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delitealex's review
4.0
I loved the world with all the different creatures and beings. Learning about how they travel space through grimspace and people with the J gene was interesting. I did find Sirantha whiny at times though. I will be reading the next book to find out what happens next.
wyvernfriend's review
3.0
Not a bad story, in fact that both myself and my husband read. It reminds me of older sf with a smidge more romance involved. However I think the romance was the weakest part of the book.
Sirantha Jax is a grimspace navigator. One of the few. She's almost burnt out, like all navigators do, eventually, and is accused of something she's not sure if she's guilty or not and there are plots within plots. March comes into her life and he has a job for her, a job that could cost her her life, but with him also comes love.
I didn't really get that the love was truly believable, it didn't grow well enough to convince me. However I did like that the characters came across as flawed and realistic and interesting. I would read more in this series but wouldn't hunt it up.
Sirantha Jax is a grimspace navigator. One of the few. She's almost burnt out, like all navigators do, eventually, and is accused of something she's not sure if she's guilty or not and there are plots within plots. March comes into her life and he has a job for her, a job that could cost her her life, but with him also comes love.
I didn't really get that the love was truly believable, it didn't grow well enough to convince me. However I did like that the characters came across as flawed and realistic and interesting. I would read more in this series but wouldn't hunt it up.
janivewe's review against another edition
4.0
It was mostly a 5 stars book until it wasn't.
I don't think people rate books 5 stars because they are perfect but because it entices them in a way they'll never forget.
This book started out being absolutely awesome. It had great characters (loved the main lead), extremely good plot, it never got boring, fast paced, good world building and it was filled with humor. It had everything I liked in a book and it would have been a five stars book if it weren't for its ending.
.
I might complain a bit more later on.
Happy reading everyone!
I don't think people rate books 5 stars because they are perfect but because it entices them in a way they'll never forget.
This book started out being absolutely awesome. It had great characters (loved the main lead), extremely good plot, it never got boring, fast paced, good world building and it was filled with humor. It had everything I liked in a book and it would have been a five stars book if it weren't for its ending.
Spoiler
I hate convenient endingsI might complain a bit more later on.
Happy reading everyone!
mairelon's review
2.0
2.5 stars.
This was a weird one for me. I've said before that I find it very hard to reach overly snarky/"baddass"/bitchy female characters so often found in adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but this was a mild dose of that.
What I struggled with were some of the narrative decisions around one scene that felt really strange to me.It's a lot of really heavy stuff part-way through the book that feels really glossed over. It just didn't work for me.
This was a weird one for me. I've said before that I find it very hard to reach overly snarky/"baddass"/bitchy female characters so often found in adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but this was a mild dose of that.
What I struggled with were some of the narrative decisions around one scene that felt really strange to me.
Spoiler
After waking a baby alien from its gestation they take the baby on board and try and raise him. We're told a number of times how attached March was, after essentially breastfeeding the baby for a month. Then Jax goes and shoots the baby dead during a hostage situation. While she feels bad about it, it doesn't feel like it's satisfactorily addressed in story? And to add to the scene, the enslaved man who she was forced to take ownership over decides to "go out on his own terms" by sacrificing himself for his master, which just felt... weird? And to top it all off, this is after discovering a forced breeding facility where women are kept sedated and pregnant by a pirate warlord and they just do... nothing about it.caterina_1212's review against another edition
Audiobook was not great, might be better read as print.
mothkeeper's review
4.0
WARNING! There are a few spoilers here and there. I tried to keep it to a minimum.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, it was paced a bit oddly at times, but overall it was well-written with characters that piqued my interest throughout. Aguirre seems to have good hold of her characters, keeping their personalities well intact while tossing interesting twists into the story. I like that Jax was more than just a gutsy, headstrong woman - she was more than that and it kept you wondering where her story would lead.
Aguirre also did fantastically with the side characters, she made them characters who you loved and wanted to know more about. Doc Saul never ceased to be interesting, Dina is wonderfully gritty and March was a great example of a good male lead.
