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Chaos Station #1
Chaos Station
"You're not real. Felix Ingesson is dead."
The war with the alien stin is over, but Felix Ingesson has given up on seeing his lover, Zander Anatolius, ever again. Zander's military file is sealed tighter than an airlock. A former prisoner of war, Felix is attempting a much quieter life keeping his ship, the Chaos, aloft. He almost succeeds, until Zander walks on board and insists that Felix isn't real.
A retired, broken super soldier, Zander is reeling from the aftereffects of his experimental training and wants nothing more than to disappear and wait for insanity to claim him. Then he sees footage of a friend and ally—a super soldier like him—murdering an entire security squad with her bare hands and a cold, dead look in her eyes. He never expected to find Felix, the man he'd thought dead for years, on the ship he hired to track her down.
Working with Felix to rescue his teammate is a dream come true…and a nightmare. Zander has no exit strategy that will leave Felix unscathed—or his own heart unbroken.
The war with the alien stin is over, but Felix Ingesson has given up on seeing his lover, Zander Anatolius, ever again. Zander's military file is sealed tighter than an airlock. A former prisoner of war, Felix is attempting a much quieter life keeping his ship, the Chaos, aloft. He almost succeeds, until Zander walks on board and insists that Felix isn't real.
A retired, broken super soldier, Zander is reeling from the aftereffects of his experimental training and wants nothing more than to disappear and wait for insanity to claim him. Then he sees footage of a friend and ally—a super soldier like him—murdering an entire security squad with her bare hands and a cold, dead look in her eyes. He never expected to find Felix, the man he'd thought dead for years, on the ship he hired to track her down.
Working with Felix to rescue his teammate is a dream come true…and a nightmare. Zander has no exit strategy that will leave Felix unscathed—or his own heart unbroken.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 2, 2015
121 people are currently reading
1730 people want to read
About the author
Jenn Burke
30 books527 followersJenn Burke has loved out-of-this-world romance since she was a preteen reading about heroes and heroines kicking butt and falling in love. Now that she’s an author, she couldn’t be happier to bring adventure, romance, and sexy times to her readers.
Jenn is the author of a number of paranormal and science fiction romance titles, including the critically acclaimed Chaos Station science fiction romance series (authored with Kelly Jensen) and her newest series, Ashes & Dust, a spin-off of her fan-favorite Not Dead Yet series.
She’s been called a pocket-sized and puntastic Canadian on social media, and she’ll happily own that label. Jenn lives just outside of Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and two kids, plus two dogs named after video game characters…because her geekiness knows no bounds.
Jenn is represented by Deidre Knight of the Knight Agency.
Jenn is the author of a number of paranormal and science fiction romance titles, including the critically acclaimed Chaos Station science fiction romance series (authored with Kelly Jensen) and her newest series, Ashes & Dust, a spin-off of her fan-favorite Not Dead Yet series.
She’s been called a pocket-sized and puntastic Canadian on social media, and she’ll happily own that label. Jenn lives just outside of Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and two kids, plus two dogs named after video game characters…because her geekiness knows no bounds.
Jenn is represented by Deidre Knight of the Knight Agency.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 272 reviews
July 1, 2017
Rating: 4* of five
Romantic fiction doesn't need much to keep the people buying...lovers separated by factors within their control and/or outside their control who, despite the obstacles, choose to make love work. It's a trope that's worked for millennia, it will work for as long as human beings keep falling in love.
This story goes above and beyond the basics in an important way. It develops the world the men who are the primary couple inhabit to a significantly greater degree than others in the genre. It is also the most fully science-fictional SF romantic novel I've read. I'd read it for the SF elements, albeit I'd judge it more harshly than I do as a romantic novel.
Part of that is altered expectations. At one time fifty or so years ago, world-building in SF was much lighter and less multidimensional than it is today. Novels were 200-ish pages as a matter of course and now they tend towards the 400-page end as a matter of course. There is vastly greater scope to do world-building in that kind of length. This novel, in common with most others in the romantic fiction genre, is 200-ish pages, so has the scope of a fifty-year-old SF novel for world-building plus the need to bookhorn in love and sex in a way that was and largely is unthinkable in mainstream SF.
Authors Burke and Jensen do a really fine job of this balancing act. I am impressed that they take the basic furniture of two disparate genres and re-cover them in harmonious upholstery, creating a charming and eclectic mental space for their men, women, and aliens to inhabit. It takes a good deal of work to do this at all, and even more to do it well.
I found the series in the Gay SF reading group and, on a hunch, Kindled the whole lot at once. Relieved that I did because I'm most certainly going to read them all. Zed and Flick are a terrific creation in that they're just guys. One's a tinkerer, one's a serious soldier, together they're little boys playing house and they're wounded warriors desperately seeking balance and order in lives mangled along with their tortured, altered bodies.
Flick/Fixer/Felix fixes stuff. He focuses on stuff because he was captured by the alien stin (and a note here on how very much I approve of Burke and Jensen's use of the lowercase for the aliens' race-names; we're not Humans, now are we?) and, while enslaved as a miner, tortured just for the fun of it by the insectoids. Stuff doesn't pity him or find him disgusting or try to help him. It waits for him to do what needs doing to fix it. His most powerful need is to belong, the be along with a group that gets him. His great good fortune is that he has that in the crew of the Chaos.
Elias is the captain, his business partner, and as close to Flick as a beloved older brother. Elias is straight but like everyone else in the spacers's world he couldn't care less what other people do in their sex lives. Elias is probably the least developed character, existing in relation to Flick and supplying needed perspective when a PoV change suits the story. He is believable for all that: His focus is on the bodily and mental health of the small crew he took on as his family. He's a dad. He makes sure everything is ordered and safe for his kids to be able to play and work and be as happy as they can be. He worries about them all, loves them all, and exasperatedly picks up after them, scolding all the while. I relate to Elias, and love him.
Nessa, the doctor, is Elias's love interest. Flaming red hair and a protective streak a mile wide have combined to seduce Elias and enchant the crew. Flick even loses his defensive shields when Nessa pushes him. She is a committed healer and makes everyone's health an obsession. It's hard not to see her as Dr. McCoy from TOS, with curves. I wished from the minute she came on my screen that I could book an appointment with her. She's the kind of doctor I'd love to find IRL.
Qek is the resident alien, a little blue woman instead of a little green man. Only she's not a woman, exactly, but a genderless ashoshk individual who identifies as a woman in order to live more easily among the humans she left her homeworld to study. Her race is technologically ahead of humanity, and like humanity has suffered the scourgings of the stin, so she is the pilot of the ashoshk-engined Chaos as she understands the tech better than anyone else on the ship. She is, as well, Flick's friend. Among the genderless ashoshk, Qek's offer of friendship to Flick is very deep. In a novel I love, Islandia, there is a concept of friendship similar to the ashoshk one called "linamia" or "powerful non-sexual love." It is a concept that, I fear, is largely missing in modern human culture and I think that's a sin. It's also a lifeline for poor, shattered Flick. Qek delights me, the anti-Neelix, the soothing and sweet and calm eternal outsider with sharp eyes and a soft heart.
Zed. Yes, well, then there's Zed. A younger son in a family of immense wealth and power, Zed chose a career in the military to be with Flick, his childhood bestie and young-adult first love. The war with the stin erupted and the two young lovers are separated forever by Flick's capture and presumed death at the claws of the stin. The powerful man whose love is fully, passionately given to the station rat boy he spent his childhood hanging with, suddenly has nothing. No bestie, no lover, nothing. (Except obscenely large piles of money and a family that adores him, but let's not get too logical...the man we're discussing here is very, very young and has zero perspective so let's go with his view of things.) So he volunteers to become a covert operative for his army, then for the black-ops experiment that informs the entire rest of his (drastically shortened) life. Zed is destroyed by Flick's loss and, unlike Flick who strives to endure and survive and make it the hell out of stin captivity, seeks annihilation so he can stop his agony of emptiness. In peacetime, Zed's the kind of man who self-medicates his agony. Me too, Zed.
