Geetha Krishnan's Blog

This series is also not complete, but I’ve read all seven books that are released so far. Going to hound someone for an ARC of Book 8. In the meantime, I’m reading another series by the author set in an entirely different universe.

Devil to Pay (Book 1) Blurb

“I didn’t know that I wanted to read a science fiction series that feels like age of sail ships duking it out in space until I picked this up. Now I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. … One of the best Science Fiction stories in years.”-M.D. Cooper, author and creator of the Aeon14 universe

In a world of pirates and murderous ghosts, one naval cadet must choose between loyalty and survival.

In the Level’s Naval Academy, officer candidate Silas Hunt stumbles across a secret that could get him hanged for treason. His only hope to save his life and to find justice lies with a ruthless pirate captain, a woman known as Mad Dog. But if Silas wants to talk the pirate into helping, he’ll have to join up with the crew of the Sweet Jenny for a deep-space raid against his own navy that could quickly turn deadly.

The Verity is just a ship of the line, but for Stacks-born Captain Hollis Ives, it’s not just her first command. It’s her one chance to prove that a woman from the slums can handle a high-ranking naval position. But when her mission orders send her out after a ship whose distress signals have been picked up by pirates, she quickly realizes the posting could be a death sentence. And that’s before she recognizes which pirate ship she’s up against–the Sweet Jenny, captained by Mad Dog herself, and legendary for taking naval ships and leaving no survivors.

Treasure Island meets Master and Commander with a science-fiction twist and a diverse cast in R.M. Olson’s thrilling series, The Devil and the Dark.

My Review

I absolutely loved the Dark Between the Stars series and when I found the author had another series set in the same world, I had to read it.

The first book of the series, it introduces the cast while sending them on an adventure of their lifetimes.

Silas, a former naval officer, is on the run, after having stolen classified information. It’s information pertaining to an accident that happened more than a decade ago, an accident where Silas lost his parents. What he discovers is that the accident was due to negligence from the higher ups in the navy who covered it up by blaming it on two officers and their daughter who were all sentenced to death. The daughter escaped and is now the feared pirate captain, Mad Dog.

Silas goes to Blackrock to lay the evidence before Mad Dog, hoping to persuade her to come back and clear her name while bringing down the corrupt officials of the navy. Mad Dog refuses to even look at the evidence and makes him a counter offer. If he sails with her for one mission, she will look at the evidence and listen to what he has to say. Reluctantly, Silas agrees.

Their target is a ship stranded near a black hole, carrying advanced tech and weapons. But the navy has sent Captain Hollis Ives, a newly commissioned captain and the first ever captain from the Stacks to retrieve the ship and its cargo.

Hollis has left her old life behind and needs to prove that a captain from the stacks can do as good as, if not better than, the Level officers with their family names, money, and connections.

What happens when the pirate captain with a bone to pick with the navy and a naval captain who has to prove her right to her position clashes?

Man, I love Silas and Hollis both. I was in that weird situation where I wanted both of them to win. Like before I met Hollis, I was wholeheartedly on Mad Dog’s side because I hated the Level Navy. After meeting Hollis, I still hated the Level Navy, but I wanted Hollis to succeed so she can thumb her nose at the navy that looks down on her.

The perspectives of Gracie, better known as Mad Dog, and Admiral Usher, who is the face of the Level Navy, were both interesting in their own ways. I am completely on Gracie’s side and Admiral Usher can go f**k herself.

The book was so good, I’m off to read the rest of the series.

If you love space opera, underdogs against the system, and complex and real characters you can get behind, you will love this book.

Dead Reckoning (Book 2) Blurb

Treason, loyalty, and revenge in the heart of deep space.

Captain Hollis Ives has gone up against pirates before—specifically, against Captain Mad Dog, the pirates’ de facto leader. So when Naval High Command orders an attack on the pirate stronghold, Hollis knows damn well this mission won’t be as simple as the Commodore expects. And that’s not all—there’s someone from the Level, maybe in the navy itself, who wants her very dead.

Former naval officer Silas Hunt wanted Mad Dog’s help to take out the corruption in the navy. But her plans to strike back go far beyond any revenge he possibly could have dreamed up. Silas has to decide where his loyalties stand, and whatever he chooses, someone he cares for will die for it—either his former friends and crewmates in the navy, or the crew of the Sweet Jenny. And that’s only if he survives the naval attack on Blackrock to begin with.

Treasure Island meets Master and Commander with a science-fiction twist in R.M. Olson’s thrilling new space opera series, The Devil and the Dark.

My Review

Book 2 of the series, this continues the adventures of Silas, Hollis, Gracie and the rest. Overruling Admiral Usher, the navy has sent a fleet against Blackrock, with Hollis part of the fleet. In the meantime, Gracie and Silas are on their way to the Level, planning to steal more classified information from the navy.

The pirates fight back and the naval fleet are struggling but the Commodore doesn’t want to listen to Hollis’ concerns about Mad Dog. When they’re proved true and Sweet Jenny appears to wreak havoc, Hollis offers to follow the pirates to draw them away from the fleet.

But Hollis is walking into a trap, and Mad Dog wants her dead.

This one was just as good as the first and had me on the edge of my seat, gnawing at my fingernails. I loved how Hollis is always out to find a solution, even when she’s barely keeping herself conscious. I was again in the situation where I wanted Hollis to win, but also Mad Dog to not lose, like I wanted the Level Fleet destroyed and Hollis to survive because the f**king navy deserves to burn!

