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The Agitator's Code #1
Vaironian Tides
Who’s winning and what does winning mean?
Darion Navarr savors a challenge. As a Negotiator for the Vaironian Government, he matches wits against Tolrek Marou, the nation’s most notorious rebel.
Tolrek Marou, an ace mecha pilot, jeopardizes his prominent military career. When he and his fellow pilots are blamed for the loss of a recent war, he leads a rebellion.
Tolrek ultimately surrenders to the government, but Darion suspects Tolrek has hidden motives. Even as Tolrek's taken into custody, he’s focused on finding out why he remains important to Vaironia. Once he gets his answers, he plans on taking full advantage of the situation. His largest obstacle is Darion, who Tolrek believes understands him too well.
Both Darion and Tolrek are intelligent and stubborn, pushing each other mentally and physically. Negotiations, small and large, will impact their relationship. With the many stakes involved, who’s winning and what does winning mean?
Content Warning: light BDSM, fights, discussions about rebellion/protesters imprisoned and PTSD, injury to characters, and a minor character’s death.
Darion Navarr savors a challenge. As a Negotiator for the Vaironian Government, he matches wits against Tolrek Marou, the nation’s most notorious rebel.
Tolrek Marou, an ace mecha pilot, jeopardizes his prominent military career. When he and his fellow pilots are blamed for the loss of a recent war, he leads a rebellion.
Tolrek ultimately surrenders to the government, but Darion suspects Tolrek has hidden motives. Even as Tolrek's taken into custody, he’s focused on finding out why he remains important to Vaironia. Once he gets his answers, he plans on taking full advantage of the situation. His largest obstacle is Darion, who Tolrek believes understands him too well.
Both Darion and Tolrek are intelligent and stubborn, pushing each other mentally and physically. Negotiations, small and large, will impact their relationship. With the many stakes involved, who’s winning and what does winning mean?
Content Warning: light BDSM, fights, discussions about rebellion/protesters imprisoned and PTSD, injury to characters, and a minor character’s death.
358 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 7, 2020
5 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Octavia Atlas
5 books18 followersOctavia Atlas writes contemporary, fantasy, and science fiction romance. When she's not crafting stories, she plays video games, reads, travels, or watches TV/movies. Connect with her on Bluesky, @octaviaatlas.bsky.social, or through her website, https://www.octaviaatlas.com, for story news and trivia. She'd love to hear from you!
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 10, 2020
Tolrek Marou is a top mecha pilot who leads a rebellion after being blamed for the loss of the Vaironian war. He's imprisoned for his actions. Darion Navarr is a skilled negotiator for the Vaironian Government. Darion takes Tolrek Ito his custody as his pet. Both have a lot of secrets about who and what they are and both are wanted by the government. It's an enemies to lovers story with plenty of romance and hot love scenes with some kink and mild BDSM. There's loads of action and political intrigue that keep the story line moving along at a fast clip. The side characters, some who are AI, add depth and humor to the story. The banter between Tolrek and Darion as well as both of them and the side characters is fantastic. The world-building is well done.
This hits the spot if you are looking for science fiction mixed with some political intrigue, great characters, and hot sex. The is the first book in what looks to be a great series. It's one I look forward to reading more of and would highly recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I exchange for an honest review.
This hits the spot if you are looking for science fiction mixed with some political intrigue, great characters, and hot sex. The is the first book in what looks to be a great series. It's one I look forward to reading more of and would highly recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I exchange for an honest review.
January 24, 2021
I received an ARC for free in exchange for an honest review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Sorry, but this book was not meant for me. My biggest issue was the mindset of one of the main characters (Darion).
Sure, you could argue that this is a fantasy story set in fictional galaxies and the people in it are not human. Therefore they are not bound by human standards concerning maturity and emotional evolvement. I tried to consciously refrain from engaging any human norms at all, but I failed.
Maybe it is my fault. Maybe I am too set in my ways. But the truth is, it annoyed me to witness an adult male thinking and acting like a pre-adolescent female. All that girlish gushing and major insecurities supposedly going on in Darion's head? Not my cup of tea. If I wanted to read about lovesick teenage girls, I'd pick a different kind of book. And I don't mean to be misogynistic! I was a teenage girl once myself, but it was just a phase I grew out of (which I'm happy about, let me tell you).
Darion on the other hand seemed to be stuck in that stage of development. His inner life was a complete whine-fest which got more and more painful to observe, and it made him ill-equipped to handle his waaaaay to many powers and responsibilities - physically, politically and socially.
(That it is not a good idea to give any political power at all to adults that have never mastered their terrible twos has been presented to the whole wide world for 4 long and embarrassing years, a lesson that is thankfully over now, as of 20-01-2021.)
Good Lord, those silly mistakes Darion made! His naive bewilderment when he was confronted with the consequences of his actions, the scandal and impairment of his political image… (I don't want to go into detail to avoid spoilers, but anybody who reads the book will immediately know what I am talking about, it is just too daft for words.) Maybe the author only intended to add a bit of a daring element, but the whole idea backfired and made Darion look intellectually challenged (not to mention his complete lack of ethical integrity) in a way that no reader with any capacity of memory will have forgotten by the end of the novel. This kind of stupidity sticks and stays with you till the end, and it destroys any chance of collecting sympathy points for the main characters.
Another pet peeve of mine has already been perfectly voiced by John-Torleif Harris and I only want to second his astonishment: Why would Darion blame Tolrek for the fight with Javio? He tried to evade the altercation for the longest time and in the end just defended himself. Is it his fault that he was stronger than his aggressor? Like so many things in this book, that did not make any sense at all.
The only thing I enjoyed was Fei, an artificial intelligence that does not need to physically manifest. I am not talking about her headstrong antics, I did not find those quite as funny as they were meant to be, but I was fascinated by the idea of an AI that functions on light energy alone and is not bound to matter. The one star I can't avoid anyway goes to that beautiful thought.
I will definitely not be watching out for the next book in this series and I am very thankful I didn't have to pay actual money for this book.
Sorry, but this book was not meant for me. My biggest issue was the mindset of one of the main characters (Darion).
Sure, you could argue that this is a fantasy story set in fictional galaxies and the people in it are not human. Therefore they are not bound by human standards concerning maturity and emotional evolvement. I tried to consciously refrain from engaging any human norms at all, but I failed.
Maybe it is my fault. Maybe I am too set in my ways. But the truth is, it annoyed me to witness an adult male thinking and acting like a pre-adolescent female. All that girlish gushing and major insecurities supposedly going on in Darion's head? Not my cup of tea. If I wanted to read about lovesick teenage girls, I'd pick a different kind of book. And I don't mean to be misogynistic! I was a teenage girl once myself, but it was just a phase I grew out of (which I'm happy about, let me tell you).
Darion on the other hand seemed to be stuck in that stage of development. His inner life was a complete whine-fest which got more and more painful to observe, and it made him ill-equipped to handle his waaaaay to many powers and responsibilities - physically, politically and socially.
(That it is not a good idea to give any political power at all to adults that have never mastered their terrible twos has been presented to the whole wide world for 4 long and embarrassing years, a lesson that is thankfully over now, as of 20-01-2021.)
Good Lord, those silly mistakes Darion made! His naive bewilderment when he was confronted with the consequences of his actions, the scandal and impairment of his political image… (I don't want to go into detail to avoid spoilers, but anybody who reads the book will immediately know what I am talking about, it is just too daft for words.) Maybe the author only intended to add a bit of a daring element, but the whole idea backfired and made Darion look intellectually challenged (not to mention his complete lack of ethical integrity) in a way that no reader with any capacity of memory will have forgotten by the end of the novel. This kind of stupidity sticks and stays with you till the end, and it destroys any chance of collecting sympathy points for the main characters.
Another pet peeve of mine has already been perfectly voiced by John-Torleif Harris and I only want to second his astonishment: Why would Darion blame Tolrek for the fight with Javio? He tried to evade the altercation for the longest time and in the end just defended himself. Is it his fault that he was stronger than his aggressor? Like so many things in this book, that did not make any sense at all.
The only thing I enjoyed was Fei, an artificial intelligence that does not need to physically manifest. I am not talking about her headstrong antics, I did not find those quite as funny as they were meant to be, but I was fascinated by the idea of an AI that functions on light energy alone and is not bound to matter. The one star I can't avoid anyway goes to that beautiful thought.
I will definitely not be watching out for the next book in this series and I am very thankful I didn't have to pay actual money for this book.
July 27, 2020
4.5 stars
Gripping and fast paced sci-fi thriller with just the right amount of romance.
'Vaironian tides' makes for a great start to what I think will make a good sci-fi series. It follows the adventures of lead negotiator -Darion and rebel leader-Tolrek in the fictional and future world of Vaironia and Tildar, with advanced AI's and Tech.
The story starts off with slight enemies-to-lovers, dubcon vibes as Darion claims Tolrek as his pet and the duo give into their age old attraction, but soon turns into a engaging thriller as they race to uncover the mystery behind the powers they individually possess and the different secret ploys that the higher ups have been conjuring.
Their flirtatious banter is adorable to read and the intimate scenes are HOT to read with just the right amount of kink. The writing flows well and the author has perfected the balance of details for good world building, crime and romance.
The plot is fast faced and I love how the author kept teasing with the theories and kept me guessing till the end. Considering this is the author's debut novel, very well done!
The side characters were lovable, especially Naj, the cute-ass beast/dog (pet of Darion's pet-LOL).
Recommend to anyone looking for a good sci-fi series with a good plot and romance.
Will be looking forward to book#2.
Gripping and fast paced sci-fi thriller with just the right amount of romance.
'Vaironian tides' makes for a great start to what I think will make a good sci-fi series. It follows the adventures of lead negotiator -Darion and rebel leader-Tolrek in the fictional and future world of Vaironia and Tildar, with advanced AI's and Tech.
The story starts off with slight enemies-to-lovers, dubcon vibes as Darion claims Tolrek as his pet and the duo give into their age old attraction, but soon turns into a engaging thriller as they race to uncover the mystery behind the powers they individually possess and the different secret ploys that the higher ups have been conjuring.
Their flirtatious banter is adorable to read and the intimate scenes are HOT to read with just the right amount of kink. The writing flows well and the author has perfected the balance of details for good world building, crime and romance.
The plot is fast faced and I love how the author kept teasing with the theories and kept me guessing till the end. Considering this is the author's debut novel, very well done!
The side characters were lovable, especially Naj, the cute-ass beast/dog (pet of Darion's pet-LOL).
Recommend to anyone looking for a good sci-fi series with a good plot and romance.
Will be looking forward to book#2.
September 28, 2021
In short: No. Just no. This was not for me.
See, from the description, I thought this would be just the kind of sci-fi and romance combo I'd absolutely love. Oh boy, was I wrong.
Of course, it would have been very helpful had the description not left out some rather major components of the story...
For one, I'd have appreciated a... I don't want to say "warning", so I'll go with "heads-up"... for the BDSM content in the first half of the book, which (with rare exceptions, and then only when clearly 100% consensual) is just not my thing.
Much more importantly, it also failed to mention that the set-up for the "romance" consists of one of our protagonists, Tolrek, being turned into the "Companion/Pet" (exactly what it sounds like) of the other protagonist, Darion, very much against his will - shock collar, whips, constant surveillance and all. It doesn't go too heavily into the shocks and whips part of that set-up, but there was enough of it for me to be extremely uncomfortable with (to put it mildly). For as long as this state of things persists, with one character under the control of the other, imprisoned in his home and subject to his commands, nothing that happens between them can ever be construed as being truly consensual IMO. Not even when Tolrek initiates sexual contact between them, and no matter how much you're telling me that they're suddenly feeling all the feels for each other. Especially when Darion still uses the power he has over Tolrek whenever he damn well pleases.
Now, there seem to be plenty of people who are into that kind of thing in their fiction, but I'm emphatically not one of them. I'm severely allergic to anything that smacks of dubious consent and controlling, abusive relationships, and this thing sent up red flags all over the place. I despised Darion, and cannot for the life of me understand how or why Tolrek falls in love with him under these circumstances (or any circumstances, really, but that's just my general distaste for the character speaking).
I might have been more interested in the world and the rest of the story had I not found the romance part so very offputting... who knows.
All I know is that I didn't enjoy said romance and would have avoided the book like the plague had I known what I was getting in that respect.
I make a point of never DNF-ing a book, but with this one I came very close on several occasions... which, if you know me, tells you everything you need to know about how I felt about this book.
*** I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. ***
See, from the description, I thought this would be just the kind of sci-fi and romance combo I'd absolutely love. Oh boy, was I wrong.
Of course, it would have been very helpful had the description not left out some rather major components of the story...
For one, I'd have appreciated a... I don't want to say "warning", so I'll go with "heads-up"... for the BDSM content in the first half of the book, which (with rare exceptions, and then only when clearly 100% consensual) is just not my thing.
Much more importantly, it also failed to mention that the set-up for the "romance" consists of one of our protagonists, Tolrek, being turned into the "Companion/Pet" (exactly what it sounds like) of the other protagonist, Darion, very much against his will - shock collar, whips, constant surveillance and all. It doesn't go too heavily into the shocks and whips part of that set-up, but there was enough of it for me to be extremely uncomfortable with (to put it mildly). For as long as this state of things persists, with one character under the control of the other, imprisoned in his home and subject to his commands, nothing that happens between them can ever be construed as being truly consensual IMO. Not even when Tolrek initiates sexual contact between them, and no matter how much you're telling me that they're suddenly feeling all the feels for each other. Especially when Darion still uses the power he has over Tolrek whenever he damn well pleases.
