UPDATE: I purchased the audiobook of KISS of EON, bk 4 on a recent sale. After listening for several hours I was surprised to discover that I actually prefer the book form to the audio, which was narrated by Vivienne Leheny. So about midpoint I switched from the audio back to the book form and completed it. It was both the particular voice Leheny chose for the MMC, and also listening to the FMC’s frequent profanity that bothered me. I guess I skip over the later when I read and I also imagined a much different voice for the MMC. Since this review is for the audiobook, I dropped my rating from my previous 4 to a 3 which is probably more accurate overall.
ORIGINAL POST ~
3.5 Stars (rounded to a 4) for KISS OF EON, bk #4 of a 9 bk series in a Space Opera Romance novel by Anna Hackett.
MY RATING GUIDE: 1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= THIS WAS OKAY; 3.5= I MOSTLY ENJOYED THIS; 4= Yes, I liked this a lot;5= I Loved it, it was great! (I seldom give 5 Stars).
Capt Allie Borden/FMC is Captain of Space Corp’s most advanced experimental (earth) warship, the Divergent, and it’s well trained, finely tuned crew. They have been ordered to partake in a training exercise between the earth ship Divergent and EON’s crew on the warship Desteron lead by 2nd in Commans Brack Thann-Felis.
MMC/Brack Thann-Felis is 2nd in Command of EON’s premier warship the Desteron. He is a seasoned, loyal EON warrior to the core. He expects the training exercises to produce less than promised, to be a minor inconvenience and a waste of time. But he always follows orders and demands the best from his crew. The earth ship will not embarrass them. But before the training exercise even begins, problems arise.
I enjoyed KISS more than the previous book, HEART. Although the sexual aspect popped up rather quickly (again), I felt the developing relationship between the 2 MCs was mostly believable. I enjoyed the action scenes and world development the most, which occurs mainly in the second half. Sometimes I felt certain references to “leggings,” “boxer briefs/boy shorts,” etc weakened the story (pulling me out) but then the struggles in the mud/geyser land, the space battles and fights with the Kantos sucked me back in. Overall I mostly enjoyed KISS OF EON.
The Eon series - the characters, settings, and story arc as imagined by Anna Hackett remind me a bit of the Original Star Trek program, which I loved. The tone is light rather than dark. Both Anna’s male and (usually) female characters are strong, resilient, loyal and brave. Generally, the action moves quickly and I seldom get bored. I have already purchased the next books in the EON WARRIORS series and look forward to the next.
KISS OF EON can be read as a standalone title (with no cliffhanger ending) however an over-reaching story arc was begun in bk#1 which will continue throughout the series, plus book #1 is particularly fun. Readers who enjoy Action-Adventure Space Opera Romance (think Star Trek with added steamy scenes & strong language) but are unfamiliar with Anna Hackett novels may wish to check out the Eon Warriors series.
**READER CAUTIONS - Not recommended to readers who prefer Clean fiction or to YA readers.
VIOLENCE - Yes. Sci-fi action and destruction. Think Star Trek.
PROFANITY - Yes. Strong language is used quite frequently by FMC.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS- Yes. The 2 main characters engage in steamy, on-scene intimacy on a number of occasions beginning around 50%.