS POINT – REVIEW BELOW

This was an interesting book, but I don’t know that it was categorized right. Although it does contain hints of romance and it definitely contains sex… I wouldn’t call it a romance, because that is not at all what this book was about. There were a lot of different underlying themes in this book, each carefully crafted to present those themes, some more overt than others. It was easy to see that the author put a lot of thought into crafting the story and what happened to Volunteer 4711, though many of these well-thought-out story moments weren’t pleasant. I understand what the author was trying to do, and I think it made a book that was very thought-provoking and interesting to read… but I don’t know that it made it a good book.

The story took place over a long period of time with many jump cuts, and it made sense for the book to take place over a long period, but writing the book this way had its consequences. It meant that the reader didn’t get to see all the ways the main character was forced to acclimatize to her new situation. It didn’t allow for the reader to get an in-depth feel for the relationships between the characters, or the slow build of the romance. It sometimes made the book feel very impersonal and distanced from the reader.

And although I can’t blame it all on the time factor, this was the main reason I had trouble with this book; the romance and interpersonal relationships between the characters didn’t make a lot of sense from the reader’s point of view. There was no flirting and no sexual tension between the commander and Volunteer 4711. Sure, there was some lust here and there, but it felt more like it was a consequence of both of the characters being celibate for an extended period of time than any true attraction between them. It was all very circumstantial, and considering the main character was treated as a slave, and then a servant for almost the entirety of the book (and even after that she was a second-class citizen)… it just didn’t lend itself to convincing the reader that these two people were madly in love.

It may be a small thing to take note of, but I feel like I’d be remiss in not pointing out, that for all the themes this book held regarding freedom, immigration, and adaptation, the book didn’t take time to address the inequality between the sexes in this book. Sure, a distinction was made between the Imperials and the Silvers and how they treated their women, but for a book that spent so much time bringing up important themes, it feels weird that it was never addressed how wrong it was for the women or men to be so ill-treated in the societies. Volunteer 4711 never took the time to explain her own culture, beliefs, or morals to the commander. I understand that she was trying to acclimatize to her surroundings, and she wasn’t on Earth anymore, but that doesn’t make who she is as a person or her experience as a Human meaningless. She is still that person, even if she has evolved. It felt like this point was vastly overlooked. I think if Volunteer 4711 had taken the time to explain these things to the commander, and he had in return taken the time to absorb this information and compromise and talked out their beliefs together, it would have led to a stronger and more believable relationship between the two.

Overall, I’m glad I read the book. It was interesting, but I don’t think I liked it as a romance. It didn’t feel romantic. It felt like the author set aside some pretty important aspects of writing an engaging, enjoyable book in favor of sending a message, and while thought-provoking, social themes don’t necessarily make for a good romance book. There needs to be a balance, and I think this book lacked that balance.

Book Review: The Alien’s Prize

Title: The Alien’s Prize [Warriors of Luxiria 1]

Author: Zoey Draven

Genre: Science Fiction, Romance

Rating: 3 Stars

Description/Synopsis:

Kate Harper finally had everything going on back on Earth: her dream job, a kickass best friend, and an apartment completely void of her cheating ex. That is, until she wakes up, cuffed and naked, on an alien planet/fight club known as the Pit. Worse? Aliens fight to the death to be able to claim their prize: human pleasure mates. Even worse? She realizes she’s one of them.

Vaxa’an, the Prime Leader of Luxiria, has a duty to his warrior species: continue their race. Infamously ruthless and deadly, the Luxirian knows he’ll have no trouble claiming a Breeder at the Pit. What he doesn’t expect to find is his fated mate, with her lush curves and tempting body. And he will stop at nothing to claim her.

When Kate becomes the warrior alpha’s prize, her only goal is getting back to the life she was taken from. Certainly not to fall for the sexy, overbearing barbarian with a wicked tongue, who is determined to make her his own…

WARNING – SPOILERS MAY ENSUE BEYOND THIS POINT – REVIEW BELOW

I fought with myself for a while on what rating to give this book. There were a few things about it – big things – that I didn’t like, but at the same time, there were a lot of things I did.
 
The story started somewhat rocky. Kidnapping, coercion, lies. The introduction of the story had zero lead-ins, and it was startling to be dropped into the story without warning or explanation. The main character was very body-conscious, and of course, had to make a big deal out of being size 14. I hate when stories treat a character’s size like it’s a huge thing. Size 14 is not huge. And since it wasn’t brought up in the story ever again, it felt superfluous to even mention it in the first place.
 