Now, there seem to be plenty of people who are into that kind of thing in their fiction, but I'm emphatically not one of them. I'm severely allergic to anything that smacks of dubious consent and controlling, abusive relationships, and this thing sent up red flags all over the place. I despised Darion, and cannot for the life of me understand how or why Tolrek falls in love with him under these circumstances (or any circumstances, really, but that's just my general distaste for the character speaking).
I might have been more interested in the world and the rest of the story had I not found the romance part so very offputting... who knows.
All I know is that I didn't enjoy said romance and would have avoided the book like the plague had I known what I was getting in that respect.
I make a point of never DNF-ing a book, but with this one I came very close on several occasions... which, if you know me, tells you everything you need to know about how I felt about this book.
*** I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. ***
July 29, 2020
May I first say that this book was a total surprise hit for me. I really do need to read more outside my comfort zone. I admit I was willing to chuck the book because of a bit of BDSM. I'm no fan of reading it. But it was lite and something that happened sparingly throughout the book. The side characters were a delight. I love the sense of family. Great world-building. It was funny and sweet without overdoing it. The book really is good if you believe that it is too short. But at the end of the day, I'm excited that there will be more.
I received a copy of this book from the author via the M/M Romance Group’s Don’t Buy My Love program in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book from the author via the M/M Romance Group’s Don’t Buy My Love program in exchange for an honest review.
May 8, 2021
“I’m your one-and-only love machine.”
bahahahahaha
i'm going to be honest and say that this book is okay. teetering on meh territory.
and i hate that i'm saying that.
i don't hate this by any means but i don't necessarily love it either.
i got this book from booksirens (shoutout) and how i choose my arc's is to shuffle all of the titles and i get picked one by random by random.org and when i landed on this, i wanted to give it a fair shot. i've read books on there that didn't strike me as interesting but after reading it, i loved it. so i wanted to give this the benefit of the doubt.
first impressions. the cover was... not my favourite. i get that this is an arc but it just looks... not good.
when i read the prologue (or chapter 1), i was really interested because my imaginative juices were flowing in how the scene was playing out. the whole negotiation thing was very mysterious in its feeling. nice. love that.
but then we get into gay stuff. WHICH IS FINE. i was the idiot and i didn't read the genres and the first one was "gay romance". when i saw the title and the cover, i went immediately to "sci-fi". so i was under the guise that this book would be exclusively sci-fi with a trickling of romance in there and i went into this with the wrong expectations. my fault. i'm not giving a strike to this book because of that. the book holds true to the genre it presented to me. it was half-and-half of those two genres. darion and tolrek was okay. the sex scenes were a bit excessive and sometimes out-of-the-blue. their romance was the aspect that kept me reading. everything else plot-wise was okay. it wasn't exciting. i just felt very passive the whole time. the story didn't really grip me even with all the revelations at the end. the worldbuilding was okay. the sci-fi bits were easy to digest. i'm still a little confused as to where this is all going but i'm thinking this is purposeful because it should build up to the next book in the series? i don't know. i think that i just didn't feel like i cared enough for these characters. i think it's because i didn't really know them at all and so it was difficult to be super invested??? i make no sense.
the characters were a bit funky in that everyone's characterisation felt similar. i think it's just me. like all of the characters sound to me like they're impulsive but they have a soft-side to them.
the timing in the book is also very funky. time doesn't exist in the book. or at least we're not told right away that a period of time has elapsed until later in the plot when they're reminiscing. i don't know if i've explained anything properly. i mention this in my notes but think GOT season 8. everything happens so quickly.
it's a 3 out of 5 because it's just... okay.
let's go to my kindle notes. you can skip these because these are my thoughts as i reads through the book.
would i recommend this book?
i honestly don't know yet.
you can if you want to but i don't think you're losing anything if you don't read this.
would i read the next book?
probs not??? maybe??? if i'm absolutely out of things to read???
you know what. just go read it maybe you'll love it.
disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. :)
bahahahahaha
i'm going to be honest and say that this book is okay. teetering on meh territory.
and i hate that i'm saying that.
i don't hate this by any means but i don't necessarily love it either.
i got this book from booksirens (shoutout) and how i choose my arc's is to shuffle all of the titles and i get picked one by random by random.org and when i landed on this, i wanted to give it a fair shot. i've read books on there that didn't strike me as interesting but after reading it, i loved it. so i wanted to give this the benefit of the doubt.
first impressions. the cover was... not my favourite. i get that this is an arc but it just looks... not good.
when i read the prologue (or chapter 1), i was really interested because my imaginative juices were flowing in how the scene was playing out. the whole negotiation thing was very mysterious in its feeling. nice. love that.
but then we get into gay stuff. WHICH IS FINE. i was the idiot and i didn't read the genres and the first one was "gay romance". when i saw the title and the cover, i went immediately to "sci-fi". so i was under the guise that this book would be exclusively sci-fi with a trickling of romance in there and i went into this with the wrong expectations. my fault. i'm not giving a strike to this book because of that. the book holds true to the genre it presented to me. it was half-and-half of those two genres. darion and tolrek was okay. the sex scenes were a bit excessive and sometimes out-of-the-blue. their romance was the aspect that kept me reading. everything else plot-wise was okay. it wasn't exciting. i just felt very passive the whole time. the story didn't really grip me even with all the revelations at the end. the worldbuilding was okay. the sci-fi bits were easy to digest. i'm still a little confused as to where this is all going but i'm thinking this is purposeful because it should build up to the next book in the series? i don't know. i think that i just didn't feel like i cared enough for these characters. i think it's because i didn't really know them at all and so it was difficult to be super invested??? i make no sense.
the characters were a bit funky in that everyone's characterisation felt similar. i think it's just me. like all of the characters sound to me like they're impulsive but they have a soft-side to them.
the timing in the book is also very funky. time doesn't exist in the book. or at least we're not told right away that a period of time has elapsed until later in the plot when they're reminiscing. i don't know if i've explained anything properly. i mention this in my notes but think GOT season 8. everything happens so quickly.
it's a 3 out of 5 because it's just... okay.
let's go to my kindle notes. you can skip these because these are my thoughts as i reads through the book.
would i recommend this book?
i honestly don't know yet.
you can if you want to but i don't think you're losing anything if you don't read this.
would i read the next book?
probs not??? maybe??? if i'm absolutely out of things to read???
you know what. just go read it maybe you'll love it.
disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. :)
July 1, 2020
I have been waiting for this one for months and I was more than happy to finally get it. While it hasn’t been what I was expecting, it didn’t disappoint.
