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Under Violet Suns #2
Dark Fire
*The planet Falosia has an excess of females. The planet Verit has a surplus of males. The best of each have been put forward to start a new colony and find mates, in a last desperate attempt to save both worlds. The next instalment of the Under Violet Suns series, Dark Fire is a scorchingly hot sci fi, alien romance.*
Zera has spent her life suppressing her nature. As a born Warrior on a planet of empaths, she has held her inner fire under ruthless iron control. When she accepts an assignment to the newly established Colony 29, she relishes the opportunity to finally be valued for her warrior skills.
Odran is a skilled scientist on a planet of warriors. Colony 29 offers a chance at a different life, an opportunity to pursue his research away from the endless mercenary wars of his people.
When Zera is tasked to lead an investigation into newly discovered alien tech that threatens the survival of the fledgling colony, Odran is assigned as her scientific advisor. Falling for a warrior was never on Odran's agenda, but sparks fly between them, as they struggle to resist the promise of a Dark Fire that will consume them.
What to expect: Glorious world building, spicy alien romance, enemies to lovers, enthusiastic consent. Recommended 18+ due to sexual content.
Zera has spent her life suppressing her nature. As a born Warrior on a planet of empaths, she has held her inner fire under ruthless iron control. When she accepts an assignment to the newly established Colony 29, she relishes the opportunity to finally be valued for her warrior skills.
Odran is a skilled scientist on a planet of warriors. Colony 29 offers a chance at a different life, an opportunity to pursue his research away from the endless mercenary wars of his people.
When Zera is tasked to lead an investigation into newly discovered alien tech that threatens the survival of the fledgling colony, Odran is assigned as her scientific advisor. Falling for a warrior was never on Odran's agenda, but sparks fly between them, as they struggle to resist the promise of a Dark Fire that will consume them.
What to expect: Glorious world building, spicy alien romance, enemies to lovers, enthusiastic consent. Recommended 18+ due to sexual content.
283 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 3, 2022
62 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 23, 2023
The only reason that I ranked down from four for this was personal preference. I didn't really care for the male MC as much as I expected I would. He started out a bit too much the asshole for me and I never warmed up to him much, but I'm a hard sell on redemption.
Still a really good story that advanced the long arc. These are linked in that there is a long story arc, but each book features one couple like you expect from a romance series. The long arcs are every bit as good as the relationship stuff, and this author does a wonderful job of balancing the relationship drama with the overall story. In fairness, I prefer the overall stories to the romances, with just a touch of heat but not enough to bore me into flipping through it, so this sort of romance is right up my alley.
Still a really good story that advanced the long arc. These are linked in that there is a long story arc, but each book features one couple like you expect from a romance series. The long arcs are every bit as good as the relationship stuff, and this author does a wonderful job of balancing the relationship drama with the overall story. In fairness, I prefer the overall stories to the romances, with just a touch of heat but not enough to bore me into flipping through it, so this sort of romance is right up my alley.
June 6, 2022
Great sci fi romanric adventure
The worldbuilding is excellent, the human template and non-human sapient characters are well-written, and the story is more important than the sex. This book definitely had some surprising plot twists. The ending felt abrupt, but that may have been because I wanted more adventures with Zera's new friend and Casti.
The worldbuilding is excellent, the human template and non-human sapient characters are well-written, and the story is more important than the sex. This book definitely had some surprising plot twists. The ending felt abrupt, but that may have been because I wanted more adventures with Zera's new friend and Casti.
June 12, 2022
When given the opportunity to review the second book in the series before its publication, I decided to read Heart Fire first. I must admit that it made a great impression on me. Dark Fire begins about a month after Odran's accident. The healer slowly recovers, but it is frustrating to him because he sees his weakness in his health limitations. In his culture, Verit males either recover quickly or die. Therefore, convalescence is a completely new territory for him. To improve his condition, Denara offered him martial arts training as rehabilitation. This is how Odran meets the great warrior Zera.
In the previous book, the healer was portrayed as a type of charming, slightly annoying little brother. This time we find out that he is not what he seemed at first glance. The creation of this character is very complex. Nobody really knows him - not even Lucius. To these layers of personality were also added dramatic experiences related to the accident. Zera, on the other hand, is a very strong character. She is not a strong empath, but perfectly uses her skills as a fighter. In the colony, she is valued for her abilities. Many males look at her with respect. However, getting to know any of them is a challenge because of their pathological, careful respect for females. She secretly dreams of finding a similar love that Lucius and Denara have.
The clash of the personalities of Odran and Zera is a real masterpiece. This time we do not have a slow adoration of the opposite sex, but we get a real whirlwind of emotions. Their characters are superbly crafted, which allows us to relive the story with them.
