Category: Science Fiction

Review:  Star Power: Ellis McFadden Mysteries #2 by Kristen Painter

Rating:  4.5⭐️

Ellis McFadden and her mech boyfriend Frank Kitson are back, along with their android companion animals Gracie the parrot and Henry the cat, trying to investigate both a theft and murders on The Athos. 

Painter’s world, The Athos, gets further exploration as each investigation takes the couple to different parts of the space liner, new restaurants, food, technology, and parts of space that the cruiser is passing through. 

That its mission includes political ones as well as scientific discoveries makes the storylines exciting and more intriguing, especially when it’s a librarian and mechanic genius doing their research and interviews.

I’m invested in this space-bound small world and all the fascinating aspects of life aboard as well as this amazing couple who are finally finding affection and companionship together in this new adventure together. 

Highly recommended for the imaginative world building, layered characters, and great storylines.

And extra kudos for having main characters in their sixties, on new adventures, new relationships, and in such inspiring roles.

I’d really love to know how many books the author has planned for the series. According to the characters, people now live comfortably past 120 years old. 

Cover design: Cover design and composite cover art by Janet Holmes

Ellis McFadden Mysteries :

  • Breathing Space #1
  • Star Power #2
  • Future Tense #3 – May 31,2025

Buy link

        Star Power: Ellis McFadden Mysteries

    

Blurb 

Step into the enigmatic world of the Athos—a vessel that blends the luxury of a cruise ship, the intrigue of a scientific research station, and the might of a military starship. Here, amidst the stars, you’ll find Ellis McFadden, the ship’s head librarian, embarking on adventures she never anticipated this late in her career.

The latest adventure sees the ship approaching a mesmerizing nebula, the centerpiece of a grand gala. It’ll be an evening filled with the galaxy’s elite, all gathered to marvel at this cosmic wonder and the legendary gem rumored to be born from its very core.

But when this priceless jewel vanishes, Ellis, along with her dashing new boyfriend, Frank, and her charming android cat, has no choice but to find the gem. Failure could mean an interstellar incident, resulting in Ellis, and her daughter, the Vice Admiral, being ousted from their celestial home. Can they solve the mystery in time to save their place among the stars?

  • Publication date: March 31, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 288 pages

Review:  Breathing Space: Ellis McFadden Mysteries by Kristen Painter

Rating:  4.5⭐️

Outer space is the last thing I think of when the words cozy murder mystery appear, but they absolutely work in the marvelous new discovery of mine, Breathing Space: Ellis McFadden Mysteries by Kristen Painter. 

I’ve run across quite a few writers who are confused about what this term , cozy mystery, actually means and what elements a terrific novel that is termed a cozy should contain.

Breathing Space has all that! A small town community where everyone knows what’s happening, people are nosy if not downright gossipy. A community hall space where information is readily shared, in this case both a lunch hall and chat room. And a murder where the police don’t seem interested in solving the crime. 

Except instead of a tiny New England village or English town, the location is the Athos, the premiere vessel in the Federation of Allied Nations fleet. Part cruiser, part research, part military vessel and the current home to Ellis Scheherazade McFadden, Els, head librarian of the Athos. 

Think of every fabulous older crime solving woman you love and know that Ellis is someone who is going to be the next woman added to the list. 

She’s widowed, in her 60’s, fit, and followed her daughter, the Vice Admiral of the Fleet into space, wanting a new adventure after retirement. 

Here’s a character, community, and book that had me immediately when mentioning hot flashes and cryostasis in the same sentence. Usually not two associated things I’ve come across when reading or watching science fiction.

The Athos is very much a small town, in her friends, the cliques, the quick pace of information traveling around the ship. Cozy murder works well with the concept.

There’s even adorable animals, especially the cat named Henry, even if they are androids. 

The murder is a great one, the investigation by Ellis and  friends fascinating. And the foods, and explanations are perfect. 

I can’t wait for more of this imaginative series and great new character. 

Series and characters like Ellis get me excited and hooked on further exploring more new to me authors just like Kristen Painter!

