lolasreviews's review
3.0
When I decided I was in the mood for a science fiction romance book I returned to this series. This is another solid read in this series, although it wasn't my favorite book in the series so far. But that's mostly due to my own mood.
I can repeat many of the comments from previous reviews about what I liked about this book. It has a great cast of characters, the story moves along at a great pace, the writing is well done and the world building is excellent. And there is another adventure and troubles that the crew of the Chaos has to deal with in this book.
After the big life changing events of book 2 I had mistakenly believed Zander and Felix would get a bit of a break in this book. I couldn't have been more wrong. Instead of bringing them closer, it actually pulled them apart more. Felix is struggling with everything, not feeling at home, afraid of losing Zander, still working with the emotions over what happens and all his dark fears and troubles are bubbling to the surface again. He makes a rash decision that he thinks will help, but it won't.
Zander has his own set of trouble too. The military isn't happy he's still alive and accuses him of sharing confidential secrets. And the danger is only increasing. Then there is Felix who seems off, but isn't telling him what is wrong. He is back among his family which is great and difficult at the same time. And he has to go through a lot more in this book.
And while Zander and Felix aren't as much together as I would've liked. I really do like them as a couple and there are moments that really show the strength of their emotions. And by the end of this book I am hopeful they can find a way to deal with everything thrown their way.
This wasn't a happy book, although there are some uplifting and awesome moments, it was mostly full of struggles or maybe it just felt that way to me. Struggles within the characters, but also the threat the military poses. They try and find the missing member of project Dreamweaver, even tough they don't know if they can help. them. And by the end it almost feels like battle lines are drawn, until it gets resolved in a way that almost feels too easy. And in a way what happens and how it gets resolved makes me wonder why all of this was necessary. And in a sense it wasn't, if someone had communicated better or made a certain thing more clear, half of this book wouldn't have happened. It just felt a bit off.
Part of why i struggled with this book is because it was hard to see what Felix went through. he isn't in a good place and I wanted to tell him tor trust Zander and talk with him, but ofcourse it isn't that easy. They also spend a big portion of the story apart due to reasons. And with my current mood I guess I just wasn't in the mood for that type of struggles. It just felt like a struggle to read at times, because of the emotional vibes, not because of the actual writing. Which I guess is well done, it just didn't mesh with my mood where I wanted something more happy and uplifting. Then the ending is great again and that sliver of hope and an interesting twist makes me excited for the next book all over again.
It was fun to finally meet a character we heard about in previous books and now meet her in real life. And another character who plays an important role. It was fun to read more of the characters we already know from previous books, although the focus is on Felix and Zander. It also was nice to meet some of Zander's family members in this book.
To summarize: this was another great read in this awesome science fiction romance series. This book just wasn't my favorite as the emotional struggles just felt like a struggle to read and I was in the mood for something more happy I realized later. That's more because of me than the book tough. There is a lot to like, the characters are awesome, I like the romance, it has some great world building and the plot progresses at a good pace. I also thought one thing was resolved almost too easily and it felt a bit off how one piece of information/ communication would've changed the whole course of this book. There is a great twist at the end that makes me curious about the next book.
I can repeat many of the comments from previous reviews about what I liked about this book. It has a great cast of characters, the story moves along at a great pace, the writing is well done and the world building is excellent. And there is another adventure and troubles that the crew of the Chaos has to deal with in this book.
After the big life changing events of book 2 I had mistakenly believed Zander and Felix would get a bit of a break in this book. I couldn't have been more wrong. Instead of bringing them closer, it actually pulled them apart more. Felix is struggling with everything, not feeling at home, afraid of losing Zander, still working with the emotions over what happens and all his dark fears and troubles are bubbling to the surface again. He makes a rash decision that he thinks will help, but it won't.
Zander has his own set of trouble too. The military isn't happy he's still alive and accuses him of sharing confidential secrets. And the danger is only increasing. Then there is Felix who seems off, but isn't telling him what is wrong. He is back among his family which is great and difficult at the same time. And he has to go through a lot more in this book.
And while Zander and Felix aren't as much together as I would've liked. I really do like them as a couple and there are moments that really show the strength of their emotions. And by the end of this book I am hopeful they can find a way to deal with everything thrown their way.
This wasn't a happy book, although there are some uplifting and awesome moments, it was mostly full of struggles or maybe it just felt that way to me. Struggles within the characters, but also the threat the military poses. They try and find the missing member of project Dreamweaver, even tough they don't know if they can help. them. And by the end it almost feels like battle lines are drawn, until it gets resolved in a way that almost feels too easy. And in a way what happens and how it gets resolved makes me wonder why all of this was necessary. And in a sense it wasn't, if someone had communicated better or made a certain thing more clear, half of this book wouldn't have happened. It just felt a bit off.
