Category: Science Fiction

Review: It Doesn’t Translate by Ofelia Gränd

Rating: 4.5🌈

Another short fantastical story by the strange, imaginative mind of author Ofelia Grand. It Doesn’t Translate originated as a casual bunch of texts amongst a group of friends/authors who wondered about a wandering (very dead) body that would pop up in various places, no matter the context, universe, or even trope.

Before long a series, the Tattooed Corpse stories, was born.

“Different time, different place, same body” How irresistible.

It Doesn’t Translate by Ofelia Gränd is a LGBTQIA SYFY short story that I desperately want to see a sequel to.

I adored the characters, this weirdly wonderful, and fascinating universe, and the relationships that are forged within a human owned Hamburger joint on a small space station near a ravaged Earth.

There’s human Max Welch, proud owner of on The Lunar Terminal, a small fake city, that was home to the barest of essentials. A barber, a grocery store, a fuel station, bathhouse, healthcare center, and Max’s Hamburger Bar, a small restaurant that served the local and ships that docked.

Quam, a reptoid, is Max’s best friend, bodyguard, side orders cook if needed, and casual guide to the alien world all around him as Max is pretty the only human being outside of Earth, one of the few left.

This story is supposed to be a one of simple short, a kind of quickie tale but it’s not. Grand is far too deeply bent an author, narratively speaking, (and I mean that in the best way possible) for this not to have multiple storylines and just so many different well defined characters that reach out to grab the reader’s attention and imagination.

There is a pirate infestation and alien being trafficking aspect here, one that threatens Max. A fabulous mate match element, not one but potentially several. A dead body (yes that one), and so many more appealing and downright interesting storyline threads that the author has built into this short tale that the mind wants to follow its journey through to the end is woven with endless possibilities.

We want to know what happened to Earth and the rest of the population. Where are those fabulous dairy products coming from? What did happen to that one pirate? Did they help Quam date? I have a page of things I need to know!

I want to send bribes, so many bribes to Grand, to get her to continue this story and characters forward with more adventures.

Is the story perfect? Not exactly.

There’s a tiny quibble. It’s over a typical mindset.

“And I’m not allowed to carry you?” Noir held his arms open.”

Definitely not, I’m not a girl.”

“Girls get carried?” “

“Well, no, but guys definitely don’t.”

It wasn’t that hard to understand, was it?

Noir shrugged.

— It Doesn’t Translate by Ofelia Gränd

I hope to see this gendered type of behavior less and less in the coming years. There’s a sort of a start. But, tbh, does it really matter what the gender in how someone is carrying another? Especially if one is an alien and the other is perceived to be injured? I say let’s leave gender and sex out of this, and let the scene and storyline prompt the action.

It Doesn’t Translate is a fantastic short story, ending far too quickly for me and the characters. Grand is such an inventive writer and the world building is so satisfying that it cries out for more than a single tale.

I’m definitely recommending this book and author. Check them both out.

Tattooed Corpse Stories:

◦ The Worth His Salt (ghost story and lighthouse)

✓ It Doesn’t Translate (syfi universe)

Buy Link:

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Doesnt-…Kindle – It Doesn’t Translate eBook : Gränd, Ofelia

Blurb:

Noir Kioko had only ever seen one human before his undercover work brought him to the diner at the Luna Terminal, and that was at a distance. Humans are rare, most of them disappear without a trace, and he hopes hanging around the restaurant will give him a lead on the smuggling ring he’s investigating. There was no way he could’ve known the human would turn out to be his mate, and no way he can let it show without putting his mate in danger and possibly jeopardising his mission.

Max Welch is the proud owner of the only restaurant within a light year’s distance. He left Earth four years ago to create a better life for himself, but he hadn’t considered the possibility of scary alien pirates making his restaurant their favourite hangout spot. As a measly human there isn’t much he can do about it, but as one of the pirates starts coming by almost every day he has to come up with something before he loses all his customers. That the giant cat man is rather nice to look at changes nothing.

When rumours of another human arriving at the space station start to circulate, Noir’s species trafficking infiltrate and observe only mission may need a revamp. But will Noir be able to protect his mate and another one of his rare species?

• Publisher: JMS Books LLC (March 17, 2021)

• Publication date: March 17, 2021

• Print length: 100 pages

Review: A World Apart: An MM Urban Fantasy Romance (Learning to Breathe Book 2) by Carole Cummings and Andy Gallo

Rating: 5🌈

A World Apart picks up from the events of the last novel, A World Away, the first in Cummings and Gallo’s excellent LGBTQIA syfi series.

Best friends and now lovers, Camilo Almenara and Nathan Duffy have been through unbelievable hardships, family losses ,and challenges, which have included Nathan’s paralysis, then gaining the experimental implants that allowed the military to draft him and Cam. There’s a war going on, mages are real, and Nathan’s talent is so powerful, that along with Cam, the mission to find more talents on parallel worlds is one he’s already been assigned to.

The format the authors use for the story, a countdown of time as the mission draws near, then as it happens, is powerful.

It brings us into the anticipatory phase of the mission and everyone’s mindset as they are getting ready. All the multiple elements that occur, all the various , random stuff that plays into scenes and moments before an unknown mission. The reader is there, intimately inside their minds, with the characters. From friends, family, even if that family be high authority military figures themselves, Cummings and Gallo, makes the reader a part of the action, writing realistic and grounded dialogue that makes a futuristic story and alternate universe feel alive and familiar.

Then comes the mission.

From the highly anticipated to the emotionally charged and powerful, to the suspense sustained scenes as the revelations start to occur, the narrative is superb and the plotting tightly woven together and the depth of details outstanding.

Especially towards the climactic, horrifying scenes near the end.

No spoilers. But honestly, it’s heartbreaking at times. And as much as I wanted the authors to expand on parts of that ending, I’m not sure it wouldn’t have taken away from the emotional impact as it’s already written.

There’s so many questions left unanswered, so many compelling details that was definitely delivered in a short but important way at the end.

I have no idea if this series is over. I’m ok if it is. I’m ok if there’s more to come. Outstanding characters, an ever-expanding universe at war that it’s losing, children as gun fodder, sounds so familiar. Cummings and Gallo’s take on this old refrain is emotional and extremely well written.

I’m highly recommending both books, to be read in the order that they are written.

Learning To Breathe:

✓ A World Away #1

✓ A World Apart #2

Buy Link:

A World Apart: An MM Urban Fantasy Romance (Learning to Breathe Book 2)

Blurb:

There are an infinite number of universes and each has its own story. Not all of them have happy endings.

Two years after he nearly died, Nathan Duffy is living his dream. He and Camilo are finally the ‘them’ Nathan always wanted. But Nathan quickly learns everything comes with a price. The military gave him experimental implants that help him walk again, but he’s drafted and assigned to a dangerous, special ops, off-world unit. He and Camilo are together, but the military assigns Cam to the same dangerous mission. Nathan knows he’d do everything he can to keep Cam safe, even sacrifice himself to save the man he loves.

Two years after he nearly lost the only man he’s ever loved, Camilo Almenara refuses to let anything come between him and Nathan. Not his father, the military, nor Nathan’s irrational belief that only Cam’s life mattered. To ensure the man he loves comes home, Cam makes sure he is assigned to the same off world mission as Nathan. He knows the assignment is dangerous, but he believes they are stronger together than apart.

Misfortune strikes the operation, and two team members are captured. Nathan is forced assumes command and must work a resistance movement he doesn’t fully trust. The plan to rescue their friends hit unexpected resistance and Nathan cuts off communications with everyone in an attempt to save them all. Faced with his worst nightmare come true, Cam races to reach Nathan and convince him not to give up on ‘them.’

A World Apart is the 100K sequel to A World Away. It follows the established couple as they fight to build a life together in a dangerous world. This book includes an alternative universe, the continuation of a romance, and more selflessness as the two best friends struggle to transition from friends to lovers.

• Publication date: December 23, 2023

• Language: English

• Print length: 358 pages

Check Out the latest Tour for The Wasteland Kings by Jaimie N. Schock

The Wasteland Kings - Jaimie N. Schock

Jaimie N. Schock has a new queer sci-fi book (MM romance subplots) book out: The Wasteland Kings. And there’s a giveaway.

Hacker Bast has it all: a cushy condo, a sexy boyfriend, and a place among the wealthy elite. When his past catches up with him, he flees into the dreary and dangerous wastelands between domed cities. There, he meets Delphi, who saves him, and Galeron, who runs a small town. He is anything but safe, however, as robotic “dogs” roam the countryside, looking for people to kill, and humans can be just as deadly.

As Bast settles in to life in the town, he develops a controversial relationship with Galeron. They fall in love, but all is not well in their world. Can the two of them survive and reach the happy ending they long for, or will the wastelands take everything they hold dear?

Warnings: Guns, death, child death, violence, animal death, suicide, drug use, nazis.

Universal Buy Link

Giveaway

Jaimie is giving away a $20 Amazon gift card with this tour:

a Rafflecopter giveawayhttps://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47305/

Excerpt

Breakfast was water. Lunch was water. Dinner was water. By the end of the next day, he had very little left.

He looked for anything that might help him survive. He found paper to start a fire; large decorative stones that he could throw at an animal; an ancient first aid kit featuring gauze, medical glue, tape, and rubbing alcohol; and a shaker filled with salt.

Bast couldn’t believe he’d found so much. He still needed food, however, and his hunger pangs were getting more severe as time went on.

He took an unopened bag of potato chips—not to eat, but to hopefully bring out animals that might be interested in consuming its contents. That night, he dumped the degraded snack into three piles and waited with a rock in hand.

The only thing that showed any interest was a large rat. It looked less than appetizing.

Bast didn’t hesitate. He threw a stone and then jumped on the dazed animal. He smashed its head with a larger rock. Breathing quickly, he sat back and stared at the dead creature.

He wondered if it was safe to eat, even cooked. After all, this animal lived in a polluted world.

First things first, he had to gut it. He’d seen people do it in old survival videos. Taking his small knife, he made an incision along the abdomen and began carefully digging out the digestive system, so as not to break it open. He imagined the bacteria in the stomach and intestines would ruin the meat if it got out. He gagged more than once and tasted bile.

Bast cut off the crushed head and placed the animal in a cigar box. It would last a day or so, he thought. The air was cold, to the point of making him shiver, so it should help preserve the rat.

Now, he really needed to find a way to make fire.

After sleeping for a few hours, he started out as soon as the sun poked through the trees. He wasn’t an expert on survival—not even close. But he knew from movies that there were ways to produce a spark without the use of a lighter or matches.

Near mid-day, he found what he needed:

An old pair of glasses, tucked into the pocket of a person’s naturally mummified corpse.

It was one of several bodies he encountered so far. Bast didn’t want to touch it. The thought of being around a long-dead body made him queasy. The only other times he’d seen a dead body were at funerals and when he killed that police officer. This was different. The body thankfully didn’t smell anymore, but it looked horrific. Drawn lips over skeletal teeth. Missing eyes. Gnarled hands clutching at nothing. If he didn’t need the glasses to survive, he would have stayed far away from the corpse.

He planned to utilize the sun by focusing light onto the paper and hopefully burning it. Bast took the glasses and the rat and found a clearing. He placed the paper and some small sticks on a pile and tried to aim sunlight at it.

At first, it didn’t work. Then, the paper began to smolder. Small amounts of smoke rose up, and he could smell ashes. Bast joyfully added bigger sticks and blew on the fire to encourage it. When the fire grew, he stuck his dead rat on a metal rod and held it over the flames. He couldn’t be happier to eat a day-old polluted rat.

He cooked the animal until it was nearly too tough to eat. Bast pulled off the greasy meat with his fingers and ate it all in little more than a minute. He was still very hungry when he discarded the bones and fur.

Regardless, he felt energized by the small amount of food. And now he knew he could cook something if and when he caught another critter. For the first time, he felt hopeful—and then he ran out of water.

For the next twenty-four hours or so, Bast spent nearly every waking moment looking for more liquids. He would have tried old beverages of almost any kind if it meant he could have his thirst satisfied.

He found nothing. With the empty water jug in hand, he stooped over a stream, wondering if it was worth tempting fate. He could certainly find a pot and boil the water, which would take care of germs, but if it was filled with chemicals, plastics, and man-made contaminants, no amount of boiling would fix that. He knew he was still pretty close to the cities. He knew it could kill him. Sighing, he filled the jug and put it in his bag.

Bast went another full day without drinking anything. It was agony. He found an empty metal bottle and put that in a fire with some of the creek water. By the time it cooled enough to drink, a black slime covered the top of the liquid. He threw it out, preferring to die over drinking something that disgusting.

His limbs stopped working properly. He tripped while walking along uneven asphalt. When he looked down at his bleeding knee, his vision tunneled, and he passed out.

Author Bio

Jaimie N. Schock

Jaimie N. Schock is an author, editor, and journalist with nearly two decades of professional experience. She has been published in newspapers and magazines and has released nine fiction novels.

She is married and living in Northern Virginia. Though she have an extensive career, she is disabled with PTSD and chronic illness. Schock tries to incorporate her life experiences into the fictional pieces she writes while delivering complex and diverse characters. Her pronouns are she/her, and she is proudly a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Author Website: https://www.jaimieschock.com/

Author Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/jai.schock

Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/JaimieNSchock/

Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heroesgetmade/

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18982110.Jaimie_N_Schock

Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jaimie-N.-Schock/author/B07THB22QK

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Review: A World Away (Learning to Breathe #1) by Carole Cummings and Andy Gallo

Rating: 4.5🌈

I was immediately intrigued to hear about a new series being launched by two authors I respected. That’s the marvelous Carole Cummings and Andy Gallo and their Learning to Breathe series.

The series revolves around two young men, who’ve grown up together, in a world at war. I wish the authors would establish more of the current universe structure the characters inhabit but a huge part of the story and future books is parallel worlds, so I’m imagine comparisons will be added continuously, filling in more of this world’s foundational knowledge.

What we do know it’s a total East/West global war and it’s got the potential to annihilate everyone. The West is searching for a new way to get the upper hand in the fight, magical users are the key to the success and there’s a national conscript that tests all the children for their magical potential, read war usage.

Into all this , Cummings and Gallo have created two families and two sons who share several shattering events and one horrific experience.

Nathan Duffy and Cam Almenara have been together since the arcane magic camp Nathan attended , run by Cam’s father, a military man teaching and testing children for their arcane skills. It was a drunk driving accident that cemented their relationship and lives in a certain dynamic until another momentous magical event shatters status quo to change their lives and those around them.

It’s hard to discuss all the details and complex story threads here that Cummings and Gallo weave into their book and relationship. Military secrets, war machine intelligence, science fiction elements, parallel worlds, personal choices, guilt and love. It’s looked at on multiple levels, through varying perspectives. That of father to son, friends to friends, potential lovers to those that are already loved.

It’s done through some great writing, suspense filled scenes, scary scenarios, and some heart wrenching moments. Both Cam and Nathan are especially well defined, and show depth and emotional growth as the story develops. There’s so much past emotion and heartache, along with guilt and unacknowledged love between the two of them that they need to deal with.

While I felt the story had a slow start, it steadily gets stronger, more intense and action oriented as the narrative evolves. By the time we reach the climactic stage point, it’s full blown chaos, and craziness!

I love it.

Now that one element is settled, the authors set the couple and stage for the next adventure in the book to be released. I’m eager to read it.

I’m highly recommending this story. It’s beautifully written, great characters, and a complicated plot will keep you invested from start to finish.

Learning to Breathe:

✓ A World Away #1

◦ A World Apart #2 – Oct 10,2023

Buy Link:

A World Away: An MM Urban Fantasy Romance (Learning to Breathe Book 1)

Description:

Nathan Duffy knows how to keep things locked down so tight even he doesn’t know they’re there. Like his childhood trauma over the near-catastrophe he almost caused when his power manifested. His adolescent resentment over the near fatal injury he still hasn’t really accepted. His futile not-so-platonic love for his best friend Cam. And that one pivotal moment when the love and the power had merged to save Cam from the accident that left Nathan unable to walk. Nathan figures losing the use of his legs was a fair exchange for Cam’s life. He just can’t ever let Cam know why.

For Cam Almenara, life has been an ongoing cycle of questioning reality. What if his mother hadn’t died when he was ten? What if that drunk driver hadn’t almost killed him and Nathan? What if Nathan’s powers hadn’t protected Cam at the cost of Nathan’s ability to walk? What if Nathan had never convinced himself that Cam’s feelings for him are nothing more than attachment and survivor’s guilt? And what if Cam can never convince Nathan otherwise?

When Nathan is suddenly stricken by seizure like nightmares, his power slips its leash—again. Fearful his rogue abilities will hurt—or worse, kill—Cam, Nathan comes to the conclusion that it’s him or Cam. Nathan knows who he’ll choose.

Trouble is, so does Cam. And he’s just as willing as Nathan is to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the best friend he loves… and prove they belong together.

Review: From The Noblest Motives (Varient Configurations Book 2) by Angel Martinez

Rating: 4.75🌈

From The Noblest Motives picks up directly after the events that happened in Rarely Pure and Never Simple, the first in Angel Martinez’s complex and utterly unique series. It’s world is one where , accidentally, a new type of human, a Varient, has been created. Now human Variants, each with their own unique abilities and talents, are multiplying, to the consternation of the normal population who immediately start to fear those they neither know nor understand.

As different governments react in various ways to the Varients in their countries, from protection laws to increasingly authoritarian policies to control the Varients, it’s a increasingly unfriendly, harsh reality for Varients and their allies.

The first book introduces our main complicated characters, the vast organizations and employees they interact with, and those people who are determined to make the Varients suffer and disappear.

Shudder McKenzie, Varient activist , Blaze Emerson, tracker and ex lover of Shudder, and Damien Hazelwood finder of people, are our main focus. Each had intimate moments with each other under extremely intense circumstances but at the end, they went their separate ways.

Now events bring them together again and force them to be honest with each other about their shared feelings.

It’s hard to describe the convoluted storylines and fascinating tormented characters that are at the heart of this story and series. Especially Damien with his abusive past and struggles in the present. Now Shudder is caught up in the government crackdown and conservative hysteria surrounding Variants.

Martinez writes with a gritty realism about Shudder’s experiences as he passes through a mockery of a judicial system and into a nightmare of a prison. His time there will leave him traumatized in a manner that only Damian can best understand.

Standing close is Blaze Emerson, tracker and one man army to loves them both and desires to see them safe despite unknown enemies and a conspiracy that deeply affects everyone and everything around them.

This is one of those stories that you can’t put down. It’s high action, deeply emotional, full of twists and suspense.

And the author ramps up the stakes with every event and new discovery to make the dangers our group is facing feel more real and ever increasingly powerful.

At the end I wanted to reach for the next book, knowing it’s not yet available.

Two books in and I’m addicted. Tightly plotted, beautifully written, with characters so well crafted they are believable and raw with depth and complexity. I’m highly recommending both books but they absolutely must be read in the order they are written.

Varient Configurations series:

✓ Rarely Pure and Never Simple #1

✓ From The Noblest Motives #2

Fantastic covers btw.

