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Starfighter Training Academy #3
Elite Starfighter: Game 3
Two friends have disappeared playing Starfighter Training Academy. No one cares because it's just a game. Right?
I know something is wrong. Messed up. Completely off. And no one is paying attention.
My BFFs went missing after beating the hottest new multi-player game on the planet, Starfighter Training Academy. They won. They celebrated. They vanished. So what's the girl left behind supposed to do?
Beat the damn game, that's what. Find out the truth, even if that includes being recruited to fight in an alien war, lusting after the hottest alien I've ever seen, and marching into a battle there's little chance of winning.
I will find my friends. I will learn what the heck is going on. And I will kiss the alien hunk I've been staring at for weeks.
I know something is wrong. Messed up. Completely off. And no one is paying attention.
My BFFs went missing after beating the hottest new multi-player game on the planet, Starfighter Training Academy. They won. They celebrated. They vanished. So what's the girl left behind supposed to do?
Beat the damn game, that's what. Find out the truth, even if that includes being recruited to fight in an alien war, lusting after the hottest alien I've ever seen, and marching into a battle there's little chance of winning.
I will find my friends. I will learn what the heck is going on. And I will kiss the alien hunk I've been staring at for weeks.
194 pages, Paperback
First published August 13, 2021
133 people are currently reading
1761 people want to read
About the author
Grace Goodwin
88 books1,938 followersVisit Grace's Goodwin's website:
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http://GraceGoodwin.com
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http://InterstellarBridesProgram.com
Printable reading list:
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All Series Books-Chronological Reading Order:
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
August 17, 2021
Elite Starfighter continues the story of the Earthlings who beat the training academy! Finally, we get sweet Lily's story. She is a timid woman in real life, but she is a FORCE when inside her titan. I loved the dichotomy there! This book doesn't start with Lily winning and Darius coming for her as the previous books have. We start with Lily and Darius already back in his galaxy and jumping right into the thick of it. Much like before, these two have some seriously steamy sexy times, and then have to jump right into the battle because Queen Reya isn't giving up!
A lot happens to Lily and Darius in the first few days of their mating. Both of them have secrets and a lot of their relationship trouble comes from a lack of communication and honestly. I am not really a fan of this trope, but when you consider there is, quite literally, no time for deep communication, I get it. Neither of them are good at relationships, so it's all just miscommunications and misunderstandings. The war is intense so there is plenty of action too!
While Elite Starfighter wasn't my favorite of the series, I still devoured it in 2 sittings. It would have been 1 sitting if my silly job didn't take away from my reading time. Fans of sexy aliens and crazy hot sex will enjoy this series for sure! I am hoping it continues.
POV: dual 1st
Tears: no
Trope: aliens, fated mates
Triggers:
Series/Standalone: series (you must read the previous 2)
Cliffhanger:
HEA:
other alien romances like Ice Planet Barbarians, Interstellar Brides, Intergalactic Dating Agency...then you will probably like Elite Starfighter!
Elite Starfighter
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See full review on The Book Disciple
January 26, 2022
Grant me the confidence of Grace Goodwin. SHE NAME DROPPED HERSELF AND REFERENCES HER OTHER SERIES IN THIS BOOK!
August 25, 2021
Elite Starfighter is a fast and fun read. It zips right along, with several great action sequences. I liked the hero and heroine, and coming back to this world that recruits humans to fight in their war through a video game was a treat. But for me this was the weakest of the three books in this series because it zipped through things a bit too quickly.
Lily and Darius meet and almost instantly have sex—which you kind of expect considering how they’ve fallen for one another partnering in the game—and then the next day they are sent on their first mission. They really haven’t had a chance to talk to one another, but Darius reacts to danger based on what’s happened his past, which ends up with Lily being furious with his actions. And then Lily decides they won’t work together, when they’ve known one another in person barely a few days and been fighting and injured in that time. They really don’t give each other a chance to share who they are. And this keeps compounding throughout the book.
Lily and Darius finally get to a place of mutual understanding and respect, but it all happens awfully quickly. I tried to calculate the time this book takes, and it seems it’s between a week and two weeks. When you add in battles, injuries, recovery—well, that’s a lot of ground to cover that fast. So yeah, this zipped by, and it’s load of fun to read. But I do wish it had lingered more.
Lily and Darius meet and almost instantly have sex—which you kind of expect considering how they’ve fallen for one another partnering in the game—and then the next day they are sent on their first mission. They really haven’t had a chance to talk to one another, but Darius reacts to danger based on what’s happened his past, which ends up with Lily being furious with his actions. And then Lily decides they won’t work together, when they’ve known one another in person barely a few days and been fighting and injured in that time. They really don’t give each other a chance to share who they are. And this keeps compounding throughout the book.
Lily and Darius finally get to a place of mutual understanding and respect, but it all happens awfully quickly. I tried to calculate the time this book takes, and it seems it’s between a week and two weeks. When you add in battles, injuries, recovery—well, that’s a lot of ground to cover that fast. So yeah, this zipped by, and it’s load of fun to read. But I do wish it had lingered more.
August 19, 2021
GENRE/TROPES: Sci-Fi
POV: 1st, Dual
SERIES: Starfighter Training Academy, Book 3
STEAM LEVEL: 🔥🔥🔥
What a fantastic way to end the interconnected series of three earth women who each have a part in saving the universe!
Lily and Darius were hot and heavy but both a bit messed up from family history. One assumes everything is wrong while the other hides past trauma and becomes a bit psycho with overprotecting. I don’t think this couple communicated very well most of the book but at least all the feeeeels I’ve come to love from this series could be felt.
< 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝑒𝓇𝒸𝑒, 𝒹𝑒𝒻𝒾𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒻𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒹𝓇𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝓂𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓁𝒻-𝓂𝒶𝒹 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒𝒻𝒾𝑒𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒, 𝓇𝑒𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒹𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓉𝑒, 𝓈𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝒹𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓈. >
Oh, and the addition of the whole dominant alien RPG they got into towards the end? AHMAZING! 🥵
Lots of action and plot progression. While the immediate threats have been taken care of, there seemed to be a hint there could be more in this series and I can’t say I’m not happy about it! What a fun, geeky, quick little sci-fi romance series!
August 14, 2021
Having loved the first two books in this series, I was holding out high hopes for this
one. Unfortunately, I really felt that the female lead, Lily, was let down by Darius, the male lead. She already had low self-esteem thanks to her parents treating her as an unsatisfactory extension of themselves and his secretive and overprotective behaviour made her feel worse. Whilst it improved by the end of the story, I really felt like it overshadowed the first three quarters of what was an otherwise excellent and really enjoyable, exciting tale.
The story is dual POV, well written and edited, and includes some great moments with characters from the first two books as well as some awesome new characters.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
one. Unfortunately, I really felt that the female lead, Lily, was let down by Darius, the male lead. She already had low self-esteem thanks to her parents treating her as an unsatisfactory extension of themselves and his secretive and overprotective behaviour made her feel worse. Whilst it improved by the end of the story, I really felt like it overshadowed the first three quarters of what was an otherwise excellent and really enjoyable, exciting tale.