Highly recommended! More of this age group please in the main characters. 

Cover design: Cover design and composite cover art by Janet Holmes

Ellis McFadden Mysteries :

Breathing Space #1

Star Power #2

Future Tense #3

Buy link

        Breathing Space: Ellis McFadden Mysteries

    

Blurb 

Step into the enigmatic world of the Athos—a vessel that blends the luxury of a cruise ship, the intrigue of a scientific research station, and the might of a military starship. Here, amidst the stars, you’ll find Ellis McFadden, the ship’s head librarian, embarking on adventures she never anticipated this late in her career.

Even better that she gets to experience it all while in proximity to her daughter, who just happens to be the vice admiral. But life aboard the ship takes a darker turn when a library patron is found dead, and Ellis falls under suspicion.

With her reputation on the line, Ellis must navigate a labyrinth of secrets and lies. Armed with her wits, the loyalty of her eclectic friends, and her trusty android cat, she dives into a mystery that’s as thrilling as the unexplored galaxies around her. Can she find the critical evidence to clear her name before the next jump into the unknown?

  • Publication date: January 31, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 274 pages

Review:  Night Shift Dragons  (DFZ Book 3) by Rachel Aarons

Rating: 4.75⭐️

Rachel Aarons does her complex characters splendid in the finale story, Night Shift Dragons  (DFZ Book 3) by Rachel Aarons. 

One of the most compelling themes in the series has been the father/daughter relationship between Opal Yong-ae and her father, Yong, the Dragon of Korea. 

Btw, that’s them on the cover. Fabulous. 

Once a loving dynamic when she was very young, as she grew up, the relationship became a constant struggle for independence and freedom, to be seen as a individual, not as a Dragon’s gem, literally her name. The narrative, at first sees this dynamic from Opal’s perspective, changing over gradually to that of the ancient dragon’s view of his daughter. 

Night Shift Dragons is all about the young and old growing into their relationships, developing their personalities and abilities in the process.  This is a highly emotional story that still action packed , full of magically imaginative moments. Scary ones. 

 Whether they’re a young powerful shaman like Opal learning to control her abilities, the ancient dragon Yong finally recognizing he’s repeating patterns from his despised father and changing, to astonishingly a young god like DFZ who wants to be a different type of city if her people will let her , this book is full of the storylines and elements that bring us with all of them through their harrowing journey and the wildly different paths each takes to get to the ending. 

I love how maniacal this city feels in its very being. A place Timothy Leary or an acid trip would envision and maybe still not be wild enough. Then make it sentient but dependent upon the will and desire of those in it. Amazing.

All the side characters are equally incredible. Nik , Opal’s mom, White Snake, the Dragon of Detroit. On and on. 

There are parts where it was a bit dense but there’s so much to the city and magical systems that I get it. 

But as someone new to this universe and author, what an amazing world and fantastic series. 

I’m going back to pick up the first series. 

Highly recommended! Love the covers!

Cover Illustration by Tia Rambaran, Cover Design by Rachel Aaron

The DFZ Trilogy (2nd of 3 series)

Minimum Wage Magic 

Part-Time Gods 

Night Shift Dragons 

Buy link

        Night Shift Dragons (DFZ Book 3)

    

Blurb 

They say family always sticks together, but when the whole world—humans, dragons, and gods—wants your dad dead, “filial responsibility” takes on a whole new meaning.

My name is Opal Yong-ae, and I’m in way over my head. I thought getting rid of my dad’s bad luck curse would put things back to normal. Instead, I’m stuck playing caretaker to the Great Dragon of Korea. That wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t such a jerk, or if every dragon on the planet wasn’t out to kill him, or if he were my only problem.

Turns out, things can always get worse in the DFZ. When a rival spirit attacks my god/boss to turn the famously safety-optional city into a literal death arena with Nik as his bloody champion, I’m thrust onto the front lines and way out of my comfort zone. When gods fight, mortals don’t usually survive, but I’m not alone this time. Even proud old dragons can learn new tricks, and with everything I love falling to pieces, the father I’ve always run from might just be the only force in the universe stubborn enough to pull us back together.