It’s fast paced story interspersed with some surprisingly mushy scenes. It has a little bit of everything: political intrigues, court intrigues, war of worlds, treason, overprotective family, teasing friends and even sassy robots.
It starts as enemies to lovers story, as Darion and Tolrek are on opposite sides in the beginning. They remain on the not quite same side during the story, as events and manipulative politicians interfere, but still find their way to each other. It’s obviously a first book in series, as there is a lot of information on character’s background and the planets they are from. I’m also hoping some of supporting characters will show up more in subsequent stories, like Darion’s brother and his friend Makdan.
It’s a whirlwind of events as our heroes are constantly in danger and it’s not always from the same source. In the midst of all that was happening, Darion and Tolrek are trying to come to terms with what is between them. Their attraction doesn’t erase their conflict, as they are still on the odds with each other, but they are slowly working through it. There are some very sweet exchanges between them.
I had fun with tropes in the story and only had issues with the beginning of the book as I wasn’t expecting BDSM elements and dubious consent, but the story mellowed as it progressed.
Everything considering, it was a fun experience!
I received copy of this book in exchange for review.
It’s fast paced story interspersed with some surprisingly mushy scenes. It has a little bit of everything: political intrigues, court intrigues, war of worlds, treason, overprotective family, teasing friends and even sassy robots.
It starts as enemies to lovers story, as Darion and Tolrek are on opposite sides in the beginning. They remain on the not quite same side during the story, as events and manipulative politicians interfere, but still find their way to each other. It’s obviously a first book in series, as there is a lot of information on character’s background and the planets they are from. I’m also hoping some of supporting characters will show up more in subsequent stories, like Darion’s brother and his friend Makdan.
It’s a whirlwind of events as our heroes are constantly in danger and it’s not always from the same source. In the midst of all that was happening, Darion and Tolrek are trying to come to terms with what is between them. Their attraction doesn’t erase their conflict, as they are still on the odds with each other, but they are slowly working through it. There are some very sweet exchanges between them.
I had fun with tropes in the story and only had issues with the beginning of the book as I wasn’t expecting BDSM elements and dubious consent, but the story mellowed as it progressed.
Everything considering, it was a fun experience!
I received copy of this book in exchange for review.
September 20, 2020
Rating: 2.5 stars
Good: Side characters, mystery
Bad: Jarring tone switches, wanted the lead relationship to break up because one guy committed a really shitty act that made me loathe him the rest of the book because it was out of nowhere
I was REALLY torn about this book. There were some great parts going for it -- side characters, the mystery -- while the overall tone shifting with the main relationship and choices made by political characters was really jarring and made it difficult to tell which lane the book was committing to. I dont mind sinister characters, but having they switch from devious to doe-eyed within a page was difficult to follow.
Tolrek had the more balanced personality of the two. Vulnerable but confident. Darion's personality needed more tonal commitment. It's like he read a 101 guide on being a dom, and then forgot what he wanted to do with his notes.
I also had a VERY difficult time enjoying Darion. He's written to be sympathized with, but he commits a major act of violation to Tolrek (what was out of nowhere and really dehumanizing) and I immediately lost any appreciation of him. The act felt completely out of place, to cause some drama, but it pretty much marred any attachment I would have felt for him and I spent the time rooting for Tolrek to find love someplace else.
Despite my issues with the characterizations, tone shifting, and some weird threads with the plot, I did find myself engaged enough with side characters to complete the book.
It was a weird begrudging finish, where I quietly mourned what could have been with a really good plot/character editorial sweep.
------
I received an advance review copy for free from Book Sirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Good: Side characters, mystery
Bad: Jarring tone switches, wanted the lead relationship to break up because one guy committed a really shitty act that made me loathe him the rest of the book because it was out of nowhere
I was REALLY torn about this book. There were some great parts going for it -- side characters, the mystery -- while the overall tone shifting with the main relationship and choices made by political characters was really jarring and made it difficult to tell which lane the book was committing to. I dont mind sinister characters, but having they switch from devious to doe-eyed within a page was difficult to follow.
Tolrek had the more balanced personality of the two. Vulnerable but confident. Darion's personality needed more tonal commitment. It's like he read a 101 guide on being a dom, and then forgot what he wanted to do with his notes.
I also had a VERY difficult time enjoying Darion. He's written to be sympathized with, but he commits a major act of violation to Tolrek (what was out of nowhere and really dehumanizing) and I immediately lost any appreciation of him. The act felt completely out of place, to cause some drama, but it pretty much marred any attachment I would have felt for him and I spent the time rooting for Tolrek to find love someplace else.
Despite my issues with the characterizations, tone shifting, and some weird threads with the plot, I did find myself engaged enough with side characters to complete the book.
It was a weird begrudging finish, where I quietly mourned what could have been with a really good plot/character editorial sweep.
------
I received an advance review copy for free from Book Sirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 18, 2022
I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
This is a science fiction enemies to lovers romance in a political setting. Darion Navarr is a negotiator (a mix between a diplomat and security) for the Vaironian government. Tolrek Marou was a Mecha pilot turned rebel when the government placed all the blame for the war on the pilots of the mecha. Darion negotiates the surrender of the rebels. Most are granted pardon, but not Tolrek! Tolrek is still considered an asset by some of the goverment, but the prison guard keep abusing Tolrek. Darion comes up with a controvertial plan to make Tolrek his pet. Both Darion and Tolrek have more power than is usual for their races. they need that power to survive multiple attempts on their lives.
Darion and Tolrek also bring their issues into this complex relationship. Darion is a recorder and when one of his video recordings get released on their version of the internet it cause frictions in the relationship and obstacles in the way of Darion's job. Tolrek is an orphan who never got adopted, with the feelings of abandonment and being unloved that brings. They have a rocky road to love, but together they get there.
Lots of action and a compelling plot makes this a book to read and reread.
This is a science fiction enemies to lovers romance in a political setting. Darion Navarr is a negotiator (a mix between a diplomat and security) for the Vaironian government. Tolrek Marou was a Mecha pilot turned rebel when the government placed all the blame for the war on the pilots of the mecha. Darion negotiates the surrender of the rebels. Most are granted pardon, but not Tolrek! Tolrek is still considered an asset by some of the goverment, but the prison guard keep abusing Tolrek. Darion comes up with a controvertial plan to make Tolrek his pet. Both Darion and Tolrek have more power than is usual for their races. they need that power to survive multiple attempts on their lives.
Darion and Tolrek also bring their issues into this complex relationship. Darion is a recorder and when one of his video recordings get released on their version of the internet it cause frictions in the relationship and obstacles in the way of Darion's job. Tolrek is an orphan who never got adopted, with the feelings of abandonment and being unloved that brings. They have a rocky road to love, but together they get there.
Lots of action and a compelling plot makes this a book to read and reread.