The story is dual POV, well written and edited, and includes some great moments with characters from the first two books as well as some awesome new characters.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 17, 2021
The battle continues with Lily joining the ranks to fight Queen Raya. We don’t get the introduction with Darius and the story starts right when they’re already on Velerion, which I loved. It’s touch and go there for a while with them but they make it work. I didn’t feel their chemistry in this story as much as I did Jamie and Mia though. Could be because they operate in separate Titans or just the feel in general. Doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the story and I can’t wait to see what happens next. I do love how the author threw in her interstellar brides books in there though. Cheeky.
August 17, 2021
Eh
It was rushed imho. I love grace but sometimes she rushes a story and there is so much more to the characters.
It was rushed imho. I love grace but sometimes she rushes a story and there is so much more to the characters.
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August 19, 2021
Content notes:
Look, I know these books are ridiculous, but that’s the joy of them. Plus, I was really looking forward to seeing Lily smash some stuff up with her mecha suit! This is the third book in the series and follows directly after the other two, so it shouldn’t be read as a standalone.
With her best friends Jamie and Mia gone, Lily’s ready for her alien partner to show up and take her back to Velerion after she beats the Starfighter Training Academy game. Darius, who’d been planning out how to explain everything to her, is completely taken aback, and even more so when the quiet woman seems to not want anything to do with him. Lily in real life is nothing like her wild and raucous personality from the game. But Darius has a lot of secrets he’s keeping from her, ones that make him even more overprotective than usual, threatening their mission and Lily’s standing with the rest of the team. With an invasion force nearing, can Lily and Darius figure out how to work together as true partners?
Lily is basically a caricature of a British lady: reserved, unwilling to display her emotions, and thanks to her cold upbringing, convinced that she’s unloveable. That is, until she gets inside her Titan mech. There, she’s confident in her capabilities and, frankly, absolutely bloodthirsty. Figuring out how to retain that confidence outside the mech is basically Lily’s character arc for the book. Darius isn’t quite sure what to do with her two seeming disparate personalities. All he does know is that he has to protect her, like he was unable to protect his own brother. His insecurities lead to him being a huge jerk, basically, where he does things that he know will make her mad but brush it away as being for her own good. But hey, at least this hero has some sort of character development.
The plot is about what you’d expect. With her all her interplanetary missiles destroyed thanks to Mia’s actions in the last book, the evil baddie has decided to move forward with a direct invasion of Velerion. The Starfighters have a plan, but it’ll require the Titans to commit to a mission with a very low chance of survival – something that Darius won’t allow. The action scenes read better than the ones in the first book and were quite suspenseful, but that also may be my love of mecha talking. I mean, they’re literally digging through walls and bending metal beams – what’s not to love? The consent issues are a lot better in this book, though there are a few issues. Bondpartners earlier in the series have been romantic partners, though this book brings up the existence of “second tier” bonded partners like friends or siblings. I didn’t like the implication that a romantic relationship is the be-all, end-all.
Hilariously enough, Lily decides to bring crates of books with her (girl, ever hear of a Kindle?) and some of them are romances by none other than Grace Goodwin herself. This results in some weird crossover mayhem where the hero reads them and then decides to re-enact scenes from those books. Did the author run out of ideas for over-the-top sex scenes and just wanted an excuse to reuse some? Is this some sort of weird cross-promotion? I don’t know, but I cackled like a loon.
Overall, this is another fun entry in the series. With the last of the friends on Velerion, I’m not sure if this series will continue, but if it does, I’ll definitely pick it up for quick and silly read!
I received an advance review copy of this book from Grey's Promotions. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Look, I know these books are ridiculous, but that’s the joy of them. Plus, I was really looking forward to seeing Lily smash some stuff up with her mecha suit! This is the third book in the series and follows directly after the other two, so it shouldn’t be read as a standalone.
With her best friends Jamie and Mia gone, Lily’s ready for her alien partner to show up and take her back to Velerion after she beats the Starfighter Training Academy game. Darius, who’d been planning out how to explain everything to her, is completely taken aback, and even more so when the quiet woman seems to not want anything to do with him. Lily in real life is nothing like her wild and raucous personality from the game. But Darius has a lot of secrets he’s keeping from her, ones that make him even more overprotective than usual, threatening their mission and Lily’s standing with the rest of the team. With an invasion force nearing, can Lily and Darius figure out how to work together as true partners?
“In the game I was brilliant. Fearless. Aggressive. I kicked everyone’s ass, screamed at my enemies, and tore down walls with my bare hands. In the game, I was a monster.
And I had come to realize I enjoyed being that monster. I was tired of hiding all my emotions and acting as if everything was right with the world.”
Lily is basically a caricature of a British lady: reserved, unwilling to display her emotions, and thanks to her cold upbringing, convinced that she’s unloveable. That is, until she gets inside her Titan mech. There, she’s confident in her capabilities and, frankly, absolutely bloodthirsty. Figuring out how to retain that confidence outside the mech is basically Lily’s character arc for the book. Darius isn’t quite sure what to do with her two seeming disparate personalities. All he does know is that he has to protect her, like he was unable to protect his own brother. His insecurities lead to him being a huge jerk, basically, where he does things that he know will make her mad but brush it away as being for her own good. But hey, at least this hero has some sort of character development.
“Forget about the war,” Mia insisted. “Tell us about Darius.”
The plot is about what you’d expect. With her all her interplanetary missiles destroyed thanks to Mia’s actions in the last book, the evil baddie has decided to move forward with a direct invasion of Velerion. The Starfighters have a plan, but it’ll require the Titans to commit to a mission with a very low chance of survival – something that Darius won’t allow. The action scenes read better than the ones in the first book and were quite suspenseful, but that also may be my love of mecha talking. I mean, they’re literally digging through walls and bending metal beams – what’s not to love? The consent issues are a lot better in this book, though there are a few issues. Bondpartners earlier in the series have been romantic partners, though this book brings up the existence of “second tier” bonded partners like friends or siblings. I didn’t like the implication that a romantic relationship is the be-all, end-all.
“Grace Goodwin, you bitch. I am going to have words with you when I get home.” This author was a liar. There was no sexy alien hunk out here in space waiting to make all my dreams come true.
Hilariously enough, Lily decides to bring crates of books with her (girl, ever hear of a Kindle?) and some of them are romances by none other than Grace Goodwin herself. This results in some weird crossover mayhem where the hero reads them and then decides to re-enact scenes from those books. Did the author run out of ideas for over-the-top sex scenes and just wanted an excuse to reuse some? Is this some sort of weird cross-promotion? I don’t know, but I cackled like a loon.
Overall, this is another fun entry in the series. With the last of the friends on Velerion, I’m not sure if this series will continue, but if it does, I’ll definitely pick it up for quick and silly read!
I received an advance review copy of this book from Grey's Promotions. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
August 16, 2021
I ONLY HAVE ONE ANSWER TO GIVE YOU. YOU’RE MINE.
I loved the concept of this story, the characters, interaction, mystery, suspense, danger, angst, and then throw in a bonded mate and cue up the romance! What appears as an interactive Starfighter Training Academy game, played with other players and teams worldwide, might actually be much more in reality. Each player designs an alien to their specifications and let the games begin.
The story will have Lily Wilson of Earth being the third human challenger to complete the Starfighter Training Academy. Mia gave her warning that this was real and she would see her again. So Lily is prepared; as a librarian, books are critical to her, so she has cases packed full of her favorites, including several Grace Goodwin books to take to space.
Lily: “Darius. About time. Let’s go.”
Secrets, things that Lily hasn’t told anyone else will eventually change—when she is with Darius, she will finally change her ‘virgin’ status.
Darius: “Are you ignoring me or trying to seduce me?”
Lily: “I don’t know. I don’t know what I want.”
Darius: “That’s a lie, Lily. You know what you want. What I don’t know is why you won't be honest with me. I am your pair bond. I am yours, Lily. I’m yours until the day I die. Do you understand? I only have one answer to give you. You’re mine.”
Darius and Lily will only have a short time together on Moon Base Arturri before having their first mission as a Titan team. While they trained and worked together in simulations in the game, this is real, and Darius is overly protective of Lily—maybe too defensive, which she resents. Not only that, but she feels there are secrets between them.
“I hated that Darius was hovering over me like a helicopter parent, making sure I felt like I couldn’t do anything on my own. Acting like I should be scared when I wasn’t.”
“I wasn’t just in love. I was obsessed. Possessive. Protective. I wanted to lock Lily in our bedroom and never let her out. Keep her naked and sated and safe.”
“I wanted someone to love me, respect me, and believe in me. Believe in my capabilities. My courage. My brain. All I wanted was someone to have faith that I was capable of winning. Creating. Being more than what I appeared to be on my average, mousy, introverted exterior. I wasn’t important to him. I was a means to an end with a dose of on-demand sex on the side.”
The chemistry between Lily and Darius is challenging because once he meets her, he wants to shelter her rather than allow her and her Titan to work—but Lily also takes additional risks, trying to prove she is capable. They are compatible while working, during dangerous encounters, and especially as passion engulfs them. The story has life and death danger, and this newest mission may be what separates them. How far will a man go to protect what is his?
Darius: “All right. Your call. I trust you.”
Lily: “There they were, the words I’d been waiting to hear my entire life. Even as I smiled with pleasure I realized I didn’t need them. Not anymore. I knew who I was and what I was capable of. I didn’t need anyone else to tell me what I could or could not do. Who I was. What I was worth. I made that decision. No one else.”
I struggled with the relationship between Lily and Darius. I think she wanted a “Grace Goodwin Alien romance” and didn’t know how to handle Darius, the Alien man she was pair-bonded with. I think it took them longer to resolute issues than the first two stories. While the story includes romance and sex scenes, I like that it is more a story of survival and the unique pair-bonding that makes this story a page-turner.
“You are mine, my everything. I love you.”
I loved the concept of this story, the characters, interaction, mystery, suspense, danger, angst, and then throw in a bonded mate and cue up the romance! What appears as an interactive Starfighter Training Academy game, played with other players and teams worldwide, might actually be much more in reality. Each player designs an alien to their specifications and let the games begin.
The story will have Lily Wilson of Earth being the third human challenger to complete the Starfighter Training Academy. Mia gave her warning that this was real and she would see her again. So Lily is prepared; as a librarian, books are critical to her, so she has cases packed full of her favorites, including several Grace Goodwin books to take to space.
Lily: “Darius. About time. Let’s go.”
Secrets, things that Lily hasn’t told anyone else will eventually change—when she is with Darius, she will finally change her ‘virgin’ status.
Darius: “Are you ignoring me or trying to seduce me?”
Lily: “I don’t know. I don’t know what I want.”
Darius: “That’s a lie, Lily. You know what you want. What I don’t know is why you won't be honest with me. I am your pair bond. I am yours, Lily. I’m yours until the day I die. Do you understand? I only have one answer to give you. You’re mine.”
Darius and Lily will only have a short time together on Moon Base Arturri before having their first mission as a Titan team. While they trained and worked together in simulations in the game, this is real, and Darius is overly protective of Lily—maybe too defensive, which she resents. Not only that, but she feels there are secrets between them.
“I hated that Darius was hovering over me like a helicopter parent, making sure I felt like I couldn’t do anything on my own. Acting like I should be scared when I wasn’t.”
“I wasn’t just in love. I was obsessed. Possessive. Protective. I wanted to lock Lily in our bedroom and never let her out. Keep her naked and sated and safe.”
“I wanted someone to love me, respect me, and believe in me. Believe in my capabilities. My courage. My brain. All I wanted was someone to have faith that I was capable of winning. Creating. Being more than what I appeared to be on my average, mousy, introverted exterior. I wasn’t important to him. I was a means to an end with a dose of on-demand sex on the side.”
The chemistry between Lily and Darius is challenging because once he meets her, he wants to shelter her rather than allow her and her Titan to work—but Lily also takes additional risks, trying to prove she is capable. They are compatible while working, during dangerous encounters, and especially as passion engulfs them. The story has life and death danger, and this newest mission may be what separates them. How far will a man go to protect what is his?
Darius: “All right. Your call. I trust you.”
Lily: “There they were, the words I’d been waiting to hear my entire life. Even as I smiled with pleasure I realized I didn’t need them. Not anymore. I knew who I was and what I was capable of. I didn’t need anyone else to tell me what I could or could not do. Who I was. What I was worth. I made that decision. No one else.”
I struggled with the relationship between Lily and Darius. I think she wanted a “Grace Goodwin Alien romance” and didn’t know how to handle Darius, the Alien man she was pair-bonded with. I think it took them longer to resolute issues than the first two stories. While the story includes romance and sex scenes, I like that it is more a story of survival and the unique pair-bonding that makes this story a page-turner.
“You are mine, my everything. I love you.”
August 24, 2021
Lily, the Final Starfighter . . .
Lily Wilson of Earth, his pairbonded female, shoved several cases at Darius and said, “Let’s go.” General Aryk told them to relax once they reached planet Valerion, but she was busily unpacking and ignoring him. She hadn’t even touched him yet. All she cared about was finding her two human friends. She was jumpy and nervous. The cases contained what seemed like hundreds of books, and he paged through one to see what it said about mating. It was easier for her to ignore him, when he wouldn’t give it back, so she let him explore the book. He referred to her as a Titan, asking about the contents of the book. She thought about his calling her that, thinking back to the training program she had thought was nothing more than a video game back on Earth, Starfighter Training Academy. When she was inside her Titan in the game, she was fully confident in what she could do and in her excellent abilities. But she doesn’t know how to keep that confident attitude outside the mech and back in the real world. Struggling wilth so many doubts and uncertainties, she wouldn’t talk to him about it and get answers that may have reassured her. Darius too has his secrets which cause his over-protective, smothering behavior. If they had communicated, so much could have been explained and put them on a positive track in their relationship.