Now all the characters are required to band together to rescue an old friend of Flick and Zed's who is on a rapid downward spiral. They find her, rescue her, lose her, fight a battle to recapture her, and the complications mount. New enemies are made, old wounds renewed. And the bittersweet joy of love regained, Zed and Flick's true and deep love for each other, widened to include their crew, is adulterated by the progressive nature of Zed's black-ops experimental enhancements. His downward spiral, slower than his and Flick's friend's spiral, is nonetheless real.
He's going to hell, but he's taking the scenic route and that leads right to Flick's bed. The place he's wanted to be for nine long, hellish years of knowing that Flick was dead.
And I plan to go right along with them all.
Romantic fiction doesn't need much to keep the people buying...lovers separated by factors within their control and/or outside their control who, despite the obstacles, choose to make love work. It's a trope that's worked for millennia, it will work for as long as human beings keep falling in love.
This story goes above and beyond the basics in an important way. It develops the world the men who are the primary couple inhabit to a significantly greater degree than others in the genre. It is also the most fully science-fictional SF romantic novel I've read. I'd read it for the SF elements, albeit I'd judge it more harshly than I do as a romantic novel.
Part of that is altered expectations. At one time fifty or so years ago, world-building in SF was much lighter and less multidimensional than it is today. Novels were 200-ish pages as a matter of course and now they tend towards the 400-page end as a matter of course. There is vastly greater scope to do world-building in that kind of length. This novel, in common with most others in the romantic fiction genre, is 200-ish pages, so has the scope of a fifty-year-old SF novel for world-building plus the need to bookhorn in love and sex in a way that was and largely is unthinkable in mainstream SF.
Authors Burke and Jensen do a really fine job of this balancing act. I am impressed that they take the basic furniture of two disparate genres and re-cover them in harmonious upholstery, creating a charming and eclectic mental space for their men, women, and aliens to inhabit. It takes a good deal of work to do this at all, and even more to do it well.
I found the series in the Gay SF reading group and, on a hunch, Kindled the whole lot at once. Relieved that I did because I'm most certainly going to read them all. Zed and Flick are a terrific creation in that they're just guys. One's a tinkerer, one's a serious soldier, together they're little boys playing house and they're wounded warriors desperately seeking balance and order in lives mangled along with their tortured, altered bodies.
Flick/Fixer/Felix fixes stuff. He focuses on stuff because he was captured by the alien stin (and a note here on how very much I approve of Burke and Jensen's use of the lowercase for the aliens' race-names; we're not Humans, now are we?) and, while enslaved as a miner, tortured just for the fun of it by the insectoids. Stuff doesn't pity him or find him disgusting or try to help him. It waits for him to do what needs doing to fix it. His most powerful need is to belong, the be along with a group that gets him. His great good fortune is that he has that in the crew of the Chaos.
Elias is the captain, his business partner, and as close to Flick as a beloved older brother. Elias is straight but like everyone else in the spacers's world he couldn't care less what other people do in their sex lives. Elias is probably the least developed character, existing in relation to Flick and supplying needed perspective when a PoV change suits the story. He is believable for all that: His focus is on the bodily and mental health of the small crew he took on as his family. He's a dad. He makes sure everything is ordered and safe for his kids to be able to play and work and be as happy as they can be. He worries about them all, loves them all, and exasperatedly picks up after them, scolding all the while. I relate to Elias, and love him.
Nessa, the doctor, is Elias's love interest. Flaming red hair and a protective streak a mile wide have combined to seduce Elias and enchant the crew. Flick even loses his defensive shields when Nessa pushes him. She is a committed healer and makes everyone's health an obsession. It's hard not to see her as Dr. McCoy from TOS, with curves. I wished from the minute she came on my screen that I could book an appointment with her. She's the kind of doctor I'd love to find IRL.
Qek is the resident alien, a little blue woman instead of a little green man. Only she's not a woman, exactly, but a genderless ashoshk individual who identifies as a woman in order to live more easily among the humans she left her homeworld to study. Her race is technologically ahead of humanity, and like humanity has suffered the scourgings of the stin, so she is the pilot of the ashoshk-engined Chaos as she understands the tech better than anyone else on the ship. She is, as well, Flick's friend. Among the genderless ashoshk, Qek's offer of friendship to Flick is very deep. In a novel I love, Islandia, there is a concept of friendship similar to the ashoshk one called "linamia" or "powerful non-sexual love." It is a concept that, I fear, is largely missing in modern human culture and I think that's a sin. It's also a lifeline for poor, shattered Flick. Qek delights me, the anti-Neelix, the soothing and sweet and calm eternal outsider with sharp eyes and a soft heart.
Zed. Yes, well, then there's Zed. A younger son in a family of immense wealth and power, Zed chose a career in the military to be with Flick, his childhood bestie and young-adult first love. The war with the stin erupted and the two young lovers are separated forever by Flick's capture and presumed death at the claws of the stin. The powerful man whose love is fully, passionately given to the station rat boy he spent his childhood hanging with, suddenly has nothing. No bestie, no lover, nothing. (Except obscenely large piles of money and a family that adores him, but let's not get too logical...the man we're discussing here is very, very young and has zero perspective so let's go with his view of things.) So he volunteers to become a covert operative for his army, then for the black-ops experiment that informs the entire rest of his (drastically shortened) life. Zed is destroyed by Flick's loss and, unlike Flick who strives to endure and survive and make it the hell out of stin captivity, seeks annihilation so he can stop his agony of emptiness. In peacetime, Zed's the kind of man who self-medicates his agony. Me too, Zed.
Now all the characters are required to band together to rescue an old friend of Flick and Zed's who is on a rapid downward spiral. They find her, rescue her, lose her, fight a battle to recapture her, and the complications mount. New enemies are made, old wounds renewed. And the bittersweet joy of love regained, Zed and Flick's true and deep love for each other, widened to include their crew, is adulterated by the progressive nature of Zed's black-ops experimental enhancements. His downward spiral, slower than his and Flick's friend's spiral, is nonetheless real.
He's going to hell, but he's taking the scenic route and that leads right to Flick's bed. The place he's wanted to be for nine long, hellish years of knowing that Flick was dead.
And I plan to go right along with them all.
November 10, 2021
4 Sci-fi Stars!!
Superb sci-fi with an equally stellar start to what I predict will promise to be an epic adventure and ultimately, an epic romance!
Set far in the future, this starts off a few years after humanity is almost annihilated by a deadly alien force. The galaxy is slowly rebuilding and healing with the looming threat of an even stronger species known as the Guardians, who stepped in to stop the war. Here, we’re introduced to the ship The Chaos which houses a small crew doing the odd and questionable job of pick up and delivery and who happens to contain a brilliant engineer Flick, former military and former POW who’s battling ptsd and just trying to get on with his life. When his captain takes on a dangerous but profitable job, the last thing Flick expects is to be smacked in the face by his past with the appearance of his former BFF and lover Zed.
I won’t further expand on the smart plot but what I want you to know is that Burke and Jensen have not only created a truly impressive AU that still dabbles in our current pop culture making it nicely familiar but also bringing a plausible future full of alien species and culture, full of space traveling tech, space stations, and a world order governed by the all powerful AEF who has many secrets to hide and cover up, the main one being ex soldier Zed, who just might be a walking ticking time bomb. What I also want you to know is that this has top notch romance as well. As these authors slowly tease the reader with Zed and Flick’s past, how their feelings have remained deeply buried but still evident in small significant ways but no less poignant after years apart, each reveal is significant and emotional. Though they reluctantly but wholeheartedly reconnect, at the end of this first book, Zed and Flick are willing to make a go of it despite not being able to make too many concrete promises
The road ahead will obviously not be easy, and it will span 4 more books. Regardless, this is really meaty emotional drama (with a nothing rushed approach to the smexy but so well done when it does occur) all with great touches of action and suspense, as well as levity from the awesome Chaos crew. This made me anxious. It made my chest tight and tingle and swoon. It made me smile and smirk too.