Part of why i struggled with this book is because it was hard to see what Felix went through. he isn't in a good place and I wanted to tell him tor trust Zander and talk with him, but ofcourse it isn't that easy. They also spend a big portion of the story apart due to reasons. And with my current mood I guess I just wasn't in the mood for that type of struggles. It just felt like a struggle to read at times, because of the emotional vibes, not because of the actual writing. Which I guess is well done, it just didn't mesh with my mood where I wanted something more happy and uplifting. Then the ending is great again and that sliver of hope and an interesting twist makes me excited for the next book all over again.
It was fun to finally meet a character we heard about in previous books and now meet her in real life. And another character who plays an important role. It was fun to read more of the characters we already know from previous books, although the focus is on Felix and Zander. It also was nice to meet some of Zander's family members in this book.
To summarize: this was another great read in this awesome science fiction romance series. This book just wasn't my favorite as the emotional struggles just felt like a struggle to read and I was in the mood for something more happy I realized later. That's more because of me than the book tough. There is a lot to like, the characters are awesome, I like the romance, it has some great world building and the plot progresses at a good pace. I also thought one thing was resolved almost too easily and it felt a bit off how one piece of information/ communication would've changed the whole course of this book. There is a great twist at the end that makes me curious about the next book.
crtsjffrsn's review
4.0
Zander Anatolius has been through more than one person could ever expect to go through and survive. He was part of an experimental super-soldier program that should have killed him--and eventually did. Thanks to a few twists of fate, however, he was revived and made it back to Felix and the crew of the Chaos. But now it's time for him to return home and see his family, people he hasn't seen for years, to try to explain everything that's happened in his life. But the Anatolius family aren't the only ones waiting on Alpha and Zander's troubles are far from over. Add to that Felix's doubts about whether Zander might just be better off staying on Alpha with his family without Felix to hold him back, and Zander's got more than the Allied Earth Forces and assassination attempts to worry about.
I've been hooked on this series since book one, and that connection is still going strong. I guess I would call this light space opera where it just so happens that our protagonist is in a relationship with another man. The science fiction is the core of the story, and I love that it's all presented without any pretense or feeling like this story is any different than the space operas you might see where our hero must rescue the damsel in distress or finds a woman at every space station along the way. This is simply life for Zed, Felix, and everyone else. And why shouldn't it be?
But more than that, I love the universe that Burke and Jensen have created. While I'm definitely one who's starting to think that Zed deserves a break eventually (not to mention poor Felix), I will keep coming back for more as long as they're willing to write it.
[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I've been hooked on this series since book one, and that connection is still going strong. I guess I would call this light space opera where it just so happens that our protagonist is in a relationship with another man. The science fiction is the core of the story, and I love that it's all presented without any pretense or feeling like this story is any different than the space operas you might see where our hero must rescue the damsel in distress or finds a woman at every space station along the way. This is simply life for Zed, Felix, and everyone else. And why shouldn't it be?
But more than that, I love the universe that Burke and Jensen have created. While I'm definitely one who's starting to think that Zed deserves a break eventually (not to mention poor Felix), I will keep coming back for more as long as they're willing to write it.
[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
evybird's review
4.0
So much ANGST, holy cow! It's like each book is trying to outdo the last on emotional turmoil. A bit too much even for me!
michaeljpdx's review against another edition
3.0
You can read my review of “Skip Trace” at my web site.
kaje_harper's review
4.0
After his near brush with death in the previous book, Zander returns home to his family at last. They are delighted to see him, but Felix feels a bit on the sidelines, unfit to be the consort of a son of one of the richest families in the galaxy. Zander loves him so much that he is blind to the possibility that Felix might weigh himself against the rest of Zander's life and feel that he can't compete. And Zander's family are determined to bring him back into the fold and not lose him again.
Zander's attempts to live up to everyone's demands get further tangled up in schemes of the AEF who do not want their experimental soldiers running around getting publicity for the things done to them. And a distress call to action gives Felix what he thinks is a way out from under all the pressure. But separating is not helping either man learn to cope with their stresses.
This book is less angsty than the last, more conspiracy theory and frustration and miscommunication. But another solid episode in the eventful lives of two men who should be together, if the universe would just quit kicking them in the gut.
Zander's attempts to live up to everyone's demands get further tangled up in schemes of the AEF who do not want their experimental soldiers running around getting publicity for the things done to them. And a distress call to action gives Felix what he thinks is a way out from under all the pressure. But separating is not helping either man learn to cope with their stresses.
