greystory's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I waffled on reading this for a bit - something about the cover and the blurb mentioning the LAPD put me off - but I finally gave in. Overall, it had some good worldbuilding, great sci fi and human introduction to aliens, and I really enjoyed the characters outside of the main two. I'll continue the series but I'm looking forward more to book 3 about Dr Ahlberg than I am continuing Olivia's story in book 2.
There was something bothering me about Olivia Loxley for the first half or so that I couldn't put my finger on at first. Eventually, I realized I was annoyed with her "analysis" and behavior. She was constantly being touted as being super smart by everyone, and promoted to high hell after one mission, but then her analysis felt very obvious and basic (to me) and she made some very dumb decisions. Like yes, smart people can make dumb mistakes but these were like, flagrantly stupid thought-out choices, not a clumsy mistake. Repeatedly. It got frustrating!
When it comes to Thelonius Atarian, I liked him well enough but I don't know that he was really given that much personality. The few times we get to see him being true to himself in the beginning and in the end were very enjoyable. Unfortunately, he spends most of the book being an uncommunicative ding dong refusing to have an adult conversation. That's already not my favorite way to drum up conflict but it also dragged on wayyy too long given this book is over 300 pages and it's literally not until almost 300 pages that he finally has to have a real discussion. On the bright side, he did sound cute. (Venandi are clearly meant to look something like Garrus or Turians from Mass Effect)
Despite the "build up" of having lessons on sexual intimacy, there really wasn't any true build up between the characters. Time passes but we don't SEE it pass as the reader. Besides the dumb bed sharing (which was like the one bed trope but done poorly in my opinion - I've never climbed on top of somebody and start riding them like a bull IN MY SLEEP before so forgive me if I feel that pushes the bounds of believability), their interactions are public and/or professional and like MAYBE a tiny bit flirty, at most. So when Atarian is struggling to control himself over the human he barely knows and Olivia is suddenly daydreaming about sex with Atarian half way through the book despite knowing even less about him, it felt like instalust even though I don't think it was meant to. Since that happens at around 175 pages in, we should have definitely had opportunity to see that build up.
When they DO finally hook up, it's kinda public which is becoming a minor pet peeve of mine. Like they're so lust addled they can't be respectful of other people around and their surroundings. Between my annoyance, my low-key fear that they were going to be interrupted, the worrying lack of lubrication or slow-going despite size difference.. it was kinda lackluster for me, and then ended way too soon on a sour note. The sex after that was also kinda eh.
Honestly the biggest thing I probably loved most about this book was all the side characters!!
I love Decima Atarian but I'm not sure if she should have been two different characters or maybe she was taken just a little too far? There's appeal in having someone that knows Thelonius Atarian on a familial/personal level outside of a professional relationship (besides Vindilus) AND in having someone willing to do a little gossip with Olivia, but who asks for sexy details about their cousin?? Lol wtf?
PomPom was cute. I liked PomPom and Vindilus's relationship. PomPom reminds me of Ed from Cowboy Bebop so I wonder if that would make Vindilus like Jet? I liked Vindilus a lot as well and look forward to presumably seeing more of him in the next book.
TS Sule was also cute! Marcella! Naitee and Rambir! () Dr Ahlberg! Ezraji also squeezed in there at the end. They all had such great moments to shine in their own little scenes.
There were some minor editing errors and inconsistencies, things that aren't mentioned but should have been. ()
There's some weird font color changes. I thought they were intentional and meant something at first but as the book went on, but it was inconsistent, they sometimes happened mid-sentence, and it didn't make sense. I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that these are all first book shenanigans and things will get smoother as the series continues.
I was also confused about some of the species descriptions. FIRST, let me say that I appreciated the pronunciation and quick reference guide to the species and characters at the front. I referred back to it multiple times while reading and it was helpful for sure.
Now - Mandibles is used to describe the Venandi mouths, so I pictured them more insect or Predator like. While technically the lower human jaw is the mandible, if you wanted to say it looked like that, you'd probably call it a jaw or not even make note of it since it wouldn't be different from a human one. So I was rather confused when I looked up artwork by the author to see that the character doesn't look like it has the mandibles I'm picturing. In fact, between the artwork and book descriptions, I'm still not sure what they're really supposed to look like. I feel like they could have been described in more detail from the get-go instead of saying "mandible" and assuming everyone will picture it the same way. Also confusing, the Advenans are described as being scaled and having gills, but their picture looks like fur or possibly feathers(?) with nostrils and no gills. ????
Last but not least, there's no cliffhanger but the whole mission subplot is not fully resolved by the end. There's questions brought up when the bad guy is captured that are never answered. I'm hoping that means they'll be addressed in book 2 but it would have been nice for there to have been SOME mention of it here, like a "Yes, such and such organization is looking into it." or "We're expected to receive more information about that in a few weeks." Something!
Trigger Warning: I can handle a lot of stuff but my personal lines are drawn at eyeballs and nails and both are included in this. There's torture used at one point (page 158) that includes needles and poison inserted under the fingernails. Later (pages 243, 264) there's eye surgery (under anesthesia) and some medical poking at eyeballs (while wide awake).