The sex scenes in this book were over-the-top graphic egregious, and a little bit ridiculous. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it is what it is. Just be aware as a reader that this book leans towards the more erotic side of romance fiction. Be prepared for lots of hot alien sex.
 
I didn’t care for the main character – I understand that Kate is in a difficult situation and she’s working with a lot of high emotions during the story, but I feel like the portrayal of her character came across a little more bratty and shallow than the author probably intended her to be. All of Kate’s decisions were based on emotion, not logic, and she was easily swayed by her own internal dialogue. Alien language issues aside, she didn’t really try to communicate with Vaxa’an about her feelings and concerns as thoroughly as she could have, and of course, that led to a lot of miscommunication and drama that felt very contrived.
 
The book wasn’t all bad though. As the story went on, I became invested in its romance. Sure the science of the book made zero sense, and everything was just a bit over the top – but the concept of the story was good, and I liked Vaxa’an and his steadfast devotion to Kate.
 
I liked the book. Despite its faults, I enjoyed the story, and I’d probably pick up the next book in the series. That being said, the story isn’t going to be for everyone. You really have to enjoy this subgenre of alien romances to enjoy this book. It isn’t going to win any literary awards, and I wouldn’t buy a hard copy of it for my shelf, but it’s a fun afternoon read.

Free Fiction Friday #285

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Free Fiction Friday! For those of you who are new to this blog, or who may have missed out on the previous Free Fiction Fridays—every Friday I post an article containing 10 fiction e-books that are 100% FREE on Amazon at the time of posting and an additional 5 that are roughly of the same genre, and on sale for less than $5.

I try my best to make sure they are all 4+ stars, have over 40+ reviews, and are 100 pages minimum—so you can have a hand-picked list of the best-of-the-best to choose from and enjoy over the long weekend (while I do more important things, like laundry). I try to switch up the genres every week, and this week our theme is: Science Fiction and Fantasy!

THE FREE

THE BARGAINS

Book Review: Princess of Prias

Title: Princess of Prias

Author: Courtney Davis

Genre: Science Fiction, Romance

Rating: 1 Star (DNF)

Description/Synopsis:

When Elle is presented with every orphan’s dream, finding out she’s actually a princess, she isn’t sure if she should join the hulking sexy man, Locan, on a spaceship ride, or run screaming from the room because he’s obviously nuts. If it weren’t for the strange things she’d recently encountered, like suddenly gaining star shaped birthmarks and a bracelet that once belonged to her mother lighting up with an eerie green light, she would be out of there already. She has enough questions she wants answered to stay and find out, taking his hand and embarking on a journey across the darkness of space. He says she needs to save their people from her evil uncle. She wants to know where she comes from, who her mother was, and why she never fit in on earth. The path to their home planet isn’t without its bumps. Saving aliens, and earthlings while evading her uncle’s men and dodging the pushy goddesses who want to tell them all what to do. Elle has to learn who she really wants to be and to help Locan become the warrior he was meant to be.

WARNING – SPOILERS MAY ENSUE BEYOND THIS POINT – REVIEW BELOW

I can’t tell you how disappointed I was with this book – but I’m going to try.
 
Although the core premise was interesting, it wasn’t exactly original.  I’ve read it, and I’ve seen it in movies… but at least it was interesting. I didn’t dislike the characters in particular, though to be fair, I didn’t get to know them well.
 
The problem for me with this book was the writing. The narrative was filled with redundancy. The pacing was incredibly rushed. The writing was weak and lacked any sense of poetry or rhythm. It was sub-par, and by the time I hit the end of chapter two, I was ready to throw the book out.  For a book that was released several months ago, it shouldn’t have had as many typos as it did, and it shouldn’t have entire paragraphs where every single sentence starts with the same few words.
 
It just wasn’t good. Maybe as a first draft, I could have forgiven it, but the narrative needed some serious filling out and professional editing to polish it up.
 
Some readers will be able to look past these technical aspects of the story and continue to enjoy the plot… but I’m not one of them. I couldn’t enjoy it, and honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Book Review: Ashfall Prophecy

Title: Ashfall Prophecy [Ashfall 2]

Author: Pittacus Lore

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

Rating: 1 Star (DNF)

Description/Synopsis:

Syd Chambers grew up on Earth with his human mother and barely remembers his alien father from Denza, who left on a mission when Syd was very young. After leaving Earth, Syd learned the truth of his father’s disappearance on the planet Ashfall–his father had died protecting a devastating secret about the history between humans and Denzans.