The final book in the DFZ trilogy featuring dysfunctional dragon families, magic gone haywire, and a city on the brink of apocalypse. Again.

  • Publisher: Aaron/Bach (May 5, 2020)
  • Publication date: May 5, 2020
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 460 pages

Review:  Cosmic Castaway: A MM Sci-Fi Romance (Cosmic Romance 3) by Mars Quinn

Rating: 4.5🌈

Cosmic Castsway is the third book in Mars Quinn’s Cosmic Romance series about a family of alien brothers and the abducted human beings who end up as their fated mates. 

Quinn’s been able to create very diverse characters and layered backgrounds for each of the novels even within the same framework. Every human, while having been abducted, has had a very unique experience to go along with their story. And each human has their own distinctive traits, some with accompanying disorders or others (Caleb was a ghost then had to deal with body dysfunction), that figured gradually into the narrative. As did the struggles of their alien mate counterparts. 

Bartholomew is among a huge number of humans abducted and sold as slaves by illegal alien marketers. His life as a slave has been one of barely surviving amidst daily violence and terror.  Until he’s seen, and kidnapped by a huge alien who says he’s saving him as he’s carted off world again. 

Serlotminden aka Mindy is the middle brother and the most impulsive of the five. He’s just gone to a shady corner of the universe and spotted humans where they shouldn’t be any.  So he decides to rescue one. 

The result doesn’t go as planned. 

Quinn does a great job in creating multiple worlds, complete with detailed flora and fauna, ferocious ones. A stumbling romance, that has the characters learning about each other’s lives and their own experiences. Which, in Bartholomew’s case, means the trauma of his recent enslavement and the survivors guilt he carries. 

Mindy and Bart’s story is well worth reading.  It’s got an extra twist in it regarding another human slave Bart was living with before Mindy saved/kidnapped him.  

Cosmic Soul is still my favorite but I love seeing how all the couples are doing together and progressing in their lives.  

Highly recommended!

Cover Artist: Etheric Designs

Cosmic Romance:

Cosmic Husband #1

Cosmic Soul #2

Cosmic Castaway #3

Buy Link

        Cosmic Castaway: A MM Sci-Fi Romance (Cosmic Romance 3)

    

Blurb 

If this is a rescue, it sucks.

Bartholomew

After two years of captivity, I’ve been “rescued” by another alien. But the supposed rescue quickly goes south when we crash on an icy planet. Freezing and in a broken shuttle, I have to work with this alien to survive. But as Mindy keeps smiling at me and moving closer and closer, I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t as horrible as I thought.

Serlotminden

My plan to rescue the captive human didn’t quite work, but it’ll be fine. My brothers will find us. Until then, I will protect him. But the longer we spend together, the more I want to touch him and make him laugh. It’s only natural, right? It’s because we’re friends, though why does that thought bother me?

This is a spicy stand-alone MM romance in the Cosmic Romance series. It’s a sci-fi romance on an icy planet with a serious human, an easy-going alien, MCs who save each other, and a happily ever after. This book is for adult audiences only and has explicit content. Content warning inside.

  • Publication date: February 24, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 410 pages

Review:  Rock and a Hard Place: An MM Alien Science Fiction Romance (The Little Ships #2) by J Evermore

Rating: 4🌈

The finale novel to the wonderful Head Above Water, I found I enjoyed reading this but it wasn’t as well rounded a story as its predecessor.  There’s so much that the author was trying to fit into this book and more importantly, more details about alien cultures and their world biology that was unknown to the series, but hugely influential to a major character. 

That’s usually interesting and a great way to explore new facets of a known main character’s storyline. Here it’s Sohven and Jace’s dynamic, not recovered from the past events of their spaceship crash.  That’s the drama Evermore uses to thread the layers of an intense, unsettled romantic inter-species relationship onto that of bringing it to Sohven’s interdicted planet, further stretching its boundaries.