And yes, she wanted to try the things Darius just read in that romance, but she had never been with anyone before. So she went back to packing and ignored him. Neither one of them is very good at communicating, so it’s easy to see that there will be misunderstandings and chaos ahead for them. They will be pulled right into the thick of battle with Queen Reya’s determination to win. Are they ready?
Just like her friends Jamie and Mia, Lily had not actually been “playing” a video game, but had been finishing up her training program to become a Starfighter, and it's her duty to see this through! Is she ready for Darius to claim her? Or will they go right into battle?
The story line is well-paced and, though familiar by now to the reader, builds that world around you that keeps you cheering for them to “show their stuff”. The characters are developed well and have qualities that will connect strongly with readers. Grab your copy and see where this ultimate adventure leads them!
Lily Wilson of Earth, his pairbonded female, shoved several cases at Darius and said, “Let’s go.” General Aryk told them to relax once they reached planet Valerion, but she was busily unpacking and ignoring him. She hadn’t even touched him yet. All she cared about was finding her two human friends. She was jumpy and nervous. The cases contained what seemed like hundreds of books, and he paged through one to see what it said about mating. It was easier for her to ignore him, when he wouldn’t give it back, so she let him explore the book. He referred to her as a Titan, asking about the contents of the book. She thought about his calling her that, thinking back to the training program she had thought was nothing more than a video game back on Earth, Starfighter Training Academy. When she was inside her Titan in the game, she was fully confident in what she could do and in her excellent abilities. But she doesn’t know how to keep that confident attitude outside the mech and back in the real world. Struggling wilth so many doubts and uncertainties, she wouldn’t talk to him about it and get answers that may have reassured her. Darius too has his secrets which cause his over-protective, smothering behavior. If they had communicated, so much could have been explained and put them on a positive track in their relationship.
And yes, she wanted to try the things Darius just read in that romance, but she had never been with anyone before. So she went back to packing and ignored him. Neither one of them is very good at communicating, so it’s easy to see that there will be misunderstandings and chaos ahead for them. They will be pulled right into the thick of battle with Queen Reya’s determination to win. Are they ready?
Just like her friends Jamie and Mia, Lily had not actually been “playing” a video game, but had been finishing up her training program to become a Starfighter, and it's her duty to see this through! Is she ready for Darius to claim her? Or will they go right into battle?
The story line is well-paced and, though familiar by now to the reader, builds that world around you that keeps you cheering for them to “show their stuff”. The characters are developed well and have qualities that will connect strongly with readers. Grab your copy and see where this ultimate adventure leads them!
March 13, 2024
This books is one of the worst I've ever read. I never leave reviews but Darius angered me so badly that I have to rant! He is the stupidest, most unprofessional, irrational and incompetent hero I have ever read. Dude was an unstable ,extremely codependent, red flag mess! His behavior on that first mission cemented my deep dislike of him. He has no business being a starfighter. He shouldn't have even passed a psych eval. You are at war and you ignore your mission to run after your partner?? Constantly distracting her over the comms while she's on a mission.
His inner dialogue pissed me off too. Instead of wanting to have a conversation and get on the same page, I had to listen to him talk about how he wanted to cart her off and keep fucking her as a way to solve all their problems over and over again. Dude was UNSTABLE! I'm supposed to excuse his ridiculous, unprofessional, and unhinged behavior because he lost his brother? You are a soldier, it's a dangerous job!! You knew that going in! This guy should've been support behind a desk from the get go and never have seen any combat with the way he behaves on missions. He also kept trying to prevent Lily from doing her job as well. He's too stupid to live and I feel sorry that Lily and his late brother got paired with such a fool!!!
I have never had a series take such a dramatic drop in quality like this. I dnf'd the second book almost halfway in. I picked this one up because I wanted to read about Lily meeting her alien. Those were my favorite parts of the previous books. The only reason I continued with this book is because during their meeting there was a self insert by the author. One of the challenges for the 52 Bookclub 2024 is to read a book with a self-insert by an author. I was originally going to skip that challenge because I didn't want to read any of the books suggested in the lists. The audiobook for Elite Starfighter is less than 4 hours and despite my dnf'ing the second book in the series, I went ahead and listened to this one. I finished it but it was painful. I have never hated a mmc as badly as I hate Darius.
His inner dialogue pissed me off too. Instead of wanting to have a conversation and get on the same page, I had to listen to him talk about how he wanted to cart her off and keep fucking her as a way to solve all their problems over and over again. Dude was UNSTABLE! I'm supposed to excuse his ridiculous, unprofessional, and unhinged behavior because he lost his brother? You are a soldier, it's a dangerous job!! You knew that going in! This guy should've been support behind a desk from the get go and never have seen any combat with the way he behaves on missions. He also kept trying to prevent Lily from doing her job as well. He's too stupid to live and I feel sorry that Lily and his late brother got paired with such a fool!!!
I have never had a series take such a dramatic drop in quality like this. I dnf'd the second book almost halfway in. I picked this one up because I wanted to read about Lily meeting her alien. Those were my favorite parts of the previous books. The only reason I continued with this book is because during their meeting there was a self insert by the author. One of the challenges for the 52 Bookclub 2024 is to read a book with a self-insert by an author. I was originally going to skip that challenge because I didn't want to read any of the books suggested in the lists. The audiobook for Elite Starfighter is less than 4 hours and despite my dnf'ing the second book in the series, I went ahead and listened to this one. I finished it but it was painful. I have never hated a mmc as badly as I hate Darius.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2021
After selecting traits she desired while playing a video game, Lily was matched with Darius only to later discover he really exists and is her pair-bond. Lily and Darius each have emotional baggage that neither of them share with each other which causes tension, misunderstandings and hurt feelings in the first few days of them being together in person.
Lily transitions from introverted, shy Librarian to a kickass warrior when she climbs into her Titan, Althena. She is accustomed to feeling not being good enough after years of being mistreated by her dysfunctional parents. Darius lost his brother in battle and is hyper protective towards Lily which with no context for why he is acting this way sees it as him not believing in her capabilities and thinking her unfit.
Even though these two have missed connecting with each emotionally, their physical relationship is sizzling hot from the moment they get into their shared living quarters. Unfortunately, a sizzling physical relationship doesn’t translate into an immediate emotional connection and nearly impact the success of a battle with Queen Arya’s forces.
This was an entertaining and enjoyable read which continues the series in pairing humans with aliens through a video game which is actually an alien training simulator identifying new recruits in fighting against Queen Raya’s quest to conquer the Vega quadrant.
This is definitely not a standalone book and requires the reading of the prior two books in the series. The in person meeting of Lily, Jamie and Mia was fun after first seeing them interact virtually.