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Noblest-…From the Noblest Motives (Variant Configurations Book 2) eBook : Martinez …

Description:

The Fredamine Project was just the beginning. Shadow dealings and conspiracies regarding variants intertwine until Damien and his cohorts can no longer tell who the bad guys are.

Several months have passed since Blaze and the infamous Variant activist Shudder McKenzie helped Damien rescue the captives of the sinister Fredamine Project. Professionally, everything’s great. He’s back to working with Damien again and they have a new lead on the three kids who are still missing. Personally, not so much. Blaze has made his peace with Shudder, though nothing between them has even been easy, but his relationship with Damien has taken several steps back. Blaze no longer has any idea where he stands. Adding to the tense atmosphere are the anti-Variant members of legislature who have been slowly gaining popular approval, and the cryptic messages Damien receives from an unknown source.

Shudder’s back to his old haunts and his old tricks, trying to raise public awareness of imperiled Variant rights—such as the draconic Horace Act that strips due process during Variant trials—and to rescue Variant kids in trouble. His almost mythical luck runs out though when he’s arrested for murder only three days after the passage of the Horace Act and a whirlwind trial and sentencing lands him in the most notorious maximum security facility for Variants—San Judas Tadeo.

With too many conspirators on both sides of the aisle, Damien, Blaze and Shudder no longer know whom to trust. Peeling through the layers of deceit and half-truths puts them on shakier ground with every discovery and in greater danger than ever before.

Variant Configurations takes place in a future Earth where humanity is reclaiming its spot in a gradually healing world. This book contains mentions of past abuse, action-adventure style mayhem, and the sparks of a slow burn, series-spanning relationship.

—-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: Declared (Star Marked Warriors Book 2) by Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes

Rating: 3.25🌈

Declared, second in the Star Marked Warriors series, is better then the first book. While that one had to establish the universe the authors needed for their series, it also included a couple and romance that I found hard to connect with. Plus just some issues with the plot overall.

What I liked here was the gamer/geek in finding himself in Space aspect. Wesley was a gamer/IT geek working on farming games while hoping one day to be able to produce his own. He finds, through his own wishes to be somewhere else, as one of the kidnapees aboard a blue alien ship headed out to the stars!

Does Wes have “Mad electronic skills”? Yes! Do we get to hear Wes say things like “Make it so” on a alien bridge in alien captain chair? Why yes.

Already this book is much more fun. Not believable but a ton more fun.

He also connects with the one blue alien/human hybrid who smiles a lot and well likes his personality too.

Wes and Jax make a great couple. Not sure about the author’s choice of Jax having to proclaim himself the offspring of Zul the Proeliator over and over. Surely a nerd like Wes would have blurted out something like where’s the Temple of Gozer or does that make you the Gatekeeper?

Cause honestly, don’t these authors know about Ghostbusters? SMH

But anyway, there’s a exciting adventure ahead for both. A mission they become embroiled in , as anyone familiar with sci-fi (as Wes himself takes notice) . It’s entertaining and they make a terrific couple.

It ends on a happy note and , while again, still not a believable story, more a comic relief romance in space.

Enjoyable if you take it at that and leave your expectations for anything fresh and exciting at the first page.

Star Marked Warriors:

✓ Captured #1

✓ Declared #2

◦ Submitted #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showDeclared (Star Marked Warriors, #2) by Sam Burns – Goodreads

Synopsis:

An alien warrior, a kidnapped mate, and a traitor waiting to take everything from them both…

Wesley: I’ve always loved space. Give me Star Trek over Lord of the Rings any day. Since I was a kid, all I’ve wanted is to explore the great beyond, to boldly go and all that jazz. And with my feet firmly stuck on Earth, the way I reach for the stars is through developing video games. The biggest issue there? Well, I can’t keep a job beyond one project.

But all that staring at the night sky finally gets me somewhere when a tractor beam drops down from the sky in the Appalachian mountains and drags me up into an incredible spaceship full of big, scary, delicious-looking alien warriors. I’ve always fantasized about seeing the universe, but the reality—a handsy, grinning warrior—is so much more than I bargained for.

Jax: I have a problem—I am the son of Zul the Proeliator, greatest Thorzi warrior, and I have had no chance to honor my legacy on the battlefield. When our people were dying out, they took human mates and produced a generation of hybrid children. But the hybrid sons of the planet Thorzan are protected, privileged, and wasted. All my life, I have been companion and protector to Prince Kaelum instead of a proper warrior.

And now my enemies have come to believe that a younger generation of spoiled hybrids makes Thorzan ripe for invasion. When attack comes, it’s closer to home than expected, and I may be forced to choose between duty and protecting the beautiful man whose bright mind has caught my heart.

By popular cowriting duo Sam Burns & W.M. Fawkes, Declared is an M/M SciFi alien romance with a hybrid warrior trying to prove his worth, a lost human looking for stable ground, and battles that will prove sometimes, the only thing a warrior can do when tested is survive.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Captured (Star Marked Warriors Book 1) by Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes

Rating: 2.75 🌈

I do look forward to new releases from Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes. Usually they are urban fantasy. But Captured is the first novel in their new Star Marked Warriors series and while I wish I could say I was a successful venture into aliens, space , and sci fi , it’s not. For me it registered as disappointing and a bit tired on themes.

While there’s a few elements that are good, and some nice characters, there’s also many overfamiliar features that factor into the novel I recognize. Story aspects I’ve come across multiple times from my years of reading this genre .

Let’s see if you recognize some.

◦ Humans being taken for breeding purposes. Why do aliens want us?

◦ Aliens similar enough to humans so breeding is possible. Does everyone have to be bipedal?

◦ They are blue aliens. Why are there so many blue aliens? Why not tangerine?

◦ Native cat species like giant tigers the size of cars. Very popular! Cats rule apparently.

◦ Tattoos that actually give various powers. That’s a great one and used so many ways.

◦ Poisonous jungle with flesh eating plants that throw out a spear to pull you in and devour you. That’s a favorite of many.

◦ Species that’s one gender. Also common. But here they sacrifice their ability to give birth in order to become strong warriors.

◦ Mages, alien mages. Huh.

◦ Labs, babies in bottles

◦ Warriors tournaments

◦ Instant love

Seriously, I know I missed a few but that’s quite a list. It all seemed so familiar because , even though the characters were new , new names, the plot and foundation felt dated.

Plus the way the aliens whipped in and out of the Earth’s orbit, kidnapping gorgeous people here and there. If they need only genetic material, why not be more specific?

The aliens almost idolize strength and the incredible survival ability above all. They’ve sacrificed for massive warrior body types. So when kidnapping another species for breeding wouldn’t they search out athletic types? Something to improve or at least not “weaken” the species?

But here, like giant blue magpies, they seek beauties! Oh look, shiny pretties! Doesn’t matter if they are tiny or medium sized, or whatever gender.

For a giant blue race that values warriors, strength, and fighting abilities. Anyone see a issue here?

Then it’s the kidnapees! The ones who awake on a ship of aliens, figure out they are all a bit gorgeous and hey, sexual slavery. They naturally panicked. One has a massive crying spell, as you would. But then. People who were only hysterical for a while, after undergoing what realistically could be called a emotionally shattering event, now they are fine. It’s an adventure! Well, after another suspended reality chapters.

Human kidnapped Lucas almost immediately gets into a sexual relationship with Prince Kaelum after only a few sentences about consent and gratification. SMH.

Was I connected in anyway to any of the people/beings here? No. Ok maybe the cats. But really no.

Events go by rather quickly. Things happen that ,especially at the end, make no sense. Then it’s over, but with threatening hints about what’s to come.

But each book is supposedly a standalone with a different couple.

So Lucas and Prince Kaelum get a HFN and the whole situation continues.

I don’t know. It’s a breeze to read . If not taken seriously, somewhat entertaining. But it’s not close to what I expected from any of their other pieces, especially Sam Burns’ fantasy stories. I do keep hoping for something new, exciting when authors decide to go narratively to space and beyond!

That just didn’t happen here.

If you’re a fan of these authors, have some spare time, you decide if this is your wheelhouse.

There’s more to the series:

Star Marked Warriors:

✓ Captured #1

◦ Declared #2

◦ Submitted #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showCaptured (Star Marked Warriors, #1) by Sam Burns | Goodreads

Synopsis:

An alien prince, a threatened throne, and the human mate who can help him save it…

Lucas: Sure, my life isn’t going exactly according to plan—I have a degree that led nowhere, a crappy job as a closing-shift barista, and an ex who has everything I want and got it . . . by dumping my sorry ass—but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to give up on living yet! And holy crap, when I’m plucked off the sidewalk of my rural Colorado town on the very night of my ex’s wedding, I’m pretty damn sure I’m about to lose my life and a whole lot more.

If you’ve never tried flying, I do not recommend the first time be when you’re drunk and alone at two in the morning. But there I was, dumped in a cage on a spacecraft, surrounded by barbarous, giant blue aliens. And the only thing that might keep me safe is there’s one huge, intimidating warrior who can’t keep his eyes off me.

Kaelum: I am the true-born son of the King Xyren the Imperator, but as a Thorzi-human hybrid, my path to the throne of Thorzan is far from clear. My father’s people are enormous and foreboding, their skin is the deep dark of twilight when our planet’s twin stars set. I am not. My enemies think I am small, soft, incapable, and they dog my every step.

If I am to take my rightful place, I must focus on saving my people. But my mother was born on a far-away blue planet called Earth. In my bones, I know the answer to my problems hides out there beyond the stars.

By popular cowriting duo Sam Burns & W.M. Fawkes, Captured is an M/M SciFi alien romance with a warrior prince, a resourceful human at the end of his rope, an intergalactic war that could keep them apart forever, and true love that’s entirely out of this world! This book is first in the Star Marked Warriors series, but each book can be read as standalone. This series does not contain mpreg.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

Review: The Harvest Young: Bound by Fate (The Next Generation Book 1) by M.A. Church

Rating: 3 🌈

It’s been a while since I read M.A. Church’s series , The Harvest Taken (2014), but I do remember liking those stories.