For me, the author turns a predatory Sohven who fled his planet into a completely new character. One who doesn’t fit the same frame as the one we’re familiar with.  From over protective to removing himself from the protective nature he’s exhibited , and both lacking communication in the relationship. 

Jace, who’s apart from Sohven for much of the book, is taking part of trails, is still his own man. The most interesting part of the story, along with several side characters, like Vovu. 

That ending was climactic and everything I’d expect from the author and series. However, there’s Vovu and they ended up as a dangling storyline I’d have loved to see resolved here or in a side story. They deserve it. 

I expect Little Ships is a two book series and I loved the first novel better than its finale. However, it’s great to see a HFN in any series, and Sohven and Jace certainly got theirs. A definite win. 

Great cover again 

The Little Ships (2 books):

Head Above Water #1

Rock and a Hard Place #2

Buy link 

        Rock and a Hard Place: An MM Alien Science Fiction Romance (The Little Ships)

    

Blurb

Surviving a crash landing on an uncharted planet was supposed to be the hard part.
No one told me the real challenge would be the aftermath.

I have most of my memories back, I’m about to start my first mission since Sohven and I were rescued from Sannaveh-8B, and my crewmates aren’t half bad. Nothing to complain about, right?

Too bad nothing good ever comes easy. Since we’ve returned to our ship, Sohven’s been overprotective, paranoid, and on edge. No matter how well I carry out my duties, he just can’t seem to trust me to take care of myself, and I’m getting tired of being treated like a freak blow to the head means I’m incompetent.

Sohven’s solution seems simple. He wants to double-down on our commitment and make things permanent. He wants us to become mates—officially. That means a trip back to Lohnyal, a closed planet with a culture few outsiders ever experience. The trouble is, seven years is a long absence—long enough to leave Sohven on the outside looking in, too.

We do our best to respect his family and follow their customs, but when we land in his eyrie, we’re stepping into more than a straightforward mating ceremony. When Sohven’s family gets him back, they don’t want to let him go. It’s going to take all of my ingenuity to make sure we find a way off his planet. This time, he’s the one who needs to be rescued, and I intend to deliver.

Rock and a Hard Place is meant to be read after Head Above Water, the first book in Jace and Sohven’s story

  • Publication date: May 28, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 292 pages

Review: The Sheriff of Shard Hills: An M/M Alien-Human Sci-Fi Romance by Jenn Burke 

Rating: 4.5🌈

Jenn Burke is an auto read/buy author for me so I needed to read this novella I hadn’t gotten to before.  

Varuna Das, half human half Dimeti, and  Major Kerrick StarCourser, human UTS officer, have had an ongoing relationship whenever Kerrick’s path leads him back to Varuna’s space station. Now Varuna is transferring off, ready for a new life and a new job planet side as Sheriff of Shard Hills. 

Surprisingly, a bruised Kerrick arrives from his last mission just as Varuna is shipping out, and somehow a companion is acquired.

Kerrick is seen through Varuna’s eyes, famous soldier for his war exploits, fabulous makeup and popularity. Yet he’s a layered figure with his own personality and surprises.

Varuna or Run as Kerrick refers to him, has had a tough life, rising up to the stage he’s in now. Half the species the humans have been warring, a lifetime of racism and hate on his path. 

There’s a terrific town and population, great Sheriff’s Office and its staff, as well as a dramatic storyline with a surprising twist or two.

This is one of those books that I wished would have been longer or had a sequel to. I found everything about this engaging and fascinating.

Highly recommended.

Buy link 

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Sheriff…The Sheriff of Shard Hills: An M/M Alien-Human Sci-Fi Romance

Blurb 

Space station cop Varuna Das is different. He’s half-human, half-dimeti, and the mix of DNA has had some interesting consequences…like a tail he does his best to keep hidden. Well into middle age, he’s used to being treated badly because of his looks, and as much as he hates it, he understands it. Humans and dimeti just finished a twenty-year war, after all.

