Peace Maker (Verdant String, #6) by Michelle Diener – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Michelle Diener, romance, scifi, scifi romance, series

Review of Peace Maker

Fjern is off the beaten path when it come to the Verdant String. When it was settled, the ancestors sent the Gyra with them for protection. Gyr are the Fjern who have been changed by the gyra nano-technology. It makes them stronger and faster. Fliss has lived in a remote part of the world and never been exposed to the Gyr culture. She is not like the typical Gyr in many ways. When she leaves home to join a Gyr team, her ‘sponsor’ Dakar, keeps the fact that she is Gyr secret from his team. Dakar’s death launches Fliss into a situation where she will need to learn fast.

Han, the leader of a Gyr team sent to investigate Dakar’s death, is immediately drawn to Fliss. And she is drawn to him. And their gyra are drawn to each other.

While the Gyr are dealing with the death of Dakar and the new Gyr who is different from them, their world has already been quietly invaded by aliens who are on Fjern to steal resources. Fliss is lured to their base in a trap, Han is looking for Fliss and Gyr command (composed of non-Gyr) is trying to maintain an arcane status quo. Things are about to get interesting ….. and dangerous.

I loved these characters. Fliss is quiet, and not likely to take any crap. Han is the great leader with a well-honed team of fellow Gyr. These characters are well-developed with just enough background and are further shaped by the events of the story. The complication of a stogy old Gyr command who seem to be interested only in power, adds a political aspect to the action-packed adventure.

When I read the last book of the Verdant String series, Wave Rider, I said it was my favorite in the series. Well, now I have a new favorite – Peace Maker!

Many thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book. My review is my honest opinion.

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About Peace Maker by Michelle Diener

Fliss knows all about her ancestors, the Travelers, who were forced to land on Fjern thousands of years ago, but when it comes to the Gyr—the enhanced warriors who protect the people of Fjern from the monsters that inhabit the planet—she’s in the dark, even though she is one herself. There’s plenty of ceremony and arcane tradition set up around who receives the gyra—the nanotech that makes the warriors the super-protectors that they are—but Fliss doesn’t care about any of that, she just wants to brush off the dust of the tiny mining settlement she’s been protecting all her life and leave the combative relationship she has with her father far behind her.

When the Gyr who offered her a way out of her old life dies in spectacular fashion, though, she comes to the attention of a host of powerful people, both the Gyr and the administrators from the institution that controls them, alike. Fliss is about to find out more about the Gyr—and herself—than she ever dreamed of.

Gyr leader, Hannu Kardenian, thought he was being called to investigate the strange death of a fellow warrior, but what he finds instead is a woman who breaks every rule he’s ever lived by. Everything about her sets his own gyra on fire, and when she comes to the attention of Gyr Command—the institution that mandates the Gyr’s very existence—he is determined to make sure she never ends up in their clutches, even if he has to upend the very structure of Fjern itself.

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Dance with the Devil (Mercenary Librarians, #3) by Kit Rocha – Review

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4 stars, Atlanta, Book Review, Kit Rocha, librarian, Post Apocalyptic, scifi, scifi romance, series

Review of Dance with the Devil

The Mercenary Librarians series has rarely been about lending books.  Oh, there is the occasional acquiring of books and subsequent lending of them.  But what is really going on is all about the need for people like the mercenary librarians. 

In a futuristic post-apocalyptic Atlanta, those in power are obscenely wealthy and viciously powerful.  They hoard technology and use unscrupulous methods to control the masses.  The heroines and heroes of this series amass a book collection while they protect their community and strive to fight the good fight as they reset the balance of power. 

While all that is going on, there are romances blossoming.  Before Dance with the Devil begins, Dani and Rafe have already begun to hopelessly fall for each other.  You know.  I know it.  Their friends know.  It just takes the pair a while to give in to the idea.  While they infiltrate Atlanta power circles, they do the dance (with each other and the devil).  While under cover, they happen upon Rafe’s sister Tessa, who is in her own world of trouble.  The addition of Rafe’s family, along with Rainbow (from the last book) top off the story with a lovely layer of heartwarming emotion.

This third book in the series brings back almost every character from the first two books.  I’m not a fan of a crowded cast of characters, but in this case, one might argue it was necessary.  The story appears to build to a possible series ending showdown, but the last few pages tease the reader with a conceivable future storyline. 

Fans of post-apocalyptic fiction who like a little romance in their scifi should consider this series.  Dance with the Devil is best read after reading the first two books.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book. My review is my honest opinion. 

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About Dance with the Devil by Kit Rocha

Tobias Richter, the fearsome VP of Security of the TechCorps is dead. The puppetmaster is gone and the organization is scrambling to maintain control by ruthlessly limiting Atlanta’s access to resources, hoping to quell rebellion. Our band of mercenary librarians have decided that the time for revolution has come.

Maya uses her wealth of secrets to weaken the TechCorps from within. Dani strikes from the shadows, picking off the chain of command one ambush at a time. And Nina is organizing their community—not just to survive, but to fight back. When Maya needs to make contact with a sympathetic insider, Dani and Rafe are the only ones with the skill-set and experience to infiltrate the highest levels of the TechCorps. They’ll go deep undercover in the decadent, luxury-soaked penthouses on the Hill.

Bringing Dani face-to-face with the man who turned her into a killer. And forcing Rafe to decide how far he’ll go to protect both of his families—the one he was born to, and the one he made for himself.

Victory will break the back of Power. Failure will destroy Atlanta.

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Eclipse the Moon (Starlight’s Shadow, #2) by Jessie Mihalik – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, hacker, Jessie Mihalik, romance, scifi, scifi romance, series

Review of Eclipse the Moon

Eclipse the Moon is a worthy follow up to Hunt the Stars.  The overall story arc is about our heroines and heroes doing everything in their power to avoid a return to the war between the Humans and the Valoffs. 

To that end, a crew that includes multi-talented people of both species searches for a human traitor who seems to be in the thick of war-instigating activities.  Kee, Starlight’s Shadow’s systems engineer, is an expert in digging up data (hacking) and had been spending most of her time looking for the traitor while simultaneously trying to avoid Varro. 

Varro is the telepathic Valovian weapons expert that wants nothing to do with Kee, while she is strongly attracted to him.  When they both end up on a space station digging for information, sparks will fly.  Mix in a first-of-its-kind Human/Valoff collaborative fashion exhibition, an attack and kidnapping of several of the exhibition personalities, and you find Kee and Varro spending some quality time together, saving the universe and fighting/giving into attraction. 

The relationship is challenged by a frustrating lack of understanding and communication.  Kee and Varro must overcome this deficiency not only in their romantic relationship but also in the battles they will inevitably engage in before the happy ending.  For most of the book, they are separated from their crew which was a little disappointing because the crew of Starlight’s Shadow make a great ensemble, story-wise.  They all work best as a crew! 

Kee, is a first-rate hacker.  A lot of the story describes her activities in trying to dig up information.  Let me just say this.  Hacking. Is. Boring.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love a good geeky character.  But reading about wires and data and signals and stuff like that is not interesting.  

Reading about chasing the kidnappers, engaging the enemy, overcoming the enemy, and sorting out the intrigue is interesting.  The romance between Kee and Varro that is nicely interwoven into the adventure is also great to read about.

Eclipse the Moon ends with a teaser about the crew’s next mission.  The story continues!  The Starlight’s Shadow series is for Sci-fi Romance lovers.  Plenty of adventure and intrigue with a romance that enhances the story will have readers eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book.  My review is my honest opinion.

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About Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik

Kee Ildez has been many things: hacker, soldier, bounty hunter. She never expected to be a hero, but when a shadowy group of traitors starts trying to goad the galaxy’s two superpowers into instigating an interstellar war, Kee throws herself into the search to find out who is responsible—and stop them.

Digging up hidden information is her job, so hunting traitors should be a piece of cake, but the primary suspect spent years in the military, and someone powerful is still covering his tracks. Disrupting their plans will require the help of her entire team, including Varro Runkow, a Valovian weapons expert who makes her pulse race.

Quiet, grumpy, and incredibly handsome, Varro watches her with hot eyes but ignores all of her flirting, so Kee silently vows to keep her feelings strictly platonic. But that vow will be put to the test when she and Varro are forced to leave the safety of their ship and venture into enemy territory alone.

Cut off from the rest of their team, they must figure out how to work together—and fast—because a single misstep will cost thousands of lives.

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