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Deep Deception
Colonial Mining Authority agent Natalia Hallowell doesn't always play by the rules, but she wouldn't compromise a case either. Put on administrative leave under a cloud of accusation, with no support from her boss, Natalia seeks a little anonymous companionship at her favorite bar. But she's surprised when the woman who catches her fancy starts buying her drinks.
Desperate, Genevieve "Gennie" Caine has no choice but to seduce, drug and tie Natalia to the bed to get her attention. With the Reyes Corporation after something she has, Gennie needs Natalia to open an investigation and distract them long enough for her to get off Nevarro.
Natalia doesn't trust Gennie—despite the growing attraction between them—but the corporation's suspiciously high profits and abnormal business dealings convince her that they must be hiding something. She has no idea just how deep the deceptions run…
For more tales of intrigue on Nevarro, check out Rulebreaker and Caught in Amber, available now!
80,000 words
Desperate, Genevieve "Gennie" Caine has no choice but to seduce, drug and tie Natalia to the bed to get her attention. With the Reyes Corporation after something she has, Gennie needs Natalia to open an investigation and distract them long enough for her to get off Nevarro.
Natalia doesn't trust Gennie—despite the growing attraction between them—but the corporation's suspiciously high profits and abnormal business dealings convince her that they must be hiding something. She has no idea just how deep the deceptions run…
For more tales of intrigue on Nevarro, check out Rulebreaker and Caught in Amber, available now!
80,000 words
295 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 27, 2013
10 people are currently reading
354 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 16, 2022
"There were things Natalia Hallowell kept hidden behind carefully controlled expressions and movements, and Gennie had the overwhelming desire to ferret out every single one of her secrets. On the other hand, she had secrets of her own. Risking exposure wasn’t worth satisfying her curiosity about Natalia."
These two, Natalia and Gennie, are the central characters in a nominally SciFi story about criminal shenanigans on a distant planet’s remote mining operations.
"The void. The very idea made her shudder. It could work out to their advantage, however, with Natalia investigating the actual mining operation while Gennie scoured SI files and searched for any evidence of inappropriate activity. The seemingly unrelated shipping manifests and financial reports she’d shown Natalia had to have some connection somewhere. It started here at Grand Meridian."
These two have a Ying/Yang relationship with Natalia being the criminal investigator and Gennie being the one with a criminal record. They meet “cute” when Gennie plies Natalia with liquor and then seduces her in order to have her investigate a shady company she has worked for.
The plot itself could be recent or 20th century instead of in some distant solar system. It could have been centered on coal mining in Columbia or gold mining in the Transvaal. I am not a minor but I have gone into deep mines more than once in my life. It’s much the same with noise, dirt, and danger. Once I had to go more than half a mile into a working seam on my back because the height of the tunnel was only 38 inches. The point being that there is very little of this that is SciFi or futuristic. The sexual tension is amped as a selling point. To me this meant that Pegau didn’t have enough confidence in her plot and its mystery to “let it ride.”
These two, Natalia and Gennie, are the central characters in a nominally SciFi story about criminal shenanigans on a distant planet’s remote mining operations.
"The void. The very idea made her shudder. It could work out to their advantage, however, with Natalia investigating the actual mining operation while Gennie scoured SI files and searched for any evidence of inappropriate activity. The seemingly unrelated shipping manifests and financial reports she’d shown Natalia had to have some connection somewhere. It started here at Grand Meridian."
These two have a Ying/Yang relationship with Natalia being the criminal investigator and Gennie being the one with a criminal record. They meet “cute” when Gennie plies Natalia with liquor and then seduces her in order to have her investigate a shady company she has worked for.
The plot itself could be recent or 20th century instead of in some distant solar system. It could have been centered on coal mining in Columbia or gold mining in the Transvaal. I am not a minor but I have gone into deep mines more than once in my life. It’s much the same with noise, dirt, and danger. Once I had to go more than half a mile into a working seam on my back because the height of the tunnel was only 38 inches. The point being that there is very little of this that is SciFi or futuristic. The sexual tension is amped as a selling point. To me this meant that Pegau didn’t have enough confidence in her plot and its mystery to “let it ride.”
June 6, 2013
Deep Deception is the third book in a series of sci-fi romances set on the mining colony of Nevarro. This and the first book (Rulebreaker) are f/f romances while the second one is m/f. Each book features a different couple so they can be read independently of one another. Its best to read Rulebreaker first though, as one awesome twist there will be spoiled by reading them out of order.
Unlike Rulebreaker, the author eschewed the use of the first person POV in this book (yay!) and this makes for a deeper portrayal of both protagonists. The action takes us from the main offices of Colonial Mining Authority (an FBI like entity) to a singles bar where our protagonists meet for a seemingly anonymous hookup, to the gritty
underbelly of the planet's mines and back again to the CMA offices for the grand finale.
The pacing was excellent. You get just enough detail about stuff to not get bored. Both women come from pretty colorful backgrounds and have tons of baggage--some of them live ones. I especially liked the author's treatment of Natalia's past and how she comes to terms with it--by going back to her roots. I wanted to read more about her past--perhaps have her recall more childhood memories, but what we got was a good enough glimpse--more might have bogged down the pace, since this is primarily an action novel.
After the initial unconsummated tryst, the two ladies have to work together and undertake the gritty mission in very close proximity and with a simmering anger and distrust between them along with a huge dollop of sexual attraction to go with it which all results in, of course, the most delicious sexual tension. Only one little thing
bothered me a bit -- I never could figure out what the villains ultimately hoped to achieve by doing what they did. Overall, the book was a perfect blend of sci-fi, romance, drama and action.
An enthusiastic 5 stars!
Unlike Rulebreaker, the author eschewed the use of the first person POV in this book (yay!) and this makes for a deeper portrayal of both protagonists. The action takes us from the main offices of Colonial Mining Authority (an FBI like entity) to a singles bar where our protagonists meet for a seemingly anonymous hookup, to the gritty
underbelly of the planet's mines and back again to the CMA offices for the grand finale.