Again, an impressive creation of an alternative universe with great sci-fi components and a love story that has apparently withstood war, presumed death, the test of time, and so much more turmoil yet to come. I have no doubt Zed and Flick will triumph over all things, and I’m just that confident this saga will stick with me for a long time. I’m ready to put myself through the paces for the opportunity to read more of such a well written story!
Superb sci-fi with an equally stellar start to what I predict will promise to be an epic adventure and ultimately, an epic romance!
Set far in the future, this starts off a few years after humanity is almost annihilated by a deadly alien force. The galaxy is slowly rebuilding and healing with the looming threat of an even stronger species known as the Guardians, who stepped in to stop the war. Here, we’re introduced to the ship The Chaos which houses a small crew doing the odd and questionable job of pick up and delivery and who happens to contain a brilliant engineer Flick, former military and former POW who’s battling ptsd and just trying to get on with his life. When his captain takes on a dangerous but profitable job, the last thing Flick expects is to be smacked in the face by his past with the appearance of his former BFF and lover Zed.
I won’t further expand on the smart plot but what I want you to know is that Burke and Jensen have not only created a truly impressive AU that still dabbles in our current pop culture making it nicely familiar but also bringing a plausible future full of alien species and culture, full of space traveling tech, space stations, and a world order governed by the all powerful AEF who has many secrets to hide and cover up, the main one being ex soldier Zed, who just might be a walking ticking time bomb. What I also want you to know is that this has top notch romance as well. As these authors slowly tease the reader with Zed and Flick’s past, how their feelings have remained deeply buried but still evident in small significant ways but no less poignant after years apart, each reveal is significant and emotional. Though they reluctantly but wholeheartedly reconnect, at the end of this first book, Zed and Flick are willing to make a go of it despite not being able to make too many concrete promises
The road ahead will obviously not be easy, and it will span 4 more books. Regardless, this is really meaty emotional drama (with a nothing rushed approach to the smexy but so well done when it does occur) all with great touches of action and suspense, as well as levity from the awesome Chaos crew. This made me anxious. It made my chest tight and tingle and swoon. It made me smile and smirk too.
Again, an impressive creation of an alternative universe with great sci-fi components and a love story that has apparently withstood war, presumed death, the test of time, and so much more turmoil yet to come. I have no doubt Zed and Flick will triumph over all things, and I’m just that confident this saga will stick with me for a long time. I’m ready to put myself through the paces for the opportunity to read more of such a well written story!
February 16, 2022
I usually love Jenn Burke, and I was feeling optimistic, so I bought the first three books in the Chaos Station series without reading any of then. I regret that now.
Most of the time, I adore space opera kinds of stories. I've been getting super into alien and sci-fi romance, so I thought these would be a sure thing. I guess not.
Chaos Station took me forever to finish. Right off the bat, I struggled. I have issues with romances where the MCs already know each other and we don't get that initial relationship building, and that's what we got here. The MCs already have a ton of history, and we are just playing catch up to "feel" the emotions that the characters supposedly already feel for one another.
I'm going to be totally honest: I found the characters to be boring and I didn't like the three points of view (why??? there are only two people in the relationship??). Every character felt flat and there was no fun in the story. I even skimmed the sex scenes.
Hard for me to even rate this two stars but I am to be nice. I don't know what I'm going to do with the next two books that I already purchased (#kindlegraveyard).
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Most of the time, I adore space opera kinds of stories. I've been getting super into alien and sci-fi romance, so I thought these would be a sure thing. I guess not.
Chaos Station took me forever to finish. Right off the bat, I struggled. I have issues with romances where the MCs already know each other and we don't get that initial relationship building, and that's what we got here. The MCs already have a ton of history, and we are just playing catch up to "feel" the emotions that the characters supposedly already feel for one another.
I'm going to be totally honest: I found the characters to be boring and I didn't like the three points of view (why??? there are only two people in the relationship??). Every character felt flat and there was no fun in the story. I even skimmed the sex scenes.
Hard for me to even rate this two stars but I am to be nice. I don't know what I'm going to do with the next two books that I already purchased (#kindlegraveyard).
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July 15, 2016
This first book in the Chaos Station series took me by surprise, pulling me in with great characters, interesting and consistent SciFi worldbuilding, action, angst and romance. I bought the next book the moment I closed this one, and then read through the entire series back to back. Very well done.
Zander is a man badly betrayed by the government he worked for. He sacrificed his relationships, his health, and part of his humanity, and helped them win the war. Now that the conflict with the alien stin is over, he's been cut loose by his supervisors, expected to go off and die somewhere quietly and without making a fuss. He's cut himself off voluntarily from his wealthy family, and most of his past, but he's still loyal to the small group of people who went through the final training and modification program with him. And one of them is in trouble. He has plenty of money, so he hires a ship to go find her... and on that ship, he encounters the man he always loved. The man he thought was long dead in enemy hands.
Zander is overjoyed, and devastated, to see Felix. Because Zander knows he's not the man he was - he's not sure he's really still human at all - and how can he even approach his old lover, let alone start anything new, with everything that hangs over him?
Felix came out of stin prisoner of war captivity with a permanently damaged hand, a lot of nightmares, and a broken life. He found a home, and the strength and friends he needed to go on, as the engineer and half owner of the ship Chaos. The one person he never expected to see again is the one man he loved when he was younger, back before his world and heart, body and life, were broken in the war. But here he is - Zander Anatolius - war hero, wealthy scion of a powerful family, and a man with changes and secrets Felix isn't sure he wants to even know.
Both men are damaged, hurting, not ready for trust or affection or a relationship. But both yearn back to a moment in time when they realized the other was their soul-mate. Before life broke them apart.
They have duties, and a rescue mission. The government is not on their side, neither are various other factions, and the alien peace is an uneasy one. They can't afford to take all their time and energy to pause and work out where they stand with regard to each other. But they also can't deny the warmth that being together dredges up in their chilled souls. So in the midst of risk and adventure, conspiracy and conflict, they touch and speak, come together and come apart, trying to survive, and trying to find something more to life than just survival.
This was a fast moving, imaginative, emotional story. I fell for these damaged men, and their dilemmas, risks and challenges. This story has a non-cliffhanger ending, but it's just a beginning for these two men. I was delighted that the series (and some free short stories) were available for me to plunge on to the further adventures of Felix, Zander, and their interesting cast of friends, family and enemies.
Zander is a man badly betrayed by the government he worked for. He sacrificed his relationships, his health, and part of his humanity, and helped them win the war. Now that the conflict with the alien stin is over, he's been cut loose by his supervisors, expected to go off and die somewhere quietly and without making a fuss. He's cut himself off voluntarily from his wealthy family, and most of his past, but he's still loyal to the small group of people who went through the final training and modification program with him. And one of them is in trouble. He has plenty of money, so he hires a ship to go find her... and on that ship, he encounters the man he always loved. The man he thought was long dead in enemy hands.
Zander is overjoyed, and devastated, to see Felix. Because Zander knows he's not the man he was - he's not sure he's really still human at all - and how can he even approach his old lover, let alone start anything new, with everything that hangs over him?
Felix came out of stin prisoner of war captivity with a permanently damaged hand, a lot of nightmares, and a broken life. He found a home, and the strength and friends he needed to go on, as the engineer and half owner of the ship Chaos. The one person he never expected to see again is the one man he loved when he was younger, back before his world and heart, body and life, were broken in the war. But here he is - Zander Anatolius - war hero, wealthy scion of a powerful family, and a man with changes and secrets Felix isn't sure he wants to even know.
Both men are damaged, hurting, not ready for trust or affection or a relationship. But both yearn back to a moment in time when they realized the other was their soul-mate. Before life broke them apart.
They have duties, and a rescue mission. The government is not on their side, neither are various other factions, and the alien peace is an uneasy one. They can't afford to take all their time and energy to pause and work out where they stand with regard to each other. But they also can't deny the warmth that being together dredges up in their chilled souls. So in the midst of risk and adventure, conspiracy and conflict, they touch and speak, come together and come apart, trying to survive, and trying to find something more to life than just survival.
This was a fast moving, imaginative, emotional story. I fell for these damaged men, and their dilemmas, risks and challenges. This story has a non-cliffhanger ending, but it's just a beginning for these two men. I was delighted that the series (and some free short stories) were available for me to plunge on to the further adventures of Felix, Zander, and their interesting cast of friends, family and enemies.
August 28, 2023
“You were never supposed to see this. You were never supposed to know what I did, that I’m not human anymore, that I’m going to go insane and—” His voice caught. “I didn’t want anyone to know. I wanted to stay in the dark, alone, where I wouldn’t hurt anyone and just...disappear.”
🥺😢🥺
This is a strange book for me. It is really good. All the characters are wonderfully portrayed, you can empathize not only with the main characters Zed and Flick but also with the secondary characters, which is a rarity. The plot is interesting and action-packed. But there is enough time for all the inter-personalities and the rather awkward relationship between Zed and Flick.
What makes it strange for me is that it took me months to finally finish it. I don't know what that was about, unfortunately. I got into the story super quickly and was immediately hooked, but then I was basically reading a chapter a week or so with several interruptions, so even though the book never really left my head, it never really stuck.
So many unanswered questions here ... what's going on with the stin? The book ends in no cliffhanger and ends quite nicely for a series, but somehow it feels very unsatisfying now, maybe a cliffhanger would have been useful after all, because now I don't know if the alien element and the past war were interesting enough for me in their only tiny mentions to make my curiosity big enough to read on.
On the other hand, Zed and Flick are quite interesting …
“You can’t come in here like General Overlord and give me strawberries and pants and expect me to just be okay with you fucking off.” 😍🥰🤩
This is a strange book for me. It is really good. All the characters are wonderfully portrayed, you can empathize not only with the main characters Zed and Flick but also with the secondary characters, which is a rarity. The plot is interesting and action-packed. But there is enough time for all the inter-personalities and the rather awkward relationship between Zed and Flick.
What makes it strange for me is that it took me months to finally finish it. I don't know what that was about, unfortunately. I got into the story super quickly and was immediately hooked, but then I was basically reading a chapter a week or so with several interruptions, so even though the book never really left my head, it never really stuck.
So many unanswered questions here ... what's going on with the stin? The book ends in no cliffhanger and ends quite nicely for a series, but somehow it feels very unsatisfying now, maybe a cliffhanger would have been useful after all, because now I don't know if the alien element and the past war were interesting enough for me in their only tiny mentions to make my curiosity big enough to read on.
On the other hand, Zed and Flick are quite interesting …
“You can’t come in here like General Overlord and give me strawberries and pants and expect me to just be okay with you fucking off.” 😍🥰🤩
December 8, 2018
This book pushed all my buttons...
5 -quite literally- all over the moon stars
There is an excellent worldbuilding, two –in the truest sense of the world– tortured heroes and a well-written, sometimes funny, sometimes thrilling story.
Chaos Station is the story of two friends since childhood and lovers for a short period of time, torn apart by a war between Humans and other species. One of them is Felix, deemed dead after being captured by the enemy. Instead, he’s been a POW who has been tortured, with visible and invisible scars left behind. The other one, Zander, was hidden behind an aura of secrecy after participating in a secret experimental training designed to create super soldiers.
Both met by chance after the end of the war, after being nine years apart, when Zander single-handedly wants to rescue a friend (also a super soldier, who snapped and went off the grid) and seeks for transport on Felix’s spaceship.
Right from the beginning I felt an instant connection to both characters. My heart went out to both of them, who have to struggle with the aftereffects of their recent past and what has been done to them; who have been through so much and yet stayed true to themselves. Especially Zander is my hero, supposedly a tough guy being super soldier and all (and he is, when he is in his so called Zone, his killing mechanism), but who is oh so vulnerable at the same time.
But it was their love story which held me captivated and sometimes shook me to the core. Especially their tender moments grabbed at my heart and squeezed it.
Even after nine years, the feelings for each other are still there, even if Felix and Zander are afraid to admit it. They claim that there is only sex between them, because it seems hopeless to delve into a relationship, when their own future is more than questionable.
At the end there was a scene where I had tears running down my face. I don't know what it is with all these dystopian/sci-fi stories that make me so sentimental, because normally I don't weep so easily, but it seems to become a thing. ;-)
I can’t tell you how glad I am that Chaos Station is a series because I am so looking forward to read more about these guys.
5 -quite literally- all over the moon stars
There is an excellent worldbuilding, two –in the truest sense of the world– tortured heroes and a well-written, sometimes funny, sometimes thrilling story.
Chaos Station is the story of two friends since childhood and lovers for a short period of time, torn apart by a war between Humans and other species. One of them is Felix, deemed dead after being captured by the enemy. Instead, he’s been a POW who has been tortured, with visible and invisible scars left behind. The other one, Zander, was hidden behind an aura of secrecy after participating in a secret experimental training designed to create super soldiers.
Both met by chance after the end of the war, after being nine years apart, when Zander single-handedly wants to rescue a friend (also a super soldier, who snapped and went off the grid) and seeks for transport on Felix’s spaceship.
Right from the beginning I felt an instant connection to both characters. My heart went out to both of them, who have to struggle with the aftereffects of their recent past and what has been done to them; who have been through so much and yet stayed true to themselves. Especially Zander is my hero, supposedly a tough guy being super soldier and all (and he is, when he is in his so called Zone, his killing mechanism), but who is oh so vulnerable at the same time.
But it was their love story which held me captivated and sometimes shook me to the core. Especially their tender moments grabbed at my heart and squeezed it.
Even after nine years, the feelings for each other are still there, even if Felix and Zander are afraid to admit it. They claim that there is only sex between them, because it seems hopeless to delve into a relationship, when their own future is more than questionable.
At the end there was a scene where I had tears running down my face. I don't know what it is with all these dystopian/sci-fi stories that make me so sentimental, because normally I don't weep so easily, but it seems to become a thing. ;-)
I can’t tell you how glad I am that Chaos Station is a series because I am so looking forward to read more about these guys.
March 23, 2015
I love science fiction especially if it's set in space. This space opera MM romance is a very pleasant suprise. It has the right balance of romance, action, angst and adventure. Both MCs have good chemistry and the rest of the Chaos crew are very likeable. Exciting, fun, enjoyable and the book ended with me wanting to read more adventures from Felix & Zed & the rest of the Chaos crew. 4.5 Stars!
Update:
Ok, I just learned that this is going to be a 5 part series. That's pretty exciting!
Update:
Ok, I just learned that this is going to be a 5 part series. That's pretty exciting!
January 26, 2020
*4,5 stars*
This was fabulous in so many ways.
1. The characters
Both, Zed and Flick (or Zander and Felix) have a traumatic past which has left deep psychological and physical scars. As a result, both men have changed since they were torn apart by a brutal war. But their feelings for each other are still there, even nine long years down the line.
I loved tall, dark and handsome Zed and quirky, inventive and warm-hearted Flick. The tension between them is palpable, the chemistry there for everyone to see. There’s so much intensity to their relationship and those tender moments … sigh.
2. The world building
There is a lot of detail to this universe, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The all over atmosphere is determined by a sense of darkness, which isn’t surprising as we find our characters post war. And finding out some of the horrors Zed and Flick went through isn’t a piece of cake.
3. The plot
I found the balance between the action plot and the second chance romance pretty perfect. And those damn plot twists! I was sucked in right from the start and spit out with a want for MORE at the end. I mean … with some huge issues open, how could I not?
The secondary characters
Nessa, Elias and Qek are all awesome in their own way and totally lovable.
I loved the feeling of ‘togetherness’ in their crew, and the way they look after each other.
All this, wrapped in engaging and captivating writing and you’ve got a winner all the way.
This was fabulous in so many ways.
1. The characters
Both, Zed and Flick (or Zander and Felix) have a traumatic past which has left deep psychological and physical scars. As a result, both men have changed since they were torn apart by a brutal war. But their feelings for each other are still there, even nine long years down the line.
I loved tall, dark and handsome Zed and quirky, inventive and warm-hearted Flick. The tension between them is palpable, the chemistry there for everyone to see. There’s so much intensity to their relationship and those tender moments … sigh.
2. The world building
There is a lot of detail to this universe, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The all over atmosphere is determined by a sense of darkness, which isn’t surprising as we find our characters post war. And finding out some of the horrors Zed and Flick went through isn’t a piece of cake.
3. The plot
I found the balance between the action plot and the second chance romance pretty perfect. And those damn plot twists! I was sucked in right from the start and spit out with a want for MORE at the end. I mean … with some huge issues open, how could I not?
The secondary characters
Nessa, Elias and Qek are all awesome in their own way and totally lovable.
I loved the feeling of ‘togetherness’ in their crew, and the way they look after each other.
All this, wrapped in engaging and captivating writing and you’ve got a winner all the way.
September 25, 2016
Making lemonade.
Post-war is never easy, but when you're struggling to figure out how to play the hand you're stuck with afterwards is a challenge. Felix and Zed: best friends, teammates, lovers--until they're torn apart. Suddenly, that drift is gone, and the truth of what's happened to both of them is standing starkly in front of them, waiting to be acknowledged.
This was pretty good for a science fiction romance. It's a hurt comfort and a bit of a thriller as the crew of the Chaos faces off against opponents while running their cargo. I liked the characters a lot. It is a romance, but the plot is a major component, so it's not all kisses and sighs. 3.5 rounded up because I like that it didn't whimp out at the end. I'm interested in seeing what's slated for the sequel.
Post-war is never easy, but when you're struggling to figure out how to play the hand you're stuck with afterwards is a challenge. Felix and Zed: best friends, teammates, lovers--until they're torn apart. Suddenly, that drift is gone, and the truth of what's happened to both of them is standing starkly in front of them, waiting to be acknowledged.
This was pretty good for a science fiction romance. It's a hurt comfort and a bit of a thriller as the crew of the Chaos faces off against opponents while running their cargo. I liked the characters a lot. It is a romance, but the plot is a major component, so it's not all kisses and sighs. 3.5 rounded up because I like that it didn't whimp out at the end. I'm interested in seeing what's slated for the sequel.
February 13, 2022
3.5👨🚀👨🚀
I liked it overall. I will definitely continue with the series.
Second chance. Spaceships. Action. Nice characters (the mc and others). 💫
I liked it overall. I will definitely continue with the series.
Second chance. Spaceships. Action. Nice characters (the mc and others). 💫
April 28, 2016
DNF-ed at 55%. One star for what I could stand to read.
The following is my personal opinion and my own impression of the book. I understand everyone else is loving it to pieces, but I managed to only last 55% before my patience and pain tolerance ran out.
Maybe it's because I've just finished absolutely brilliant Magpie Lord series, maybe it's because the characters are flat, boring, repetitious and predictable comparing to the vibrant personages of yet another brilliant series, Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts, but I found "Chaos" to be an excruciatingly painful read.
Just a few thoughts on the peeps in this book:
Captain Elias. Too flat of a character; at times, under enough pressure, he even manages to cave in into a negative dimension, where he becomes completely invisible, like an annoying mosquito you try to tune out. Can't seem to get pass two lines: "He (Zed) is dangerous." and "I want him/you (Zed) off my ship." That's after he got his greedy paws on a good lump of cash from the above mentioned Zed.
Zed, your average martyr. A poor (not in a monetary sense), damaged yet noble soldier on a mission to save his fellow sister-in-arms gone rogue. He suffers all kinds of suffers: from headaches to broken heart, to whatever else he chooses to suffer from at any particular moment. A shy, humble trillionaire, who doesn't want to impose on anyone or, god forbid, say hi to his own loving siblings. It might get them in trouble. Why? Flick is here to explain, of course.
And here is Flick himself. Fix. Felix. Whatever. He fixes shit. From microwaves to spaceships. A hacker with a golden heart. A poor (in a monetary sense, too), wounded, otherwise damaged, noble (you guessed it all) soul. He is here, it seems, for the sole purpose of explaining things and feelings to the other characters (aka "info dump" to us, readers). Maybe he is here for sex with Zed, too ...I don't remember, neither do I care.
All in all - a predictable, boring piece of writing, chaotic and redundant, looping onto itself every other page. Frustrating.
The following is my personal opinion and my own impression of the book. I understand everyone else is loving it to pieces, but I managed to only last 55% before my patience and pain tolerance ran out.
Maybe it's because I've just finished absolutely brilliant Magpie Lord series, maybe it's because the characters are flat, boring, repetitious and predictable comparing to the vibrant personages of yet another brilliant series, Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts, but I found "Chaos" to be an excruciatingly painful read.
Just a few thoughts on the peeps in this book:
Captain Elias. Too flat of a character; at times, under enough pressure, he even manages to cave in into a negative dimension, where he becomes completely invisible, like an annoying mosquito you try to tune out. Can't seem to get pass two lines: "He (Zed) is dangerous." and "I want him/you (Zed) off my ship." That's after he got his greedy paws on a good lump of cash from the above mentioned Zed.
Zed, your average martyr. A poor (not in a monetary sense), damaged yet noble soldier on a mission to save his fellow sister-in-arms gone rogue. He suffers all kinds of suffers: from headaches to broken heart, to whatever else he chooses to suffer from at any particular moment. A shy, humble trillionaire, who doesn't want to impose on anyone or, god forbid, say hi to his own loving siblings. It might get them in trouble. Why? Flick is here to explain, of course.
And here is Flick himself. Fix. Felix. Whatever. He fixes shit. From microwaves to spaceships. A hacker with a golden heart. A poor (in a monetary sense, too), wounded, otherwise damaged, noble (you guessed it all) soul. He is here, it seems, for the sole purpose of explaining things and feelings to the other characters (aka "info dump" to us, readers). Maybe he is here for sex with Zed, too ...I don't remember, neither do I care.
All in all - a predictable, boring piece of writing, chaotic and redundant, looping onto itself every other page. Frustrating.
August 10, 2016
*happy dance*
So good...great characters, including the secondary ones, and an interesting story. Liked the world building, the action, and the romance. Also liked the set-up for future books, without ending on a cliffhanger.
I'm ready for the next one!
So good...great characters, including the secondary ones, and an interesting story. Liked the world building, the action, and the romance. Also liked the set-up for future books, without ending on a cliffhanger.
I'm ready for the next one!
September 3, 2024
I'm a bit of a sci-fi junky and I love the world that these authors built. Flick and Zed are amazing together. I loved the "second chance" feel and the chemistry.
About the only thing that niggled me, and it was enough to knock off a star, is the assertion that cybernetics and produce don't survive the jump to j-space ... but machines and people do ?? This makes zero sense to me (I mean, we're basically cucumbers with anxiety) and everytime it's mentioned it takes me out of the narrative because my BS meter goes PING. So I'm having to suspend my disbelief a little more than usual, even for a sci-fi story. I'm working on my ability to ignore that one thing, but it's a process.
Onto book 2!
About the only thing that niggled me, and it was enough to knock off a star, is the assertion that cybernetics and produce don't survive the jump to j-space ... but machines and people do ?? This makes zero sense to me (I mean, we're basically cucumbers with anxiety) and everytime it's mentioned it takes me out of the narrative because my BS meter goes PING. So I'm having to suspend my disbelief a little more than usual, even for a sci-fi story. I'm working on my ability to ignore that one thing, but it's a process.
Onto book 2!
July 15, 2016
I am glad i did get around to reading this. It is a really interesting scifi story and i love all the potential this has for the series. I admit that I kinda wanted everyone to just get the hell over their issues, but i guess ptsd and massive amounts of torture can not just be wished away. and the ending was a bit sad, if also a bit hopeful. going to have to continue this series and see where it all goes.
June 1, 2015
3.75 stars
Possible spoilers below.
After nine years apart, former soldiers Felix Ingesson and Zander Anatolius meet again under less-than-perfect circumstances. The two aren't that thrilled to see each other. Trying to come to terms with personal demons and past events that were out of their control, they make truce to deal with more immediate concerns. Like finding a former teammate who seems to have gone off the deep end, and is now being hunted by the military.
'Chaos Station' has everything that I enjoy in sci-fi. There's a fast-paced plot, some action scenes and a spaceship. And of course there's also a great romance. The authors did a great job of balancing the plot with the romance. I also liked that it took a while for Felix and Zander to get back together, and they weren't jumping in to bed as soon as they were feeling somewhat comfortable with each other. A quick progression from former lovers to bedbuddies is what makes me hesitant to read 're-united lovers' books in the first place, so it was nice to see that not happen.
As for the plot, it was entertaining. There were a few twists and turns that I wasn't expecting at all. While it wasn't too complicated, it did keep me guessing. Add in the action scenes and awesome secondary cast and I was a happy camper. The crew of Felix's ship were very fleshed-out, so I got the feeling that I understood their motivations as well as the main characters'. Though I could have done without everyone having a nickname. It got a tad annoying, and distracted me at times.
While the book doesn't end on a cliffhanger, there are a lot of questions that still need to answered. I've got a few guesses, but I'll have to wait until the sequels to see if I'm right. Overall this was a really good MM sci-fi adventure. I've got my fingers-crossed I'll see some sort of spaceship battle in the next book!
*ARC provided through NetGalley.
Possible spoilers below.
After nine years apart, former soldiers Felix Ingesson and Zander Anatolius meet again under less-than-perfect circumstances. The two aren't that thrilled to see each other. Trying to come to terms with personal demons and past events that were out of their control, they make truce to deal with more immediate concerns. Like finding a former teammate who seems to have gone off the deep end, and is now being hunted by the military.
'Chaos Station' has everything that I enjoy in sci-fi. There's a fast-paced plot, some action scenes and a spaceship. And of course there's also a great romance. The authors did a great job of balancing the plot with the romance. I also liked that it took a while for Felix and Zander to get back together, and they weren't jumping in to bed as soon as they were feeling somewhat comfortable with each other. A quick progression from former lovers to bedbuddies is what makes me hesitant to read 're-united lovers' books in the first place, so it was nice to see that not happen.
As for the plot, it was entertaining. There were a few twists and turns that I wasn't expecting at all. While it wasn't too complicated, it did keep me guessing. Add in the action scenes and awesome secondary cast and I was a happy camper. The crew of Felix's ship were very fleshed-out, so I got the feeling that I understood their motivations as well as the main characters'. Though I could have done without everyone having a nickname. It got a tad annoying, and distracted me at times.
While the book doesn't end on a cliffhanger, there are a lot of questions that still need to answered. I've got a few guesses, but I'll have to wait until the sequels to see if I'm right. Overall this was a really good MM sci-fi adventure. I've got my fingers-crossed I'll see some sort of spaceship battle in the next book!
*ARC provided through NetGalley.
August 3, 2024
3.5 rounded up. RTC
June 26, 2022
*3.75* Felix (Flick) Ingesson and Zander (Zed) Anatolius have been friends since childhood, were buddies in the military, and eventually became lovers.
I was sucked right into this sci-fi, MM best friend/romance. This is a second chance of sorts as the two have believed the other dead, and have been separated for 9 years.
I was sucked right into this sci-fi, MM best friend/romance. This is a second chance of sorts as the two have believed the other dead, and have been separated for 9 years.
“My heart was broken. I grieved, I mourned, and no one fucking knew why I hurt so bad. So I shoved it down, I went to war, I threw myself in as deep as I could because that was the only thing left that had any meaning for me.” He cleared his throat. “Covert ops. Five years of it, deeper for the last two."They are in shock when reunited. Both have significant mental and physical wounds from the war. One has become a kind of super soldier and the other, survived torture by an alien enemy.
“Hurts,” he whispered.This story should have worked in so many levels, but ultimately left me wishing for more. It was well-written, world building was good, side characters were excellent, decent amounts of steam, and the plot very entertaining. So, what was missing? It read like a planned series, giving the reader juuust enough to stay engaged. I wanted to peel back the layers of this couple, and the small dribbles of information was frustrating.
“What, your head?” Flick’s fingers flew to the back of his skull and found the old scar there beneath the hair.
“My heart.”
“Oh.” Flick sighed softly. “Yeah.”
Read
August 16, 2024Chaos Station had all the elements toward which I typically gravitate and love: futuristic space adventure, likable characters, tragic backstories, tense action. Unfortunately, despite these elements, which ordinarily hook me, I was low key bored and uninvested throughout and I kept wondering to myself if I should DNF. The story was fine I guess, but the storytelling felt… flat…? sterile…? robotic…? lifeless. It lacked depth and emotional pull. I wanted to feel something, anything other than ambivalence but never did. I suppose I was entertained enough to finish without feeling irritated, so I guess that’s something 😅😆 though hardly a glowing endorsement.
The storytelling felt decent enough to warrant 3 stars but 🤷🏻♀️ I can’t muster the enthusiasm to click 3 stars. On the other hand, 2 seems too low so I’m leaving the rating blank.
Super thankful this was KU. I will not continue the series; the authors may have range but this is my first experience with Jenn Burke and I’ve only had 1 positive experience with the 4 Kelly Jensen books I’ve read, so I’m pulling the plug here.
The storytelling felt decent enough to warrant 3 stars but 🤷🏻♀️ I can’t muster the enthusiasm to click 3 stars. On the other hand, 2 seems too low so I’m leaving the rating blank.
Super thankful this was KU. I will not continue the series; the authors may have range but this is my first experience with Jenn Burke and I’ve only had 1 positive experience with the 4 Kelly Jensen books I’ve read, so I’m pulling the plug here.
November 13, 2024
Really enjoyed this.
Loved the sci-fi world building and the history with the wars and different alien species. Really liked Zed's character and so curious what will happen to him in future books.
There wasn't much romance in this book, but since it is book one in a series I am assuming that will come slowly over the course of the series.
Lots of good set up for the rest of the series.
I did think it was weird there would occasionally be a random chapter from Elias's POV.
Loved the sci-fi world building and the history with the wars and different alien species. Really liked Zed's character and so curious what will happen to him in future books.
There wasn't much romance in this book, but since it is book one in a series I am assuming that will come slowly over the course of the series.