For all Mad Dog’s statements that Hollis chose the navy and hence she deserves to die, I don’t think she realises just how few options someone from the Stacks has. For all that she’s a pirate now, Gracie was born in the Level and had lived a life of privilege till it was taken away, and Silas is the same, so neither of them actually understands what it is like for someone born in the Stacks.

The book ended in a cliffhanger and f**k you all.

Imma go read Book 3 now.

If you love space opera, underdogs against the system, complex and real characters you can get behind, political intrigue, and adventure, you will love this book.

Enemy Colors (Book 3) Blurb

The enemy of my enemy …
Captain Hollis Ives has sworn to take down the infamous pirate captain Mad Dog, or die trying. But when their ships runs across an unexpected enemy in deep space—a war fleet out to destroy the Level itself—she’ll have to either form an alliance with the pirates, or watch her ship, her crew, and possibly the Level itself, burn.
Silas Hunt thought he’d left the navy behind forever when he joined up with Mad Dog. But now, forced to either work with the naval captain he’d been ready to kill, or see his crew members killed and his captain tortured, Silas will have to use every scrap of skill and ingenuity he learned from both the navy and the pirate crew to keep himself and Mad Dog alive long enough to escape.
Treasure Island meets Master and Commander with a science-fiction twist in R.M. Olson’s thrilling new space opera series, The Devil and the Dark.

My Review

When both Sweet Jenny and Verity are surrounded by Rosette ships who are planning to attack the Level, Silas and Hollis have to agree to work together to save their ships and the Level.

Gracie has been tortured by the Rosette officers and Hollis is still recovering from her injuries sustained in Book 1, so it’s upto Foster, Silas, and Ari to save their captains, their ships and come up with a plan to deal with the Rosette fleet and to prevent the impending attack on the Level.

I love Foster. I know I haven’t said it before, but I love them. I love all of Gracie’s crew, but we only get glimpses into Hollis’ crew and Foster is the one we see the most. They are just amazing. Honestly, the Level Navy doesn’t deserve either Hollis or Foster. While I was happy to see Hollis coming to her own, breaking out of the mindset of sacrificing herself and her crew for the navy, she has a long way to go still.

Foster is always the voice of reason but can use a shiv when called for. Every book in the series is getting better and the stakes keep rising!

Can I say I hate Admiral Usher? I hate her. She should die. Painfully.

Imma go read the next books of the series. I hate that there are only 7 out of the planned 18 or so. All the same, I need to read the rest!

If you love space opera, underdogs against the system, complex, flawed, and real characters you can get behind, adventures, political machinations, and space battles, you will love this book.

Articles of War (Book 4) Blurb

As the Level is plunged into a long-awaited war, two captains and two crews struggle to survive the fallout …

Silas Hunt made a promise to pirate captain Mad Dog: he’d keep her crew safe and bring them out of their first naval posting alive, despite far too many naval officers and sailors who’d be happy to take vengeance into their own hands. But when he and the former crew of the Sweet Jenny are assigned to a ship captained by a brutal man who wants nothing more than vengeance himself, Silas realizes that promise might be more difficult to keep than he’d anticipated.

Captain Hollis Ives returned to the Level a decorated war hero, with civilians and naval captains both lauding her name. But her newfound popularity doesn’t extend to the Admiralty. There are those who’d be more than happy to see her sink into obscurity, and they’re willing to sacrifice her ship, her crew, her officers, and everyone who was loyal to her to make sure that happens. Pulled from active duty and surrounded by enemies in the navy, Hollis’s only chance to save her ship and her crew may be an alliance with Mad Dog—and Hollis knows full well how very dangerous that can be.

My Review

Man, what do I say about this one! I nearly had a heart attack MANY times!

Silas and the crew of Sweet Jenny are assigned to the Verity, but it’s not captained by Hollis now. The Captain and the First Officer are both appointed directly by someone in the Admiralty that wants both Hollis’ crew and the crew of the Sweet Jenny dead.

As an ex naval officer, Silas is baited by the officers loyal to the captain, who are determined to see him and his division dead.

Admiral Usher has bowed to pressure to advance her own agendas. Hollis and Foster are both grounded with empty medals and no assignments but when Mad Dog comes to them with a proposition that could get Hollis and Foster back to the Verity, they agree to bait the spy in the ranks of the Admiralty.

But the spy is more canny than they think and they have eyes everywhere.

Gods, I was so so anxious for Silas and the crew, like I was yelling MUTINY! at my kindle as I read, even though I know how dangerous that was. Also, someone should shoot Admiral White in the head.

All the politicking on the Level, while Silas and the crew struggle for survival, were all well done. I loved this book. By the end, I was ready to throw my kindle across the room. Good thing I didn’t have to.

Can’t wait to read the next book!

Ghost Ships (Book 5) Blurb

A deadly mystery in the depths of space…

Level ships of the line have been going missing; destroyed or taken completely by ghosts and no one left alive to tell the tale. When Admiral of the Fleet Judith Usher personally requests Captain Hollis Ives take the Verity and find out why, Hollis knows damn well this won’t be a simple mission. To make matters worse, Mad Dog Gracie Madox will be shipping with the Verity, and Hollis has more than enough experience to know how dangerous the former pirate captain can be. But with the cloud of suspicion currently hanging over herself and her crew, Hollis desperately needs a successful mission.

Former officer-come-pirate Silas Hunt is chafing under Hollis Ives’s command. He was raised to serve in the navy, but after watching far too many friends and crewmates shot down months previous, he’s no longer willing to simply keep quiet and go along with orders—regardless of the consequences of disobedience. But when the Verity arrives at the place where Level ships have been going missing, simply keeping himself and the former crew of the Sweet Jenny alive long enough for him to face those consequences might be more than Silas can manage.