The pacing was excellent. You get just enough detail about stuff to not get bored. Both women come from pretty colorful backgrounds and have tons of baggage--some of them live ones. I especially liked the author's treatment of Natalia's past and how she comes to terms with it--by going back to her roots. I wanted to read more about her past--perhaps have her recall more childhood memories, but what we got was a good enough glimpse--more might have bogged down the pace, since this is primarily an action novel.
After the initial unconsummated tryst, the two ladies have to work together and undertake the gritty mission in very close proximity and with a simmering anger and distrust between them along with a huge dollop of sexual attraction to go with it which all results in, of course, the most delicious sexual tension. Only one little thing
bothered me a bit -- I never could figure out what the villains ultimately hoped to achieve by doing what they did. Overall, the book was a perfect blend of sci-fi, romance, drama and action.
An enthusiastic 5 stars!
July 9, 2016
This book is a ton of fun and I liked it even better than Rulebreaker. I also can't get over how inexpensive Cathy Pegau's f/f books are. The price vs length means they're always a great deal, even when they're not on sale, so if you like fun lesfic with kickass ladies, definitely pick them up.
Full review here: http://www.thelesbianreview.com/deep-...
Full review here: http://www.thelesbianreview.com/deep-...
May 16, 2016
I've really enjoyed the world building in Cathy Pegau's scifi romances, it's done with a light touch but it feels very real and immersive. The characters are interesting and engaging, and the mystery in Deep Deception was great. The romance got off to a novel start and encompassed lots of trust issues, under cover aliases and built nicely from initial attraction to partnership.
September 21, 2017
A f/f romance with a sf-related crime plot was definitely a nice change of pace considering how dude-heavy a lot of the genre is, and I liked a lot of the ideas here, but the execution didn't entirely land all the time and the emotional arc wrapped up very suddenly/without necessarily earning/showing it. I'd def try the author again though. I think the scenes in and around the mining were actually the strongest by far.
July 19, 2017
I really, really enjoyed this one.
First off, I want to start with a note about the world-building. From that point of view, Pegau completely nails a science fiction story on an icy, mining-centric planet with an effortlessness I've only really before seen with Stephen Graham King. You "get" her world without having to do any work, the characters and moments provide such simple context that words like "pirq" and concepts like "the void" just slide right into common vernacular for the reader. The narrative immerses the reader from step one.
Now, about that narrative? So engaging. With an agent investigating corruption is herself falsely accused of actions just as corrupt meets a woman on the run trying to protect her two children who has an idea of just how deep that corruption goes, the characters are both heavily invested in seeing things through. But they're also unable to trust each other, given the barriers between them—and despite the attraction they feel—which makes their relationship crackle from the first step.
Undercover and in great danger, can the two women trust each other long enough to reveal the real villains, or will they have to risk it all and gamble just to make it out alive?
Pegau hits all the right notes: action, mystery, thrills, sci-fi, and love. It's all here. And frankly, I can't wait to hop back in an air-car and revisit more of her worlds. I'm so glad I found this book. More, please.
First off, I want to start with a note about the world-building. From that point of view, Pegau completely nails a science fiction story on an icy, mining-centric planet with an effortlessness I've only really before seen with Stephen Graham King. You "get" her world without having to do any work, the characters and moments provide such simple context that words like "pirq" and concepts like "the void" just slide right into common vernacular for the reader. The narrative immerses the reader from step one.
Now, about that narrative? So engaging. With an agent investigating corruption is herself falsely accused of actions just as corrupt meets a woman on the run trying to protect her two children who has an idea of just how deep that corruption goes, the characters are both heavily invested in seeing things through. But they're also unable to trust each other, given the barriers between them—and despite the attraction they feel—which makes their relationship crackle from the first step.
Undercover and in great danger, can the two women trust each other long enough to reveal the real villains, or will they have to risk it all and gamble just to make it out alive?
Pegau hits all the right notes: action, mystery, thrills, sci-fi, and love. It's all here. And frankly, I can't wait to hop back in an air-car and revisit more of her worlds. I'm so glad I found this book. More, please.
March 5, 2016
I expected more from this book. I don't know if I killed it with expectations, or if it's a solid C or B in the first place. But if you read the summary, and it sounds like your thing, then by all means pick up a copy and read it. I certainly don't begrudge my purchase price. Some of the things that annoyed me were hilarious.
Natalia Hallowell, an experienced and talented CMA undercover agent, finds herself suspended and facing charges of corruption--charges that are definitely false. With no reasonable recourse, she tries to bite her tongue and take it as paid time off. She goes to a bar and picks up a beautiful woman.
That beautiful woman tazes Natalia and ties her to a bed. Not in a good way. Her name is Gennie Caine, and she has Something to Say. The powerful Reyes family is after Gennie; they want something that she has. She leaves a USB drive on the nightstand, requesting that Natalia look into it.
After whining a bit over the whole tied-to-a-bed thing, Natalia goes over the drive, and decides that the evidence of corruption it contains is enough to act on. She and Gennie go undercover together in the mines to seek out further information. What they find is pretty messed up, and puts them in even more danger than either of them had to contend with previously.
The writing is decent for the most part, but there were several instances when the grammar went off the rails. I don't like being jarred out of a story to puzzle over weird sentence structure or inexplicable word choice.
The "futuristic" slang was worse. Firefly is not perfect, but at least its slang was consistent and VARIED. Deep Deception's vernacular gets old very quickly. "Torque" or "torqued" show up thirteen times, while "mad" doesn't seem to show up even once. (Angry is there ten times, at least.)
Then there's the nickname. Oh boy, the nickname. It comes out of nowhere. The out-of-nowhere-ness is remarked upon by Natalia when it happens. The reason that Gennie gives is so weak and so unrealistic that I cringed."When I was researching you, it came up as a diminutive of your name."
Bull honky! What kind of Hello Kitty type of research did you do that included a baby names website?
But the crown jewel of minor yet impossibly irritating mistakes was this: "Gennie rabbit-punched him twice to the kidneys."
Reflect on that, my friends. Looking back on it now, all I want to do is laugh. First, if you do it right, you shouldn't have to rabbit-punch someone twice. It has the tendency to be lethal. Second, a rabbit-punch is a chop to the back of the neck.
I liked the plot. The pacing is not so much slow as partitioned. I think actually separating each part of the story into named parts would have hurt it. But the danger is believable and menacing. I usually didn't find it hard to believe that any of the people out to hurt them could and would hurt them.
Natalia was actually pretty good at her job. There was a part where she had a huge emotional blow-up that seemed if not contrived, than disturbingly adolescent, but it didn't happen at too critical a point that it hurt her professional aspect. Gennie, I think I liked overall. They were neither of them all that deep. Nor was the deception, really, despite the title.
But my biggest problem with them is that neither of them has much in the way of character development. Natalia has a sort of token growing out of a childhood trauma, but it wasn't that big a deal, and it wasn't even explained that she had this trauma until at least a quarter through the story, so it just doesn't count. She is almost exactly the same person at the end as she was at the beginning, except with more significant other. Ditto Gennie. Both of them substitute changes in circumstance for actual changes in self, i.e. character development.
Their relationship is so heavily founded on mutual lust that the book had to work way, way harder than it should have to make me believe in the romance and want them to get together. Because they were so focused on looks and carnal want, I spent at least half of the beginning just wanting them to sleep together so they could get the lust out of the way and see if they actually had any meaningful chemistry beyond "I want you for your boobs."
Still. It's a quick read (I took forever because I was reading it concurrently with a few other books) and everything is at least good enough. I just had a lot of piling up annoyances.
To end on a lighter note: this book contains one of the best Oh No I'm Gonna Sneeze things ever. There is actually a good reason for her to need to sneeze, you actually care about them not getting caught, and the problem with her airways is plot-relevant.
But see, there's this thing about sneezing that I know. It's so awesome, I'm going to share it, and I hope that lots of people use it in books and in their lives.
So Natalia is trying not to sneeze. She holds her breath or something, but of course she still makes a slight noise, and trying to suppress the sneeze causes her pain. BUT. If you press your tongue up against your soft palate (it doesn't have to be very hard), this will very often stop the sneeze. It does not hurt. It works a lot. You just have to do it in time. Do it when you first start feeling the sneeze.
I had to learn this for when Owen was asleep in my arms and I had an explosive sneeze building up. I figure if it works for me in that situation, then it will work for undercover agents.
Natalia Hallowell, an experienced and talented CMA undercover agent, finds herself suspended and facing charges of corruption--charges that are definitely false. With no reasonable recourse, she tries to bite her tongue and take it as paid time off. She goes to a bar and picks up a beautiful woman.
That beautiful woman tazes Natalia and ties her to a bed. Not in a good way. Her name is Gennie Caine, and she has Something to Say. The powerful Reyes family is after Gennie; they want something that she has. She leaves a USB drive on the nightstand, requesting that Natalia look into it.
After whining a bit over the whole tied-to-a-bed thing, Natalia goes over the drive, and decides that the evidence of corruption it contains is enough to act on. She and Gennie go undercover together in the mines to seek out further information. What they find is pretty messed up, and puts them in even more danger than either of them had to contend with previously.
The writing is decent for the most part, but there were several instances when the grammar went off the rails. I don't like being jarred out of a story to puzzle over weird sentence structure or inexplicable word choice.
The "futuristic" slang was worse. Firefly is not perfect, but at least its slang was consistent and VARIED. Deep Deception's vernacular gets old very quickly. "Torque" or "torqued" show up thirteen times, while "mad" doesn't seem to show up even once. (Angry is there ten times, at least.)
Then there's the nickname. Oh boy, the nickname. It comes out of nowhere. The out-of-nowhere-ness is remarked upon by Natalia when it happens. The reason that Gennie gives is so weak and so unrealistic that I cringed."When I was researching you, it came up as a diminutive of your name."
Bull honky! What kind of Hello Kitty type of research did you do that included a baby names website?
But the crown jewel of minor yet impossibly irritating mistakes was this: "Gennie rabbit-punched him twice to the kidneys."
Reflect on that, my friends. Looking back on it now, all I want to do is laugh. First, if you do it right, you shouldn't have to rabbit-punch someone twice. It has the tendency to be lethal. Second, a rabbit-punch is a chop to the back of the neck.
I liked the plot. The pacing is not so much slow as partitioned. I think actually separating each part of the story into named parts would have hurt it. But the danger is believable and menacing. I usually didn't find it hard to believe that any of the people out to hurt them could and would hurt them.
Natalia was actually pretty good at her job. There was a part where she had a huge emotional blow-up that seemed if not contrived, than disturbingly adolescent, but it didn't happen at too critical a point that it hurt her professional aspect. Gennie, I think I liked overall. They were neither of them all that deep. Nor was the deception, really, despite the title.
But my biggest problem with them is that neither of them has much in the way of character development. Natalia has a sort of token growing out of a childhood trauma, but it wasn't that big a deal, and it wasn't even explained that she had this trauma until at least a quarter through the story, so it just doesn't count. She is almost exactly the same person at the end as she was at the beginning, except with more significant other. Ditto Gennie. Both of them substitute changes in circumstance for actual changes in self, i.e. character development.
Their relationship is so heavily founded on mutual lust that the book had to work way, way harder than it should have to make me believe in the romance and want them to get together. Because they were so focused on looks and carnal want, I spent at least half of the beginning just wanting them to sleep together so they could get the lust out of the way and see if they actually had any meaningful chemistry beyond "I want you for your boobs."