May 10, 2021
I purchased this book during preorder and I went into this with high expectations. There’s a war, a rebellion, surrender, secrets, conspiracy. I was hyped. Then it all sorta deflated. It started off after the war, after the rebellion basically after everything and then it jumped two years in time and I was like what happened to all this hype about two smart minds battling it out to discover secrets. None of that materialises.
The problem really is this novel is set up to be this big political espionage story but none of the politics are clearly defined. More than halfway into the book the reader still has no clear idea of what the war was in the first place, and seeing as far as I can tell, they didn't win the way they wanted to, the government decided to blame its own pilots for the war. Sigh. If I am in charge of the military forces and war needs to happen, unless my soldiers go rouge it is most definitely my fault. I don’t see how enough people who are trained to be following orders can be blamed for a war. And, if they did go rogue, being blamed isn’t strong enough. Some serious detail about how they had gone rogue and that this war had zero to do with them and clever PR and damage control needed to happen. My problem again is this is war. Not a small uprising. War requires a lot of people to be involved which takes some military planning. It was just all too sketchy without the details to support it. And, again, the mission was a success so this makes it even more suspect why the government is blaming its own troupes when they won.
There’s a lot of talk about Darion and his home planet, and how, apparently, they are all strong enough to overpower other planets and how the people on the planet he’s stationed at don’t like them and so on. But if they are so powerful, why are they just sitting pretty on their own planet? Again, as far as I can tell just because they can do it, that’s enough for treaties and prejudice and as a reader I’m like wouldn’t they show they have a desire to rule the galaxy before all this hate appears? They don’t even want to share their technology with others and seem to not even want to leave their home planet unless absolutely necessary so it’s another not quite fleshed out angle of politics that doesn’t make sense.
This stuff just keeps up through the book. There are meetings about things but there’s no real clues. A meeting about Darion taking in Tolrek as a pet. A meeting about Darion returning to full power to go back to his home country. Conversations about his power and how it works. And, there’s some big secret about Tolrek, how he’s apparently maybe not even Vaironian, it’s obvious he isn’t but it’s downplayed cause the author doesn’t want us to know yet. With all this going on not one character has come out and directly hinted at their end game. All of the hints they drop basically lead to Tolrek’s not so secret to the readers heritage which is frustrating because it’s never mentioned why this is important? Unfortunately, fifty-plus percent into the story and there is still no definitive answer on this and none of the unclear politics can be explained till we get past this point.
So with unclear politics the need for negotiators is also unclear. When Darion takes Tolrek, a prisoner into his home, what information is he trying to get out of him? Tolrek doesn’t even know who he is so it can’t be that, and Darion never pries. It literally turns into a love story as if Darion’s only reason for taking a prisoner out of jail into his home was to woo him. It didn’t make sense. And the love story angle literally takes precedent over everything. All punishments are sexual, all the confrontations are to do with the relationship on some level and I found myself reading waiting for all this other side information to pay off but the relationship just persists.
Even after telling us people attempted to kidnap Tolrek twice as a child and succeeded once it’s glossed over. I literally forgot about it until I started to write this review and this begs the question if people knew he was worth kidnapping at age 7 how does the government only ‘suspect’ about him. Clearly someone out there actually knows and some 20 years later the major players don’t?
When Darion finally goes back to his home planet, I got excited thinking that answers are coming. But nope. The Javi ex-lover plotline comes in because we can’t have a love story without a jealous ex ruining it and somewhere in between sixty and seventy percent we finally get confirmation that Tolrek is of course from another planet. No shock there and enter Jealous ex fighting with Jealous lover and the lover getting blamed when there were tons of witnesses, and the punishment being sexual in nature, again. This was about where I gave up. Especially when they reveal about Tolrek ended with Darion’s brother literally saying he wondered why Darion’s boss let him take in Tolrek, and he questioned his boss’ agenda. Sigh, like I said above no ones motives are clearly defined. It didn’t make sense to take in the prisoner for, so far, the only purpose of romance, and now we still have no clue what the real agenda is and there’s just about 30 percent left and Darion is off to see his parents directly after Tolrek’s punishment for beating up his ex who earned that beat down.
Considering how long it took for just one big reveal and how much page time the love story was sucking up I had to bow out about here. I really wanted to love this story. But based on the blurb, and subtle hints I was not expecting such a massive romance novel which is essentially what I got. Romance is all well and good, I’m a sucker for a good romance, but this story kept trying to get me invested in the whole political espionage subplot and the political angle of it wasn’t clearly defined enough for me to do this.
If you’re looking for a fun relationship style book with steam disguised as punishment, then this book might just fit for you, unfortunately, it didn’t really deliver on the battle of minds, suspense, and espionage the blurb promised.
The problem really is this novel is set up to be this big political espionage story but none of the politics are clearly defined. More than halfway into the book the reader still has no clear idea of what the war was in the first place, and seeing as far as I can tell, they didn't win the way they wanted to, the government decided to blame its own pilots for the war. Sigh. If I am in charge of the military forces and war needs to happen, unless my soldiers go rouge it is most definitely my fault. I don’t see how enough people who are trained to be following orders can be blamed for a war. And, if they did go rogue, being blamed isn’t strong enough. Some serious detail about how they had gone rogue and that this war had zero to do with them and clever PR and damage control needed to happen. My problem again is this is war. Not a small uprising. War requires a lot of people to be involved which takes some military planning. It was just all too sketchy without the details to support it. And, again, the mission was a success so this makes it even more suspect why the government is blaming its own troupes when they won.
There’s a lot of talk about Darion and his home planet, and how, apparently, they are all strong enough to overpower other planets and how the people on the planet he’s stationed at don’t like them and so on. But if they are so powerful, why are they just sitting pretty on their own planet? Again, as far as I can tell just because they can do it, that’s enough for treaties and prejudice and as a reader I’m like wouldn’t they show they have a desire to rule the galaxy before all this hate appears? They don’t even want to share their technology with others and seem to not even want to leave their home planet unless absolutely necessary so it’s another not quite fleshed out angle of politics that doesn’t make sense.
This stuff just keeps up through the book. There are meetings about things but there’s no real clues. A meeting about Darion taking in Tolrek as a pet. A meeting about Darion returning to full power to go back to his home country. Conversations about his power and how it works. And, there’s some big secret about Tolrek, how he’s apparently maybe not even Vaironian, it’s obvious he isn’t but it’s downplayed cause the author doesn’t want us to know yet. With all this going on not one character has come out and directly hinted at their end game. All of the hints they drop basically lead to Tolrek’s not so secret to the readers heritage which is frustrating because it’s never mentioned why this is important? Unfortunately, fifty-plus percent into the story and there is still no definitive answer on this and none of the unclear politics can be explained till we get past this point.