Lots of good set up for the rest of the series.
I did think it was weird there would occasionally be a random chapter from Elias's POV.
March 11, 2016
Fantastic sci-fi adventure with a dash of romance to spice it up.
September 15, 2022
I enjoyed this, but didn't love it. It had all the elements there for a great story; it just, unfortunately, missed the mark.
I really liked Felix/Flick/Fixer as a character. He was interesting, had depth and charisma, but I just wanted to delve deeper with him. It felt like we were just offered tidbits of information about him to set up stories for other books which is good ... but frustrating. Zed/Zander/Loop was a little bit lacking to me as the other MC. I liked him well enough and thought he was honourable and good, but he just seemed to be missing some personality and distinctive qualities I'd expect from a MC love interest. I really liked the rest of the crew and I'll definitely attempt the next book to see if I get more depth from everyone.
In regards to the romance aspect, there were good and bad moments of this. I really love stories of second chance romance and best friends to lovers, but it just didn't have the quality some other stories have with these tropes. I felt a little bit of chemistry and definite best friend vibes. I didn't feel like they were lovers or in love for this being their second chance (I'm sure that will be enhanced upon with the remaining books in the series). I really loved the sci-fi element of this. The galaxy system and beings were pretty easy to undertand and the world-building felt natural and flowed throughout the story. I wanted a bit more action, but was satisfied with what was there.
You'll enjoy this if you like MM romance with minor steam and not overly mushy, action sci-fi, second-chance romance, found family vibes, dual POV in third person, a HFN love story and a book designed for a longish series.
I really liked Felix/Flick/Fixer as a character. He was interesting, had depth and charisma, but I just wanted to delve deeper with him. It felt like we were just offered tidbits of information about him to set up stories for other books which is good ... but frustrating. Zed/Zander/Loop was a little bit lacking to me as the other MC. I liked him well enough and thought he was honourable and good, but he just seemed to be missing some personality and distinctive qualities I'd expect from a MC love interest. I really liked the rest of the crew and I'll definitely attempt the next book to see if I get more depth from everyone.
In regards to the romance aspect, there were good and bad moments of this. I really love stories of second chance romance and best friends to lovers, but it just didn't have the quality some other stories have with these tropes. I felt a little bit of chemistry and definite best friend vibes. I didn't feel like they were lovers or in love for this being their second chance (I'm sure that will be enhanced upon with the remaining books in the series). I really loved the sci-fi element of this. The galaxy system and beings were pretty easy to undertand and the world-building felt natural and flowed throughout the story. I wanted a bit more action, but was satisfied with what was there.
You'll enjoy this if you like MM romance with minor steam and not overly mushy, action sci-fi, second-chance romance, found family vibes, dual POV in third person, a HFN love story and a book designed for a longish series.
November 16, 2024
Recently added to KU with new covers! Really liked this. Great sci-fi world building, not too info-dumpy. Strong MC’s and side characters. Nice mix of plot and romance. Included serious themes and angst but not too heavy and has lots of little light~hearted snippets scattered through it. Interesting ideas for the rest of the series, keen to jump into book 2.
Think it’s worth noting the story finishes at 80% on my kindle and then there is a chapter from book 2 and a lovely little story flashing back to the MC’s time at the military academy 14yrs before the series is set which I recommend to read. It’s nice for extra character and relationship development.
Think it’s worth noting the story finishes at 80% on my kindle and then there is a chapter from book 2 and a lovely little story flashing back to the MC’s time at the military academy 14yrs before the series is set which I recommend to read. It’s nice for extra character and relationship development.
June 1, 2016
ugh - I can't give it 1 star because it was pretty well written, but the characters were so two-dimensional, the relationships predictable, the pacing was too slow & there was way too much detail of the ships, the space-stations, the technology and Flick's hand. Boring.
I would have never finished it but it was for a challenge and I was seriously hoping it would pick up. I was seriously disappointed.
I would have never finished it but it was for a challenge and I was seriously hoping it would pick up. I was seriously disappointed.
July 20, 2017
4 Stars
Review:
This book was exactly the kind of angsty, struggle-filled relationship story that I wanted. Zander and Felix used to be best friends and then, briefly, lovers, but they got separated because of the war. Not only that, Zander thought Felix was dead. So once they ended up on the same ship, of course things got interesting. Even though the book didn’t make me emotional the way I wanted it to, I still loved all those realistic feelings of longing and sexual tension and confusion between them. They clearly still had feelings for each other, but neither man was the same and nothing was the same between them after so many years apart.
Another thing I really liked was a realistic inclusion of disability (unfortunately it ended up being essentially cured in a later book, but at least it was realistic for a few books). Felix’s hand got injured at some point during the war and basically rendered useless. He did have a prosthetic-type glove thing, but it sounded very similar to a type of prosthetic that actually exists already in which he wasn’t able to move it with his mind or anything, but he was able to use his wrist or his thumb or maybe his other hand to move the prosthetic into different positions. So he still had struggles with it, and there were also times when he didn’t wear it at all. And although the actual term was never used, Felix also seemed to have PTSD throughout the series from his time as a POW, so there was mental illness in the book too.
I also thought the characters themselves came across as believable and realistically flawed but still likeable. There was also quite a bit of action in the plot since the goal was about rescuing Zander’s friend, Emma, but the focus was still on Zander and Felix’s relationship, so there was plenty of character-ness too.
Also, this wasn’t something I noticed in this first book (I’ve already read the whole series), but I want to point it out for anyone considering reading, the world-building in this series was absolutely incredible, realistic, and detailed.
I only had a couple complaints, one being that the book could’ve used one more proofread. Nothing major, but it just would’ve seemed more polished. Also, it was sometimes confusing to remember/figure out whose POV I was in since all three sounded very similar and were in 3rd person.
Overall though, I liked the characters and the angsty romance and the space settings and went on to read and enjoy the whole rest of the series!
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes M/M romance, angsty/struggle-filled relationships, books set in space, realistically flawed characters, and imperfect but sweet relationships among lovers, friends, and family.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
Review:
This book was exactly the kind of angsty, struggle-filled relationship story that I wanted. Zander and Felix used to be best friends and then, briefly, lovers, but they got separated because of the war. Not only that, Zander thought Felix was dead. So once they ended up on the same ship, of course things got interesting. Even though the book didn’t make me emotional the way I wanted it to, I still loved all those realistic feelings of longing and sexual tension and confusion between them. They clearly still had feelings for each other, but neither man was the same and nothing was the same between them after so many years apart.
Another thing I really liked was a realistic inclusion of disability (unfortunately it ended up being essentially cured in a later book, but at least it was realistic for a few books). Felix’s hand got injured at some point during the war and basically rendered useless. He did have a prosthetic-type glove thing, but it sounded very similar to a type of prosthetic that actually exists already in which he wasn’t able to move it with his mind or anything, but he was able to use his wrist or his thumb or maybe his other hand to move the prosthetic into different positions. So he still had struggles with it, and there were also times when he didn’t wear it at all. And although the actual term was never used, Felix also seemed to have PTSD throughout the series from his time as a POW, so there was mental illness in the book too.
I also thought the characters themselves came across as believable and realistically flawed but still likeable. There was also quite a bit of action in the plot since the goal was about rescuing Zander’s friend, Emma, but the focus was still on Zander and Felix’s relationship, so there was plenty of character-ness too.
Also, this wasn’t something I noticed in this first book (I’ve already read the whole series), but I want to point it out for anyone considering reading, the world-building in this series was absolutely incredible, realistic, and detailed.
I only had a couple complaints, one being that the book could’ve used one more proofread. Nothing major, but it just would’ve seemed more polished. Also, it was sometimes confusing to remember/figure out whose POV I was in since all three sounded very similar and were in 3rd person.