Treasure Island meets Master and Commander with a science-fiction twist in R.M. Olson’s thrilling series, The Devil and the Dark.

My Review

Fuck! If something had happened to my baby Lawrence, I would have burned the world down. Seriously.

That said, if something had happened to anyone I like, I would kill everyone and then myself.

Level ships have been going missing at a certain place and Hollis and the Verity is sent to investigate and gather information.

Silas is still reeling from the incidents of the previous book and is being self-destructive while protecting everyone else.

Gracie has found influence and the deadly game of chess she’s involved with Admiral Usher seems to be at a stalemate.

When the crew of the Verity discover a deadly secret that can change the course of the war, can they survive long enough to take information back?

I haven’t said this before, but I love the concept of ghosts in this world of R.M. Olson’s. They’re completely different from the traditional concept of ghosts, and Olson makes their existence scientific without going into the realms of the metaphysical.

The fear of ghosts that everyone has, and the fact that THREE ghosts are more than enough to kill off a division, that no matter how many sparkers they have, it’s still not enough, are all brought out so well, and we feel the fear on a visceral level.

As with all other books in this series, this book too had me fighting anxiety because I couldn’t see how they were going to get out of this one. I love how the stakes keep getting bigger, the problems more alarming, and while Olson extricates their characters with surprising ingenuity from one problem, there is another, even larger one, looming.

And that’s why I’m off to read the next book.

Dead Calm (Book 6) Blurb

A mission turned deadly, and no hope of rescue.

Captain Hollis Ives and the Verity have been assigned to a blockade on an enemy shipping route on the fringes of Level-controlled space. It’s supposed to be a simple mission, but Hollis has been hearing rumours in the ranks—Rosette ships that have been shot down rather than surrender, whispers of a secret Rosette plan against the Level. When the Verity is attacked on route in a place where no enemy ships should be, Hollis discovers there may be something behind the rumours after all—and whatever it is, she and the Verity are in the centre of it.

Pirate-turned-naval-officer Silas Hunt knows damn well how precarious his position in the navy is. It’s a badly kept secret that he was involved in a mutiny, and rumours about his insubordinate talk are already filtering back to the Admiralty. So when Ives offers him his first naval command—bringing a captured enemy ship back to the Level—he knows it’s his best chance to redeem himself in the eyes of Naval High Command. But the ship is damaged and the ship’s captured crew sullen and defiant, and they outnumber Silas’s crew three to one. And with no working comm system and far from assistance, Silas soon realizes that the important question isn’t whether he can carry out his first command honourably. It’s whether he and his sailors will survive it at all.

Treasure Island meets Master and Commander with a science-fiction twist in R.M. Olson’s thrilling series, The Devil and the Dark.

My Review

Omg! Silas and Ari! What the fuck! If something happens to my babies, Imma kill everyone here and then myself.

News of Rossette ships fighting harder than they should and refusing to surrender has come, but no one knows why. When they come into contact with one such ship, and Silas and his party successfully board and imprison the crew, Hollis commands Silas to take it to the Level.

But as one thing after another goes wrong, and the captain and officers of the ship fight every inch, the ship is dead in space, with all systems failing one by one. When Silas discovers a terrible secret hidden in the ship, he has to choose to stay behind to get word to Verity while helping his crew escape the death trap of a ship.

A critically injured Ari is the only companion he has, and with communication and life support failing, they don’t even know if their sacrifice made any difference.

Hollis and the Verity have their own problems as they chase a Rosette ship into an asteroid field in a deadly game of tag. They can’t allow the ship to escape, but with their own ship’s shields failing, they have to find a way to stop it without dying themselves.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Each book just keeps getting better and the stakes just keep increasing. The characters just can’t catch a break!

Gracie is manoeuvring her own pieces while keeping Admiral Usher in the dark about her intentions. Admiral Usher is torn between keeping an eye on the war front and keeping an eye on Gracie.

Did I say I hate Admiral Usher? I do. She can go die. I don’t care what her reasons are. I want the LEVEL TO BURN.

I know it’s not going to happen in the next book, but I need to read it!

Hostile Territory (Book 7) Blurb

Captured on an enemy planet with a vital secret and thousands of lives in the balance…

Silas Hunt, former pirate and current naval officer, has been taken captive, along with his friend, fellow officer, and sometimes lover, Ari. The Rosette navy clearly think he knows something and is willing to torture him to get him to confess. The problem is, he has no damn idea what he’s supposed to know. But as he begins to put the clues together, he realizes two things: first, the Rosette navy is planning a surprise attack that will cripple the Level. And second, the attack will start at the blockade where the Verity, with all his friends and crewmates onboard, is currently posted. He and Ari are the only ones who could possibly warn them, and locked in a prison on an enemy-held planet light-years away from the Level fleet, injured and with no knowledge of the language, it might be more of a mission than even he and Ari can pull off.

Serving in a blockade fleet on the far reaches of Level space has turned out to be much more eventful than Captain Hollis Ives had hoped. But things only get more hazardous when word comes through that Mad Dog, former pirate captain now serving in the Admiralty, has requested transfer to the fleet—to the Verity, specifically. Both Hollis and her first officers are certain she’s there to enact revenge over what happened to her former crew members Silas and Ari. But when she arrives, Hollis realizes what Mad Dog may be after something much more dangerous.

Treasure Island meets Master and Commander with a science-fiction twist and a diverse cast in R.M. Olson’s thrilling series, The Devil and the Dark.