Which I why , aside from the terrific cover , I picked up The Harvest Young: Bound by Fate (The Next Generation Book 1) by M.A. Church.

I’m not sure that I either enjoyed this as much or remembered the other very well. Because I found I had quite a few issues with it.

Most of the universe, various species, political setups, can all be found in the previous series. You need to be familiar with those stories or you’ll be completely lost here.

There’s no attempt to fill in a new reader and frankly, there’s probably no way to convey the complicated backgrounds and histories of all the people and worlds involved.

But my issues started with the characters. The twins, who I met in the other series, are now grown. And one, Szin , is unlike his brother in looks and feels extremely insecure. He’s about to be claimed by his fated mate, who he feels inadequate to. Unlike his brother, Szin looks more like his human father than his Tah’Narian other parent.

That’s the basics. But he’s grown up with and actually loves Takeo, his childhood friend and soon to be mate. Takeo has adored and listened to him all his life. But instead of talking to him about the problems he’s feeling, this character is whining and running.

Honestly, he’s royalty. He’s surrounded by people who listen to him , constantly. Not , imo, the most relatable.

Then there’s the sex scenes. When the couple finally decide to mate, one barely a virgin and one is. It’s instantly a bondage D/s pain scene.

Ok. They’ve barely decided they’re going to be mates but let’s dive right into a D/s relationship?

Yeah that’s believable. Not that they aren’t cute together but can there at least be some semblance of time to make that reasonable?

Then while they are strolling about Takeo’s home world I came across a scene that pulls me out of the story completely.

Here’s the issue.

One thing I’m very disappointed to see in a futuristic story is that continuation of stale non environmental ideals. Here are our main characters on a hot, arid planet with highly specialized flora and fauna that they take note of. But this is what their species built.

“They continued walking but didn’t speak until they reached a several-storied, light-gray-colored building with huge windows. A lush, well-manicured green lawn surrounded it. “This is the Sa-Ka.” “Wow. Of all the things I expected, this beauty in such an arid place wasn’t in it.” “There is a sprinkler system here, that’s why it’s so green. If you like that, you’ll really like this.” Takeo led Szin down a path that led to a garden.”

— The Harvest Young: Bound by Fate (The Next Generation Book 1) by M.A. Church

Green lawns, that need a sprinkler system. I was absolutely cringing. They aren’t even human. But the author’s choices were. Outdated , environmentally destructive even in our times, but now making an appearance in a sci-fy romance novel on a desert planet far in the future.

This is so disheartening. To see water wastage (with burbling fountains) made a thing to be appreciated. American lawns, sprinkler systems. What? No mow patterns?

For me, I look to science fiction for something fresh, and if it’s a repetition of old history, then it’s because there’s a lesson to be learned. Not held up as something wonderful in the future when we should have discarded it as a tired old element that should have been eliminated then because we learned our lesson about water preservation now.

Did I finish the book? Yes. But I was looking at everything differently. How much was outdated in terms of philosophy? I was now second guessing every choice the author was making with the narrative.

So would I recommend this? Honestly I’m not sure. I guess if you’re a fan of the author, or if you want to know where the series characters go next, then sure.

But for everyone else, you can decide for yourself.

There’s other books in this series but I’m stopping here.

https://www.goodreads.com › showBound by Fate – The Harvest Young by M.A. Church | Goodreads

Synopsis:

Half human and half Tah’Narian, Szin doesn’t fit with either race. His appearance is mainly human, but he’s able to have a young. Unfortunately, that’s his only Tah’Narian characteristic. He’s smaller and weaker than other young. Szin’s eighteenth birthday has passed and time’s running out. He has to stop his childhood friend, Takeo, from making the worst mistake of his life: claiming Szin as a mate. Takeo deserves an equal who’s as fierce as he is, something Szin most certainly is not. Since before Takeo was born, he’s known Szin was his. Nothing and no one, not even Szin, is going to stand in the way of claiming his mate. He understands Szin feels he isn’t good enough, and he’ll do anything to convince Szin otherwise. Including taking drastic measures to ensure his mate listens. Takeo is the ultimate blend of human, Tah’Narian, and Onfrevian DNA. He’s pure predator, and his sights are set on his mate.

Review: Rarely Pure and Never Simple (Varient Configurations Book#1) by Angel Martinez

Rating: 5🌈

Angel Martinez is a auto buy for me for a reason and Rarely Pure and Never Simple (Varient Configurations Book#1) is a fantastic example why.

We get a taste of the world the events take place so quickly. So typically Martinez. Breathtakingly simple in her ability to deliver a picture of a world rendered apart, catastrophically environmentally destroyed in the not too past, by some stark concise phrasing.

Same goes for the Varients. Humans , that appeared during the chemical wars, with genetic alterations that allowed each to have specific, if undetermined or not understood talents.

Varients are feared , misunderstood, and of course, used by various governments for their talents. Yes, the Varients vs Real Human movement should strike many nerves. It’s right on point.

This is outside or rather flows around the main plot of variant Damien Hazelwood. He’s a locator, only of humans. Damien’s a very damaged soul. His brutal background is one that will be revealed slowly over the story.

I love Damien. He’s broken, has so many layers, and yet still reaches out, despite himself. What an amazing character.

The other person to accompany him on the mission is another infamous variant. Blaze Emerson, a tracker and a person capable of handling dangerous situations they might come into contact with. Blaze has a reputation that precedes him as a angry personality and someone who’s hard to get along with.

It’s justified. He’s also had a past where he’s been unfairly judged , he’s been left, and hurt. He’s a complicated man. Blaze is so undeniably believable that you feel the anger and mistrust radiating off of him.

Their mission? Find 40 missing varient kids.

It’s a chilling mission made more so by the fact the men need to find a way to at least work together, tolerate each other’s differences, especially when things start to go wrong.

I really don’t want to say too much here. There’s another character that’s intriguing that’s brought into the mix. The dynamics that begin to grow between Blaze and Damien is halting and slow, as it should be due to each man’s tumultuous history and emotional damage.

But that ending. So full of hope. I need that next story. And I need it now. These are compelling people. And Rarely Pure and Never Simple (Varient Configurations Book#1) by Angel Martinez is proving to be one of those quietly moving but addictive starts to a new series I can’t and won’t resist!

So I’m highly recommending it! And anxiously awaiting the next in the series.

Varient Configurations :

🔹Rarely Pure and Never Simple #1

🔹From the Noblest of Motives – fall 2022

https://www.goodreads.com › showRarely Pure and Never Simple by Angel Martinez – Goodreads

Description:

Variant children are vanishing at an alarming rate. It will take a uniquely mismatched pair of trackers to untangle a web of conspiracy and misdirection to find them.

In his isolated cabin, variant Damien Hazelwood avoids human contact as much as possible to prevent attacks of blind berserker panic. But his rare talent as a locator makes him the go-to contractor for tricky missing person’s cases and when agents bring him a troubling contract involving missing variant children, he finds it impossible to refuse.

Licensed tracker Blaze Emerson can’t help being irritated when he’s expected to follow the strange, twitchy locator’s lead on his latest case. He works alone, he’s damn good, and as a variant sparker, he has both the fire and the firepower to take on anything out there. Though he has to admit there’s something intriguing about a man who can find people with his brain.

With vastly different temperaments and backgrounds, Damien and Blaze need to negotiate quickly how to work together if they’re going to crack this case. Add in the sudden appearance of Blaze’s outlaw ex, the perils of tracking in the wilds, and a maddening lack of discernible motive or method, and they soon find themselves in as much danger as the kids they’re trying to rescue.

Variant Configurations takes place in a future Earth where humanity is reclaiming its spot in a gradually healing world. This book contains mentions of past abuse, action-adventure style mayhem, and the beginning sparks of a slow burn, series-spanning relationship.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Gravemound by Kim Fielding

Rating: 5🌈

The blurb doesn’t begin to tell a reader exactly how unusual and amazing a story Gravemound is.

Much like Grimm’s tales but containing far more hope and light at the end then Grimm ever included, this novella takes on such large themes as grief, abandonment, deep loss, alienation, and fear.

And through a gentle, broken man in recovery, we watch as ,one by one , step by hesitant step, Phineas moves through the stages of bereavement and grief, accepting the loss of his beloved husband, and the home world they left behind but meant to return to.

Fielding creates an alien village and culture that slowly welcomes the unassuming Star Demon, we watch as bonds form between villagers and Phineas. And our hearts ache and rejoice as Phineas recovers and finds peace and something more.

Yes, there’s a soul reaper element here , just as unusual and extremely well written as the rest of this incredible tale. The twist when it arises is both unexpected and perfect.

So is the epilogue.

Gravemound is a great example why Kim Fielding is a must read author. Her characters are unusual, feel real, have enormous depth of personality, and frankly always intrigue me.

And her tales? Such plots! I grab them up as soon as she finishes them.

Gravemound ticks all the boxes. I highly recommend it and Fielding.

Grab it up immediately.

An d what a gorgeous cover. Love it.

Synopsis:

Grimm in spaaaaace!

In this retelling of a classic fairy tale, Phineas Coleman is stranded on a planet far from home and must find a way to support himself in this new land. A selfish local man offers to help him with a livelihood if Phin will promise to protect him from a soul-reaper. Three nights alone while watching over a gravemound sounds like a terrifying chore—until Phin receives some unexpected assistance

https://www.goodreads.com › showWeb resultsGravemound by Kim Fielding – Goodreads