This book is less angsty than the last, more conspiracy theory and frustration and miscommunication. But another solid episode in the eventful lives of two men who should be together, if the universe would just quit kicking them in the gut.
paladinboy's review
4.0
Big misunderstandings all around. Mostly resolved. Mysterious cliffhanger end. On to book 4
prgchrqltma's review
4.0
Yay! Lots of action sequences and continuation of the romance and external plot arcs. Since I complained about another space book's lack of relationships, this is a good contrast. There are colleague and friend relationships, as well as more of Zander's family. I read this thinking it was the last, so I would have liked more concrete steps on what help for Felix and his PTSD looks like. Maybe there is more later, so it's not *ding* instantly fixed by love.
expendablemudge's review
4.0
Rating: 4* of five
I'd definitely read these as SF novels without hesitation. It's lagniappe that they include hot gay sex scenes. Written by nice straight ladies. Which I still very much do not comprehend. I'll try for a review very soon.
**DAYS LATER**
So I've finished the series now. In a lot of ways, this is where the tone of the books changes. This is the moment of truth for the couple as well as for Flick and Zed the men. After the astonishing events of [b:Lonely Shore|25129173|Lonely Shore (Chaos Station, #2)|Jenn Burke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426182640s/25129173.jpg|44825536], anyone could be forgiven for needing to take a breath, step back, and just be for a while. Being Flick, he doesn't do this by halves. He walks to the Chaos, climbs on board, and flies into the black without saying one damned word to Zed. Who is, unsurprisingly, dealing with the very public fallout of the previous book's events, and the very private and equally life-altering family ructions that a wealthy youngest son can expect when he comes home from being thought dead in a vicious war trailing clouds of glory and his one true love the lower class station rat.
Flick looks at the world the Anatolius name entitles Zed to enter and his brain freezes, his balls try to climb inside to hide, and his spirit screams "FOR ALL THOSE USELESS GODS' SAKES RUN RUN RUN!!" He has no idea what fork to use...food itself was scarce in his household. He has no concept of how to dress...clothing simply kept him from being naked, for the most part. All those educated, cultured voices! All the smiles that feel like sneers!
Zed just sees the living room full of brothers, parents, sisters-in-law waiting to go in to dinner.
That's a gap. And Flick running away hurts like stin poison. But he's not just running away, he's running to save a needy comrade. Zed's troubles escalate, his powerful family limbers up the big guns (Lawyers, Guns, and Money style). Unlike Warren Zevon's spoiled brat holed up in Honduras, though, Zed is targeted by the very people he's given up his humanity for, the AEF. He is still an embarrassment for the AEF because his existence means they have to acknowledge their disgusting super-soldier program that caused Zed so much damage. Now the AEF have received a small gift from the Universe: Zed's recent actions have placed him within their reasonable grasp, and they take full advantage of this to plot the final solution to the Zed Question.
Flick? He's not having any of it. He might be skittish as all hell from a bad childhood, enslavement at the stin's claws, and almost a decade of living in the vacuum of Zed's presumed death (while, ironically, it's Flick's presumed death in stin slavery that makes Zed vanish so utterly into the super-soldier program) that he can't and won't tolerate threats to his true love no matter who makes them. It is a constant in his life and the series.
But the current imbroglio is challenging in so many ways, and the superbaddies are so thick on the ground, and the resolutions to the Chaos crew's problems continue to be just out of reach, and...well. I can tell you this much without spoilering anything: Power corrupts and those in power see everything through the stinking atmosphere of their corruption.
The book ends with our augmented crew still flying, still precariously free, and still very much a real-feeling family. Pain and happiness come from so many of the same roots in intimacy, don't they. Blessedly for Zander and Flick, those roots are deep as the oceans in each man's soul. So satisfying.
I'd definitely read these as SF novels without hesitation. It's lagniappe that they include hot gay sex scenes. Written by nice straight ladies. Which I still very much do not comprehend. I'll try for a review very soon.
**DAYS LATER**
So I've finished the series now. In a lot of ways, this is where the tone of the books changes. This is the moment of truth for the couple as well as for Flick and Zed the men. After the astonishing events of [b:Lonely Shore|25129173|Lonely Shore (Chaos Station, #2)|Jenn Burke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426182640s/25129173.jpg|44825536], anyone could be forgiven for needing to take a breath, step back, and just be for a while. Being Flick, he doesn't do this by halves. He walks to the Chaos, climbs on board, and flies into the black without saying one damned word to Zed. Who is, unsurprisingly, dealing with the very public fallout of the previous book's events, and the very private and equally life-altering family ructions that a wealthy youngest son can expect when he comes home from being thought dead in a vicious war trailing clouds of glory and his one true love the lower class station rat.
