Shifting Sides

Shift in Space #0.5

by Danielle Forrest

What would you sacrifice?

A "hotshot" spaceship pilot in a group of settlers, Emma is not well liked. Seen as about as useful as tits on a bull, she's determined to prove them wrong, driving herself to exhaustion that first day. But the next morning, she wakes up devastated, all their hard work in ruins.

Beeyun watches the intruders from the shadows, wanting them to leave his planet. Each time they disappear into the metal beast, he tears apart their efforts with his claws. He wants drive them away, but even with nature aiding him, they push on in their endeavors.

As the settlement experiences setback after setback, Emma notices a darker current running through the group. Tempers are raised, fights break out, and people keep whispering about "The Beast." Then they turn on her, and she's rescued by the very creature that's plagued them from day one.

Emma is immediately drawn to her savior and feels connected in a way she never has before. She dreams of a life here, but she can't turn her back on her fellow humans for long. When a new threat arises, she must make an impossible choice: leave the only place she's ever felt at home or save the very people who wanted her dead.

Shifting Sides is the prequel to the A Shift in Space series. It contains aliens, romance, violence (and explosive dirt), native species that will eat anything, and sex scenes. It may not be suitable for all readers.

Genres: Science Fiction

262 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2021

About the author

I am a scientist, a dog parent, and part-time author of SciFi Romance. I love happy endings and using my biology degree in ways it was absolutely not intended. That means a lot of interesting alien biology as well as thoughtful world building.

But that's not the only reason to enjoy my writing. I also like writing diverse characters (LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, and more) and (because I'm an author and what more can you expect from me?) throwing them into mortal peril every time it makes sense for the plot (which is sadly nowhere NEAR as often as I would like).

If that sounds like something that's up your alley, click the link below. You'll find free books (through my mailing list), early access and free short stories/bonus scenes (through my Ream page), my book list, and all my social medias. I hope to hear from you soon.

https://linktr.ee/danielleforrest

Reviews

[Karen Siddall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you like romance in your SciFi or SciFi in your romance, SHIFTING SIDES is the book for you!

Emma, the USS Endeavour's pilot, was transporting a team of scientists and their families on a mission to study planet HD85512b’s suitability as a human colony. The plan was she and the crew would live and work on the planet, gathering all the data they could, and return to Earth after a couple of years. What they didn’t figure on was HD85512b, also known as Ara, was already inhabited by the Danaus.

Beeyun watched as the Endeavour landed in a field literally in the backyard of his property on Ara debarking dozens of aliens who began to set up buildings and disrupting the natural setting he was sworn to protect and preserve. Each night, attempting to drive the interlopers off, he would wait for them to return to their ship and then tear down everything they’d done that day. But every morning, they would start over again and re-build. One hard-working and persistent alien caught his attention right off. As much as he disliked the aliens wreaking havoc on this property, he admired the feisty female who worked long after the others stopped and bravely ran toward danger when it appeared.

Emma knew the crew of scientists did not like her and felt she was beneath them, a necessary evil, so to speak, as none of them could pilot their ship. It had been a long, lonely, and tiresome journey to HD85512b for her. But still, she tried to fit in and help make the temporary colony a success in any way she could. But rather than things improving as she worked her heart out for them, the crew became more and more unstable, aggressive toward her as well as each other. Then, one afternoon, they grabbed her and tied her to a post in the middle of the field as a ‘sacrifice’ to The Beast that came unseen in the night to destroy their work. But then The Beast came...

Although a prequel in the new A Shift in Space series by Danielle Forrest, SHIFTING SIDES is a fully developed and full-length novel of science-fiction-romance. I thought it was dynamite! The plot is intriguing from the very start, and there is never a dull moment. There were new and interesting things occurring all along the way as the very exciting story unfolded.

I loved the main characters of Emma and Beeyun and rooted for them the entire time. Emma is a loner and a take-charge kind of gal without a lot of the strange hang-ups or inadequacies that seem to accompany many kick-ass heroines; she appears to be a well-rounded and fully-competent young adult. Sure she’s got some conflicts in her past and present life, but they are pretty normal at the outset. Our alien hero, Beeyun, is smart, compassionate, and, although purple, still one sexy guy. I liked the path their relationship took: not too fast, not too slow. Supporting characters offered a variety of interactions and chances for conflict and helped round out a great plot. I really liked the young family of Lacy, Rickelle, and their daughter, Jacie.

I recommend SHIFTING SIDES to science fiction readers who enjoy their stories with a romantic plotline or romance readers who like their love stories to "take them to the stars." I’m so looking forward to the next book in this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very ill-fated venture. Driven away from their home planet when vermin took over and consumed all the food, the new settlers left and tried to start over again. With her agricultural experience, engineering degree, and pilot credentials, Emma was the perfect pick for this mission. But the people didn’t see it that way. They didn’t like Emma. They saw no use for her once they landed.

As hard as the human settlers try to make the new planet feasible for supporting them, their daily work effort is torn up, clawed, and destroyed by a Beast, Beeyun, who just wants them to leave. The angry humans take out their frustrations on Emma, and she is rescued by the Beast. Although she is attracted to him and wants to stay there with him, when another situation threatens the settlers, she feels duty-bound to rescue the hostile humans who had turned against her. Will that be her ultimate decision? Can they keep struggling against the continuous barrage of obstacles preventing them from successful colonization? Or will they need Emma to pilot them out of there to somewhere more hospitable?

It was very strange to see how the human settlers felt about Emma. They were dismissive and saw no use for a pilot once they reached their destination. However, she was trained in construction, farming, and repair technology; and this was a two-year mission so who would pilot them home? Much of this story made no sense to me. And the characters didn’t endear themselves to the reader. Emma was more like a “doormat” personality, letting the people blame her and treat her badly rather than speaking up to them and convincing them that she was probably the only one qualified to get them through this mission! They were ungrateful and saw her only as a hotshot pilot when they had no idea of her skills or usefulness. Though to be honest, I am not sure I would want to rely on her either. She never gained my respect, which may be why the settlers acted the way they did.

[kymagirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

When pilot Emma (h) lands her ship full of settlers on the lush, distant planet HD 85512 b, she believes she’s starting a routine colonization mission. But what should’ve been a fresh start spirals into chaos as buildings are destroyed, paranoia spreads, and trust collapses under pressure. When Emma is attacked and tied up by the increasingly unhinged settlers, Beeyun (H), a native of the planet with secrets of his own, who's been watching her from the shadows, saves her and hides her in his home. His people live in harmony with nature and view the settlers as a threat, but Emma challenges everything he thought he knew. While recovering, she learns about his culture and they grow close, eventually becoming lovers. Beeyun teaches her his language and customs, and Emma begins to question everything about the mission to HD 85512 b and her role in it. As their bond deepens, she convinces him to help her evacuate the settlers, who seem to be affected by the environment and are drawing his people's ire. Back aboard the Endeavour, they discover an even greater danger on the ship, forcing Emma and Beeyun to rely on each other to protect the very people who betrayed them. What begins as survival becomes something deeper, forcing them to cross cultural and personal lines neither expected. And when Emma uncovers a hidden part of herself that may explain why she never truly fit in, she realizes this journey isn’t just about saving others. It’s about discovering who she really is. A steamy alien-human romance exploring identity, transformation, first contact, cultural understanding, prejudice, fear of the other, ecological balance, respect for nature, power, authority, rebellion, found family, and belonging, with claws, heart, and heat.

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Low-budget, under-researched colonization of foreign planet goes seriously sideways who saw that coming? OK, maybe you think you've read this one - but not like this! A very insular community of settlers begrudgingly tolerated the necessary pilot who was to drop them off, get them started and leave. Inexperienced and on her first such foray, Emma was also uniquely equipped for the position in many ways - some of which she didn't even know until they landed.

As alien planets are wont to do, this one was full of surprises the settlers failed to recognize and anticipate. Their settlement quickly faces threats from within and without. Emma might be their only hope, but she is not one of them. then comes first contact. An exciting read with well researched science, sweet friendships, some rather sensuous moments, plenty of danger and a few laugh out loud moments. A read that kept me up past my bed time and eager to see where the story would go next.

The first book in a new series, this book contains a full story arc and no cliff hanger - though it does have a big reveal at the end and leave many issues to be dealt in future books in the series. This takes place in the same universe as The Darkest Day collection but a bit in the future. There are a few hints through the book, but the scenes at the end make it clear. That is an excellent series as well and if you have read them it will add a bit of depth of understanding to a few scenes in this book.

[Heather Dudley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shifting Sides is suspenseful and a page turning alien romance. The story is amazingly written, well balanced and beautifully executed by Danielle Forrest. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and was blown away by the storyline. Shifting Sides is captivating from start to finish, entertaining and an enjoyable read. This novel had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. The characters are fantastically written and beautifully executed throughout the story. Shifting Sides follows the story of Emma and Beeyun. The chemistry between these two characters is absolutely incredible and undeniably irresistible. I absolutely enjoyed getting to know both Beeyun and Emma as well as witnessing their story come to life through the pages of this book. I couldn’t get enough of their amazing story. I also did NOT want to set this book down until I read the last page. I’m definitely going to be checking out more of Danielle Forrest’s work in the future. I would certainly encourage other readers to checkout and give this book a read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sue Philips · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Emma is the pilot of a space vessel sent to inhabit a planet that is supposedly uninhabited. Unbeknown to her it isn't and the inhabitants (one in particular) takes offence at the invaders decimating his land. Everything the construct, he destroys while they sleep. Beeyun is horrified at the destruction these "aliens" are causing to his land and he wants them gone. But, fate has a hand when he sees one of the "aliens" being attacked and trussed by the rest of the invaders. He watches as she is beaten and decides to save her.
So starts a beautiful story of two totally different people realizing they mean something to each other. The story has so many twists and turns, plots and plans, meetings and departures that it becomes hard to put the book down, because as a reader I got so involved and drawn into the story everything else around me disappears. I'm so looking forward to reading more in this series and definitely more by this author. I can't shout her praises highly enough.

[Andi Downs · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book we meet Emma and Beeyun. She's a pilot but is not welcomed amongst the other settlers on the planet. Her life is frustrated by her work, constantly being undone by an unknown force. When emotions run high, she flees and is rescued by the force causing the damage. It was a great sci fi read and prequel to a new series by this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What should have been a reason to rejoice, becomes a reason to to be terrified. Nothing is going as expected. Both the hero and the heroine are considered the underdogs. The author continues to put obstacle after obstacle in front of the humans. Even when they decide (or rather, it’s decided for them) to return, things don’t improve, instead it gets worse, worse than they could possibly imagine!

[Lindy Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colonisation of another planet, no information on what lives there, landing near a field of psychotropic plants, what could go wrong. The book started off really well and for the most part was really good, it just veered off towards the end. It just stopped, everyone just left the ship and pretty much nothing, had to be the weirdest anti-climactic ending ever.

[Angel Roo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read.

The relationship between Emma and Beeyun was strong, though didn't seem overly romantic or sensual.

The science fiction adventure part of the story was well written. Didn't check all the boxes for me, was was still an enjoyable read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Reader03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story line but the dynamics between the humans could have been better in my opinion. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.