Still. It's a quick read (I took forever because I was reading it concurrently with a few other books) and everything is at least good enough. I just had a lot of piling up annoyances.
To end on a lighter note: this book contains one of the best Oh No I'm Gonna Sneeze things ever. There is actually a good reason for her to need to sneeze, you actually care about them not getting caught, and the problem with her airways is plot-relevant.
But see, there's this thing about sneezing that I know. It's so awesome, I'm going to share it, and I hope that lots of people use it in books and in their lives.
So Natalia is trying not to sneeze. She holds her breath or something, but of course she still makes a slight noise, and trying to suppress the sneeze causes her pain. BUT. If you press your tongue up against your soft palate (it doesn't have to be very hard), this will very often stop the sneeze. It does not hurt. It works a lot. You just have to do it in time. Do it when you first start feeling the sneeze.
I had to learn this for when Owen was asleep in my arms and I had an explosive sneeze building up. I figure if it works for me in that situation, then it will work for undercover agents.
June 29, 2013
I read Cathy Pegau’s first book, Rulebreaker, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved the author’s voice and that it was an action packed, thriller-ish sci-fi story as well as an f/f romance. So I was excited when she came out with a new f/f book set in the same world, Nevarro, an Earth like planet existing sometime in the future.
In this third book of the series, right out of the gate the action starts. Natalia, a Gov employee, is sexually seduced (they both totally went for it), drugged, and tied up by Gennie, a known criminal conspirator. Gennie feels it’s the only way to get the Gov to look at info she has on the Reyes Corporation, which she thinks is corrupt and operating nefarious and illegal businesses. She also has a personal stake in them being caught, which she keeps secret from Natalia.
This sets the tone for most of the interaction between Gennie and Natalia throughout the book; lots and lots of sexual tension mixed with major distrust. Gennie’s tactic, while pissing Natalia off, did make a huge impression and Natalia decides to help Gennie after looking over the info Gennie left behind. During the course of having to get more information by going undercover together, they are forced to work out both the constant sexual heat that keeps drawing them together as well as learning to trust that each has the other’s back.
As far as both characters go, Natalia and Gennie are equally strong, independent, willing to fight for what’s important to them, and are not averse to bending the rules to do so. Having similar characteristics is what keeps them on track with each other even though they get wary at times, especially Natalia who is never sure about what Gennie is hiding from her.
This is one of the characteristics of Cathy Pegau’s books that I like. Her main characters usually have a strong, inner moral code even if they step out of the bounds and or if that moral code is not in step with the rest of society. This makes them very interesting and not the usual.
What’s good about this story is that there isn’t too much focus on their issues something that gets annoying in other books. They’re constantly testing the physical boundaries of their attraction with touches, glances, innuendos, but at the same time, the constant threat and suspense that comes with working undercover and the fact that they are investigating a potentially dangerous group interjects some somberness into their interactions.
On the romance itself, I felt the author kept that on track at an even pace, slowly building up their love for one another. It starts as lust but as the story progresses it grows to something deeper in a realistic way.
Even though this is a sci-fi romance, the author does a great job at writing what I consider to be suspense. The action is fairly fast-paced and exciting. Besides the tension of being undercover, Gennie is dealing with the stress of constantly being on the run to protect, at all costs, what’s most precious to her. And Natalia is dealing with unknown enemies trying to take her down at work with convincing lies and false evidence. Neither can relax or settle into a routine life until these things are settled.
As in Rulebreaker, I love that this futuristic world is fairly generic and doesn’t have social taboos on sexuality. Maybe sci-fi fans will not like that there is not too much world building on the sci-fi level, however, I like that the author leaves enough room for readers to use their imaginations to add to what is not described in detail. Plus it makes it easier to follow if you step into this book without having read the first two.
Deep Deception is ultimately an entertaining read and I will be reading the next installment, if there is one, of Cathy Pegau’s f/f books set in this future world. Or even any other f/f she writes.
Heat Level- 2-3- Several fairly spelled out sex scenes but not too graphically written.
October 12, 2016
Set in the same universe as Rulebreaker, it all begins with Natalia, a CMA agent, meeting Gennie at a bar. Soon after that, they go to Gennie's hotel, and suddenly Natalia, after recovering from the sedation, finds herself tied up to the bed. As it turns out, Gennie is a known criminal (or more accurately, someone who used to work for a criminal) who thought that'd be the only way she could get the agent to talk to her. A powerful company is after something Gennie has, and she needs Natalia's help to leave the planet.
And well, I have to say I really liked Rulebreaker, I think it was fun, entertaining and I liked the characters. In this case, I did like it, but just not as much. I don't know why, but I sadly found my mind wandering from time to time, to the point that I had to reread certain parts.
Also, unlike the other book, which was narrated in the first person by one of the characters, this time the narration is in the third person from both characters' perspectives, allowing us to get to know both of them well, but still... I didn't feel much for them, even if I did enjoy their relationship.
Overall, though, it was a good read.
And well, I have to say I really liked Rulebreaker, I think it was fun, entertaining and I liked the characters. In this case, I did like it, but just not as much. I don't know why, but I sadly found my mind wandering from time to time, to the point that I had to reread certain parts.
Also, unlike the other book, which was narrated in the first person by one of the characters, this time the narration is in the third person from both characters' perspectives, allowing us to get to know both of them well, but still... I didn't feel much for them, even if I did enjoy their relationship.
Overall, though, it was a good read.
June 18, 2018
I was looking for a story with a side of romance and I got it with this one. In fact the early chapters are so full of back-story, set-up and characters that I found I really had to pay attention. (It transpires this is the third book set in this world. Though each is standalone, it probably would have been less of a learning curve if I'd read the first one or two!)
All in all, a 3.5 for me. I liked the characters, would have enjoyed a little more motivation for their decisions, more modulation on the narration but enjoyed it a lot, nonetheless.
All in all, a 3.5 for me. I liked the characters, would have enjoyed a little more motivation for their decisions, more modulation on the narration but enjoyed it a lot, nonetheless.