I found her way of individualizing each of the characters by making them have their own unique personalities and giving you reasons to like or dislike them in a more natural way was nice. For example, Loras seemed to be a bit of an enigma. You wanted to pity him and his existence given what was forced on his people. But then, Jax gave him a new reason to exist, she gave him a choice and he chose to be a white knight of sorts. He still made a sacrifice, but it was not simply to protect Jax - it was because he did what he wanted to do.
And then there are characters like Doc Saul. He's a pretty interesting guy, he comes off as all about the science. All about learning what he can learn. But under all that you can see he truly cares about everyone in the group. He is far more than he puts himself out there to be, and it makes me want to continue the story so I can discover more about him.
I loved how the sex scenes did not overpower the storyline, which can often happen with the genre of romantic novels. No matter if it's sci-fi, fantasy, etc. It did not appear at all to be the focal point of the story, which was refreshing. Yes it occurred, but it was never over done. It never overtook a moment in the story. You can go through most of the novel without encountering it and even when it comes about it feels far more naturally placed that a lot in it's genre.
I have all intents to continue with this book series, even if the first was simply for a book club. I am ever curious to know what lies ahead for Jax and the gang; as well as what is to come for the world Aguirre created with such a secret being revealed to the masses. What will the Farwan Corp do to save face? What can they do, really?
(After some thinking, I decided to add a little more to this review about my overall opinion of some of the characters and put forth some more detail. With as few spoiler-y comments as I can manage.)
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, it was paced a bit oddly at times, but overall it was well-written with characters that piqued my interest throughout. Aguirre seems to have good hold of her characters, keeping their personalities well intact while tossing interesting twists into the story. I like that Jax was more than just a gutsy, headstrong woman - she was more than that and it kept you wondering where her story would lead.
Aguirre also did fantastically with the side characters, she made them characters who you loved and wanted to know more about. Doc Saul never ceased to be interesting, Dina is wonderfully gritty and March was a great example of a good male lead.
I found her way of individualizing each of the characters by making them have their own unique personalities and giving you reasons to like or dislike them in a more natural way was nice. For example, Loras seemed to be a bit of an enigma. You wanted to pity him and his existence given what was forced on his people. But then, Jax gave him a new reason to exist, she gave him a choice and he chose to be a white knight of sorts. He still made a sacrifice, but it was not simply to protect Jax - it was because he did what he wanted to do.
And then there are characters like Doc Saul. He's a pretty interesting guy, he comes off as all about the science. All about learning what he can learn. But under all that you can see he truly cares about everyone in the group. He is far more than he puts himself out there to be, and it makes me want to continue the story so I can discover more about him.
I loved how the sex scenes did not overpower the storyline, which can often happen with the genre of romantic novels. No matter if it's sci-fi, fantasy, etc. It did not appear at all to be the focal point of the story, which was refreshing. Yes it occurred, but it was never over done. It never overtook a moment in the story. You can go through most of the novel without encountering it and even when it comes about it feels far more naturally placed that a lot in it's genre.
I have all intents to continue with this book series, even if the first was simply for a book club. I am ever curious to know what lies ahead for Jax and the gang; as well as what is to come for the world Aguirre created with such a secret being revealed to the masses. What will the Farwan Corp do to save face? What can they do, really?
(After some thinking, I decided to add a little more to this review about my overall opinion of some of the characters and put forth some more detail. With as few spoiler-y comments as I can manage.)
ceena's review
2.0
This was a bummer... I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. Couldn't hold my attention. I don't understand the whole gene thing and how it works and why. If she has this gene why can't she just teleport? hmmm
Definitely some good parts though, because I did finish it!
Might try the second book? buuuuut probably not.
Definitely some good parts though, because I did finish it!
Might try the second book? buuuuut probably not.
duckie84's review
5.0
The only reason I didn't finish this book within 48 hours is I didn't want it to end.
I love the character of Jax. She is sarcastic and passionate, her character arch goes from stuck up to selfless.
I want to go read the rest of the series.
I love the character of Jax. She is sarcastic and passionate, her character arch goes from stuck up to selfless.