So with unclear politics the need for negotiators is also unclear. When Darion takes Tolrek, a prisoner into his home, what information is he trying to get out of him? Tolrek doesn’t even know who he is so it can’t be that, and Darion never pries. It literally turns into a love story as if Darion’s only reason for taking a prisoner out of jail into his home was to woo him. It didn’t make sense. And the love story angle literally takes precedent over everything. All punishments are sexual, all the confrontations are to do with the relationship on some level and I found myself reading waiting for all this other side information to pay off but the relationship just persists.
Even after telling us people attempted to kidnap Tolrek twice as a child and succeeded once it’s glossed over. I literally forgot about it until I started to write this review and this begs the question if people knew he was worth kidnapping at age 7 how does the government only ‘suspect’ about him. Clearly someone out there actually knows and some 20 years later the major players don’t?
When Darion finally goes back to his home planet, I got excited thinking that answers are coming. But nope. The Javi ex-lover plotline comes in because we can’t have a love story without a jealous ex ruining it and somewhere in between sixty and seventy percent we finally get confirmation that Tolrek is of course from another planet. No shock there and enter Jealous ex fighting with Jealous lover and the lover getting blamed when there were tons of witnesses, and the punishment being sexual in nature, again. This was about where I gave up. Especially when they reveal about Tolrek ended with Darion’s brother literally saying he wondered why Darion’s boss let him take in Tolrek, and he questioned his boss’ agenda. Sigh, like I said above no ones motives are clearly defined. It didn’t make sense to take in the prisoner for, so far, the only purpose of romance, and now we still have no clue what the real agenda is and there’s just about 30 percent left and Darion is off to see his parents directly after Tolrek’s punishment for beating up his ex who earned that beat down.
Considering how long it took for just one big reveal and how much page time the love story was sucking up I had to bow out about here. I really wanted to love this story. But based on the blurb, and subtle hints I was not expecting such a massive romance novel which is essentially what I got. Romance is all well and good, I’m a sucker for a good romance, but this story kept trying to get me invested in the whole political espionage subplot and the political angle of it wasn’t clearly defined enough for me to do this.
If you’re looking for a fun relationship style book with steam disguised as punishment, then this book might just fit for you, unfortunately, it didn’t really deliver on the battle of minds, suspense, and espionage the blurb promised.
August 15, 2021
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Vaironian Tides is a quite complex and uncomfortable read at times, concerning societies that rule by shows of strengths even if they are not the strongest ones out there. Darion Navarr is a negotiator for the Vaironian nation and he is negotiating with the rebel leader Tolrek Marou. To call it negotiation is a fallacy as the terms of the negotiation is that the rebels stand down and the leader goes to prison or their children will be taken from them and put into orphanages, with old children brain washed into forgetting their parents. Oh, yeah, the rest of the rebels get to be ‘free’ as far as that goes. Now that is not what I call negotiation, that’s just a brutal regime doing what it always does, treating its citizens with no respect unless they can be of use.
The rebellion is a reaction to the regime’s response to not achieving it’s aims to subdue the neighbouring nation: it blamed it’s own fighters and put them and their families into ‘the isolation zone’ where life must have been very restricted. We do not get to hear what the rebels actually did other than make the government look ridiculous and beat up a few negotiators.
There are a lot of behind the scenes dealings and lots of secret goings on which get in the way of the developing relationship between the negotiator and the rebel leader. Add to that the fact that both Darion and Tolrek have hidden abilities, in Tolrek’s case they are hidden from him as well. There is a lot travelling between worlds and having to deal with unknown enemies. Even so called friends are not all they seem. There is a lot of unfairness going on. I’m going to say any more than that.
What do I think of it all. Well, let’s deal with the writing. It is mostly good but there are a few slips, eg. on one occasion there is an Vaironian ambassador in Tildar who is in fact a Tildarian ambassador in Vaironia, and there are some incorrectly used commas. Not a lot wrong really. I was intrigued by the story but it does get a bit bogged down at times and some to the actions taken by characters is a bit unconvincing. I’m not convinced that the countries / nations Vaironia wants to go to war with are all bad. Most of the participants are vying for resources and power so cannot be trusted. I like most the characters I should be liking and distrust those I should distrust. It is definitely not a ‘world’ I would like to live in. It is a bit difficult to like unreservedly but that is more to do with the situations it deals with than the actual telling.
Vaironian Tides is a quite complex and uncomfortable read at times, concerning societies that rule by shows of strengths even if they are not the strongest ones out there. Darion Navarr is a negotiator for the Vaironian nation and he is negotiating with the rebel leader Tolrek Marou. To call it negotiation is a fallacy as the terms of the negotiation is that the rebels stand down and the leader goes to prison or their children will be taken from them and put into orphanages, with old children brain washed into forgetting their parents. Oh, yeah, the rest of the rebels get to be ‘free’ as far as that goes. Now that is not what I call negotiation, that’s just a brutal regime doing what it always does, treating its citizens with no respect unless they can be of use.
The rebellion is a reaction to the regime’s response to not achieving it’s aims to subdue the neighbouring nation: it blamed it’s own fighters and put them and their families into ‘the isolation zone’ where life must have been very restricted. We do not get to hear what the rebels actually did other than make the government look ridiculous and beat up a few negotiators.
There are a lot of behind the scenes dealings and lots of secret goings on which get in the way of the developing relationship between the negotiator and the rebel leader. Add to that the fact that both Darion and Tolrek have hidden abilities, in Tolrek’s case they are hidden from him as well. There is a lot travelling between worlds and having to deal with unknown enemies. Even so called friends are not all they seem. There is a lot of unfairness going on. I’m going to say any more than that.
What do I think of it all. Well, let’s deal with the writing. It is mostly good but there are a few slips, eg. on one occasion there is an Vaironian ambassador in Tildar who is in fact a Tildarian ambassador in Vaironia, and there are some incorrectly used commas. Not a lot wrong really. I was intrigued by the story but it does get a bit bogged down at times and some to the actions taken by characters is a bit unconvincing. I’m not convinced that the countries / nations Vaironia wants to go to war with are all bad. Most of the participants are vying for resources and power so cannot be trusted. I like most the characters I should be liking and distrust those I should distrust. It is definitely not a ‘world’ I would like to live in. It is a bit difficult to like unreservedly but that is more to do with the situations it deals with than the actual telling.
December 10, 2020
There were some parts of this story that I found hard to suspend my disbelief over. Is it reasonable for the Tilgar Empire to have diplomatic reasons with only one nation on a planet, and yet seem to be completely indifferent to the politics of that planet?
Why was Tolrek blamed for his fight with Javio? There would have been multiple eyewitnesses valiant that Javio instigated everything, and he did so assuming that Tolrek wouldn't be able to match him in a combat situation. If anything, Tolrek should have been commended for his restraint in not killing Javio and Javio should have been seriously reprimanded for his irresponsibility - by Ashrom, if by no one else. Honestly, even though he wasn't the one hurt most, it smacked of victim blaming.