This book doesn’t have a true cliffhanger- Lily and Darius have a HEA, but the war isn’t over yet and more Starfighters Academy graduates are expected from Earth soon.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Lily transitions from introverted, shy Librarian to a kickass warrior when she climbs into her Titan, Althena. She is accustomed to feeling not being good enough after years of being mistreated by her dysfunctional parents. Darius lost his brother in battle and is hyper protective towards Lily which with no context for why he is acting this way sees it as him not believing in her capabilities and thinking her unfit.
Even though these two have missed connecting with each emotionally, their physical relationship is sizzling hot from the moment they get into their shared living quarters. Unfortunately, a sizzling physical relationship doesn’t translate into an immediate emotional connection and nearly impact the success of a battle with Queen Arya’s forces.
This was an entertaining and enjoyable read which continues the series in pairing humans with aliens through a video game which is actually an alien training simulator identifying new recruits in fighting against Queen Raya’s quest to conquer the Vega quadrant.
This is definitely not a standalone book and requires the reading of the prior two books in the series. The in person meeting of Lily, Jamie and Mia was fun after first seeing them interact virtually.
This book doesn’t have a true cliffhanger- Lily and Darius have a HEA, but the war isn’t over yet and more Starfighters Academy graduates are expected from Earth soon.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 18, 2021
This book was amazing and the old characters from the first two books just made it so much thrilling and I loved the references to the authors other books as well.Lily use to play this star fighter academy game with her two best friends Mia and Jamie but they never meet I real life but in the game they where unstoppable and when the girls disappeared after completing the games Lily was beside herself but when she got a weird text from Jamie saying that the game is real and Darius would come for her when she finished it so pack a bag. Later that night Lily finally finished the game and she waited for Darius and when he showed up she told him was about time and let’s go so I can find my friends. Lily was shocked when she seen Darius in real life because he was everything she had hoped for and hopefully so much more. When Darius arrived to get the beautiful Lily his pairbond mate that has driven him crazy with desire since she chose him over all others and there first night together was amazing and he wanted more with his Lily. But now that he had her all he wanted was to protect her and keep her safe and now Darius was beside himself when Lily wouldn’t listen to him and got hurt on there first mission after it was a trap to kill her off. Darius tried to keep Lily from going on the next mission and embarrassed her in front of everyone by trying to keep her safe but she volunteered before he could stop her and trying to take her place only made it worse. Can these two work everything out to have a future together or does it all fall apart and can they defeat the evil Queen Raya. Get this brilliant book to find out what happens next.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 17, 2021
The third book in the Starfighter Training Academy, brings readers to the final trio of friends who are brought into the battle against Queen Raya and the Dark Fleet. Just like the previous, Lily thought she was playing a video game but it was actually a recruiting game to help fight an evil Queen in space.
Lily is a no nonsense woman, when Darius comes for her he is taken back she is already waiting for him. Mia from the previous book sent lily a message so she is ready. In the Academy "game" Lily was a force, she control Titan and as soon and she and Darius get to the home base they are thrown right into action. What was interesting was that Mia and Jamie from the prior books, the woman were very into their mate/partner. Lily is very closed off and a bit cold, it took a bit longer for me to connect with her because of her persona.
Darius is taken back by Lily, she is not what he expected but 100% dedicated to protecting her and being by her side. He also has some secrets which cause Lily and him to have a lot of disagreements. But I adored him, his actions and protectiveness spoke a lot about what he's been through and who he is.
In the end the battle scenes were fantastic, the way this duo was thrown into the thick of things and pretty much put in life or death situations, and kept their cool, spoke volumes on how great of a team they are.
When the series started it introduced the trio of ladies, but there are more people on each that have played this same "game" as these three so I'm hoping for new duos to come and support this kick butt team and finally defeat Queen Raya.
Lily is a no nonsense woman, when Darius comes for her he is taken back she is already waiting for him. Mia from the previous book sent lily a message so she is ready. In the Academy "game" Lily was a force, she control Titan and as soon and she and Darius get to the home base they are thrown right into action. What was interesting was that Mia and Jamie from the prior books, the woman were very into their mate/partner. Lily is very closed off and a bit cold, it took a bit longer for me to connect with her because of her persona.
Darius is taken back by Lily, she is not what he expected but 100% dedicated to protecting her and being by her side. He also has some secrets which cause Lily and him to have a lot of disagreements. But I adored him, his actions and protectiveness spoke a lot about what he's been through and who he is.
In the end the battle scenes were fantastic, the way this duo was thrown into the thick of things and pretty much put in life or death situations, and kept their cool, spoke volumes on how great of a team they are.
When the series started it introduced the trio of ladies, but there are more people on each that have played this same "game" as these three so I'm hoping for new duos to come and support this kick butt team and finally defeat Queen Raya.
August 25, 2021
Lily finally finds her friends—and love—in this third, action-packed book in Goodwin’s Starfighter Training Academy series. Elite Starfighter is a neat return to Velerion and the battles being fought by our series heroines and their matched partners, but I found myself ultimately a bit disappointed. I adored the second book in this series, loved the cultural observations and the fanfare our couple had upon returning to Velerion to take up their duties. Elite Starfighter had none of that. Though there were several very graphic sex scenes, the majority of the story was fights – either in the Titans, or between Lily and Darius. There was some sense of comraderie between Lily and the other Titan pilots, but I wasn’t sure where ‘elite’ came into the picture, or even to a point, why there had to be partnered teams to pilot the Titans, which are individual battle machines. Not that they weren’t cool, or that Lily’s fighting wasn’t awesome. Some of the conflict elements didn’t really work for me either, though Goodwin did a good job of grounding everything. I did enjoy the space elements and details and the Titan fights, and the glimpses we got of the previous series heroines, as well as how nicely this book wrapped up the series. I did enjoy the development of Lily and Darius’ relationship through the story. Goodwin hints that there may be more Starfighter Training Academy books too look forward to in the future, which is an exciting prospect, despite my feelings about this particular volume.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 31, 2021
Elite Starfighter is the third book in the Starfighter Training Academy. It could be read as a stand alone, but it continues an overarching plot that covers the series. Lily knew to expect Darius, but wasn’t expecting the secrets, the intensity of their relationship, not how real it is to truly fight against enemies. But will Lily give her new life and pairbonded mate a chance, or will the threat of danger be too much to handle?
I was really looking forward to this book, to how everything might play out between Lily and Darius, and if this would be the end to the evil Queen Raya. I have to say that I was cracking up laughing that Lily brought all of her books! And what a dream, having a librarian become this epic warrior with a giant mech suit! So cool! Lily knew she could be brave and become the warrior that Darius’ people needed, if only she could prove herself. She had a few internal demons she needed to battle in order to find confidence, acceptance, and love. Darius has a past that makes him extra protective and he struggles with how to please his mate out in the field where danger surrounds his brave mate. There’s definitely a struggle that’s made even harder when secrets are kept about both of their pasts. I liked them together. There’s definitely passion between them, a connection too, but I liked that even though Lily knew he was coming for her, their relationship was still rocky at times. This book has chemistry, danger, passion, a bit of drama, and some epic battle suits, and it’s awesome! I truly hope this isn’t the last in the series and I already can’t wait for the next book from Ms. Goodwin!
