offmyredcarpet's reviews
791 reviews

My favorite of the series. I would say this is more nemesis to lovers than enemies. The author does a fantastic job of highlighting their frustration and disgust with one another. But as their relationship develops their barbs morph into bickering and eventually a flirtatious banter that’s very believable. The pacing was perfect in that regard. 

This installment is the most expansive yet in this series. We get pirates, new aliens, and new destinations added to the fold which includes more world building. Favorite additions were definitely the symbionts and the sentient ships and the collective consciousness between them and their host partner. It was absolutely delightful and I found myself smiling at every scene that included them.

At the center of all of this is a near impossible heist of a bank vault housing a time traveling artifact on a water planet that of course everyone wants and no one should have. The tension was so great my hands were sweating. It was riveting.

My only criticism is that there are some unearned plot points that made it a little too clean and convenient on the surface in a couple instances. A little explanation as to how some of them worked out would have been nice. But it doesn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of it and she’s already baited us with the next installment in the epilogue! 

Much of the focus of this book is introducing us to this new world. The author does a good job of using the characters to do that but it also means the romance ends up being secondary which is unfortunate when it’s a Romance as that should be the focus. Interaction between the MCs is more about the new culture and less about them. There’s precious little relationship development until nearly the end. Around the 70% mark we finally get some vulnerability and growth and they feel less wooden. I was not feeling these two for most of the book but their chemistry did improve significantly the last 30% of the book. 

Truthfully, her books post Horde Kings of Dakkar have been more fantasy forward with a romance sub-plot and that’s disappointing. Because if this is the new direction, I’ll find myself reading less and less of her work.