I must admit that from the very first book I have been fascinated by the world that the author has created. Colony 29 is not only a clash of two cultures, but also a world full of deception, intrigue and a struggle for power. The book is full of action. Once again, we can be a witness to how unfair and objectively Verit males are treated by Maman. Reading the book, I wanted to kill Frei myself in order to free the warriors from her tyranny. This reading is not only a romance, but a complex story about the struggle for love and being with those we want.
As for the author's debut, I can only say one thing: bravo !! I am looking forward to the next part of the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
In the previous book, the healer was portrayed as a type of charming, slightly annoying little brother. This time we find out that he is not what he seemed at first glance. The creation of this character is very complex. Nobody really knows him - not even Lucius. To these layers of personality were also added dramatic experiences related to the accident. Zera, on the other hand, is a very strong character. She is not a strong empath, but perfectly uses her skills as a fighter. In the colony, she is valued for her abilities. Many males look at her with respect. However, getting to know any of them is a challenge because of their pathological, careful respect for females. She secretly dreams of finding a similar love that Lucius and Denara have.
The clash of the personalities of Odran and Zera is a real masterpiece. This time we do not have a slow adoration of the opposite sex, but we get a real whirlwind of emotions. Their characters are superbly crafted, which allows us to relive the story with them.
I must admit that from the very first book I have been fascinated by the world that the author has created. Colony 29 is not only a clash of two cultures, but also a world full of deception, intrigue and a struggle for power. The book is full of action. Once again, we can be a witness to how unfair and objectively Verit males are treated by Maman. Reading the book, I wanted to kill Frei myself in order to free the warriors from her tyranny. This reading is not only a romance, but a complex story about the struggle for love and being with those we want.
As for the author's debut, I can only say one thing: bravo !! I am looking forward to the next part of the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 10, 2022
This is a really enjoyable sci-fi romance. Its a slow burn and I would recommend reading it in a short burst for maximum enjoyment. It did feel overly long for the narrative but that does give you time to really get to know and care for the characters. There is some action in the middle that sets up a plot point that annoyingly gets forgotten by the end.
It took me a while to understand the alien cultural naming conventions, got it down a couple of chapters from the end, so I guess that will help for the next book, lol. Also, maybe this is established in the first book (that I haven't read) but the who, what, why of each species is confusing and again took nearly the whole book for me to even kind of understand. They are never really described in full detail to me, a human looking at this world from the outside so I wasn't sure what I should be picturing, like Odran is described by Zera as Kat like ("bad kitty!" and claws etc), but the cover of the first book that pictures the same species looks pretty human, and they are referred as human template species, so I have no idea.
The heart of this book is the romance, and as slow burns go, its pretty great. They are Likable characters and they have this on and off, back and forth throughout the story and because we spend a good chunk of time getting to know them, it hits all the harder. Great flirtatious banter and some sexy, steamy scenes seals the deal.
Its closer to hard sci-fi than the "captured by the alien" subgenre but overall a solid Sci-fi romance that felt a little over long and needed some universe onboarding, but otherwise a recommend if you are a fan of this genre.
Review copy provided by the publisher
It took me a while to understand the alien cultural naming conventions, got it down a couple of chapters from the end, so I guess that will help for the next book, lol. Also, maybe this is established in the first book (that I haven't read) but the who, what, why of each species is confusing and again took nearly the whole book for me to even kind of understand. They are never really described in full detail to me, a human looking at this world from the outside so I wasn't sure what I should be picturing, like Odran is described by Zera as Kat like ("bad kitty!" and claws etc), but the cover of the first book that pictures the same species looks pretty human, and they are referred as human template species, so I have no idea.
The heart of this book is the romance, and as slow burns go, its pretty great. They are Likable characters and they have this on and off, back and forth throughout the story and because we spend a good chunk of time getting to know them, it hits all the harder. Great flirtatious banter and some sexy, steamy scenes seals the deal.
Its closer to hard sci-fi than the "captured by the alien" subgenre but overall a solid Sci-fi romance that felt a little over long and needed some universe onboarding, but otherwise a recommend if you are a fan of this genre.
Review copy provided by the publisher
June 25, 2022
New Opportunities . . .
Two planets are trying to solve their issues and start a new colony with mates coming from each of the planets. Falosia has an excess of females. Their females are considered gentle and weak, although Zera is actually a warrior. Verit has a large number of males who have been controlled by overbearing and cruel females, so many of them are not happy with the situation. With each planet offering their best people, they hope the new colony will form and be the salvation for both worlds.
Zera has been forced to suppress her warrior nature, tightly controlling her fierce inner fire. Assigned to the new Colony 29, she can at last show her considerable warrior skills. Odran is a scientist from a planet full of warriors. So Colony 29 will let him instead pursue his research, isolated from the endless wars.
With Zera assigned to look into the new alien tech threatening the new colony, Odran becomes her scientific advisor. Odran is immediately attracted to her. Does she feel the same? Or will her duties prevent her from giving love a chance?
Two planets are trying to solve their issues and start a new colony with mates coming from each of the planets. Falosia has an excess of females. Their females are considered gentle and weak, although Zera is actually a warrior. Verit has a large number of males who have been controlled by overbearing and cruel females, so many of them are not happy with the situation. With each planet offering their best people, they hope the new colony will form and be the salvation for both worlds.
Zera has been forced to suppress her warrior nature, tightly controlling her fierce inner fire. Assigned to the new Colony 29, she can at last show her considerable warrior skills. Odran is a scientist from a planet full of warriors. So Colony 29 will let him instead pursue his research, isolated from the endless wars.
With Zera assigned to look into the new alien tech threatening the new colony, Odran becomes her scientific advisor. Odran is immediately attracted to her. Does she feel the same? Or will her duties prevent her from giving love a chance?
July 5, 2022
This sci-fi romance was a lovely space opera adventure. I really enjoyed the action, danger, and sky high stakes throughout that made the pacing really quick and made me finish the book in one sitting. The political machinations were exciting. The characterization of the hero and heroine were both deft and nuanced. The development of the romantic relationship between these two protagonists was more center stage and better developed than the romantic relationship in the first book in this series, so there has been some much needed improvement there to make this second book in the series much more satisfying than the first in that respect. I highly recommend this novel, and eagerly look forward to reading the next book in this series when it releases.
I received a free copy of this book, and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book, and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 25, 2023
Thankfully, not as much head hopping as in the first book. Odran seemed to have had a personality change, the author tried to explain it as no one really knew him (yeah, no).
I wouldn't call these books anywhere close to Ilona Andrews levels, and they aren't exactly steamy in my opinion either, but I like the story arch and world building a lot, the romance is pretty nice too.
Worth a read? Yes.
Ilona Andrews level? No.
I wouldn't call these books anywhere close to Ilona Andrews levels, and they aren't exactly steamy in my opinion either, but I like the story arch and world building a lot, the romance is pretty nice too.
Worth a read? Yes.
Ilona Andrews level? No.
June 6, 2022
Another great read by this author
After reading this author's debut novel, I couldn't wait to read Dark Fire, the second in her series. Dark Fire definitely lived up to the inherent promise of the first book. You will love Odran and Zera. The challenges they face will have you in fits of anger and tears. I can't wait for Wild Fire.
After reading this author's debut novel, I couldn't wait to read Dark Fire, the second in her series. Dark Fire definitely lived up to the inherent promise of the first book. You will love Odran and Zera. The challenges they face will have you in fits of anger and tears. I can't wait for Wild Fire.
October 20, 2023
Matriarchal societies can be just as horrifying and restrictive as patriarchal societies. How can you profess to love someone and yet deny them free will?
These settlers are trying to build a new society and are discovering that mutual respect might be the most hard won and valuable resource their new planet has to offer.
These settlers are trying to build a new society and are discovering that mutual respect might be the most hard won and valuable resource their new planet has to offer.
October 6, 2022
I'm loving this series
The story is great. The world MS Mackie has created is well planned & truly interesting. The development of this colony is enticing as the romance. There is politics, intrigue, villains & steamy love scenes. I love everything about this series.
The story is great. The world MS Mackie has created is well planned & truly interesting. The development of this colony is enticing as the romance. There is politics, intrigue, villains & steamy love scenes. I love everything about this series.
October 24, 2022
Dark Fire
Loving this series. The second book in the series and prior warning you need tissues for this one and a sharp knife to stab that Maman bitch...ooh I hope she gets her comeuppance or changes her ways .
Loving this series. The second book in the series and prior warning you need tissues for this one and a sharp knife to stab that Maman bitch...ooh I hope she gets her comeuppance or changes her ways .
June 25, 2022
3.5⭐️
October 6, 2022
Entranced
Started book one couldn't put it down, immediately went to book two and was not disappointed. Waiting for book three.
Started book one couldn't put it down, immediately went to book two and was not disappointed. Waiting for book three.
March 3, 2024
Good one, I love the colony stuff, chill yet exciting, convincing, feels like it really could be.
August 26, 2024
This second book is just as interesting as the first one. I can’t wait to get my hands on another one.
April 14, 2024
I loved this book. It's deep, emotional, and nail-bitingly good. Really recommend reading this!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews