Tag Archives: sci-fi romance

Agent I1 Tristan

Book Review: Agent I1: Tristan (The D.I.R.E. Agency #1), by Joni Hahn

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Agent I1

I downloaded Joni Hahn‘s Agent I1: Tristan (The D.I.R.E. Agency #1) from the Amazon free list. At the time of posting, it is still free.

Description from Goodreads:
Credentials:
• Second generation Former Navy SEAL
• DIRE’s top agent
Enhancements:
• Teleportation
• Invisibility

Raised in the art of warfare, Former Navy SEAL, Tristan Jacobs, has always been a force to reckon with. Now that D.I.R.E. has successfully implemented his scientific enhancements, he’s a walking weapon. Unstoppable, as long as he stays focused. No relationships.

When ex-BUD/S teammate, Aidan Monroe, interrupts his long-awaited sabbatical to call in a favor, Tristan reluctantly fills the simple request: take out his sister’s fiancé.

One problem: Rachel Monroe – smokin’ hot, kind-hearted, and in desperate need of a protector. After the best sex of his life, Tristan’s afraid unstoppable is just a memory. Knowing Aidan’s temper, Tristan could be, too.

Rachel Monroe had a plan to help her mother. Her brother ruined everything when his gorgeous, super-agent friend teleported her to some forsaken island – and his bed. She’s drawn to him despite the fact he’s a professional agent, much like the people suspected of killing her father. 

Now, his enemies have come to her small town, looking for vengeance. 

Have they found more than they bargained for? Or, does the past have its own retribution in mind?

Review:
Here’s the perfect way to describe the forgetableness of this book. Last night I finished a book and went to bed, with the intention of reviewing it this morning. This morning, I took my Kindle to the gym and started this book while on the stationary bike. When I got home, I reviewed the book I finished last-night and then sat down to look at my Kindle Collections to pick out what to read next, completely forgetting that I had started and read 30% of this book already. It made that little of an impression. When I finally remembered having already started it, I sat down to finish it up.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not necessarily saying it was a bad book. I’m sure we’ve all read those books that we don’t love, but we don’t hate either. They’re like cotton candy—a shot of sweetness that you can only savour for a moment and then leaves very little memory of itself. Yep, that’s what this book was like. 

Seeing the emotionless Tristan become attached to someone was nice. The fact that Rachel wasn’t a complete pushover was appreciable. Her ultra-protective brother was fun. There were plenty of ‘aww’ moments and the sex was pretty mild. 

However, quite a lot of the plot was just skimmed over or just plain unbelievable. For example, I’m still unsure why Aidan called Tristan to guard Rachel in the first place, other than that he disliked her fiancé. That seems a little extreme. As far as I can tell there was no actual risk to Rachel that Aidan would have been trying to protect her against. 

There is also a lot of history between the older generation of characters that isn’t explored. The science isn’t well explained. And the romance is lightning fast. It isn’t insta-love, but within a matter of a day or so Tristan and Rachel fall madly in love and are willing to essentially throw their established lives away to be together. It too seems a bit extreme. 

For a quick, fluffy read, this is worth picking up. If you’re looking for great literature….um, it probably won’t fit the bill. It does actually end, though. Yes, that’s right, no cliffhanger!

Book Review of Autumn Dawn’s No Words Alone (Sparks, #1)

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No Words Alone

I grabbed Autumn Dawn‘s Science Fiction Romance, No Words Alone, off of the KDP free list.

Description from Goodreads:
As the only woman in a team of marooned explorers, whom do you trust–your friends…or your enemy?

When Xera is stranded on a desert planet with a hostile crew and a cadre of murdering aliens, her friends aren’t who she thinks they are. As the translator, she’s the only one who can forge a truce. As the only woman, she’s the prize they lust for, and when her captain turns on her, she’s going to need the help of her enemies to escape his wrath.

Because on this inhospitable world, the warlike Scorpio were her only chance. Looking into the fiery eyes of their handsome leader, Xera saw a nobility and potency she’d never before encountered–a reaction she knew her fellow humans would despise. A future with Commander Ryven was…something to consider. But first they had to survive.

Review:
For the most part I enjoyed this book. It starts out by introducing us to Xera and her crew mates. They’re in a bit of a tight spot, having crash-landed on a hostile planet with the enemy. It’s tense, but the two groups need each-other to survive. It all felt a little reminiscent of the movie Pitch Black really—the beasts come out at night and all. Shortly thereafter Xera’s thoughts, quite reasonably, turn to her very specific danger as the only woman among a group of unknown, probably dangerous alien males and the definitely not all together trustworthy men of her own crew. Lucky for Xera the enemy captain, Ryven, seems to have a soft spot for women and sees to her safety.

I had a few issues though. I say Xera’s fears were reasonable and they were (almost any woman would recognise them), but part of me had to wonder how likely it would be for a woman to be on the crew in the first place if the risk was so real. There really is something to be said for not PUTTING YOURSELF into dangerous situations. Ryven was wonderful. He was smart, ruthless, kind, and loyal. He seemed to understand human nature enough to recognise the signs of danger in Xera’s crew. The problem was there wasn’t any reason he should understand human nature. He’s a Scorpio and Scorpio men apparently aren’t anything like human men.

I liked this beginning far better than the rest of the book if I’m honest. The beginning is Sci-fi, the rest is predominantly romance. Yes they go out on the occasional space ship and encounter the occasional hostile alien, but it’s mostly about Xera, Ryven and the process of Xera settling into her new life with Ryven. I like a good romance as much as the next person but this one has all the hallmarks of being too positive. Too positive? Yes, too positive. A totally hot, kind, considerate, rich, heir to government falls in love with Xera on sight, then rescues her and takes her home to his wonderful family, who welcome her with open arms. She helps the downtrodden princess, thumbs her nose at local gender expectations without repercussions, and despite being an alien from a trespassing race is accepted by the populace at large. Granted, she wasn’t really given any choice in the matter of marriage, but could it really all of been so painless? She never even bothered to fight it.

The problem with narratives of this sort is that you know in advance that nothing really bad is going to happen. Everything will work out in her favour one way or another, be it realistic or not. That takes a lot of the suspense out of the story. I also was extremely saddened to think that even after humanity colonises the stars basic patriarchal attitudes towards women and sexual virtue would still hold such a strangle hold on Xera.

Having made my complaints I have to reiterate that I did enjoy the read. I liked almost all of the Scorpio men. Xera was easy to relate to, and the book was well written, without too many editorial mishaps. If I see the sequel on the free list I’ll definitely grab them.

The Demon of Synar

Book Review of The Demon of Synar, by Donna McDonald

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I grabbed Donna McDonald‘s The Demon Of Synar from the KDP free list.

Too long description from Amazon:
Being captain of his own rescue ship is the kind of life Captain Liam Synar always dreamed of living. Being a master of his family’s hereditary demon was never in his plans because his brother had been trained for the purpose. Yet what choice did his father have when Conor’s evil came to light? Reluctant or not, Liam is the only Synar left to rule Malachi. Now his exiled brother hunts him to capture the demon while Liam stays on the run and saves Peace Alliance ambassadors in his spare time. As if that isn’t enough trouble to handle, his mate, Ambassador Ania Looren, now unknowingly hosts his family’s demon inside her body. Liam sent Malachi into her to save her life after Conor’s men almost killed her. And though Liam hadn’t wanted to, there had been no choice but to abandon her two years ago. His plan of keeping both her and the demon safe from Conor had worked, but his success at hiding what he’d done has finally reached an end. His next rescue has to be his estranged mate before Conor finally figures out the truth.

After accepting only one mate in her long life, Ambassador Ania Looren is now wishing the number had remained at zero forever. Mating Captain Liam Synar is turning out to be the worst mistake she ever made. Something happened after Liam abandoned her, something more than just the pain of losing her chosen male from her life. Something about his absence has stripped away the peaceful enlightenment she struggled years to achieve. Now she can’t meditate, can’t pray, and her compassion for other creatures seems to be dying. She is becoming again the kind of person she’s spent her existence trying not to be. On top of that, she’s been accused of murdering three males who attacked her and her family. She doesn’t even remember what happened that day. Now Liam is back and demanding she go with him to his ship. What choice does she have? Ania reluctantly agrees because it’s a better fate than being arrested and put through social reconditioning on her planet. The half life she’s been living for two years is no more worth keeping than her mating commitment to a male who obviously hadn’t wanted her after all.

Review:
The Demon of Synar is not what I expected at all. From the synopsis, I thought it would be a paranormal romance of sorts (albeit set in space), maybe even an M/M romance since Malachi is obviously male. It is neither of these things. I suspect there will be more romance in future books, but there is almost none in this one. Despite that, I really like the story, the characters, and their special differences. It’s fast-paced and engrossing.

What I didn’t like is that the book is the first in a series, but at 125 pages it barely scratches the surface. With multiple planets, species with different abilities, and then all of the personal drama that makes up the plot it is far from complete. Even skipping two very important years in the beginning the book still ends with what is essentially the beginning of the story. You meet the characters, become familiar with the environment, and come to terms with the challenge…and then it ends…on a solemn declaration of the task at hand no less. As a bait and switch, it’s pretty effective, though. It’s well-written and engaging, so I really want to know what happens. Undoubtedly, I’ll end up buying the second (probably more) in order to satiate the need to see it through and enjoy every word of it. But no matter how much I enjoy the story there is something that rankles me about having to buy two books to read one story.

Addendum: Reviews for the second and third books can be found on Goodreads:

The Demon Master’s Wife
The Siren’s Call