Overall though, I liked the characters and the angsty romance and the space settings and went on to read and enjoy the whole rest of the series!
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes M/M romance, angsty/struggle-filled relationships, books set in space, realistically flawed characters, and imperfect but sweet relationships among lovers, friends, and family.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
February 10, 2017
4.5 stars
March 2, 2015
My Review:
I don't read sci fi romance very often, so I forget just how much I enjoy it. This was a really great story...it combined some of my favorite things...male/male romance, friends to lovers, military romance, and sci fi romance.
In this story the two heroes haven't seen one another in 9 years...mainly because Zan thought Felix was dead and then he went deep, deep undercover into black ops and never heard that Felix's status had been changed. In this world, which is about 240 years into the future, humans have been at war. The war ended because of Zan and his team, so they are heroes in the system. What the public doesn't know is that this team of 12 soldiers have been modified to be super-soldiers, but that's left them with some horrific side effects.
Felix has his own horror stories from his time as a soldier that resulted in him as a POW for 4 years. Although this book didn't delve too much into that aspect of Felix, I have a feeling it will play heavier in future books.
I'm an angst loving reader and this book has lots of angst in that both the heroes are so mentally and physically wounded. Throughout the entire book, my heart just hurt for both of them and watching them suffer through the pain of wanting to reach out to what they used to have...but so much has changed for both of them. It's painful, but makes the suspense of when they get together that much better. Anticipation is a good thing.
And I love the whole world and the creativity used in it as well as the cast of characters that man the Chaos ship. There's a side romance brewing between the ship's captain and the doctor. And then there's an alien who assists Felix in engineering who is just so sweet and innocent, but provides a great vision of the reality of the events. It all makes for a good read. I'm also VERY interested to see more of Zan's family. I'm intrigued.
This story is very much in the action adventure genre and the two men finding their way back to one another. While they were in love, they were friends first and I really liked the way the authors wrote their relationship. The sex is secondary. To these two guys, their friendship and relationship and the fact that the other is alive and well is so much more important than the romance. In fact, it feels like there's very little romance in the story although it's VERY obvious that the two guys love each other deeply. I loved that realism. So many times in the romance genre, the romance is the first and foremost, no matter how unrealistic that would be in the real with the circumstances happening around the characters. Everything for these two guys is up in the air. They are truly living hour by hour so there is no romance. Love...yes. Sex...yes. Friendship and eventually a strong relationship...OMG, yes (so beautifully done). But the authors never came close to that unrealistic place by writing romance where it wouldn't normally happen besides in a romance novel. Bravo to Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen for that.
BUT with that being said...this is a five series book. I'm looking forward to a bit more romance between the two men in the future. And I cannot wait for more. This book was so good, riveting, and I didn't want to put it down as I devoured it. This series is definitely on my auto-buy list.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I don't read sci fi romance very often, so I forget just how much I enjoy it. This was a really great story...it combined some of my favorite things...male/male romance, friends to lovers, military romance, and sci fi romance.
In this story the two heroes haven't seen one another in 9 years...mainly because Zan thought Felix was dead and then he went deep, deep undercover into black ops and never heard that Felix's status had been changed. In this world, which is about 240 years into the future, humans have been at war. The war ended because of Zan and his team, so they are heroes in the system. What the public doesn't know is that this team of 12 soldiers have been modified to be super-soldiers, but that's left them with some horrific side effects.
Felix has his own horror stories from his time as a soldier that resulted in him as a POW for 4 years. Although this book didn't delve too much into that aspect of Felix, I have a feeling it will play heavier in future books.
I'm an angst loving reader and this book has lots of angst in that both the heroes are so mentally and physically wounded. Throughout the entire book, my heart just hurt for both of them and watching them suffer through the pain of wanting to reach out to what they used to have...but so much has changed for both of them. It's painful, but makes the suspense of when they get together that much better. Anticipation is a good thing.
And I love the whole world and the creativity used in it as well as the cast of characters that man the Chaos ship. There's a side romance brewing between the ship's captain and the doctor. And then there's an alien who assists Felix in engineering who is just so sweet and innocent, but provides a great vision of the reality of the events. It all makes for a good read. I'm also VERY interested to see more of Zan's family. I'm intrigued.
This story is very much in the action adventure genre and the two men finding their way back to one another. While they were in love, they were friends first and I really liked the way the authors wrote their relationship. The sex is secondary. To these two guys, their friendship and relationship and the fact that the other is alive and well is so much more important than the romance. In fact, it feels like there's very little romance in the story although it's VERY obvious that the two guys love each other deeply. I loved that realism. So many times in the romance genre, the romance is the first and foremost, no matter how unrealistic that would be in the real with the circumstances happening around the characters. Everything for these two guys is up in the air. They are truly living hour by hour so there is no romance. Love...yes. Sex...yes. Friendship and eventually a strong relationship...OMG, yes (so beautifully done). But the authors never came close to that unrealistic place by writing romance where it wouldn't normally happen besides in a romance novel. Bravo to Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen for that.
BUT with that being said...this is a five series book. I'm looking forward to a bit more romance between the two men in the future. And I cannot wait for more. This book was so good, riveting, and I didn't want to put it down as I devoured it. This series is definitely on my auto-buy list.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.
June 6, 2016
This sci-fi reads more like a military story than a science fiction one. But it is set in space in some unknown future time so it falls into the sci-fi category. It has just enough romance in it that I almost called it a sci-fi romance. However, it has so much more than that.
The main characters, as well as the secondary characters, are well developed and we get to know them. We see their lives in both past and present and become engaged with their struggles. It's an emotionally compelling story.
If I have any complaint at all, it would be that I'd prefer the action scenes to be more descriptive. But other than that, I am thrilled that Brew's review brought my attention to this great book. I am invested already and can't wait to read the follow-up books in this series.
The main characters, as well as the secondary characters, are well developed and we get to know them. We see their lives in both past and present and become engaged with their struggles. It's an emotionally compelling story.
If I have any complaint at all, it would be that I'd prefer the action scenes to be more descriptive. But other than that, I am thrilled that Brew's review brought my attention to this great book. I am invested already and can't wait to read the follow-up books in this series.
March 13, 2022
Quite boring. Dialogue and action sequences are seemingly taken from a scifi B-movie. World building feels inadequate.
I'm a scifi fan, and I was quite excited to start this book based on so many good reviews. That the book opens like an episode of Firefly didn't hurt either. But a few chapters in, I began to feel disappointed. Oh how I hate the aimless banter that went on and on this book. You can cut the book length by a third if you remove all the lengthy and unnecessary talks.
I could give this book 2 stars, but by the end I gave it 3 stars because I enjoyed some part of it, and because, well, it's scifi, my favorite genre. Plus, the cover design is very nice.
I'm a scifi fan, and I was quite excited to start this book based on so many good reviews. That the book opens like an episode of Firefly didn't hurt either. But a few chapters in, I began to feel disappointed. Oh how I hate the aimless banter that went on and on this book. You can cut the book length by a third if you remove all the lengthy and unnecessary talks.
I could give this book 2 stars, but by the end I gave it 3 stars because I enjoyed some part of it, and because, well, it's scifi, my favorite genre. Plus, the cover design is very nice.
March 8, 2017
4 STARS
This is an awesome new syfy series kidz. As I write this (25th June 2015)
There is only two books available with a third being released this September 2015.
I hope book two measures up.
This is an awesome new syfy series kidz. As I write this (25th June 2015)
There is only two books available with a third being released this September 2015.
I hope book two measures up.
July 12, 2016
I think this has all the elements of my favourite books, sci fi, good plot, action, romance, flawed characters struggling with their past, loved it
Re reading the series before reading the latest book
Re reading the series before reading the latest book
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