My Review

Imma kill this author. WHERE IS THE NEXT BOOK?

Silas and Ari are prisoners of war, but Silas is being tortured for information. While the torture is not at the levels Gracie has been subjected to, it’s still serious enough that Ari is worried.

Back on the Verity, Hollis and her crew think Silas and Ari are dead, and when they hear the news that Gracie is coming to their ship, Hollis believes it is to kill her.

On the Level, Admiral Usher allows Gracie to go to the Verity to negotiate the prisoner exchange, but the Rosette are dragging their feet.

When Silas and Ari discover something that could change the course of the war, they have to find a way to break out of the prison and warn Verity.

When the Verity is surrounded by Rosette ships, Hollis and Foster has to leave the ship in Gracie’s hands while they go to the Rosette ship, pretending to be Rosette officers.

Oh man, there are so many threads and sub plots and each are more interesting than the other. I’m awed by Olson’s ability to keep everything straight because I would have been completely LOST. As always Olson lands their characters in one frying pan after another, with a fire to add some spice.

I want this war done. And I want the Level to BURN. I also want the Rosette navy to burn. In fact, I want everything except the common people and the Verity and Sweet Jenny’s crews to burn. And Lawrence. He should live. Everyone else can die.

WHERE IS MY NEXT BOOK?

Let me say at the outset that this is my new favourite author. Their books are extremely addictive and I adore their worldbuilding and characterisation.

This series is not complete and only the three books are released right now, which is why my review is reduced to only these three.

Inhuman (Book 1) Blurb

A remote resource planet. A mysterious illness. And a rescue team frighteningly out of their depth.

It was supposed to have been an easy job: go in, kidnap or kill his mark, get out. Shine’s done plenty of jobs like this before, no problem. But when it all goes suddenly wrong, he has only one option left to save his skin.

He finds himself an unwilling volunteer on a medical mission to a remote resource planet. It sent in a distress call a week earlier, and then promptly went silent. No one knows why, and no one can contact them to find out. And, Shine is increasingly beginning to realize, every person on this mission is politically unimportant–a perfect crew of disposables. Their mission is to go in and figure out what happened, and save whoever they can. But he’s smart enough to realize that anything that could cause an entire mining colony to go silent is probably not something accustomed to leaving its victims alive. And after meeting the rest of the crew, he’s not sure that they’re any safer than what’s waiting for him out on the planet …

Set in the world of The Devil and the Dark, Inhuman is the first book in R.M. Olson’s gripping new space-horror series, The Dark Between Stars.

My Review

This is my first book from this author and I really loved it.

Shine is a terrorist from the Stacks, and when he’s asked to kidnap or kill a scientist on death row named Jem, it’s just another mission.

But things go wrong when Jem is given a last minute pardon and taken away by a man called Puppy—someone Shine’s leader, Recoil, calls a most dangerous man. Shine is given new orders to kill Jem so Puppy won’t have her.

Puppy is putting together a medical team to go to a resource planet on a rescue mission. He’s already recruited Jem and Knives, a surgeon from the stacks, who’s also handy with her fists and guns.

When Knives intervene in Shine’s subtle attempts to abduct Jem, Shine volunteers to go on the mission with Puppy’s team, though he doesn’t understand why Puppy, who’s awkward and clumsy and seems unable to cross the street safely should be considered dangerous by Recoil who asks Shine to kill him as well as Jem.

Thaddeus is a doctor with a secret: he was in the navy before his sister’s death forced him into medicine. It’s a secret that could make it unable for him to work anywhere, but when Cassius, a government representative asks him to go with Puppy to spy on the man in exchange for keeping his secret, he has no choice but to agree.

But the resource planet will test them to their limits, bring out secrets, and force them to trust one another, against their will.

This was a book I adored. Seriously. The fate of the miners in the resource planet, the reason why they turned out the way they were, gutted me. This may be titled inhuman, but it’s about humanity and what it means to be human in the end. This is an action packed book with never a dull moment, but it also provokes very deep questions.

If you love medical and adventure sci fi, with a blend of cosmic horror, this is the perfect book for you.

The Water Paradox (Book 2) Blurb

On a desert settlement on a remote planet, the limited water is as precious as life. Until it starts to kill them…

Thaddeus and the rest of the small medical crew have just arrived at their next assignment—a small, drought-ridden settlement, where people are dying in horrific, unnatural ways. They suspect the water source has something to do with it, but how do you live without water?

The crew soon realizes the deaths are only part of the problem. The people are hostile and suspicious, the settlement’s doctor is hiding information, and the crew can’t get off the planet until the annual storm blows through. They need to find what’s killing people, and quickly—but trapped in a hostile settlement on the harsh desert wasteland with water running low, even that might not be enough to keep them alive.

Set in the world of The Devil and the Dark, The Water Paradox is the second book in R.M. Olson’s gripping space-horror series, The Dark Between Stars.

My Review

Book 2 in the Dark Between the Stars, this one starts off where Inhuman ends, at least for our protagonists.

They have been called to help in another resource planet, but this one is a desert planet which dehydrates them within minutes, and the settlers don’t want any help, insisting that the call for help that went out was a mistake. Their leader is also their doctor called Cuddy and the settlers seem hostile to Puppy and his team.

Things become even more strange when a settler called Neena and her partner come to the ship at night and have Puppy and Thaddeus disguise themselves and go to the settlement to examine the bodies of the dead. The dead are desiccated as if all the moisture inside them were sucked dry and the settlers who wanted them there confirm there were patches of water around the bodies.

With an actively hostile people and no way to find out what’s going on, can Puppy and crew solve the mystery or will they fall victim to the same thing that’s killing the settlers?

Ngl, this one was even more interesting than Inhuman. I finished it in hours. It helped that I was bedridden and was unable to do much of anything else.

This book hit me hard in the feels. The start itself was something that would have triggered me hard if not for the really thoughtful warnings provided by the author at the start. And things don’t get any better. Puppy remains as enigmatic as ever, and though Shine and Thaddeus both think him suspect, they can’t help but follow him. Shine’s suspicions are deepening by the minute, but he can’t help but be drawn to Puppy.

I’m fully not convinced Puppy is an evil mastermind yet, but I guess I’ll know when the next book is out. Once again, Jem and Thaddeus were the POVS I found most engaging, though Knives came a close second. Shine just doesn’t do it for me, but the plot and the rest of the characters more than make up for it.

If you love sci fi with an element of mystery, adventure, and horror, you will love this book and this series.

Blackrock (Book 3) Blurb

There’s something lurking in the caverns under Blackrock…

When Jem and the rest of Puppy’s small team of medics arrives on the pirate settlement of Blackrock, none of them know what to expect. But when they discover Puppy’s mysterious contact there is a notorious pirate captain who’s on a first-name basis with Puppy, it doesn’t make any of them feel better about the situation, especially since they all know perfectly well that Puppy is hiding things. But that’s not the worst news waiting for them.

The pirate settlement of Blackrock depends for oxygen on the vast algae vats set into caverns deep under the surface of the rocky moon. But recently, vat workers have been turning up dead. And not natural deaths—they’re shooting their own friends, walking off 30-metre drops, stepping out into the path of a ghost to be torn to pieces, driven mad with terror. The overworked doctors at the small hospital can’t find any trace of what’s causing it, but everyone who’s come back alive swears there’s something down in the caverns beneath Blackrock. Something alive. Something unnatural. Something that wants them dead.

Jem has spent thirteen years running from her own terror and guilt. But now, deep in the caverns below Blackrock, she and the rest of the crew will have to face up to a terror they can’t run from, unless they’re willing to let the entire settlement of Blackrock die.

And Puppy’s crew could never do that.

Set in the world of The Devil and the Dark, Blackrock is the third book in R.M. Olson’s gripping space-horror series, The Dark Between Stars.

My Review

I may have bullied someone into giving me an ARC of this book. I also may have annoyed someone a LOT.

But I’d do it again, because this book was so WORTH it.

Puppy and his group of ragtag medical professionals are on their way to Blackrock, the stronghold of the pirates who were both the bane of the navy and the resource planets. Both Thaddeus and Jem have reservations, but they couldn’t leave Puppy be.

Things grow tense as Shine shares some of his past and his mission and his suspicions about Puppy, suspicions that Thaddeus shares as well. Though doubtful, both Jem and Knives are torn, and Jem has a feeling that Shine was going to kill her back in the Level and can’t get past it.

In Blackrock, they discover a strange ailment that causes hallucinations that drives people to kill their friends or to stand still while ghosts tear them apart. Even as he resents having to help people who he had fought against as a naval officer, Thaddeus tries his best. But when they are affected by the toxin and learns something that threatens the very existence of Blackrock, they have to take a chance to save everyone here while risking falling victim themselves.

I loved Jem’s character growth in this, and how her relationship with Knives is evolving. Knives is much more real in this and I love that she’s the one in need of a rescue in this, which is not a common thing.

I also have theories about Puppy and the trauma in both Jem and Knives’ past, the incident that made Thaddeus lose his sister and Shine his parents.

I’m sad there are no more published books in this series, but Imma grab another book by the author in the meantime.

If you love medical thrillers, sci fi, space operas, and complex characters, you will love this book and this series.

Yes, I’m catching up on my reviews!

Blurb

With great power comes your past incarnations and future self playing chess with your existence.

Her whole life, Kylie Rae had been concerned with appeasing her demanding, achievement-focused mother while enjoying an otherwise peaceful teenage life of sleeping late and hanging out with friends after school.

That all changes after she learns she’s the reincarnation of a destroyed magic kingdom’s crown princess after she and her two closest friends end up in a life-threatening situation. Now she has her past incarnations and somehow her own future self as distinct consciousnesses in her head, each with their own agenda — one that doesn’t necessarily line up with Kylie’s own interests.

Even worse, her past two incarnations were killed by the same man… and he’s coming for her next. If she doesn’t adapt to her new life of magic and secrets, making A’s to appease her mom will be the least of her concerns — she’ll be just as dead as the incarnations body-sharing with her.

Riyati Rebirth is the first book in a new adult/adult contemporary, low dark fantasy series that seeks to explore themes of identity, legacy, generational trauma, and finding your own path in life. The series is set in the modern day fictional Southern US town of Opal Pines and includes multiple first person perspectives with characters across a range of queer, neurodiverse, and socioeconomic statuses.

My Review

I have not read anything from this author before, so I had no idea what to expect from this. I loved the book, and even the parts where I wanted to strangle or shake some of the characters.

The story opens with a bang with Kylie and her best friends, Dani and Jordan going to a park after school and are all but kidnapped by a child magic user with a wild animal companion. A strange presence in Kylie’s head asks her to activate her powers which she does, and the presence takes over, destroying the enemy and healing her friends.

Kylie learns she’s the reincarnation of Kisate Riyati, a princess of a long lost kingdom, but she’s also being stalked by a servant of Kisate who is obsessed with her, and who has been responsible for the deaths of all previous incarnations. Kisate, Chloe, and Leah, the prior incarnations are all in Kylie’s head now, along with a future self that calls herself Siani.

Each of the incarnations have agendas of their own, and Kylie is run ragged trying to learn magic, history, a whole dead language, as well as keeping up with her schoolwork and staying alive.

But when she’s nearly kidnapped by someone and Jordan activates his own powers to save her, Kylie discovers she’s not alone, but neither she nor Jordan is ready for the real challenge facing them.

Much of this book is based on anime conventions and as someone who is not into anime, I found them wholly original and interesting. I’m not going to run off to watch any anime in a hurry, though.

Kylie and Jordan are both high schoolers in this and it shows. I’m not the ideal reader of YA because I find teenage drama and teenagers as a whole very tiresome. As the mother of a teen, I have enough of that in my life, thank you. I just wanted to shake Kylie and especially Jordan, who I found infinitely more annoying.

Jordan’s future self, Rotanu, and Siani, on the other hand, were like refreshing breaths of fresh air for me. They’re both young, being only twenty or so, but their povs showed a maturity and balance that I loved.

And Dani. Hot damn! Her pining for Kylie and her jealousy and disdain for Jordan would have been funny if it didn’t take the form of classism where Jordan is concerned and a very unhealthy competitiveness and attempts to control where Kylie is concerned.

Honestly, if I never see Dani again, that would be too soon.

I found the plot extremely intriguing, especially, the concept of all the past lives and future self all residing inside the same body and having their own conversations and personalities.

If you love urban fantasy, anime, real sounding characters, and an interesting plot, I would recommend you read this book.

Grab it here!

Blurb

Two rival captains, one deadly mission, and secrets that could set the skies ablaze.

London-on-High, 1898.
Captain Temp Strud is all about secrets: her own and those that belong to her ship’s passengers. When a high-stakes mission to retrieve a world-changing ancient artefact goes wrong, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance with the Devil’s Urchin pirate captain, whose reputation is as fierce as her smile is disarming.
Temp needs Minty’s cunning, and Minty’s freedom is in Temp’s hands. But as danger looms and rivals close the gap, secrets and betrayal threaten to derail their quest. One wrong move could cost them the prize—and their lives.
With the fate of the world on the line, can the two captains get to the famed Golden Apple before their enemies unleash devastation beyond imagination?

My Review

This is a sapphic adventure fantasy with two characters who are equals and yet opposites.

Captain Temp Strud is the Captain of The Chimera, a ship designed to bring fantasies to life with the judicious use of recreational drugs and technology. In an England where cities built in the sky house the rich and noble, The Chimera offers an escape and a refuge for those who have to hide their true selves in society.

Behind the glittering façade, Temp is an adventurer who works in secret to retrieve historical and magical artifacts. When a mission ends with her first mate dead, Temp has to find a way to track down the killers and retrieve the item they stole.

Captain Alex Minty is a pirate with a bloodthirsty reputation. When an ill judged attack on the Chimera forces her to become Temp’s prisoner and unwilling ally, she is forced to confront a past she left behind.

But the stakes are higher than either of the dashing captains can imagine and they have to trust each other or risk losing everything when the chips are down.

I really loved this tale of airships, and an alternate England. The world building is incredibly well done and the characters are both lovable and three dimensional.

If you love sapphic steampunk fantasy, you will love this book.

Grab the book here!

Blurb

Every step of their journey has brought Kate and Venn to new mysteries. Every answer led to new questions. Every victory to a new troubling problems.

In Lastlight, they have one more chance to figure out the truth behind the events of the White Wood, solve the riddle of Renault’s cursed ravine, and finally open the aenigma box,

Half treasure hunt and half rescue mission, this epic fantasy adventure is a tale of puzzles, mysteries, and the kinds of friendships—both old and new—that shape the soul.

Lastlight is Book 3 of the Aenigma Lights trilogy.

My Review

I read Runelight and Mistlight last year and had bugged the author about having to wait a whole year for this one. And yet, it took me more than a month after release to actually read it. I would say this one’s been on my TBR before it was released because damn, this whole series have been awesome!

Lastlight starts where Mistlight leaves off, with the box in the hands of Naevys, the former queen of the White Wood and the warden, Faron the new King of White Wood and Kate and Venn and their company once again helpless.

But Kate is not going to give up on the box, not when her brothers’ lives depend on it, but first they have to find Naevys and what she wants with the box. They have to discover why the queen is so obsessed with Renault, with the ravine, and why she’s going to such lengths.

The answers may cost them more than they can afford to pay, however.

As with the last two books, this one continues the adventure while deepening the mystery. I’m awed at the author’s imagination, and I loved the discourse on hope in the pages. Kate is perhaps the most flawed of the author’s protagonists, and there were times when I felt sharp with annoyance at some of Kate’s decisions. Times when I felt she was being purposely obtuse about things everyone else could see, but all the same, she remains an extremely relatable and real character.

Characterisation and worldbuilding are the top strengths of this book, and I’m a person who loves character driven stories and character development. Even the side characters come across as real people in this, and I loved how Faron has grown. I started to like him in this.

Kate and her found family of Venn, Silas, Tribal, Croftus, and Fix get into one scrape after another, each more dangerous than the last. And if in the process, Kate discovers things about herself that are less than palatable, that’s what growth is all about.

While I enjoyed the book a lot, the final chapters seemed a bit too stretched out, after the big climax. That’s not a criticism, just a personal preference for the story to end asap once the big bad is dealt with.