I want to go read the rest of the series.
writings_of_a_reader's review
3.0
3 1/2 stars. I liked this one a lot. I don't read a lot of sci-fi and when I do it's usually YA. I don't know what it is but the characters in most adult sci-fi I've read just seem so hard edged and abrasive to me. And the world itself in most sci-fi is already rather stark and cold, being on a spaceship and all. I did like March a lot, his hard edges eventually melted away, but not so much that he became a mushy gushy puppy instead of a man, although he came close once or twice. I liked Jax too, but didn't love her. I think she just lacked some femininity. There was one character that became a favorite that I hope returns in the next book and that was Velith. I was surprised at how much I liked him.
Parts of this book reminded me of different TV shows or movies I've seen, some of which I liked a whole lot. I thought of Han Solo and the Millennial Falcon from Star Wars. I thought of the TV series Firefly. One planet they went to reminded me of the movie Pitch Black. I thought of Star Trek Voyager at one point. These were all positives for the book for me. I've heard comparisons to the game Mass Effect. Although it looks interesting, I have not played that myself but watched others play it a little and I can see the similarities.
One thing I did find annoying was the author had a habit of leaving off the first word of sentences, mainly the word "I". Here are examples of parts of sentences from the book:
"Feel it running down the divots in my spine..."
"Glance across the room and find Dina..."
"Can feel Dina looking at my back..."
I really liked that the book wrapped up quite nicely and would be fine as a standalone read, which is a plus because I won't feel like I'm missing anything if I don't get around to reading the next book in the series, and honestly I haven’t decided if I want to read it.
Parts of this book reminded me of different TV shows or movies I've seen, some of which I liked a whole lot. I thought of Han Solo and the Millennial Falcon from Star Wars. I thought of the TV series Firefly. One planet they went to reminded me of the movie Pitch Black. I thought of Star Trek Voyager at one point. These were all positives for the book for me. I've heard comparisons to the game Mass Effect. Although it looks interesting, I have not played that myself but watched others play it a little and I can see the similarities.
One thing I did find annoying was the author had a habit of leaving off the first word of sentences, mainly the word "I". Here are examples of parts of sentences from the book:
"Feel it running down the divots in my spine..."
"Glance across the room and find Dina..."
"Can feel Dina looking at my back..."
I really liked that the book wrapped up quite nicely and would be fine as a standalone read, which is a plus because I won't feel like I'm missing anything if I don't get around to reading the next book in the series, and honestly I haven’t decided if I want to read it.
lynseyisreading's review
3.0
What a shame.
(This is not really a review, just a rambling observation).
Such a good idea and a nice cast of characters. Sadly, it lost my interest pretty quickly.
One of my biggest pet peeves when reading is when characters start acting as if they've known each other a lot longer than they have, or are a lot closer than I feel they should be. It completely stops me from being able to connect to them. Here, the main character was saying things like, 'he always does that' and ' I can't remember a time when I didn't feel that way about him' after what felt like about 30 minutes. When an author races ahead of herself like this leaving her readers behind by overestimating their level of involvement, it makes me stop trusting the story. And if I don't trust it, I can't lose myself in it.
Add to that a plot that started strongly, but began meandering at the midway point until if fizzled and died - a quiet death, too, not even anything showy or dramatic - and it had lost me altogether.
Still, I give it three starts for the interesting premise.
3 stars! ★★★
(This is not really a review, just a rambling observation).
Such a good idea and a nice cast of characters. Sadly, it lost my interest pretty quickly.
One of my biggest pet peeves when reading is when characters start acting as if they've known each other a lot longer than they have, or are a lot closer than I feel they should be. It completely stops me from being able to connect to them. Here, the main character was saying things like, 'he always does that' and ' I can't remember a time when I didn't feel that way about him' after what felt like about 30 minutes. When an author races ahead of herself like this leaving her readers behind by overestimating their level of involvement, it makes me stop trusting the story. And if I don't trust it, I can't lose myself in it.
Add to that a plot that started strongly, but began meandering at the midway point until if fizzled and died - a quiet death, too, not even anything showy or dramatic - and it had lost me altogether.
Still, I give it three starts for the interesting premise.
3 stars! ★★★