What he doesn’t understand is why Major Kerrick StarCourser, a young, beautiful war hero, keeps coming back to him for no-strings sexy fun. Or why Kerrick’s suddenly shown up, bruised and battered, just as Varuna transfers to Shard Hills, a small town on a nearby planet, to take over as sheriff. Kerrick doesn’t show any sign of leaving this time, settling into Varuna’s new home and cooking up a storm. It’s as though he was never a special forces officer.

Confused as he is, Varuna loves having Kerrick there. His life in Shard Hills is shaping up to provide everything he’s ever wanted: a home, a purpose, a family. But when Varuna’s dark past catches up to him, will Kerrick’s heroic integrity let him forgive and forget…and stay?

The Sheriff of Shard Hills is a 30,000 word novella with a middle-aged, half-alien cop who doesn’t see his own value, a young, fem war hero who does, and a happily ever after. Once the shooting stops, of course.

  • Publisher: Jenn Burke (January 31, 2023)
  • Publication date: January 31, 2023
  • Language: English

Review: Head Above Water (The Little Ships Book 1) by J. Evermore 

Rating: 4.5🌈

A science fiction romance novel that’s got the best plot twist and elements that keeps it exciting and filled with suspenseful moments, Head Above Water is the first novel I read by this author and I’m definitely excited about the already published sequel. 

Evermore’s world building is excellent, the way in which the story plot, the characters and the mystery is all set from the beginning is exciting and extremely well executed. 

Told from one man’s point of view, a man who has a head injury that’s caused amnesia, a crashed spaceship, and a alien there with him, one who he has no idea whether that being is friendly or not. From that planet or not. 

From this frightening moment it’s a matter of following him through that world, his thoughts and an evolving relationship with the being he’s paired up with as they tackle this world together.

While the story twist isn’t exactly unexpected, it’s still terrific. And the epilogue does a great turn in taking the reader and tale backwards to how it all started.

Loved this. Recommending it and heading to the sequel.

The Little Ships (2 books):

Head Above Water #1

Rock and a Hard Place #2

Buy link 

        Head Above Water (The Little Ships)

    

Blurb 

No memories.
No rescue.
Just one determined alien.

When I wake up bloody and bruised beneath the lurid glow of emergency lighting, I know I’m in trouble, and that’s before I realize I don’t even remember my name.

I only have a minute to catch my breath before I learn the worst part…I’m not alone.

The monster that overtakes me from the shadows of my crashed spaceship is the stuff of nightmares, and he’s decided he’s going to help me whether I want him to or not.

We’ll need to work together to survive—and hopefully, return home, wherever that may be for both of us. With no common language outside of hand gestures and sketches in the dirt, communicating is a challenge, but the attraction that binds us ignites faster than a forest fire. I may not find my memory in this alien jungle, but I just might discover my heart.

Head Above Water is a slow burn standalone MM (male/male) romance.

  • Publication date: August 15, 2023
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 226 pages

Review:  Phase Shift (Chaos Station Book 5) by Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen 

Rating: 5🌈

Phase Shift brings the epic saga of the crew of the Chaos, specifically that of the damaged super soldier Zander Anatolius and his partner, Felix Ingesson. Felix, former prisoner of war, engineer and co-owner of the Chaos, carries his own trauma from the war inside, mentally and emotionally, and on his body. 

After all Felix and Zander have been through, along with the rest of the crew of the Chaos, it’s far from over as Project Dreamweaver, the failed AEF super soldier experiment that continues to haunt Zan, rises up to threaten them all again. 

Characters Qek, Elias and Ness who are such a fantastic, integral part of this series and as Felix’s found family, are here in their own emotional roles. The Guardians, an enigmatic race that’s a guiding force for the known species introduced here, seem more relatable by the dramatic impact brought on by the circumstances as created by the authors and wrought by the human race’s need for more. 

As we know, the emotional, damaged and highly complex nature of the men involved and the very nature of the themes involved in the series makes finalizing all the threads and storylines a complicated process.

But in this action packed, grab your tissues, heart pounding finale, Burke and Jensen bring their couple and series to a resounding satisfying conclusion.  And then gives the reader a fabulous honeymoon short story to go along with it at the end. 

