ARC Review | Starbreaker (Endeavor, #2)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Starbreaker (Endeavor, #2)

Author: Amanda Bouchet

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: April 28, 2020

Categories: Sci-Fi, Romance, Space Opera

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

THEY NEVER WANTED TO BE HEROES

Captain Tess Bailey and Shade Ganavan are still the galaxy’s Most Wanted, and with revolution in the wind and the universe on the brink of catastrophic war, the situation couldn’t be more desperate. Despite the Dark Watch scouring the known sectors for them, rebel leaders have handed the crew of the Endeavor a delicate and dangerous mission: break into Starbase 12 and free renowned scientist Reena Ahern. She’s the only one who stands a chance of tipping the odds in their favor for the first time in decades.

BUT PULLING OFF THE IMPOSSIBLE IS WHAT THEY DO BEST

The clock is ticking. But as their attraction builds and secrets are revealed, Tess and Shade must decide if they trust each other enough to execute this impossible prison break. They could change the course of history, but they’ll be risking everything… They’ll just have to tackle one crisis at a time.

This is the second book in the Endeavor series and it takes off right away. We are back in space with Tess and Shade and there is more shady business going around.

Their relationship is constantly being tested and there are always curveballs thrown at them. Will they get through this mission?

I like Tess and Shade as a couple. Even when they have trust issues, at least they don’t give up on each other! They always have each other’s backs and they just make a good team.
So much action. Tess and crew get into harrowing situations all the time!
The world building is great – it’s in space but they visit different planets, like the jungle planet where some steamy scenes take place. But I just love how her version of space and different planets isn’t the usual dry landscapes that we are usually presented with when it comes to Sci-Fi.
I like the secondary characters that make Tess and Shade’s crew. They add humor and I found myself caring for them too.

I found the second half much more exciting than the first. I think because it’s been awhile I read the first book, I had to get my bearings in this one and it took awhile.
It’s definitely a mood read for me – I’d have enjoyed even more if I was in the mood to read about space. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This sequel is filled with space fights, romance and surprises so if you enjoyed the first book in the series, I think you will definitely enjoy this one as well.

Book Review: Sky Without Stars

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Authors: Jessica Brody & Joanne Rendell

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 579

Categories: Space Opera, Young Adult, Retelling, Romance, Sci-Fi

Book Blurb:

A thief. An officer. A guardian.

Three strangers. One shared destiny . . .

When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing.

Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes…

Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spying on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet.

Marcellus is an officer—and the son of a traitor. Groomed to command by his legendary grandfather, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when he discovers a cryptic message that only one person, a girl named Alouette, can read.

Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos.

All three have roles to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet.

Power, romance, and destiny collide in this sweeping reimagining of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece Les Misérables.

MY REVIEW

I really wanted to love this book and maybe in the right mood and a second reading I might feel different? The writing is good and it is told between three perspectives: Chatine, Alouette and Marcellus. Each chapter is short but I think it helps keep the story moving or else it would have just dragged on much longer.

Though it was well written and the world building is detailed, I was bored. The fact that it’s a space opera Les Miserables retelling though is really cool and I think the authors did a good job with it. I could feel the desperation of Chatine and the poor people in The Frets. And the divide between the working people and the upper class sets the stage for a rebellion like in Les Miserables.

Chatine is my favorite character, she is the street urchin making ends meet not so much for her family, but for herself. It’s a harsh world out in The Frets. She’s trying to get passage to leave to another planet and leave The Frets and her family behind. Chatine gets caught up between her dreams, her family’s blackmailing and the General’s plans for her to spy on his grandson, Marcellus.

Marcellus is an officer of the Regime but the son of a traitor. It’s a stain on his past that will never go away in his grandfather’s eyes. He does his duty to the Regime, follows orders but starts to be conflicted about his feelings for his father. Will he join the rebellion? They need a face to give them hope to fight the regime.

Alouette has been raised in a refuge with her father. She doesn’t know much about the world around her but one day she escapes the refuge and helps Marcellus after seeing him get hurt. This starts her education on what is happening in Laterre and how sheltered she has been. She starts to wonder why. Alouette eventually finds out things that throw her world into upheaval.

I connected most to Chatine but unfortunately the story didn’t wow me or grab me. I appreciate what it tried to do with the space opera/Les Mis mash-up though. I caught the references to Les Mis and noticed the twist on the story, which was nice. The world building of Laterre is my favorite part of the story, I just wished I loved everything else a little more.

Get it here: Amazon

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Book Review: Nightchaser

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Author: Amanda Bouchet

Format: E-book

Pages: 352

Categories: Romance, Adventure, Space Opera, Sci-Fi Romance

Book Blurb:

Tess Bailey: the galaxy’s Most Wanted.
Captain Tess Bailey is in deep trouble. She and her crew are on the run, pursued by a tyrant who’ll take them dead or alive. Tess’s best hope is a tall, dark, and much-too-appealing stranger, Shade Ganavan, who says he can help her. But his motivations are far from clear…

Shade Ganavan: arrogance, charm…and that special something that makes you want to kick him.
With the dreaded Dark Watch closing in, what Tess and Shade don’t know about each other might get them killed…unless they can set aside their differences and learn to trust each other before it’s too late.

MY REVIEW

Nightchaser is the first book in a new series by Amanda Bouchet. I read her Kingmaker Chronicles and enjoyed it so seeing her go in this direction was intriguing to me.

This book starts off with a lot of action as we meet Tess Bailey and her crew trying to flee the Overseer’s henchmen, the Dark Watch. Tess has stolen something very important to the government. The story caught my interest right away and I was ready to surrender myself to this space adventure.

Then there is the mysterious and attractive bounty hunter, Shade Ganavan. He’s not just a pretty face – he’s got an agenda. But getting to know Tess messes up his plans. There is something special about Tess, which is the reason she’s on the run, so does he turn her in to the Dark Watch or let her go?

I enjoyed the characters in this story. Tess is a female Robin Hood and has a big heart, but sometimes she takes too many risks. She’s strong, smart, brave yet vulnerable at times too. Shade is flirty, protective and basically he’s a good guy underneath his rough exterior. Tess’s crew was an interesting array of people who helped me to get to know her past and I was rooting for them all the way.

After the excitement in the first part of the book, I thought it lagged a bit in the middle. I was still interested because Shade comes into the story and we learn more him. The flirting builds up the tension between them, but there was a moment where the story lost me a little probably because there wasn’t much action going on. They were in one place because Tess’s banged up ship had to be repaired, so it focused more on Tess and Shade’s budding romance. I wanted the urgency that was present in the beginning of the story to show up again. Tess is being hunted, but I don’t feel that until later in the book and when it does happen it got my senses alert again.

I do love Amanda Bouchet’s writing style – she writes fun stories. The banter and interaction between Shade and Tess made me smile, I do love them together. The sex scenes are steamy yet you get that sense of fun too within them, which is excellent.

Overall, a good first book in a new series, and I will definitely read the sequel to find out what happens in The Fold, the rebel hideout the crew landed in at the ending of the book. I just hope the second book builds up to some exciting action, rather than leave me with a slow middle.