Want to read
June 2, 2013I haven't really read any f/f for some reason, but I feel like I should give it a shot
March 23, 2017
3.5 Stars
I've been looking for a good f/f romance to sink my teeth into, but you know what? Most f/f romances by recced authors are out of my budget range! I can't spent $13 on a 250 page romance novel. I don't spend that for ANY novel if I'm honest.
Anyway, Cathy Pegau is a recommended author whose books don't cost an arm and a leg, so I've picked up a handful. Deep Deception is the first one I've read. It's a science fiction, suspense, romance and a good read. It didn't satisfy my want for a good juicy romance, it's leaning more towards suspense/romance than romance/suspense if that makes any sense. I should mention that Cathy's other 2 books in this setting of Nevarro appear to be loosely linked to this one - which is the 3rd one written - but every place I've checked confirms that the books can be read separately.
The main characters, Natalia and Gennie are interesting enough if a little sparsely drawn. The story is told more from Natalia's POV, so she gets the lion share of introspection and backstory, but I found myself wanting to know more of Gennie's history. Her childhood before she hooked up with the Reyes family for instance.
Somewhat formulaic but nonetheless enjoyable, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of Cathy's books in my TBR pile.
I've been looking for a good f/f romance to sink my teeth into, but you know what? Most f/f romances by recced authors are out of my budget range! I can't spent $13 on a 250 page romance novel. I don't spend that for ANY novel if I'm honest.
Anyway, Cathy Pegau is a recommended author whose books don't cost an arm and a leg, so I've picked up a handful. Deep Deception is the first one I've read. It's a science fiction, suspense, romance and a good read. It didn't satisfy my want for a good juicy romance, it's leaning more towards suspense/romance than romance/suspense if that makes any sense. I should mention that Cathy's other 2 books in this setting of Nevarro appear to be loosely linked to this one - which is the 3rd one written - but every place I've checked confirms that the books can be read separately.
The main characters, Natalia and Gennie are interesting enough if a little sparsely drawn. The story is told more from Natalia's POV, so she gets the lion share of introspection and backstory, but I found myself wanting to know more of Gennie's history. Her childhood before she hooked up with the Reyes family for instance.
Somewhat formulaic but nonetheless enjoyable, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of Cathy's books in my TBR pile.
Read
February 19, 2023It all starts when Gennie drugs Natalia in a bid to convince Natalia to find dirt on the owners of a mining company (who happen to be her terrible in-laws, but let’s not mention that bit). One thing leads to another, and Gennie and Natalia are doing some forced proximity while working undercover and exposing a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy in this space-noir romantic suspense. (Book 1 in this series also features a f-f pairing; here’s my review of Rulebreaker.)
This mini-review is part of a list that can be read in full at The Smut Report
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This mini-review is part of a list that can be read in full at The Smut Report
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
February 26, 2025
4.5 stars
I'd actually already read this years ago, not long after reading Rulebreaker, but, while I rated that book, I forgot to rate and review "Deep Deception". So here we are, years later, and I can say that I remember liking it and I also remember quite a bit about the plot and characters and romance; it was definitely a memorable read. I bought Cathy Pegau's latest a few months ago and I think I'm going to read it soon.
I'd actually already read this years ago, not long after reading Rulebreaker, but, while I rated that book, I forgot to rate and review "Deep Deception". So here we are, years later, and I can say that I remember liking it and I also remember quite a bit about the plot and characters and romance; it was definitely a memorable read. I bought Cathy Pegau's latest a few months ago and I think I'm going to read it soon.
December 26, 2019
Another book in this series was so good, I expected this one to be as well. Unfortunately this one fell victim to some of the problems that seem oft repeated in romances. Deep feelings happened quickly. Strong attraction overcame common sense. The plot took a backseat to the detriment of any flow. Idiocies were quickly forgiven and not well discussed.
April 16, 2019
romance library
February 15, 2014
Rating: B- Liked It - But I had a few small issues
Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
Review copy provided by author
Senior Colonial Mining Authority agent Natalia Hallowell prides herself on her relentless pursuit of justice and her strong work ethic. So when she finds out that she is accused of taking bribes and illegally collecting evidence, she is angry and hurt. In order to deal with her work frustrations, Natalia looks to a few drinks and a one-night stand to ease the pain. That is until she meets Gennie. An immediate attraction sends Natalia to Gennie’s hotel room, only to be knocked out and tied up - but not in a fun way! Gennie is desperate to get off world, and needs assistance. She pleads for Natalia’s help to bring down the Reyes family - a well-known mining corporation. Reluctantly, Natalia agrees to help Gennie, and in order to bring down the Reyes, Gennie and Natalia must go undercover in a small mining district to uncover some anomalies in their shipping manifests.
Although a stand alone story, Deep Deception is loosely tied to two other books in an unnamed science fiction romance series. Natalia and Gennie both have roles in the previous book, Caught in Amber: Natalia is a confidant and sometimes partner to Nathan Sterling, CiA’s hero, and Gennie, aka Genevieve, was the assistant to Guy Christiansen, CiA’s antagonist. Deep Deception takes place about six months after the conclusion of Caught in Amber. One does not need to have read the previous books to enjoy this one.
Deep Deception is aptly named, with layers of lies and treachery that unfold throughout the tale. Since the story is shared from both Gennie and Natalia’s point-of-views, the reader is privy to some of the half-truths and deceptions, but the hefty lies are unveiled only as the story climaxes. While I enjoyed the complexity of the storyline, I did get frustrated at Gennie’s reluctancy to open up and trust Natalia. And maybe it’s the mystery-solver in me, but I felt like there were setups for problems and conspiracies that never came to be. I was suspicious of everyone, and therefore, a little disappointed when side stories would just peter out. However, the mystery of what is happening in South Meridian is a bit nerve-wracking. I was a bit on edge whenever the women did their spying--convinced something terrible would happen.
Gennie and Natalia enjoy a strong mutual attraction; however mistrust and reluctancy keep the pair from acting out on their desires for quite some time. I had mixed feelings towards the pair. I enjoyed the attraction and cheered for them; however, the hot-and-cold nature of each wore me down. For far too long, each fought the attraction for various (and valid) reasons, sharing with the reader numerous inner monologues about the need to stop looking at the other woman or wondering why the other would be interested. The continual analysis of the situation and each woman’s feelings became repetitive and tiresome after a while.
I did enjoy the pair’s time in South Meridian at the mining site. Once again, Ms. Pegau provides spectacular detail, painting vividly striking scenes. After reading this book, I felt like I could run the machinery at an off-world mining site! Natalia, needing to keep busy while on administrative leave, slips back into her old life as a simplistic minor - known as a pirq. Her family has a history of living as pirqs, dating back several generations. Experiencing her return to that life from her POV is thoughtful and engaging. It's clear that this tough agent has an emotional bond to the land and life, and this section of the story is well done.
Once the pair has the evidence needed to help Gennie escape, the book changes quite a lot. At this point, the layers of deception really start to come to light, and the pace of the book picks up tremendously. The pair are fighting assaults on multiple fronts, while trying to piece together several puzzle parts that don’t necessarily fit. At times I had a little trouble following who did what and why, but in the end it all shakes out just fine.
Overall, I enjoyed Deep Deception, but when it was all said and done, it felt too long. There are probably sections that could have been edited out in order to streamline the story. For example, the detail of the mining operations was spectacular, but ultimately not necessary for the final outcome. The romance between Natalia and Gennie ran hot and cold for me. I liked them and wanted to see their relationship blossom, but got frustrated by their continual and prolonged apprehension. I wish I had more time with just the couple getting to better know one another. But in the end, Deep Deception was an entertaining and interesting read - especially for inner-engineering geek.
Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
Review copy provided by author
Senior Colonial Mining Authority agent Natalia Hallowell prides herself on her relentless pursuit of justice and her strong work ethic. So when she finds out that she is accused of taking bribes and illegally collecting evidence, she is angry and hurt. In order to deal with her work frustrations, Natalia looks to a few drinks and a one-night stand to ease the pain. That is until she meets Gennie. An immediate attraction sends Natalia to Gennie’s hotel room, only to be knocked out and tied up - but not in a fun way! Gennie is desperate to get off world, and needs assistance. She pleads for Natalia’s help to bring down the Reyes family - a well-known mining corporation. Reluctantly, Natalia agrees to help Gennie, and in order to bring down the Reyes, Gennie and Natalia must go undercover in a small mining district to uncover some anomalies in their shipping manifests.
Although a stand alone story, Deep Deception is loosely tied to two other books in an unnamed science fiction romance series. Natalia and Gennie both have roles in the previous book, Caught in Amber: Natalia is a confidant and sometimes partner to Nathan Sterling, CiA’s hero, and Gennie, aka Genevieve, was the assistant to Guy Christiansen, CiA’s antagonist. Deep Deception takes place about six months after the conclusion of Caught in Amber. One does not need to have read the previous books to enjoy this one.
Deep Deception is aptly named, with layers of lies and treachery that unfold throughout the tale. Since the story is shared from both Gennie and Natalia’s point-of-views, the reader is privy to some of the half-truths and deceptions, but the hefty lies are unveiled only as the story climaxes. While I enjoyed the complexity of the storyline, I did get frustrated at Gennie’s reluctancy to open up and trust Natalia. And maybe it’s the mystery-solver in me, but I felt like there were setups for problems and conspiracies that never came to be. I was suspicious of everyone, and therefore, a little disappointed when side stories would just peter out. However, the mystery of what is happening in South Meridian is a bit nerve-wracking. I was a bit on edge whenever the women did their spying--convinced something terrible would happen.
Gennie and Natalia enjoy a strong mutual attraction; however mistrust and reluctancy keep the pair from acting out on their desires for quite some time. I had mixed feelings towards the pair. I enjoyed the attraction and cheered for them; however, the hot-and-cold nature of each wore me down. For far too long, each fought the attraction for various (and valid) reasons, sharing with the reader numerous inner monologues about the need to stop looking at the other woman or wondering why the other would be interested. The continual analysis of the situation and each woman’s feelings became repetitive and tiresome after a while.
I did enjoy the pair’s time in South Meridian at the mining site. Once again, Ms. Pegau provides spectacular detail, painting vividly striking scenes. After reading this book, I felt like I could run the machinery at an off-world mining site! Natalia, needing to keep busy while on administrative leave, slips back into her old life as a simplistic minor - known as a pirq. Her family has a history of living as pirqs, dating back several generations. Experiencing her return to that life from her POV is thoughtful and engaging. It's clear that this tough agent has an emotional bond to the land and life, and this section of the story is well done.
Once the pair has the evidence needed to help Gennie escape, the book changes quite a lot. At this point, the layers of deception really start to come to light, and the pace of the book picks up tremendously. The pair are fighting assaults on multiple fronts, while trying to piece together several puzzle parts that don’t necessarily fit. At times I had a little trouble following who did what and why, but in the end it all shakes out just fine.
Overall, I enjoyed Deep Deception, but when it was all said and done, it felt too long. There are probably sections that could have been edited out in order to streamline the story. For example, the detail of the mining operations was spectacular, but ultimately not necessary for the final outcome. The romance between Natalia and Gennie ran hot and cold for me. I liked them and wanted to see their relationship blossom, but got frustrated by their continual and prolonged apprehension. I wish I had more time with just the couple getting to better know one another. But in the end, Deep Deception was an entertaining and interesting read - especially for inner-engineering geek.
June 7, 2017
A f/f sci-fi romance with a government mining agent and a not quite-criminial, not quite a law abider who wants to turn into a government informant so she can get her in-laws off her back and away from her kids. A seriously fun ride with an ending that was sensible and satisfying.