There’s a few things that I wanted a tiny bit more exploration but this universe is so vast, the potential for more stories so full that it’s never really going to be enough. At least for this reader. 

But for now, I’m happy.  Especially after that gift of a short story where I even got to see my favorite aliens, the Resonance, one more.  

So satisfying and this one is a series and book that’s definitely on my recommendation list.  Happy reading!

Series – read them in the order below:

  • Chaos Station 1
  • Lonely Shore 2
  • Skip Trace 3
  • Inversion Point 4
  • Phase Shift 5 – series finale 

Buy link:

        Phase Shift (Chaos Station Book 5)

    

Blurb 

Zander and Felix’s relationship has always pushed boundaries—personal and professional alike—but their love and commitment is stronger than ever. So strong that Zander’s ready to ask commitment-shy Felix the question of a lifetime when he’s interrupted. The Chaos is being hacked, and crucial, top secret information about the project that created Zander—and his fellow super soldiers—has been leaked.

Neither man could have expected the enormity of what’s discovered at the end of the data trail: an entire colony of super soldiers run by the very doctor who changed Zander’s life forever. And now she needs them both—Zander to train her new crop of soldiers, and Felix’s new crystalline arm to stabilize their body chemistry.

With help from the unlikeliest of allies, Zander, Felix and the Chaos crew must destroy the project and all its ill-gotten information. But when the team is split up and Felix is MIA after a dangerous run, galactic disaster is a very real possibility…and Zander may have missed his chance to ask for forever.

  • Publisher: Ghost Ship Books; 2nd edition (August 27, 2024)
  • Publication date: August 27, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 352 pages

Review:  Inversion Point (Chaos Station Book 4) by Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen 

Rating: 4.5🌈

Inversion Point is the penultimate book In this five story series and it’s one exciting, compelling story, perfect to lead us up to the series finale.

It’s so much more about the men’s lives and their pasts, especially the deep trauma that Felix endured as a stin prisoner of war, one that has left an indelible legacy on him with his physical, mental and emotional scars.  It’s also about Zander new life, his own guilt over Felix and inability to help him heal, and the intergalactic interest his return has brought himself and the crew of the Chaos. 

However the authors, Burke and Jensen, paint on both a broad and intimate narrative canvas. They introduced a mystery species that arrived in the shared space that might upset the tentative peace recently achieved.  That’s a huge storyline that’s got a myriad of other plot lines attached to it, suspenseful ones and some full of action sequences and dramatic moments.

That’s the wider scope of the story. But then again there’s the intense emotional component that’s always been the heart of the series, the relationship between Zander and Felix. Here the stress and tension between them and others is at an all time high.  Old boyfriends reappear in important roles, old enemies also return to make the worst memories of Felix’s life return, and the stress of their relationship with everything that’s happening becomes overwhelming.

It’s a white knuckle story, at every aspect, on every level, featuring every detail and character’s deepest traumas.  

The end is absolutely satisfying.

Still has the irritating Fix, Fixer, Flick. Felix usage for Felix but the rest of the story is stunning. Highly recommended. Now onto the finale!

Series – read them in the order below:

  • Chaos Station 1
  • Lonely Shore 2
  • Skip Trace 3
  • Inversion Point 4
  • Phase Shift 5 – series finale 

Buy link:

        Inversion Point (Chaos Station Book 4)

    

Blurb 

Zander and Felix’s relationship has been to the brink and back: the Human-Stin War, imprisonment and an actual death/resurrection. Zander’s death, to be specific, and the experience has left him…changed. The mysterious race known as the Guardians chose to revive him and appointed him as their emissary. A high honor, but he could do without the group of would-be cultists following him around the galaxy.

When a recently discovered species destroys a stin probe, Zander’s new role soon commands all of his time and focus. The human ambassador—Felix’s ex-lover, much to Zander’s annoyance—pulls them into strategy talks aimed at preserving galactic peace. Soon everyone is relying on Zander’s Guardian tech to telepathically communicate with the strange aliens.

