Rating:  2.75 stars out of 5

The Intergalactic Star Pilot Academy has accepted Thierry Leroux into the elite class of sky year 2231. But the academy comes with a hefty price tag, and there’s no way he, a poor Sythe orphan, has the credits the academy requires. Thierry’s brother, Corbin, a high-class companion, suggests Thierry sell his virginity for the cost of tuition. It seems like a ridiculous idea, but it may be Thierry’s only shot, so Thierry asks Corbin to arrange a meeting on the pleasure planet of Wish.

On Wish, Thierry meets Corbin’s boss, Monroe, and they agree to auction off Thierry’s virginity. Thierry is grateful to the masked buyer he knows only as “Dragonfly,” and Dragonfly is gentle, making Thierry’s first time a good memory. When Dragonfly requests to see him again, and pay for the pleasure, Thierry returns to Wish. But in this game, falling in love is dangerous for the heart, and Thierry might not like the man behind the mask.

My first read by this author. I love sci-fi and space opera type stories, so this seemed like it would be right up my alley. The set up of the story was interesting and the world building was intriguing enough that I would be willing to read more set in this universe. Although I would most certainly have enjoyed more description of the races and their differences as they all came across as basically human for me as anatomy and looks seemed pretty much the same except for a few mentions of skin color differences.

Although I was fairly sure who Dragonfly was right from the beginning, the set up had me intrigued. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect to either of the main characters or even really like them.

They guys kept saying they loved each other, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I couldn’t see a reason for Thierry’s nearly instant love for Dragonfly other than perhaps gratitude and infatuation with someone who’d made his first sex good. But that brings me to another issue I had with the story, which was that the sexy bits just didn’t feel hot to me, in fact, all the sex scenes, even the first after the bidding which was rather a key element of the story, just seemed rushed and flat. Thierry and Corbin as Synths, a species that is supposed to be super sensual and sensitive and reactive, and yet that didn’t come across for me during the actual sex scenes.

It bugged me that Thierry’s went against their agreement and ripped Dragonfly’s mask off, it seemed a betrayal. Then it bugged me even more the way he reacted when he discovered who Dragonfly was–I just didn’t like Thierry at all after than. Nor did I enjoy  all the back and forth once the identity came out. It got quite annoying for me. Finally, the ending didn’t sit well with me, especially after such an extended period of separation and with no period of re-acquaintance—it just didn’t feel real for me.

However, I enjoyed Thierry’s brother Corbin’s character, his view on his job and satisfaction with his life as well as the way he cared for his brother and supported him. Considering that book two is based around him, I would be interested to give that one a try.

The narration was just okay for me. I enjoyed the reader’s voice in that it was nice to listen to, but the emotion felt flat to me quite often and the voices were not distinctly individual as with some audios that I’ve listened to recently.

Very interesting and unique cover that drew my eyes and made me want to read the story.

Sales Links:  Dreamspinner Press | iTunes | Audible | Amazon

Book Details:  

Cover Artist Caitlin Ricci
Narrator Jean Samson
Length 5 hours and 11 minutes
Categories
AudiobooksCaitlin RicciA Planet Called Wish by Caitlin Ricci