Flick looks at the world the Anatolius name entitles Zed to enter and his brain freezes, his balls try to climb inside to hide, and his spirit screams "FOR ALL THOSE USELESS GODS' SAKES RUN RUN RUN!!" He has no idea what fork to use...food itself was scarce in his household. He has no concept of how to dress...clothing simply kept him from being naked, for the most part. All those educated, cultured voices! All the smiles that feel like sneers!
Zed just sees the living room full of brothers, parents, sisters-in-law waiting to go in to dinner.
That's a gap. And Flick running away hurts like stin poison. But he's not just running away, he's running to save a needy comrade. Zed's troubles escalate, his powerful family limbers up the big guns (Lawyers, Guns, and Money style). Unlike Warren Zevon's spoiled brat holed up in Honduras, though, Zed is targeted by the very people he's given up his humanity for, the AEF. He is still an embarrassment for the AEF because his existence means they have to acknowledge their disgusting super-soldier program that caused Zed so much damage. Now the AEF have received a small gift from the Universe: Zed's recent actions have placed him within their reasonable grasp, and they take full advantage of this to plot the final solution to the Zed Question.
Flick? He's not having any of it. He might be skittish as all hell from a bad childhood, enslavement at the stin's claws, and almost a decade of living in the vacuum of Zed's presumed death (while, ironically, it's Flick's presumed death in stin slavery that makes Zed vanish so utterly into the super-soldier program) that he can't and won't tolerate threats to his true love no matter who makes them. It is a constant in his life and the series.
But the current imbroglio is challenging in so many ways, and the superbaddies are so thick on the ground, and the resolutions to the Chaos crew's problems continue to be just out of reach, and...well. I can tell you this much without spoilering anything: Power corrupts and those in power see everything through the stinking atmosphere of their corruption.
The book ends with our augmented crew still flying, still precariously free, and still very much a real-feeling family. Pain and happiness come from so many of the same roots in intimacy, don't they. Blessedly for Zander and Flick, those roots are deep as the oceans in each man's soul. So satisfying.
susanscribs's review
3.0
This is a tough book to rate. Overall, Burke/Jensen have crafted an interesting fantasy world filled with rich characters. I am a big fan of the Chaos crew members, especially the helpful alien Qek and stalwart captain Elias and look forward to reading more adventures in which they work together .
But.
As a romance reader, this series is starting to bug me big time. Three books into the series, and we have Felix aka Flick aka Felix (I think I'm finally getting used to the multiple nicknames!) pulling the "I'm not good enough for you" card on Zed aka Zander, and then taking off for more than half of the book? Not cool. I don't want to see their relationship tested in each book; I want to see it deepen and develop while the two men are together. See Whyborne & Griffin in Jordan L. Hawk's Widdershins series, Lucien and Stephen in K.J. Charles' Magpie series, or the two MC's in Harper Fox's Tyack and Frayne series for examples that keep the MCs togther without becoming boring or stagnant. Kelly and Jenn, you have created two great MCs with distinctive personalities who are going to clash in the normal course of their interactions; why not let that happen and let them work it out instead of making it all or nothing in each book?
Also the interactions with the god-like Guardians race are intriguing, but at times they function literally as deux ex machina, which leaves fewer options for Felix or Zed to demonstrate their own ingenuity and strength.
I'm still in for book 4 of this series, but if Felix and Zed don't show some signs of growth I won't stick around for the planned finale in book 5.
Spoiler
, probably engaging with the new alien species that has suddenly emergedBut.
As a romance reader, this series is starting to bug me big time. Three books into the series, and we have Felix aka Flick aka Felix (I think I'm finally getting used to the multiple nicknames!) pulling the "I'm not good enough for you" card on Zed aka Zander, and then taking off for more than half of the book? Not cool. I don't want to see their relationship tested in each book; I want to see it deepen and develop while the two men are together. See Whyborne & Griffin in Jordan L. Hawk's Widdershins series, Lucien and Stephen in K.J. Charles' Magpie series, or the two MC's in Harper Fox's Tyack and Frayne series for examples that keep the MCs togther without becoming boring or stagnant. Kelly and Jenn, you have created two great MCs with distinctive personalities who are going to clash in the normal course of their interactions; why not let that happen and let them work it out instead of making it all or nothing in each book?
Also the interactions with the god-like Guardians race are intriguing, but at times they function literally as deux ex machina, which leaves fewer options for Felix or Zed to demonstrate their own ingenuity and strength.
I'm still in for book 4 of this series, but if Felix and Zed don't show some signs of growth I won't stick around for the planned finale in book 5.
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