I was really looking forward to this book, to how everything might play out between Lily and Darius, and if this would be the end to the evil Queen Raya. I have to say that I was cracking up laughing that Lily brought all of her books! And what a dream, having a librarian become this epic warrior with a giant mech suit! So cool! Lily knew she could be brave and become the warrior that Darius’ people needed, if only she could prove herself. She had a few internal demons she needed to battle in order to find confidence, acceptance, and love. Darius has a past that makes him extra protective and he struggles with how to please his mate out in the field where danger surrounds his brave mate. There’s definitely a struggle that’s made even harder when secrets are kept about both of their pasts. I liked them together. There’s definitely passion between them, a connection too, but I liked that even though Lily knew he was coming for her, their relationship was still rocky at times. This book has chemistry, danger, passion, a bit of drama, and some epic battle suits, and it’s awesome! I truly hope this isn’t the last in the series and I already can’t wait for the next book from Ms. Goodwin!
August 17, 2021
The writing and editing of the ARC version of the manuscript was clean, with no typos that I found and well constructed sentences. The world building was good, with the battles being vividly described. It was almost cinematic. The characterization was competent, with both hero and heroine being sympathetic if not especially nuanced. The development of the romantic relationship was of the insta-love variety, with the hero’s overprotectiveness providing most of the conflict. This was a fast burn. The heat level in this novel was three chili peppers. The plot was action packed. As a consequence, the pacing sped by. There was a medium amount of angst and high stakes throughout this novel, which tends to be one of my preferred narrative structures for a romance novel. This novel used the Alien Invasion trope and the Algorithm Matched Mate trope. The world building, plot, and pacing were all four stars. The characterization and development of the romantic relationship were both three stars. I therefore rounded up and gave this novel a combined rating of four stars, since I did really enjoy it. This novel had a Happy Ever After ending instead of a cliffhanger ending, so that was a big plus. I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy military sci-fi elements in their romance novels. I look forward to reading the next book in this series when it releases. I will buy myself a keeper copy of this novel.
I received a free advance review copy of this book, and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free advance review copy of this book, and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 12, 2021
Somehow this was my least favorite despite Lily being a librarian and a mech fighter.
So this one began FAST. The lead in time for each main character acclimating to the new reality and then going on a mission kept getting shorter until in this one I felt like I blinked and suddenly Lily was in her Titan (Athena) fighting on a dangerous mission.
It felt so irresponsible. The Velerions knew, at this point, that the humans did not realize the training sim wasn't just a fake game. And yet welp who cares gear up folks!
The academy part of this series subtitle is wildly exaggerated. Its do or die, with hopefully your Plot Armor and Main Character Status saving you from idiot mistakes.
If Jamie's issue was having trouble believing the game was all real, and Mia's issue was trusting she wouldn't be thrown out for not earning her place, Lily's issue is constantly worrying she'll be considered too much of a disappointment to stay.
It came out as her being reckless, impulsive and unwilling to listen to others, including her bondmate Darius.
Which was great since Darius's trauma (over losing his brother) meant he was constantly second guessing Lily's actions, even when she CLEARLY had it handled. Together it meant their communication levels were zilch.
This made it hard for me to believe when they'd be praised or accomplished anything. Like did y'all in command hear their bickering AT ALL?
As a title in the series this was disappointing. Somehow despite Jamie being my least favorite heroine, her book is still the best.
So this one began FAST. The lead in time for each main character acclimating to the new reality and then going on a mission kept getting shorter until in this one I felt like I blinked and suddenly Lily was in her Titan (Athena) fighting on a dangerous mission.
It felt so irresponsible. The Velerions knew, at this point, that the humans did not realize the training sim wasn't just a fake game. And yet welp who cares gear up folks!
The academy part of this series subtitle is wildly exaggerated. Its do or die, with hopefully your Plot Armor and Main Character Status saving you from idiot mistakes.
If Jamie's issue was having trouble believing the game was all real, and Mia's issue was trusting she wouldn't be thrown out for not earning her place, Lily's issue is constantly worrying she'll be considered too much of a disappointment to stay.
It came out as her being reckless, impulsive and unwilling to listen to others, including her bondmate Darius.
Which was great since Darius's trauma (over losing his brother) meant he was constantly second guessing Lily's actions, even when she CLEARLY had it handled. Together it meant their communication levels were zilch.
This made it hard for me to believe when they'd be praised or accomplished anything. Like did y'all in command hear their bickering AT ALL?
As a title in the series this was disappointing. Somehow despite Jamie being my least favorite heroine, her book is still the best.
August 16, 2021
Oh, Lily! She gives off the same vibe as Evie from The Mummy - a wannabe adventurer being stymied by her timid nature and nerdy job.
Lily just completed her "game" and now she is awaiting her partner to arrive and sweep her into space. Thankfully her friends managed to give her a heads up on what was going to happen and she is all packed and ready to go when Darius arrives. He's prepared to give her the big speech as to why she has to come with him only to be met by a fully prepped Lily!
This pair bond is off to a flying start but Darius questioning her and constantly trying to protect her is eating away at Lily's already fragile self-esteem. She still manages to lose her V-card and has a wild time doing so. When Darius catches sight of some of the books she's brought with her he finally catches a clue as to what Lily needs from him.
Darius really wasn't a great pair-bond to begin with. He kept secrets and didn't open up to Lily about his past but equally Lily wasn't great at communicating how sidelined she felt by her parents and why she may feel overly-sensitive at him constantly trying to remove her from danger.
I really loved the way the author took the mickey out of herself over Lily's complaining about her “Grace Goodwin Alien romances”. Will totally come back for more!
Lily just completed her "game" and now she is awaiting her partner to arrive and sweep her into space. Thankfully her friends managed to give her a heads up on what was going to happen and she is all packed and ready to go when Darius arrives. He's prepared to give her the big speech as to why she has to come with him only to be met by a fully prepped Lily!
This pair bond is off to a flying start but Darius questioning her and constantly trying to protect her is eating away at Lily's already fragile self-esteem. She still manages to lose her V-card and has a wild time doing so. When Darius catches sight of some of the books she's brought with her he finally catches a clue as to what Lily needs from him.
Darius really wasn't a great pair-bond to begin with. He kept secrets and didn't open up to Lily about his past but equally Lily wasn't great at communicating how sidelined she felt by her parents and why she may feel overly-sensitive at him constantly trying to remove her from danger.
I really loved the way the author took the mickey out of herself over Lily's complaining about her “Grace Goodwin Alien romances”. Will totally come back for more!