There was something bothering me about Olivia Loxley for the first half or so that I couldn't put my finger on at first. Eventually, I realized I was annoyed with her "analysis" and behavior. She was constantly being touted as being super smart by everyone, and promoted to high hell after one mission, but then her analysis felt very obvious and basic (to me) and she made some very dumb decisions. Like yes, smart people can make dumb mistakes but these were like, flagrantly stupid thought-out choices, not a clumsy mistake. Repeatedly. It got frustrating!
When it comes to Thelonius Atarian, I liked him well enough but I don't know that he was really given that much personality. The few times we get to see him being true to himself in the beginning and in the end were very enjoyable. Unfortunately, he spends most of the book being an uncommunicative ding dong refusing to have an adult conversation. That's already not my favorite way to drum up conflict but it also dragged on wayyy too long given this book is over 300 pages and it's literally not until almost 300 pages that he finally has to have a real discussion. On the bright side, he did sound cute. (Venandi are clearly meant to look something like Garrus or Turians from Mass Effect)
Despite the "build up" of having lessons on sexual intimacy, there really wasn't any true build up between the characters. Time passes but we don't SEE it pass as the reader. Besides the dumb bed sharing (which was like the one bed trope but done poorly in my opinion - I've never climbed on top of somebody and start riding them like a bull IN MY SLEEP before so forgive me if I feel that pushes the bounds of believability), their interactions are public and/or professional and like MAYBE a tiny bit flirty, at most. So when Atarian is struggling to control himself over the human he barely knows and Olivia is suddenly daydreaming about sex with Atarian half way through the book despite knowing even less about him, it felt like instalust even though I don't think it was meant to. Since that happens at around 175 pages in, we should have definitely had opportunity to see that build up.
When they DO finally hook up, it's kinda public which is becoming a minor pet peeve of mine. Like they're so lust addled they can't be respectful of other people around and their surroundings. Between my annoyance, my low-key fear that they were going to be interrupted, the worrying lack of lubrication or slow-going despite size difference.. it was kinda lackluster for me, and then ended way too soon on a sour note. The sex after that was also kinda eh.
Honestly the biggest thing I probably loved most about this book was all the side characters!!
I love Decima Atarian but I'm not sure if she should have been two different characters or maybe she was taken just a little too far? There's appeal in having someone that knows Thelonius Atarian on a familial/personal level outside of a professional relationship (besides Vindilus) AND in having someone willing to do a little gossip with Olivia, but who asks for sexy details about their cousin?? Lol wtf?
PomPom was cute. I liked PomPom and Vindilus's relationship. PomPom reminds me of Ed from Cowboy Bebop so I wonder if that would make Vindilus like Jet? I liked Vindilus a lot as well and look forward to presumably seeing more of him in the next book.
TS Sule was also cute! Marcella! Naitee and Rambir! (
Spoiler
When Naitee managed to print a Sari and wear it that first night on Yaspur - ugh, my heartThere were some minor editing errors and inconsistencies, things that aren't mentioned but should have been. (
Spoiler
Like on Yaspur when Olivia is wearing a cocktail dress and has removed the black film over her eyes, it's not mentioned she's wearing gloves until after she's hooking up with Atarian and not until the next chapter does she off handedly mention that she'd been wearing contacts before.There's some weird font color changes. I thought they were intentional and meant something at first but as the book went on, but it was inconsistent, they sometimes happened mid-sentence, and it didn't make sense. I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that these are all first book shenanigans and things will get smoother as the series continues.
I was also confused about some of the species descriptions. FIRST, let me say that I appreciated the pronunciation and quick reference guide to the species and characters at the front. I referred back to it multiple times while reading and it was helpful for sure.
Now - Mandibles is used to describe the Venandi mouths, so I pictured them more insect or Predator like. While technically the lower human jaw is the mandible, if you wanted to say it looked like that, you'd probably call it a jaw or not even make note of it since it wouldn't be different from a human one. So I was rather confused when I looked up artwork by the author to see that the character doesn't look like it has the mandibles I'm picturing. In fact, between the artwork and book descriptions, I'm still not sure what they're really supposed to look like. I feel like they could have been described in more detail from the get-go instead of saying "mandible" and assuming everyone will picture it the same way. Also confusing, the Advenans are described as being scaled and having gills, but their picture looks like fur or possibly feathers(?) with nostrils and no gills. ????
Last but not least, there's no cliffhanger but the whole mission subplot is not fully resolved by the end. There's questions brought up when the bad guy is captured that are never answered. I'm hoping that means they'll be addressed in book 2 but it would have been nice for there to have been SOME mention of it here, like a "Yes, such and such organization is looking into it." or "We're expected to receive more information about that in a few weeks." Something!
Trigger Warning: I can handle a lot of stuff but my personal lines are drawn at eyeballs and nails and both are included in this. There's torture used at one point (page 158) that includes needles and poison inserted under the fingernails. Later (pages 243, 264) there's eye surgery (under anesthesia) and some medical poking at eyeballs (while wide awake).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Sexual content, Child abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Trafficking
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