Only Felix seems concerned with the strain piling up on Zander, but he has his own resolve tested when the very stin that imprisoned him show up to a summit. Zander and Felix will both have to find a way to face their doubts and preserve their love—while preventing another galaxy-wide war.

  • Publisher: Ghost Ship Books; 2nd edition (August 13, 2024)
  • Publication date: August 13, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 308 pages

Review:  Skip Trace (Chaos Station Book 3) by Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen 

Rating: 4.5🌈 

Skip Trace had several hurdles to overcome just by being the book that followed Lonely Shore, a novel that was full of huge emotional storylines, momentous moments, and blockbuster payoffs in terms of narrative development and character development.  

Skip Trace picks up after Lonely Shore’s events , which saw the return of Zander Anatolius and the highly emotional reunion that is still unsettled between Zan and Felix. 

Felix/Fix/Flick (this constantly changing name is a frustrating element here) is a man of numerous talents and untold problems. He has never dealt with the time he spent as a POW in a stin prison, the torture he endured and the long term effects that it’s had on him, like his mangled hand. And he hasn’t had time to process emotionally the impact that Zander return, his physical condition and abuse suffered has had on his mental health too.  

The authors do a great job of writing a man who is mentally, physically, and emotionally under siege. The stress is unbearable, he’s not communicating with Zan or Elias or any of his friends/crew of the Chaos and he’s breaking down. 

Zan, who is dealing with his own mental and physical issues, has some of the same challenges in that his own life is far more problematic and complicated. As written, he’s not a type of person who seeks understanding, or in terms of Felix, doesn’t understand the scope of his breakdown because there’s been a severe lack of communication. 

The narrative has this complicated challenging relationship that’s trying to sustain itself amid a tangled galactic conflict between species and the world governing body still trying to hide its experiments on the soldiers.

Skip Trace starts off a with establishing the events of the last book and then dives right into the emotional state of Felix and Zan, and the crew as it tries to accomplish the missions and hold onto both men and their ship.

I enjoy how tough and realistic this story is about the effects of trauma and the need for healing and help. That time isn’t enough to overcome the horrors that war has inflicted upon the world and individual.  Felix the Fixer isn’t fixed. But he realizes that he needs help. And to communicate.

Burke and Jensen don’t forget about the other aspects of their series arc as new characters and development are added to come together in another absolutely satisfying, dramatic climatic ending.  

It’s not perfect. As I mentioned earlier, the ongoing usage of multiple names for the same character is frustrating and often irritating. While I understand that each is chosen to separate a different section of his life and where someone might stand in his life by what they call him, having to deal with a series of names for Felix in just a paragraph is annoying.  It’s book three.  By now this aspect of his story could have been explored and put away. 

Two more books to go and a whole new adventure has just begun. 

Can’t wait and I’m definitely recommending this for all lovers of science fiction adventures and romance. Read them in the order they are written.

Series – read them in the order below:

  • Chaos Station 1
  • Lonely Shore 2
  • Skip Trace 3
  • Inversion Point 4
  • Phase Shift 5 – series finale

Buy link

        Skip Trace (Chaos Station Book 3)

    

Blurb

Zander Anatolius has been revived from the fatal effects of the super-soldier program, but now he has to face his estranged family and tell a story few would believe. With his lover and the crew of the Chaos at his side, Zander returns home to a media frenzy, threats from the military and pressure to join the family business.

Felix Ingesson still struggles with the horror of believing Zander dead. And no matter how strong their emotional connection is, Felix feels out of place in the glittery world of Zander’s rich family. His lover would be better off without a broken, low-class ship’s engineer holding him back.

When the crew receives word that another of Zander’s former teammates needs rescue, Felix travels with the Chaos…setting Zander free. But when Zander is arrested for treason, the men realize they need each other as much as ever—not only to survive, but to make their lives worth living.

  • Publisher: Ghost Ship Books; 2nd edition (July 30, 2024)
  • Publication date: July 30, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 319 pages