August 17, 2021
Elite Starfighter: Game 3 is the 3rd book in the Starfighter Training Academy. This is Darius (Alien hunk) & Lily Wilson from Earth's story. 2 of Lily’s friends, Jamie (book 1, The First Starfighter) and Mia (book 2, Starfighter Command) are already on Velerion. They had just disappeared after playing Starfighter Training Academy. No one knew that this game was created by Alien’s. This game was used to recruit needed fighters to fight in an “alien war”. After Lily’s friends disappeared Lily set out to beat the game and find out what happened to her friends.
After Lily beat the game, Darius, her pairbonded mate, was sent to Earth to get Lily. Lily was waiting for him and already had her bags packed and ready to go.
Turns out these girls are great fighters including Lily! She can’t keep her eyes off of hunky Darius. BTW, Lily had created Darius from the game. “Built him from the ground up”. So, he is her ideal alien! I have to say they are pretty hawt together!
I am pretty sure that Grace Goodwin has lined up 12 more books in this series! Whoopie!
I love how Grace Goodwin just wrote herself into this book as the author of Intersteller Brides Program: The Colony: Her Cyborg Beast. Kudos for self promotion!
I am ready for some more alien’s to read about! 4.5 stars
After Lily beat the game, Darius, her pairbonded mate, was sent to Earth to get Lily. Lily was waiting for him and already had her bags packed and ready to go.
Turns out these girls are great fighters including Lily! She can’t keep her eyes off of hunky Darius. BTW, Lily had created Darius from the game. “Built him from the ground up”. So, he is her ideal alien! I have to say they are pretty hawt together!
I am pretty sure that Grace Goodwin has lined up 12 more books in this series! Whoopie!
I love how Grace Goodwin just wrote herself into this book as the author of Intersteller Brides Program: The Colony: Her Cyborg Beast. Kudos for self promotion!
I am ready for some more alien’s to read about! 4.5 stars
August 30, 2021
O.M.G….I love all books by Grace Goodwin but Elite Starfighter is awesome! I loved reading about Lily and Darius but I loved how much Darius loved reading Grace Goodwin’s books and was more than happy to try and reenact some of the scenes. That was priceless. Grace’s books are always full of very steamy 🧖♀️ and incredibly hot 🔥🔥🌡 sex scenes!! They really are panty meltingly goodness! Elite Starfighter is no exception and if you love sci-fi romance that is always on the incredulously hot 🔥🌡 then you will love Elite Starfighter and any of Gracie Goodwin’s books. I know that they are addicting and from the first book till the newly released, Elite Starfighter, I can not stop reading 📖 Grace’s books. She has a lot out and I have read each and everyone that is on Amazon. I love them all and highly recommend them. Even if you normally don’t like sci-fi romances if you like boiling hot 🔥🌡 panty melting books then you will love Elite Starfighter and of Grace’s books. Starfighter Training Acdemy is Grace’s newest series and I love it just as much as her other series, Interstellar Bride Program series and all of its spin offs. You will never be disappointed!! I for one can’t wait to see what comes next!! I am guessing more of the Starfighter Training Program with new recruits from earth 🌍 will be next 🥰. Happy reading!!
August 20, 2021
Elite Starfighter: Game 3 brings us Lily and Darius' story. Lily is the third in a trio of gamer friends who are the first on Earth to complete the Elite Starfighter game. Her good pals Jamie and Mia have reached the max level, accepted their Starfighter ranks, and been whisked off planet by their handsome pair bond copilots. This is how Lily found out that the game was not really a game, but an actual training program for an intergalactic planetary war. Before disappearing from Earth, Mia texted Lily and told her to expect a visit from Darius. Because HE IS REAL.
Bags packed and raring to go, Lily hits the ground running in her six metre Titan, Athena, a gigantic humanoid battle mech which Lily pilots from the inside. Lily and Darius (who pilots his own Titan, Tycho) are immediately engaged in planet Velerion's battle for survival against the evil Queen Raya. Why does it seem that Darius is hiding something? Does Darius trust Lily as a warrior? Will their new "pair bond" work out?
I loved the continuation of this series. It was great to see old faces. The battle sequences were exciting and detailed. Lily and Darius share a combination of sexy times as well as the growing pains of a new relationship that has not fully matured. They need to better communicate. This creates the internal crisis of their story, with stakes raised as they are sent into battle as a fractured couple.
Grace Goodwin delivers another wonderful story, entertaining on multiple levels. Especially, funny this round is the self-referring humour as Darius sneaks a read of the books Lily has brought with her from Earth - and tailors his next seduction on Mated To The Warriors (Interstellar Bride Series) by you know who!
(ARC received from the author via Booksprout.)
Bags packed and raring to go, Lily hits the ground running in her six metre Titan, Athena, a gigantic humanoid battle mech which Lily pilots from the inside. Lily and Darius (who pilots his own Titan, Tycho) are immediately engaged in planet Velerion's battle for survival against the evil Queen Raya. Why does it seem that Darius is hiding something? Does Darius trust Lily as a warrior? Will their new "pair bond" work out?
I loved the continuation of this series. It was great to see old faces. The battle sequences were exciting and detailed. Lily and Darius share a combination of sexy times as well as the growing pains of a new relationship that has not fully matured. They need to better communicate. This creates the internal crisis of their story, with stakes raised as they are sent into battle as a fractured couple.
Grace Goodwin delivers another wonderful story, entertaining on multiple levels. Especially, funny this round is the self-referring humour as Darius sneaks a read of the books Lily has brought with her from Earth - and tailors his next seduction on Mated To The Warriors (Interstellar Bride Series) by you know who!
(ARC received from the author via Booksprout.)
August 17, 2021
So our sweet Lily as all packed and ready to go when Darius comes to collect her after she wins her last battle. Not what he had anticipated, at all. Lily has been put down all her life and made to feel that she is useless. She just wants someone to support her, tell her or show her that she loved, that she has value and that she can do the right thing. Darius for all he shows he lusts after her doesn't really show that he loves her and to make matters worse it looks like he is keeping secrets from her already. She might also have a bit of a thing for Atlans (who doesn't). Darius is totally taken by his pair-bond and wishes to keep her safe from everything. So much so that he pretty much stops her doing her job which gives her the impresison that he doesn't think she can and that she is a liability or worse that she can't cope. He cannot see that by doing this he is pushing her away. He hides his pain from his past and doesn't talk to her. How can they be a pair-bond when they don't talk?
I love this author, she has the guts to poke fun at herself too which is big thing. If you have read any of her brides or colony stories you will have that insider chuckle for quite a few moments while reading. Loved it.
I love this author, she has the guts to poke fun at herself too which is big thing. If you have read any of her brides or colony stories you will have that insider chuckle for quite a few moments while reading. Loved it.
August 23, 2021
This book was a bit uneven for me. I loved the action scenes. All the tearing apart and destroying things with the mechs and Lily's enthusiasm and Darius' anxiety was very energetic and exciting. But then it would practically stop and fall into emotional baggage time. Where both Lily and Darius would wallow in their issues but not actually discuss anything. These two are definitely haunted by their pasts and of course Lilies insecurities completely clash with Darius' anxiety.