Syd is now faced with a choice–free humanity from imprisonment on Earth, which will allow them to come into physical power beyond their wildest dreams; or destroy Earth so that humans never have a chance to enslave, torment, and kill other species again. It has been prophesied that Syd is destined to become a world-killer, but Syd is determined to choose his own fate, and knows there must be another path forward that will honor his father’s sacrifice.

WARNING – SPOILERS MAY ENSUE BEYOND THIS POINT – REVIEW BELOW

I’ll admit, I made a mistake when I picked up this book. I was given an ARC copy, unaware that this was the 2nd book in the series, so going into it, I was confused and overwhelmed by the amount of information the author seemingly glossed over. There were tons of lore and alien names and creatures, and some sort of big event that had just happened, and I was scrambling to figure out how I ended up being dropped into the middle of a scene without any idea what was going on.
 
This is not a standalone book by any means, and I would certainly not recommend anyone pick it up without reading the previous book – because you will be confused. I struggled for two chapters to try and make sense of the book, who the characters were, and what was happening, and it was like stumbling through a receding tide.
 
And I’ll admit, the book didn’t open in a way that made me want to read it. The first chapter – more of a prologue of sorts, was written in 2nd person point-of-view, and I very nearly threw the book aside right then and there. It was incredibly jarring to have the narrator tell me what I was seeing and feeling and thinking – it’s an incredibly invasive narrative style. Had the book continued in this manner, I would have stopped reading after the first sentence – but luckily the rest of the book was written from a more standard 1st person point-of-view. I have no idea why the author made this stylistic choice, but I loathed it.
 
In the end, I DNF’d the book. It was confusing, and there was no sort of lay-up of information for readers to be eased into the story if they’d missed the first book. I didn’t feel sucked into the story, and I couldn’t identify with any of the characters. This is partly my fault, for picking up the series out of order, but it’s also partly the author’s fault. I am a firm believer that any book should stand alone in some sense – because you can’t control when a reader will pick up a series, and this book just couldn’t stand on its own. It was tiring and boring to try and figure out what was happening, and the author did nothing to ease the transition of the reader into the story. I’m giving this book a hard pass.

Book Review: The Alien Trade

Title: The Alien Trade [The Galaxy’s Most Hunted 1]

Author: Phoebe Harlowe

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

Rating: 4 Stars

Description/Synopsis:

Keen has one goal—find a woman with a very unique gift and give her to the warlord who owns him, thereby repaying his debt and buying his freedom. One woman in all the galaxies can free him and his crew from a dark fate. He just needs to find her, and time is running out.

Tasha has one goal—save her best friend’s life by selling herself to whatever alien occupier is willing to make a trade that gets her best friend the care she needs. She just has to find some alien worthy of trust, enough to believe he will honor the trade. And time is running out.
One kiss proves she’s the one.

One kiss proves he can be trusted.

But can Keen give her up when she awakens something in him he thought was dead?

And can Tasha let him go, when she feels more connected to him than anyone in her life?

But the warlord is vengeful, and he is waiting. And time is running out.

WARNING – SPOILERS MAY ENSUE BEYOND THIS POINT – REVIEW BELOW

I’m not generally a huge fan of science fiction/space opera stories, but I had a lot of fun with this one.
 
The characters were unique and interesting, and the writing was clear and easy to follow. Tasha and Keen made a great couple, and the world-building was fantastic.
 
My only real problem with the story was the pacing of the romance – it felt like the book leaned a little too heavily on the instant love of Tasha and Keen based on these unknown magical abilities Tasha possessed. Although Tasha was a good person, their relationship outside of that instant love just wasn’t covered very well. They only knew each other for a few short days and everyone around them just kind of accepted their relationship like the intensity of it was normal – even though it was incredibly problematic to their safety.
 
That aside, the book was great. It was fun and filled with understated, but spicy romance. I just wish the romance had been a little more substantial.

Free Fiction Friday #281

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Free Fiction Friday! For those of you who are new to this blog, or who may have missed out on the previous Free Fiction Fridays—every Friday I post an article containing 10 fiction e-books that are 100% FREE on Amazon at the time of posting and an additional 5 that are roughly of the same genre, and on sale for less than $5.

I try my best to make sure they are all 4+ stars, have over 40+ reviews, and are 100 pages minimum—so you can have a hand-picked list of the best-of-the-best to choose from and enjoy over the long weekend (while I do more important things, like laundry). I try to switch up the genres every week, and this week our theme is: Young Adult Science Fiction & Fantasy!

THE FREE

THE BARGAINS