How did Gavin manage to maintain his high position when he was so clearly actively committing treason? Surely someone must have noticed that he had more money than he should, or how about someone like Eleni looking into the DNA sampling that Tolrek was consistently subjected to? Did no one notice that this was happening for years?!
How did the Empire acting decisively in its own interests after it had given Vaironia ample time to do things internally shame Darion? Yes, it may hishave been family directing the Empire's actions, but it had nothing to do with either Darion, or with Vaironia, and Darion's temper tantrum was both confusing and way out of proportion. Was it supposed to be an example of his PTSD?
And why would Vaironia blame Tolrek's unit for failure in a successful campaign? Just because the enemy nation wasn't as weak willed as Vaironia wanted them to be, how was it even possible to spin a sacking of the enemy nation's capital as a failure in their part? And if it was such a failure, why would the government seek to continue the program, and glamorize the pilots who both failed, and then commited treason? Why would they even consider pardoning Tolrek's treason unless the population at large saw the government actions as scapegoating and were genuinely showing unrest over it. And what, exactly, did the rebellion entail?
Basically, I found the politics throughout this book to be unbelievable. At pretty much every level, this didn't make a lot of sense, and often would have been counterproductive. The attraction between Darion and Tolrek was ok, but I didn't find it to be particularly engaging, or hot. Overall, this book had a lot of potential, and it didn't completely fail, for me, but it was just kinda ok.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Why was Tolrek blamed for his fight with Javio? There would have been multiple eyewitnesses valiant that Javio instigated everything, and he did so assuming that Tolrek wouldn't be able to match him in a combat situation. If anything, Tolrek should have been commended for his restraint in not killing Javio and Javio should have been seriously reprimanded for his irresponsibility - by Ashrom, if by no one else. Honestly, even though he wasn't the one hurt most, it smacked of victim blaming.
How did Gavin manage to maintain his high position when he was so clearly actively committing treason? Surely someone must have noticed that he had more money than he should, or how about someone like Eleni looking into the DNA sampling that Tolrek was consistently subjected to? Did no one notice that this was happening for years?!
How did the Empire acting decisively in its own interests after it had given Vaironia ample time to do things internally shame Darion? Yes, it may hishave been family directing the Empire's actions, but it had nothing to do with either Darion, or with Vaironia, and Darion's temper tantrum was both confusing and way out of proportion. Was it supposed to be an example of his PTSD?
And why would Vaironia blame Tolrek's unit for failure in a successful campaign? Just because the enemy nation wasn't as weak willed as Vaironia wanted them to be, how was it even possible to spin a sacking of the enemy nation's capital as a failure in their part? And if it was such a failure, why would the government seek to continue the program, and glamorize the pilots who both failed, and then commited treason? Why would they even consider pardoning Tolrek's treason unless the population at large saw the government actions as scapegoating and were genuinely showing unrest over it. And what, exactly, did the rebellion entail?
Basically, I found the politics throughout this book to be unbelievable. At pretty much every level, this didn't make a lot of sense, and often would have been counterproductive. The attraction between Darion and Tolrek was ok, but I didn't find it to be particularly engaging, or hot. Overall, this book had a lot of potential, and it didn't completely fail, for me, but it was just kinda ok.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
December 4, 2022
Despite this not really having a whole lot of direction - I will get to that - I enjoyed the read
Tolrek had been a rebellion leader who was convicted and sentenced to two decades in prison
Darion was the negotiator who handled the terms of his capture and surrender
These were the primary characters the story highlighted
Darion is tasked with bringing Tolrek to heal by making him a "pet"
Things escalate quickly as Tolrek's masochistic side and his need for submission call to Darion on every level
As their relationship progresses dark secrets and jealous acquaintances soon have them questioning their relationship
There is a lot going on in the background of this story that IMO never gets the full reveal that I needed - or topics and situations just get glazed over
I kept waiting for a bit more detail, or answers to my burning questions -but it always seemed just out of reach
The war - why? who? how?
Tolrek's secrets were more detailed but again I have questions
The Vaironia's true motivations
The suppression of a species
Because this is the first in a series I am truly hoping my burning questions will be answered in future releases
Yes I will be reading the next in the series - I liked where this went and where it looks to be going
And hello the relationship between these two was volcanic
Tolrek had been a rebellion leader who was convicted and sentenced to two decades in prison
Darion was the negotiator who handled the terms of his capture and surrender
These were the primary characters the story highlighted
Darion is tasked with bringing Tolrek to heal by making him a "pet"
Things escalate quickly as Tolrek's masochistic side and his need for submission call to Darion on every level
As their relationship progresses dark secrets and jealous acquaintances soon have them questioning their relationship
There is a lot going on in the background of this story that IMO never gets the full reveal that I needed - or topics and situations just get glazed over
I kept waiting for a bit more detail, or answers to my burning questions -but it always seemed just out of reach
The war - why? who? how?
Tolrek's secrets were more detailed but again I have questions
The Vaironia's true motivations
The suppression of a species
Because this is the first in a series I am truly hoping my burning questions will be answered in future releases
Yes I will be reading the next in the series - I liked where this went and where it looks to be going
And hello the relationship between these two was volcanic
December 16, 2020
Vaironian Tides (or Times, as my autocorrect likes to call it -.-) is the first ARC I scored on Booksirens, and therefore I had High Hopes© about it. Why? No idea. I’ve got to say that for the most part, VT lived up to them.
First of all, VT has a solid plot. Oh my God, Tx, of course it does? It’s a book! you’d say. Well, yeah, but it’s not a given. I mean, I read stories that shared the same structure with my grocery list – I’m not kidding – and being able to put a tick next to the plot box is a good feeling. Plus, I said solid.
The two main characters, Tolrek and Darion, move within an intricate and well-crafted sci-fi scenario, filled with technology and governments that don’t like each other that much but make do anyway. Tildar and Vaironia sometimes remind me of two people who are bound by contract to be nice… and they do. The knives they’re sharpening as we speak are just for decoration. Or something.
[Keep reading @ Bookshelves&Teacups]
[I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.]
First of all, VT has a solid plot. Oh my God, Tx, of course it does? It’s a book! you’d say. Well, yeah, but it’s not a given. I mean, I read stories that shared the same structure with my grocery list – I’m not kidding – and being able to put a tick next to the plot box is a good feeling. Plus, I said solid.
The two main characters, Tolrek and Darion, move within an intricate and well-crafted sci-fi scenario, filled with technology and governments that don’t like each other that much but make do anyway. Tildar and Vaironia sometimes remind me of two people who are bound by contract to be nice… and they do. The knives they’re sharpening as we speak are just for decoration. Or something.
[Keep reading @ Bookshelves&Teacups]
[I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.]
February 15, 2021
Not quite a space opera in the traditional sense but close - there's an empire, several different planets, intrigue, high tech. In addition we have a skewed gender balance - on one planet the females are the dominant sex - and an acceptance of same sex relationships. The plot is superficially simple (enemies to lovers) but actually complex. Neither of the two leading characters are native to the planet where most of the action takes place - which adds a lot to the background - and both have hidden abilities that are only gradually revealed. There is some mild sex - erotic rather than overt - including some elements of bdsm but these are relatively limited. The planetary flora and fauna are sketched in - enough to establish that these are alien worlds, not Earth in another time - but it is clear that the main characters are as near to human as makes no odds.
As the first in a series is is a strong opener - some plot is resolved but there are enough threads left to tease the reader into the next volume!
I received an review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
As the first in a series is is a strong opener - some plot is resolved but there are enough threads left to tease the reader into the next volume!
I received an review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
June 21, 2021
Vaironian Tides the first book in the Agitator Code series is an interesting start for hopefully a good series in general.
It is an intriguing sci-fic story revolving Tolrek Marou a top pilot and a rebel leader and Darion Navarr a negotiator for the Vaironian government that Tolrek is fighting against. Throughout the story both remain on opposite sides as events and political machinations interfere and create problems for both factions.
As whirlwinds of events occur with danger always hovering for the leads, Darion and Tolrek slowly try to understand and come to terms on what really is going on between them. Is it real, will it hold true despite of what is happening? The book plays on the enemies to lovers trope and it does do it in a decent manner. World building is pretty solid and the political intrigues, family drama and court machinations are fascinating in a sense.
Overall this is a fun book to read and I'd recommend it. I am giving this a 3.75 out of 5 stars.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
It is an intriguing sci-fic story revolving Tolrek Marou a top pilot and a rebel leader and Darion Navarr a negotiator for the Vaironian government that Tolrek is fighting against. Throughout the story both remain on opposite sides as events and political machinations interfere and create problems for both factions.
As whirlwinds of events occur with danger always hovering for the leads, Darion and Tolrek slowly try to understand and come to terms on what really is going on between them. Is it real, will it hold true despite of what is happening? The book plays on the enemies to lovers trope and it does do it in a decent manner. World building is pretty solid and the political intrigues, family drama and court machinations are fascinating in a sense.
Overall this is a fun book to read and I'd recommend it. I am giving this a 3.75 out of 5 stars.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 8, 2022
I received this book as an early reviewer from Book Sirens, and I'm so glad I did. It's been a while since I've read any gay themed science fiction, and if this book is any indication, the genre sure has changed--and for the better. The book is "science fiction" only in that it's set on a different planet--in a different galaxy than ours, and has scenes of interplanetary travel. Other than that, it's a pretty straight forward (no pun intended) male/male enemy to friend to lover romance. Well written to the point that I really want to get to know the two protagonists and spend time in their company. And as for pleasure reading? I couldn't put it down--even missing my favorite tv show to keep reading. Up at 3 am to keep reading. If you're a fan of male/male romance, with some hot sex scenes and even some SM action, I recommend this book highly. Can't wait to get my hands on book 2, Ledani Moons!
December 4, 2022
I thought the premise for this story was super interesting (give me a good enemies to lovers setup with plenty of intrigue and a sci-fi backdrop and I’m in). I thought the world building had tons of potential. There were definitely moments in the narrative where I found it super hard to look away. I had a harder time liking the characters, who sometimes read less as mature adults and more as emotional disaster magnates with a shocking lack of self-awareness or rational coping skills. The feelings that develop between them were a bit hard to track from the initial “one of them is the unwilling pet, with all that implies, to the other” starting point, and I didn’t always understand how and why their emotional processing shook out the way it did. Overall, I found the book intriguing, however, and so I’ll say 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
April 9, 2021
Vaironian Tides is the first book in a new series by Octavia Atlas. She does an excellent job of world building, introducing us to a world where individuals are blessed with a variety of talents. Darion Navarr is a negotiator for the Vaironian government. He relishes a challenge and offers to take on Tolrek Marou, a gifted mecha pilot who blew up his career when he helped lead a rebellion. The two men are both stubborn and talented and refuse to give in. They are constantly negotiating but there are lots of outside forces including their own families as well as traitors. As they spend more time together, the two men manage to find some things in common.
If you enjoy world building, well developed main characters, more than a few surprises and lots of action, Vaironian Tides is perfect for you. I hope to read more books set in this world.
If you enjoy world building, well developed main characters, more than a few surprises and lots of action, Vaironian Tides is perfect for you. I hope to read more books set in this world.
June 8, 2021
Well... It was gay and had Sci-Fi I'll give it that.
Good but it could've been better if the "plot" surrounding the protagonists was written better and a bit tighter. I wouldn't say loose ends per se but there was something missing.
I liked it, don't get me wrong. It just wasn't ever awe inspiring or like: WOW. Fairly decent. MIGHT look at it twenty years later and say: Huh. I don't remember reading that at all.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Good but it could've been better if the "plot" surrounding the protagonists was written better and a bit tighter. I wouldn't say loose ends per se but there was something missing.
I liked it, don't get me wrong. It just wasn't ever awe inspiring or like: WOW. Fairly decent. MIGHT look at it twenty years later and say: Huh. I don't remember reading that at all.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 4, 2022
I enjoyed the characters of Darion and Tolrek and their initial antagonism. Gradually, they come to realize there is much more going on related to the war, the government's blame of Tolrek and his pilots for the loss and other schemes and machinations going on behind the scenes. There are definitely questions left unanswered in this book but they didn't bother me as I know there are two more books left in the series to provide details and answers.
December 31, 2022
This is the story of Darian and Tolrek, it is the first book in the Agitator's Code series. Please read the trigger warnings. If you are a fan of action packed and filled with intrigue Sci-fi romances, then you will like this. I loved the enemy to lovers theme. It is written well with great characters. Can't wait to see what happens next. Definitely recommended.
I received this book as an Arc and I am happily reviewing it voluntarily.
I received this book as an Arc and I am happily reviewing it voluntarily.
December 4, 2022
I thought, based on the blurb, that this book was going to go in a different direction than it ended up. While the world building is solid, I didn't enjoy the relationship between the two characters. I also felt like I missed a prequel or something, since there is a lot of backstory that doesn't get fully explained. I'm hoping the next book in the series is better.
December 4, 2022
One is a rebel and the other one is with the government. It seems there is a reason why he has given himself up to the government. They will want to learn as much as they can. There is one problem to it all, they are attracted to the other. What will the consequences if they they take that step? What will they find out from him? What are the reason to give for him? See what is really going on
December 7, 2022
the two clash more then not. but there is more at play in this story. looking forward to next book
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