There was also this weird ode to Goodwin's other books which Lily apparently loves and references often. I haven't read the Atlan books I guess it might have been cool, but it felt off-putting to me. Like Goodwin ran out of ideas so she had to figure out how to reuse stuff from a different series.
I guess overall I didn't dislike it but I didn't particularly enjoy it. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure this one will fall out of my head pretty quickly.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
There was also this weird ode to Goodwin's other books which Lily apparently loves and references often. I haven't read the Atlan books I guess it might have been cool, but it felt off-putting to me. Like Goodwin ran out of ideas so she had to figure out how to reuse stuff from a different series.
I guess overall I didn't dislike it but I didn't particularly enjoy it. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure this one will fall out of my head pretty quickly.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 25, 2021
This book had way too much angst and immaturity with the characters considering what they had to do. This felt like a very diluted GG story and the maturity, heat and intensity that I normally associate with her was missing for me. While some were a little annoyed when she inserted herself into the storyline, I just chuckled and thought shameless plug…but hey she does have to pay bills too.
You are dropped right into the story at the beginning so it took a beat for me to realize what was going on. I liked the fight scenes and the tech bits but both Lily and Darius annoyed me at times. Simple communication would have stopped the angst and the story could have progressed in a much smoother arc for me.
I kept hoping that this story would take on a more mature feel but it was along the same lines as the others in the series, a bit corny in too many places and the few that places I really connected was just too brief.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
You are dropped right into the story at the beginning so it took a beat for me to realize what was going on. I liked the fight scenes and the tech bits but both Lily and Darius annoyed me at times. Simple communication would have stopped the angst and the story could have progressed in a much smoother arc for me.
I kept hoping that this story would take on a more mature feel but it was along the same lines as the others in the series, a bit corny in too many places and the few that places I really connected was just too brief.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 16, 2021
As the story begins, we meet Lily who is coming from earth to be the third challenger for the Starfighter Training Academy. Two of her best friends are missing and she wants to find them. Darius arrives to take her to the academy and help her. As they being to train for the missions, Lily finds that Darius is very protective of her. She doesn’t like it as she wants to prove that she is good enough to be there, so she pushes past things which only risk her and make Darius more protective.
There was chemistry between the two and I enjoyed all the suspense, angst, mystery, and fun between not only Lily and Darius, but all the characters. I loved how these two find love through all the ups and downs. They struggle with communication and though it can be real, it felt lacking between them especially in the end of the book. I enjoyed the element that what appears to be a game really isn’t. This was my first ever book by Grace and it was a great one.
There was chemistry between the two and I enjoyed all the suspense, angst, mystery, and fun between not only Lily and Darius, but all the characters. I loved how these two find love through all the ups and downs. They struggle with communication and though it can be real, it felt lacking between them especially in the end of the book. I enjoyed the element that what appears to be a game really isn’t. This was my first ever book by Grace and it was a great one.
August 20, 2021
It’s Lily’s turn to meet her pair bond Darius and she is a force to be reckoned with!
*****
Rating: 3.5 stars
Steam: 3 flames
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance / Alien / Gamer
*****
We finally meet the third and final of our three female starfighters. Lily, a librarian in real life, has finally completed the game and is packed and ready to travel with her pair bond. Unlike our past female game champions, Lily is aware of what is to come.... Darius!
Darius and Lily struggle, and they both make mistakes and make assumptions that land them in hot water. Darius fights with his protective nature, and Lily, who is generally an introvert, has swallowed her anxiety and is ready to confront Queen Raya.
Can these two successfully manage their pair bond? Can these two complete their task without Darius losing his head due to his overbearing protectiveness? Will Lily ever discover what Darius is hiding?
This is a quick, easy, and spicy read. A nice diversion from reality. Are you ready to join the fight to defend Velerion? Join the Starfighter Academy right now! Perhaps you'll locate your pair bond and realize the game is real!
I hope there will be more stories, and I will continue to read them as long as Grace Goodwin writes them!
*****
Rating: 3.5 stars
Steam: 3 flames
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance / Alien / Gamer
*****
We finally meet the third and final of our three female starfighters. Lily, a librarian in real life, has finally completed the game and is packed and ready to travel with her pair bond. Unlike our past female game champions, Lily is aware of what is to come.... Darius!
Darius and Lily struggle, and they both make mistakes and make assumptions that land them in hot water. Darius fights with his protective nature, and Lily, who is generally an introvert, has swallowed her anxiety and is ready to confront Queen Raya.
Can these two successfully manage their pair bond? Can these two complete their task without Darius losing his head due to his overbearing protectiveness? Will Lily ever discover what Darius is hiding?
This is a quick, easy, and spicy read. A nice diversion from reality. Are you ready to join the fight to defend Velerion? Join the Starfighter Academy right now! Perhaps you'll locate your pair bond and realize the game is real!
I hope there will be more stories, and I will continue to read them as long as Grace Goodwin writes them!
August 21, 2021
Maybe it’s because I missed the first two books in the series, but this book wasn’t up to the standard of what I expect from Grace Goodwin books. I’ve read all, or almost all, of the Interstellar Brides books and absolutely loved them. For me, this book seemed to be lacking some of the edge those books have. Darius, while a hero, just doesn’t seem to be as strong and vibrant a man/hero as those in her other books. Lily on the other hand is one dynamite heroine.
Darius’ need to smother Lily may be my issue with the whole book. He may have had a good reason, but trying to smother someone he knew could take care of herself after weeks of training with her and getting to know her, just seem unreasonable.
As a whole, I enjoyed the book. Their final mission was great. The nod to Godwin’s other books was cute. Despite my comments here, the book is well worth reading, it’s why I gave it 4 stars.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Darius’ need to smother Lily may be my issue with the whole book. He may have had a good reason, but trying to smother someone he knew could take care of herself after weeks of training with her and getting to know her, just seem unreasonable.
As a whole, I enjoyed the book. Their final mission was great. The nod to Godwin’s other books was cute. Despite my comments here, the book is well worth reading, it’s why I gave it 4 stars.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 16, 2021
This was a very quick read and I am really enjoying this series. If you like your aliens over the top possessive and protective you'll love this story. Lily isn't sure what to expect when she finds herself in space with her "pare bond mate" Darius. She has always felt like she failed at everything in life. She didn't trust men and the one thing she was good at, playing a computer game turns out to be a training simulation and she is recruited fight a war between waring planets. Her only problem is her pare bond mate and partner doesn't believe in her. Or so she thinks. Darius is struggling with the lost of someone and can't imagine losing Lily, so he refuses to allow her to do her job.
I love all the space action in this story and the continue battle with Queen Raya. Looking forward to more stories in this world.
I received an early copy of this book for my honest review.
I love all the space action in this story and the continue battle with Queen Raya. Looking forward to more stories in this world.
I received an early copy of this book for my honest review.
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