Fatal Extraction (Chikara Revolution, #1) by Evangeline Rain – Review

Tags

4.5 stars, Book Review, Evangeline Rain, interplanetary conflict, pirates, scifi romance, series, spaceship

About Fatal Extraction by Evangeline Rain

Nirvana Faust had led her crew of space pirates through years of successful raids without a hitch but now her lucky streak had ended. She’d flown straight into an ambush laid by the General of Panderon, from whom she had stolen weapons eight years ago. He would prosecute her for her crime unless she was willing to take on a mission for him – infiltrate the stronghold of Chikara and extract the war plans.

In order for the mission to succeed, she would need help from the man who had defected from Chikara. She was expecting to work with a seasoned soldier, not a much younger man who looked like he’d spent more time with books than guns.

But Nirvana should have known better than to judge a book by its cover.

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Review of Fatal Extraction

Fatal Extraction has a futuristic setting, spaceships, and interplanetary conflict mixed with a romantic pair.  This debut by author Evangeline Rain is solid Scifi Romance and should appeal to readers of that genre.

Nirvana is a likable heroine.  Strong, both physically and mentally, she is a pirate who turns her ill-gotten gains into humanitarian aid.  Her eclectic crew is loyal and play almost as important a role as the hero, Zane.

At first glance, Zane is just a geek who ran away from Daddy.  But there is much more to the young man.  To start, Daddy – Chorax Hayashi – is, at best a dictator, but despot may be a better word.  Power hungry, Hayashi steals his people’s resources to feed his quest for power.  Zane running from Hayashi is an act of rebellion – defection in order to help his people.

I found Nirvana and Zane to be an odd match.  For one thing, there is the age difference.  Zane is early twenties, Nirvana is thirty-six.  Also, Zane has this terrible tendency to, uh, forget to tell some of the details, while Nirvana is pretty straight-forward.  But Zane is incredibly intelligent and that is quite sexy.  However, for the record, I will state that I did not like Zane.  This is not a criticism of the book.  Zane is not the first hero I have run across that I could not sympathize with.  Zane is who he was meant to be to have his critical place in this story.

I have one teensy little complaint.  Early in the book, Zane removes a tracker from the ship they will travel on and then pitches out “out of the window”.  From the command center (cockpit).  In a space-faring ship.  And then they just take off, leave the planet’s atmosphere and soar into space.  Chucking things out of the window on a spaceship should not be that easy.  After that, I decided not to pay too much attention to the sciency details and enjoy the story.

The plot is nicely complex, involving leaders of two worlds on the brink of war.  Nirvana, her crew, and her former lover as well as Zane and at least one of his brothers are all vital characters that carry the action and story from start to finish.  The author has set up an interesting corner of the galaxy where the action is not about to die down.  Fatal Extraction is billed as book 1 in the Chikara Revolution series.  Looking for a new Scif Romance series?  I recommend you check out Fatal Extraction.

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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The Princess by Ariel MacArran – Book Review

Tags

5 stars, Ariel MacArran, criminal organization, pirates, scifi, scifi romance, spaceship

Reviewed by Riley

About The Princess

Jehan might have been born Az-kye but growing up in exile as the son of a disgraced warrior has left him with nothing but contempt for his own kind. Caught in a storm at the edge of Tellaran space he answers a distress call barely in time to save the ship’s sole survivor—an Az-kye slave girl, Liri.

Though living in the Badlands has taught Jehan not to care about anyone but himself, he soon finds that rescuing this lovely creature is turning into a habit. But the woman who calls herself Liri isn’t who she says she is and loving her might just get him killed…

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Review of The Princess

As a fan of this series, I had to read The Princess, book 4 in Ariel MacArran’s Telleran series. I just had to. You see, book 3, The Consort, kind of sets you up for the events in book 4.  And I liked book 3 so…..

Having said that, I must also tell you that both books do stand alone. Reading one or the other is fine. But if you think you might read both, start with book 3.

For me, the universe of the Telleran series is the draw. The Az-kye homeworld and its complex but ancient society are the backdrop for the political events leading up to and encompassing the story in The Princess. Steeped in history and tradition, the caste-based society is ripe for conflict and maybe even a bit of upset. The interesting thing is, most of the action of The Princess does not even occur on the Az-kye world, but that culture is diffused throughout the story.

During an attack on Princess Saria’s ship, Jehan Dekra boards, with rescue in mind. Not rescue of people. No, Jehan is a pirate and is determined to “rescue” the valuable ship’s crystals. On the way to engineering, Jehan runs into Saria, now in servant’s clothing. Maintaining the servant ruse and renamed Liri, the princess convinces Jehan to take her with him. And so the adventure begins.

Most of the action takes place on the Telleran world of Halea. A world ruled by a corrupt government, Halea is the home of Tellerans and a few Azk-Kye, pirates and criminals. The criminal organization, the Brethren, is run by the ruthless Helock. The Brethren are not above betrayal in order to move up in the organization, encouraged as they are by Helock. Jehan has a tenuous business arrangement with Helock, but circumstances force him into a more permanent association with the Brethren. Which leads to Jehan and Liri being surrounded by people they can never trust. The dilemma lends an edginess to the story. It feels like any situation could erupt into something violent, or unexpected and most certainly, undesirable.

When I read The Consort, I noticed a particularly Star Trek-like scene. In The Princess, Star Trek returns. Though in a bit of a reverse scenario. Helock has modeled the Brethren organization after the Az-kye government. This criminal organization modeled after a government reminded me of the Star Trek episode A Piece of the Action, in which a government is modeled after 1920’s gangsters. The overall theory is “fascinating” (to quote Mr. Spock) – the fact that criminal organizations and government are not really all that different and have the potential to blur if the line between them is not solid enough.

The Princess is not just action. It is also a romance. The situation on Halea brings Jehan and Lira closer together. All the while Lira maintains her facade, telling herself that this relationship with Jehan cannot be anything but temporary. But, romance will prove her wrong. The question is, just how can a space pirate and an Az-kye princess ever be anything but ships passing in the dark of space. Jehan will go to personal great lengths to prove to Lira/Saria that he is the one for The Princess. I loved the romance part of this book!

When you add the romance to the politics, action and spaceships, you get a SciFi Romance that any reader of this genre could enjoy. I think the entire Telleran series is great, so I recommend you read them all. Any of them could be read as a standalone though, including The Princess.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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And now, for a little extra, here is a bit of A Piece of the Action:

Rege’s Rescue by Dena Garson

Tags

5 stars, Adventure, Dena Garson, scifi romance, spaceship, true love

 

I was kind of iffy on reading this book. I’m wasn’t looking for a book to read – I have many books on my e-reader and my shelf that are unread! Should I even add a new-to-me author to my reading list at this point?

Luckily, my sub-conscious nudged me to go forward with Rege’s Rescue. Sometimes I just need to stop thinking so much and go with my feelings. It can pay off just like it did when I read this book!

Speaking of going with feelings, in Rege’s Rescue, Rege and Amethe need to figure out how to do that too. We’ve all seen it. Two people who are obviously developing feelings for each other, but they think of a million reasons why it will never work. In Rege’s Rescue, it will take about 230 pages for the heroine and hero to figure out the payoff, but it is so worth watching them do it. In the meantime, Rege and Amethe will have some adventures, get into trouble and need saving. And repeat! The book is mostly romance, but there is a lot of fun and danger along the way.

Rege and Amethe are personality opposites. Rege is dark and, dare I say, brooding. Convinced his past has made him no good. Amethe is light and cheerful, despite the nasty situation she has gotten thrown into. She has had the advantage of having a family that has made sure her life has been decent. Amethe sees the good in everyone. Is this an opposites attract romance? I don’t think so. While Rege may be drawn to Amethe’s inherent goodheartedness, I don’t think Amethe is looking at Rege’s dark past. She sees the man who rescued her in the present.

There is not much of a back story here. Rege’s past is murky as is the history of the group of men he has banded with to save the universe from evil. Amethe’s father and brother also have critical roles, but not much character development. These were just things I considered after I had read the book and did not detract from the story. Like I said, the book is mostly romance. A well developed heroine and a complex hero were all that was necessary to enjoy Rege’s Rescue.

You should consider reading Rege’s Rescue if you like a romance in a futuristic setting, space ships, tough guys, strong women, buddies, family, danger, adventure and a happily ever after!

My copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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About Rege’s Rescue

Rege Rovnitov battled his way out of the darkest hell hole in the charted universe to become the best tracker in four galaxies. Fighting injustice, he and his brotherhood have spent their lives with one foot on the shady side of the law. When the daughter of one of his allies is abducted by slavers, he offers his skills to bring her home. On such a dark and dangerous mission, he never expected to find a woman full of goodness and light.

After years in the spotlight as an interstellar songbird, Amethe Madigan only wants to regain a normal life. Her plans are upended when a band of slavers take her captive and drag her to the galactic port known as Sin City. With Rege’s help, she narrowly escapes being sold to the highest bidder, or worse, turned over to whoever ordered her kidnapping. As they race across galaxies evading her mysterious abductor’s attempts to possess her, she makes the mistake of falling in love with a man whose idea of a normal life is anything but safe.

Rege promised to rescue Amethe but she could be his salvation from a dark and lonely existence. In the end it won’t matter who saved whom. Where love is concerned, it’s winner takes all.

 

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About Dena Garon

Dena Garson is an award winning author of contemporary, paranormal and fantasy romance. Her sixth book, Mystic’s Touch, won the 2015 Passionate Plume for Futuristic/Fantasy/Sci-Fi as well as the 2015 Reader’s Choice Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Time Travel. Ghostly Persuasion was a finalist in the 2014 Passionate Ink contest and the 2014 Reader’s Choice Award.

When she isn’t writing you can find her at her jewelry workbench playing with beads. She is also a devoted Whovian and Dallas Cowboys fan.

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