If you love epic fantasy adventures with a dose of mystery and found family, you will love this book.

You can find the book here.

You can find my review of Runelight here and my review of Mistlight here

This review should have been posted last year in August since that was when I read this book. But better late than never, I guess!

Blurb

Keeper Kate has spent weeks searching for her missing brother. Following his trail, studying clues, using the mysterious aenigma box to help reconstruct the story of what had happened to him.

But she’s gotten the story dreadfully, catastrophically wrong.

Now, faced with the losses and scars from her failed search, she and Venn must tackle a new obstacle: the elven White Wood and its ruthless king.

In a desperate attempt to find her brother, Kate finds herself entangled in a deadly quest to find the Warden of the Wood—a search that will lead to Kate’s own death if she doesn’t complete it in time.

Through a cursed ravine, a hidden ancient library, and centuries-old secrets, Kate and Venn struggle to sort out truth from legend and find the Warden before time runs out—for Venn and Kate and the entire human land.

Half treasure hunt and half rescue mission, this epic fantasy adventure is a tale of puzzles, mysteries, and the kinds of friendships—both old and new—that shape the soul.

Mistlight is Book 2 of the Aenigma Lights trilogy

My Review

I was waiting so eagerly for this and it didn’t disappoint, but now I have to wait a year for the next book? How is that fair? Damn, but it is worth waiting for.

I adored this book. It starts off where Runelight leaves off. Faron has taken the box, Venn is injured, Silas and Tribal don’t have their memories and Kate is so angry that she failed to realise her brothers were in the box. To find Faron, they have to go into the White Wood. Kate can now see remnants as well.

Their foray into the White Wood is short as elven rangers attempt to attack them since King Thallion has declared them traitors and has ordered Venn and Kate to be captured. Venn and Kate has to find a way to get to Faron and avoid the Elven rangers. Add to it the fact that the people of Home hate them which leaves them with nowhere to go.

I loved Kate in this one. She is too hard on herself! I loved Fix, the gnoblin who is the new addition to Kate’s group and Aislin and Matlen, the elven twins who call Venn aunt. Evay makes an appearance in this which made me squeal. More about Renault is revealed in this, and I loved how he is humanised at the same time as keeping him the evil half elf who killed people without thought. His slow descent into that state is brought out well.

Found family vibes are very strong in this book, with everyone acknowledging that they are family, though they are not related by blood or even part of the same race. More of Croftus’ story is also revealed in this, and damn, it wrenched my heart. Idk why he hates the Shield, though. I am sure the third book will be full of surprising revelations too!

To wait a year is hard, but I know I will love the next book too. Just go read both books in the series. I will probably re-read them next year in preparation for the third book which I already pre-ordered.

You can grab the book here!

You can find my review of Runelight here!

Blurb

The Stargun Messenger Saga continues!

Astra Idari saved the universe. Got the girl. Transitioned from android to a human. Now all she wants is to enjoy her happily ever after. When her original programmers lay claim to her singular memory, Idari has to run for her life.

Again.

Her programmers unleash Omna Devor, a vicious, unstoppable AI that infects everything it touches. With Devor spreading through Idari’s neural net, Idari seeks a mythical utopia for advanced AI to find a cure or face deletion.

Her journey leads her across the stars, from her friends and family, and deeper into a cosmic mystery that goes beyond the data in her head. As Idari races against time to save her life, she discovers her programmer’s true objective: an ancient secret in her memory that could change the galaxy, forever…less

My Review

Let me say at the outset that Stargun Messenger, Book 1 of this series is one of my favouritest books. I didn’t know it was part of a series because it had a plot that was more or less satisfactorily tied up.

And then I saw this. It has been on my TBR since release and only now did I get around to reading it.

One of the things I loved most about Stargun Messenger was the prose. It was poetic and had a haunting, dreamlike quality that stayed with me for days after finishing that book. By the time I started reading this one, I had half convinced myself that maybe my memory was exaggerating it.

Let me say that it WAS NOT. If anything, my memory had underplayed just hauntingly poetic Darby Harn’s writing was. I was mesmerised from page 1 and even now, days later, I can’t think of it without being awed.

Astra Idari should be resting and relaxing on some beach with her lover and her found family of misfits. She saved the last living star, foiled the Scath plot, saved the world. Time to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after, right?

Wrong.

The very first sentence of the book tells you how wrong that concept is: “Thing about saving the universe no one tells you. You still need to make a living.”

So, here she is, attempting to make a living while Emera searches for other living stars, refusing to accept she is the last one, and Faero has grown increasingly sullen. The rest of her crew are there for the ride and doesn’t seem to care for anything.

But then, something from her past reappears. The corporation that made her wants her back. Or more precisely, they want the memory of the titans that’s in her head. A vicious and parasitic AI called Omna Devor (pretty sure pun is intended) is sent after Astra and there seems to be no corner of the universe where she can hide from it.

But there are more secrets to the universe than she knows and more corners of it hidden from her view.

Having already said enough about the author’s prose (but have I? Is it possible to say enough about something so beautiful?) let me move on to the other parts of the story. The plot was intriguing enough. This is not about finding love or oneself anymore, but a real, present danger that would destroy the shreds of happiness Astra has found for herself. Running and fighting are both bad ideas, and there are times when Astra makes decisions that makes me want to shake her.

Faero is the other PoV in the book. Having known her as CR-UX for most of Stargun, I found her even more likeable in this. She has issues, but she’s not blind to them. She just doesn’t want to work on them. It’s her turn to find herself, and her place but she though feels her co-dependency with Astra, she doesn’t really want to break free of it yet. As a character, Faero is interesting and drives the plot to its inevitable conclusion as much as Astra does.

If you love space opera, queer fiction, and sci fi, this is a book you don’t want to miss.

I’ll just wait around for the next book to release.

You can find the book here!

You can find my review of Stargun Messenger here!

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Blurb

Max Dupont stars in his own adventure in the second installment of the Broken Union series, taking place one year after Ancient as the Stars.

Captain Maxine Dupont of the Earth Union is a rogue. A maverick. A clear-headed arbitrator of right and wrong– rules be damned.

But even Max stumbles when he encounters his latest challenge. The Union is collaborating with former enemy Mars to fix the collapse of interstellar travel, but at the cost of vulnerable citizens. Max has to figure out where his loyalties lie–and if treason is a price he’s willing to pay for doing the right thing.

Meanwhile…

Lieutenant Ren Yilmaz has finally found a crew. A home. A rewarding career, on the ESS Knight.

But Ren gets drawn into a web of espionage. Her captain, Max, has shady dealings with anti-Union rebel groups and assigns her shipmates off-the-books tasks. It’s Ren’s duty as an officer to investigate. Snooping can be disastrous. Not only would she be betraying her newfound family, but Ren has secrets too–and if she digs too far, her own past as a spy could get spectacularly exposed.

As tensions mount, the choices Max and Ren make will test their loyalty not only to the Union, but to each other–and the crew they call family.

My Review

I’ve read Ancient as the Stars which is in this same series and therefore I had high expectations of this book. Loyalty to the Max didn’t disappoint.

This time, we get a glimpse of Max and his crew, of which Ren is one now. On the ESS Knight, she has found a family to belong, one which accepts her without question, but Max is always a maverick who must forge his own path.

With interstellar travel being impossible, the ships are stranded, but Max is not someone to sit idle. He recruits Ren into some espionage, which leads to some discoveries. Some of them are things Max never wanted anyone to know.

With her trust in her captain faltering, Ren has to make a choice. Does she follow Max or betray him and the crew that she calls family?

What I loved the most here is Max’s voice. It is so distinct from Ren’s or Karenna’s. It’s reflective of his whole personality where he appears larger than life even as he is combating chronic pain. Max’s backstory and thoughts reveal so much about him as a character. I loved him in Ancient as the Stars and I love him even more in this.

Chronic pain/illness is not often seen in speculative fic, so I was really glad to see it here. If you love space operas, conflicting loyalties, complex characters who are very relatable, and an intriguing plotline that makes you question who is in the right and who is in the wrong, you will love this book.

Also, queer and chronic pain rep.

You can find Loyalty to the Max here!

Blurb

At twenty-two, Saeryn has scars she can’t explain and a three year memory gap. An exotic family vacation away from her fractured past is meant to help her regain balance… except that the desert sands are calling to her with an eerie familiarity, and Malatrius—a stranger met by anything but chance—claims to know what happened during the times she can’t remember.

But to trust Malatrius’s words means believing in sorcery and traveling to another world. It also means putting her future in the hands of her father’s longtime rival who has reasons to hate them both, because with every restored memory Saeryn realizes that not only did Past Saeryn keep secrets from both Malatrius and her father—she’d also made a choice that could threaten the desperate scheme she’d risked her life for.

And now Saeryn faces the same choice once more.

Losing her life will be a minor inconvenience, but losing her memories again could be the end of her.

Memories of Sorcery and Sand is a standalone character driven fantasy with dual timelines and told both in 1st and 3rd POV. If you like books that slowly unveil their mysteries and secrets, get your copy now!

My Review

I’ve previously read Humanborn from this author and had loved it, so I had expectations. I knew this was different, and the author described this book as a passion project, and after reading this all I can say is that we need more passion projects because this was so so good!

It revolves around Saeryn who is on a vacation with her parents and a nobleman who her mother hopes she will marry. Saeryn has recently woken up from a coma and there is a three year gap in her memories following the hiking accident that landed her in a coma. She also has strange scars she can’t explain, even with the accident. She’s close to her father but distant from her mother and barely tolerates the presence of the suitor her mother has picked for her, safe in the knowledge that her father would stand by her choices.

A chance encounter with a stranger called Malatrius, an encounter the man claims was due to Saeryn’s insistence, has her recalling bits from her past. Her father is not happy with Malatrius’ presence and warns her from him, but even so, he agrees in the end to let Malatrius try and get Saeryn her memories back.

It means leaving behind everything she knows and travelling to another world, where Malatrius claims he belongs to. It means believing in sorcery and the bits of memory that show her she had been Malatrius’ slave.

But if it could fill the gaping emptiness inside her, Saeryn is ready to take her chances.

From the beginning, this book gripped me, and I finished it in half a night. The mystery of Saeryn’s missing memories, the recollections of her past, and the switch of PoV from first person (present Saeryn) to third person (recollecting her past) left me wanting more.

This isn’t a fast paced book by any means, but it has a lot packed into the short space, and I loved how slowly everything unfolded and how each twist was revealed slowly, slotting itself into place that’s the puzzle of Saeryn’s past.

Saeryn herself is a relatable character who I was rooting for from the first. I loved the other characters too, even the bad ones, because they all came across as real people. There is a romance here that’s very much important to Saeryn even if not to the plot.

If you love portal fantasies with complex and realistic characters, an intriguing character driven plot, and villains you would love to hate, this book is for you.

Highly recommended!

Get Memories of Sorcery and Sand here and here