Nat is an agent who has been put on suspension following a bust that went bad and then turned into someone framing her for bribery. So she has two weeks of nothing to do but hope her union rep can figure out WTF is going on in the agency. Meanwhile, Gennie is desperate to get information gleaned from her dead husband's computer to the right agent so her in-laws will be investigated/too worried about the family business PR. Getting rid of her in-laws attention will allow her enough time and breathing space to get herself and her twins off planet and into a new life somewhere in the universe. Nat is her way in.
Nat and Gennie worked well together as investigators/sleuths as well as lovers. With some help from characters from the other books in the series, they not only uncover dirty business but also dirty government agents with some added twists such as migrant workers and natural resource preservation. The world building was detailed enough to get a real sense of another planet and how it works. I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series (this was book 3 in a trilogy); luckily, each book can be read as a stand-alone.
Nat is an agent who has been put on suspension following a bust that went bad and then turned into someone framing her for bribery. So she has two weeks of nothing to do but hope her union rep can figure out WTF is going on in the agency. Meanwhile, Gennie is desperate to get information gleaned from her dead husband's computer to the right agent so her in-laws will be investigated/too worried about the family business PR. Getting rid of her in-laws attention will allow her enough time and breathing space to get herself and her twins off planet and into a new life somewhere in the universe. Nat is her way in.
Nat and Gennie worked well together as investigators/sleuths as well as lovers. With some help from characters from the other books in the series, they not only uncover dirty business but also dirty government agents with some added twists such as migrant workers and natural resource preservation. The world building was detailed enough to get a real sense of another planet and how it works. I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series (this was book 3 in a trilogy); luckily, each book can be read as a stand-alone.
February 28, 2017
Fun story
I really enjoyed this story of two women working together to overcome obstacles. I had a good time reading the story.
I really enjoyed this story of two women working together to overcome obstacles. I had a good time reading the story.
June 4, 2013
3.5
This was an interesting read that is well-paced with strong female leads.
Natalia is having one of the worst days in memory when she meets an interesting woman at a bar. She is intrigued and soon enough they are on the way up to the woman's hotel room when she's drugged and tied up. When she wakes she is understandably pissed and isn't quite willing to listen to what the woman has to say. The next day however she has nothing on her hands but time to see if what the woman says is true or not but doesn't expect it to pan out. After getting put on suspension for suspicion of taking a bribe to look the other way while a company perform illegal activities she decides to truly look at what is happening at an outlying mining operation but only to prove the allegations and give her a chance to have something else to do than obsess over her potential career ender. She's torn when she goes undercover doing the same job her family did for generations but at the same time this makes her learn more about someone who will become her everything in life and show her what it means to really live again.
Gennie just wants to get off-planet and give her kids a chance to live a life where they aren't constantly looking over their shoulders for her deceased former lover's family. She knows they had him killed and now they want to take her kids from her by any means necessary. She turns to Natalia out of desperation and instead finds someone who could be her partner in not only uncovering the secrets she has bits and pieces of but also in life. She's not easy to get to know because she's so worried about keeping her kids safe that she just can't trust but she's smart and strong enough to face her fears over and over in order to make them be safe. I liked how she was willing to cross lines in order to protect her kids but I didn't like how long it took for her to finally let Natalia in.
They both have major issues that get worked out in the book and I enjoyed seeing them come to an agreement even when they really didn't trust one another. Their chemistry is definitely off the charts but it does take a bit for them both to really let each other in and start to think as a team.
Thanks to NetGalley.com and Carina Press for giving me the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review. I enjoyed it!
This was an interesting read that is well-paced with strong female leads.
Natalia is having one of the worst days in memory when she meets an interesting woman at a bar. She is intrigued and soon enough they are on the way up to the woman's hotel room when she's drugged and tied up. When she wakes she is understandably pissed and isn't quite willing to listen to what the woman has to say. The next day however she has nothing on her hands but time to see if what the woman says is true or not but doesn't expect it to pan out. After getting put on suspension for suspicion of taking a bribe to look the other way while a company perform illegal activities she decides to truly look at what is happening at an outlying mining operation but only to prove the allegations and give her a chance to have something else to do than obsess over her potential career ender. She's torn when she goes undercover doing the same job her family did for generations but at the same time this makes her learn more about someone who will become her everything in life and show her what it means to really live again.
Gennie just wants to get off-planet and give her kids a chance to live a life where they aren't constantly looking over their shoulders for her deceased former lover's family. She knows they had him killed and now they want to take her kids from her by any means necessary. She turns to Natalia out of desperation and instead finds someone who could be her partner in not only uncovering the secrets she has bits and pieces of but also in life. She's not easy to get to know because she's so worried about keeping her kids safe that she just can't trust but she's smart and strong enough to face her fears over and over in order to make them be safe. I liked how she was willing to cross lines in order to protect her kids but I didn't like how long it took for her to finally let Natalia in.
They both have major issues that get worked out in the book and I enjoyed seeing them come to an agreement even when they really didn't trust one another. Their chemistry is definitely off the charts but it does take a bit for them both to really let each other in and start to think as a team.
Thanks to NetGalley.com and Carina Press for giving me the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review. I enjoyed it!
June 9, 2013
Natalia is framed, accused of sleeping with the enemy - until she can prove different, she's on leave. At the bar Gennie catches her eye, unfortunately Gennie has plans for Natalia - she needs her help. They go undercover to a mining colony to try and find the evidence that Gennie needs to get the Reyes family off her back but the close living arrangements don't help their attraction to one another.
This is the follow up to Caught in Amber (although I don't think the series actually has a name? Not that I can find anyway) where we first met Natalia & Gennie, the former helping Spencer and Sasha (who make an appearance in this book) while the latter first hindered then helped them.
I liked both leads in this, they both have their problems but don't let it get in their way. In fact, Gennie is risking everything to get Natalia's help - she's willing to risk her life to help her kids and get out from under the Reyes radar. Natalia is willing to help Gennie despite their initial meeting being a farce. I enjoyed the storyline, well paced and well written with a lot of action. And Natalia and Gennie's relationship is sweet, they're both scared and they both have their reasons for not pursuing it but, of course, they can't stop it from happening.
Recommended, and I discovered there was a book before Caught in Amber called Rulebreaker that I have just downloaded to my Kindle.
This is the follow up to Caught in Amber (although I don't think the series actually has a name? Not that I can find anyway) where we first met Natalia & Gennie, the former helping Spencer and Sasha (who make an appearance in this book) while the latter first hindered then helped them.
I liked both leads in this, they both have their problems but don't let it get in their way. In fact, Gennie is risking everything to get Natalia's help - she's willing to risk her life to help her kids and get out from under the Reyes radar. Natalia is willing to help Gennie despite their initial meeting being a farce. I enjoyed the storyline, well paced and well written with a lot of action. And Natalia and Gennie's relationship is sweet, they're both scared and they both have their reasons for not pursuing it but, of course, they can't stop it from happening.
Recommended, and I discovered there was a book before Caught in Amber called Rulebreaker that I have just downloaded to my Kindle.
July 25, 2015
What I liked:
In this one the romantic tension was much higher and in far more jeopardy than Caught In Amber and Rulebreaker, with both the main characters having issues and secrets that could do far worse than simply make a romance difficult.
What I didn't like:
I didn't find either heroine as likeable as those in other Pegau books I've read, so I had a harder time connecting and emphasizing with them, despite the justification in Gennie's case. I also think that Natalia's 'illness', having been made out as something deadly, abruptly became a minor factor when I felt it should have been more pivotal.
In conclusion:
This is not my favourite of Pegau's books, but still an exciting, heart-wrenching SFR worth reading. Light on the SF but with plenty of tension, emotional and action-wise, with thriller and espionage elements.
In this one the romantic tension was much higher and in far more jeopardy than Caught In Amber and Rulebreaker, with both the main characters having issues and secrets that could do far worse than simply make a romance difficult.
What I didn't like:
I didn't find either heroine as likeable as those in other Pegau books I've read, so I had a harder time connecting and emphasizing with them, despite the justification in Gennie's case. I also think that Natalia's 'illness', having been made out as something deadly, abruptly became a minor factor when I felt it should have been more pivotal.
In conclusion:
This is not my favourite of Pegau's books, but still an exciting, heart-wrenching SFR worth reading. Light on the SF but with plenty of tension, emotional and action-wise, with thriller and espionage elements.
April 7, 2013
I always enjoy Pegau's writing and world-building. Even though I'm not a big scifi reader and I skipped the second in the series (Caught in Amber), I didn't feel lost starting this one.
I really liked both characters, especially Natalia. She's strong all the way through. I also liked Gennie even though I wasn't sold on some of her choices near the end. Confronting the villains, rather than running away, seemed like a odd decision. The romance worked for me a lot better here than in Rulebreaker. It was sexy and well done. I loved the opening scene between them (very hot!) and the tension throughout the undercover investigation. I'm on the fence about 4 stars vs. 3. I think I gave Rulebreaker a C+. I'd give Deep Deception a B-.
I really liked both characters, especially Natalia. She's strong all the way through. I also liked Gennie even though I wasn't sold on some of her choices near the end. Confronting the villains, rather than running away, seemed like a odd decision. The romance worked for me a lot better here than in Rulebreaker. It was sexy and well done. I loved the opening scene between them (very hot!) and the tension throughout the undercover investigation. I'm on the fence about 4 stars vs. 3. I think I gave Rulebreaker a C+. I'd give Deep Deception a B-.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2014
F/F - 2 book giveaway - just follow the link, read our full review, and leave a comment for a chance to win either Deep Deception or a book from our prize list!
http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/1/post/2...
Bent, but not broken the two woman handle their baggage, and rediscover who they are as they come together as a couple. I loved that most about their romance, the fact that they grew together. The spark between them is a live flame powered by lust, admiration and love. It made for well-rounded couple I really believed in.
http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/1/post/2...
Bent, but not broken the two woman handle their baggage, and rediscover who they are as they come together as a couple. I loved that most about their romance, the fact that they grew together. The spark between them is a live flame powered by lust, admiration and love. It made for well-rounded couple I really believed in.
January 22, 2015
An adequately written scifi f/f romance thriller. None of the various aspects blew me away but they all worked pretty well, and it was a fun read. The world building didn't work for me in parts, and it felt like there was some weird racial subtext I wasn't quite getting, but I liked the characters and was satisfied in the end.
July 28, 2013
What a fantastic read. It was engaging, exciting and sexy. It kept me glued to every sentence. I haven't had that much fun reading a book in quite some time. There was enough future tech to make it interesting but the insight of the 2 characters was where the real magic came to life. Being able to feel what they felt, I connected, hard.
November 7, 2015
Cathy Pegau’s Deep Deception is a rollercoaster ride of a book. Natalia and Gennie come from different sides of the law. They’ve got no reason to trust each other, let alone want each other as much as they do, but that’s not under their control. Pegau mixes a sweet, hot love story with outer space mining espionage to create a steaming good read.
September 26, 2013
Quite a novel story with a good taste of adventure. The development of the relationship is a bit too rush though... after all the characters barely met each other for a week. Nonetheless I've enjoyed reading the novel
March 19, 2014
Intriguing plots which merged nicely and a lovely bit of spying in the mines - I wish that part had been longer! I like the more mature MCs (in their thirties/forties) with solid histories. Good end fight between agents and MCs in the CMA headquarters.
December 21, 2016
Something just didn't click for me with this book (I listened to the Audio book version). Neither character felt real or realistic, I didn't really like either personality, and the situation felt overly complicated. I made it to about half way and then gave up.
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