What do you think?
Rate this book
Starbound
Elijah has grown up on the far-flung farming colony of Dhat-Badan, but he's always longed for adventure out in the galaxy. When the cargo ship Chimera passes through, Elijah takes a chance and stows away. The mysterious captain, however, does not take charity cases—so if Elijah wants to remain, the pair are going to have to come to an arrangement that will allow both of them to be satisfied.
278 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2018
10 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 23, 2022
I have a rocky relationship with BDSM books and sex-heavy books, but I really liked this one!
The BDSM was done well, with discussions beforehand, consent, safe words, checking in, etc. (There were incidents when things went too far or wrong by accident, but even those were done well, the characters recognizing and owning up to their mistakes and apologizing.) It was also written in a way that was really sexy and made me understand how much Elijah was enjoying it.
The romance was really sweet. There was a lot of sex, but the author did a great job of also showing the non-sex parts of their relationship as it was building. Little moments when they had free time on a stop. Having each others’ backs when things went wrong. Talking. There was also some angst, which I love, since it was supposed to only be sex, but then Elijah caught The Feelings, and there were also some other little bumps in the road. It sort of surprised me that I could be so happy and excited for two characters to kiss after I’d already read about them doing far more x-rated things. And the love confessions were pretty great. I don’t know how to really explain without spoiling, but just the perfect scenarios/timing to give me some great feels. *SPOILER* *END SPOILER*
I liked reading about these characters. They were flawed people who sometimes made mistakes or did shitty things, but I still cared about them. Elijah just wanted to get off his colony and explore the world and experience new things and all the galaxy had to offer. He was a 20-year-old farm boy, naive in some ways, but very much able to hold his own and stand up for himself and adapt. Leslie was not exactly a good person (I disagreed with Elijah’s opinion that he used the appropriate amount of violence in a certain situation), but he was charming and confident. The rest of the crew were jerks at the start, but they too weren’t all bad or all good and started warming up to Elijah in their own ways.
The focus was the romance, but there was also a bit of space adventure and sneaking and action and heroism.
My one real complaint is the constant use of “the blond,” “the older man,” “the younger man,” and most of all, “the boy.” According to a search of the book, that last one was used 231 times. And the book seemed to be mostly from Elijah’s POV (3rd person, but we were in his head), so that made it feel like he was thinking of himself as “the boy” and his lover as “the blonde,” which was weird. I just wanted their names to be used. But everything else was good enough for me to just deal with it.
Overall, I really enjoyed these characters, their sexy BDSM relationship, and their sweet, slightly angsty romance—in space!
*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2022 // Format: Ebook via TTS*
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes sweet and sexy m/m romance, BDSM, a bit of angst, and a bit of space adventure.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
The BDSM was done well, with discussions beforehand, consent, safe words, checking in, etc. (There were incidents when things went too far or wrong by accident, but even those were done well, the characters recognizing and owning up to their mistakes and apologizing.) It was also written in a way that was really sexy and made me understand how much Elijah was enjoying it.
The romance was really sweet. There was a lot of sex, but the author did a great job of also showing the non-sex parts of their relationship as it was building. Little moments when they had free time on a stop. Having each others’ backs when things went wrong. Talking. There was also some angst, which I love, since it was supposed to only be sex, but then Elijah caught The Feelings, and there were also some other little bumps in the road. It sort of surprised me that I could be so happy and excited for two characters to kiss after I’d already read about them doing far more x-rated things. And the love confessions were pretty great. I don’t know how to really explain without spoiling, but just the perfect scenarios/timing to give me some great feels. *SPOILER* *END SPOILER*
I liked reading about these characters. They were flawed people who sometimes made mistakes or did shitty things, but I still cared about them. Elijah just wanted to get off his colony and explore the world and experience new things and all the galaxy had to offer. He was a 20-year-old farm boy, naive in some ways, but very much able to hold his own and stand up for himself and adapt. Leslie was not exactly a good person (I disagreed with Elijah’s opinion that he used the appropriate amount of violence in a certain situation), but he was charming and confident. The rest of the crew were jerks at the start, but they too weren’t all bad or all good and started warming up to Elijah in their own ways.
The focus was the romance, but there was also a bit of space adventure and sneaking and action and heroism.
My one real complaint is the constant use of “the blond,” “the older man,” “the younger man,” and most of all, “the boy.” According to a search of the book, that last one was used 231 times. And the book seemed to be mostly from Elijah’s POV (3rd person, but we were in his head), so that made it feel like he was thinking of himself as “the boy” and his lover as “the blonde,” which was weird. I just wanted their names to be used. But everything else was good enough for me to just deal with it.
Overall, I really enjoyed these characters, their sexy BDSM relationship, and their sweet, slightly angsty romance—in space!
*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2022 // Format: Ebook via TTS*
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes sweet and sexy m/m romance, BDSM, a bit of angst, and a bit of space adventure.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
October 16, 2023
I'll be honest, I have read most of the Tuath De series, along with the Haven cross over about a year ago, and I recently bought the five stand alone novels when Barnett came to a convention near home for me. I loved her stories a ton, and so far I have read two of the five stand alones, not including this one, and I really did love them. I don't know if it was the BDSM aspect in this story, but it honestly made me terrified if this book. I was honestly scared to death of what on earth was going to happen on the next page. Nonetheless, the story was phenomenal.
The relationship between Leslie and Elijah was.... questionable at some moments, but sweet for the rest. That being said, there are a lot of things that Leslie does that just makes me dislike him a lot. Most of their spicy scenes were while Elijah was drunk or out of his mind. Usually with books like these, they don't go into much detail with safe words, and most of the time they're never used. The fact that these two had to use a safe word because Elijah was scared of not being enough "fun" for Leslie just pained me.
I have never had a book that made me have physical reactions. There were times that I had to take a few minutes alone to just do a reality check, that check list being one example. Needless to say, a fun read, but also concerning.
The relationship between Leslie and Elijah was.... questionable at some moments, but sweet for the rest. That being said, there are a lot of things that Leslie does that just makes me dislike him a lot. Most of their spicy scenes were while Elijah was drunk or out of his mind. Usually with books like these, they don't go into much detail with safe words, and most of the time they're never used. The fact that these two had to use a safe word because Elijah was scared of not being enough "fun" for Leslie just pained me.
I have never had a book that made me have physical reactions. There were times that I had to take a few minutes alone to just do a reality check, that check list being one example. Needless to say, a fun read, but also concerning.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2018
So, I have a penchant for m/m sci fi with a side serving of bdsm and let me tell you most of the stuff out there fitting that description is awful. This was definitely better than average, having characters and plot and stuff. But at the same time I never really quite engaged with the book, I felt kind of one step away all the time, I can't work out why, something to do with the voice maybe? So I'm going to give it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the rating on the grounds its not the usual dross.
Oh plot? Starry eyed naive farmhand stows away on Bad Captains ship and is forced to offer his body for passage. Except the Bad Captain is actually really considerate and careful and lets him know that the body offering is optional. Some kinky sex follows (nothing too hardcore and not that many scenes in the book compared to some), plus lots of failing spectacularly to talk to each other, the farmhand turns out to be more canny to have around than first impressions gave, they nearly fall apart when disaster strikes but it all comes good in the end. And no, I don't think that was really a plot spoiler cos did you honestly expect any different?
Oh plot? Starry eyed naive farmhand stows away on Bad Captains ship and is forced to offer his body for passage. Except the Bad Captain is actually really considerate and careful and lets him know that the body offering is optional. Some kinky sex follows (nothing too hardcore and not that many scenes in the book compared to some), plus lots of failing spectacularly to talk to each other, the farmhand turns out to be more canny to have around than first impressions gave, they nearly fall apart when disaster strikes but it all comes good in the end. And no, I don't think that was really a plot spoiler cos did you honestly expect any different?
June 30, 2024
I met Tess at Pensacon in February 2024 and she was lovely!
I was more than happy to support her and buy this amazing book. Gay space bdsm? YES PLEASE.
The only reason this book isn’t getting 5 start from me personally is I felt there was a lack of spicy scenes. In person, she said that this book was how she wished the 50 Shades series had been done, and I felt that while the dynamic was done correctly, the spice and amount of scenes were lacking for me.
Other than that, the book has everything you could want and I suggest it to everyone I meet. Sometimes by aggressively shoving it into their faces and telling them to read it.
I was more than happy to support her and buy this amazing book. Gay space bdsm? YES PLEASE.
The only reason this book isn’t getting 5 start from me personally is I felt there was a lack of spicy scenes. In person, she said that this book was how she wished the 50 Shades series had been done, and I felt that while the dynamic was done correctly, the spice and amount of scenes were lacking for me.
Other than that, the book has everything you could want and I suggest it to everyone I meet. Sometimes by aggressively shoving it into their faces and telling them to read it.
April 23, 2023
enjoyed
This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I’m really enjoying the storylines and writing style. It’s not super exciting or a scream from the rafters, melt at your feet type of love but it’s still an enjoyable read for a rainy Sunday.
This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I’m really enjoying the storylines and writing style. It’s not super exciting or a scream from the rafters, melt at your feet type of love but it’s still an enjoyable read for a rainy Sunday.
June 19, 2023
I enjoyed reading this tale, sexy, cute with enough angst to make you cry. While there is no lacking in spice, I loved seeing Elijah and The captain’s relationship move from purely sexual to something more. With a HEA, I definitely recommend for those craving a sexy space adventure.
August 17, 2018
4.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews