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Trading In Royalty: Star Trader Independence Book 1
In a universe where Independence means corporate servitude, Rayne Nielson has a problem.
The only link she has to her late father is the battle-damaged star freighter, Independence. Not ready to surrender his prized ship to the scrapyard, Rayne goes into debt to Interstellar Trading Corp (ITC), the largest interstellar shipping company in both the Federation and beyond. Now, each load she carries earns ITC more money than it pays off debt. Will she and her rag-tag crew ever get to live by their own rules, or will they be ITC wage slaves forever?
Valen Sitara is a mercenary captain, but also a member of the royal family of the planet Sitara.
Members of his family are being threatened and outright killed. He needs to get home to find out who’s behind this and stop them. But that same mysterious someone has managed to have a false warrant issued for Valen as a pirate and murderer. Valen is ready to pay a small fortune to evade the Federation police so he can get home and eliminate the threat.
Rayne has a ship. Valen has cash. But with station authorities, the Federation navy, and a strange ITC courier ship all trying to stop them, is Rayne ready to lay it all on the line to help a stranger in need and get a taste of the freedom she craves?
In order to get to Sitara, they will have to outrun Federation warships, avoid the ITC, and cope with aliens, both friendly and not. And, once they arrive, the battle won’t be over until the enemy is exposed and Valen’s family is safe.
If you enjoy action & adventure, found family that includes quirky aliens, and occasional humor, get set to enjoy the wild ride as the Independence makes the run to Sitara.
The only link she has to her late father is the battle-damaged star freighter, Independence. Not ready to surrender his prized ship to the scrapyard, Rayne goes into debt to Interstellar Trading Corp (ITC), the largest interstellar shipping company in both the Federation and beyond. Now, each load she carries earns ITC more money than it pays off debt. Will she and her rag-tag crew ever get to live by their own rules, or will they be ITC wage slaves forever?
Valen Sitara is a mercenary captain, but also a member of the royal family of the planet Sitara.
Members of his family are being threatened and outright killed. He needs to get home to find out who’s behind this and stop them. But that same mysterious someone has managed to have a false warrant issued for Valen as a pirate and murderer. Valen is ready to pay a small fortune to evade the Federation police so he can get home and eliminate the threat.
Rayne has a ship. Valen has cash. But with station authorities, the Federation navy, and a strange ITC courier ship all trying to stop them, is Rayne ready to lay it all on the line to help a stranger in need and get a taste of the freedom she craves?
In order to get to Sitara, they will have to outrun Federation warships, avoid the ITC, and cope with aliens, both friendly and not. And, once they arrive, the battle won’t be over until the enemy is exposed and Valen’s family is safe.
If you enjoy action & adventure, found family that includes quirky aliens, and occasional humor, get set to enjoy the wild ride as the Independence makes the run to Sitara.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 15, 2024
44 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 8, 2025
She does a good job with the "Spunky female space ship captain" trope.The problem is the author is a grandmother from a red state, so the character exhibits all the intimacy of a 13yr girl. Also, because she's a red state granny, she has a bigoted view towards lesbiamism: portraying them as sex fiends.
LJ Dix: Straight girls are chaste and take their time. Lesbiams are sex hounds.
It might be commendable thst her main character is interested in someone with an Eas Indian ethnicity until you realize few other ethnicities seem to exist and it more the author's fetich attraction.
The novels are good, but the diversity is shallow, and it reads like it's written for young adults. This wouldn't be bad because I'm not looking for erotic fiction in my sci-fi... But Andre Norton did a better job of genderless adventure, as have thousands of others.
In the end, JlLJ Dix needs to leave her 14 cats with someone, leave her red state l, home, bang an 8ndian guy to get it out of her system, and meet other ethnicities...and maybe actually have fired who are LGBTQ+.
And also talk to some black people
LJ Dix: Straight girls are chaste and take their time. Lesbiams are sex hounds.
It might be commendable thst her main character is interested in someone with an Eas Indian ethnicity until you realize few other ethnicities seem to exist and it more the author's fetich attraction.
The novels are good, but the diversity is shallow, and it reads like it's written for young adults. This wouldn't be bad because I'm not looking for erotic fiction in my sci-fi... But Andre Norton did a better job of genderless adventure, as have thousands of others.
In the end, JlLJ Dix needs to leave her 14 cats with someone, leave her red state l, home, bang an 8ndian guy to get it out of her system, and meet other ethnicities...and maybe actually have fired who are LGBTQ+.
And also talk to some black people
October 18, 2024
Great space opera
I really enjoyed all the characters in this book and especially liked the 4 different races. The "bears" and Dee are my favorites. Rayne, Valen, and their crews were fun and the storyline definitely kept my attention from beginning to end. I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series to see what adventures they get into.
I really enjoyed all the characters in this book and especially liked the 4 different races. The "bears" and Dee are my favorites. Rayne, Valen, and their crews were fun and the storyline definitely kept my attention from beginning to end. I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series to see what adventures they get into.
December 31, 2024
Enjoyable sci fi adventure
The worldbuilding is excellent, the non-humans are believable and likeable, and the story is thrilling. Rayne and Valen are both great main characters with their own interesting supporting crew. Dee is awesome. There is violence and a body count.
The worldbuilding is excellent, the non-humans are believable and likeable, and the story is thrilling. Rayne and Valen are both great main characters with their own interesting supporting crew. Dee is awesome. There is violence and a body count.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews