Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
The beginning was a bit slow, but When the story picked up it was hard to put it down. I liked the slow build up and that they didn’t instantly fell in bed even if they had that intimate connection.
this was amazing
[b:Dark Space|16174363|Dark Space (Dark Space, #1)|Lisa Henry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1354020610l/16174363._SY75_.jpg|22023544] is the sci-fi romance I never knew I needed in my life. I had it on my kindle for a while now, and I just decieded to pick it up on a whim. And I'm so happy that I did!
Set sometime in the future, space travel technology has advanced like crazy. However, another species, the Faceless, are even more advanced. Brady Garrett is one of countless conscripted. He's stationed on the station Defender Three.
Cameron Rushton was captured by the Faceless four years ago. When he is returned in stasis in a pod made from Faceless technology, Brady is brought along to help get him free. Complications in the opening of the pod lead to Brady and Cameron being connected. Brady acts as a kind of pacemaker for Cameron, with a side-effect of mind-reading.
Reading about these two getting closer while under quarantine (a bit close to home), was so interesting. On one level they are getting to know each other as strangers, but the mind-reading fast tracks their relationship. [a:Lisa Henry|5050492|Lisa Henry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1346826268p2/5050492.jpg] did an amazing job interweaving Brady's and Cameron's emotions, without making it overly complicated.
The worldbuilding was also brilliant. For the most part this is set on a space station, so everything we learn about earth and the Faceless is through a group of people stuck together in close quarters. As well as Brady or Cameron re-living the others past through their emotional memories.
One thing I loved was that when Brady, who had previouly believed he was straight, began developing feelings for Cameron, he didn't fall into a pit of self-hatred. He came to terms with his new feelings rationally. He didn't let the other homophobic recruits influence his feelings for Cameron.
The ending felt a little rushed, and I would have loved a longer page count so it could have been fleshed out more. However, I still loved it and can't wait to see how it continues in [b:Darker Space|20700258|Darker Space (Dark Space, #2)|Lisa Henry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1444376339l/20700258._SY75_.jpg|40019913].
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, War
Minor: Rape
The first, I don’t know, fifty pages are vaguely okay, and then it just turned into insanely weird Stockholm syndrome alien rape flashbacks. I kept hoping it would improve or possibly that I would quit wanting to punch the narrator in the face, but it did not and I did not. I kept thinking that a book with four stars had to have some redeeming qualities. Spoiler: it does not. So much horrifying sexual assault! Literally no plot! Terrible characters! Whatever the opposite of a recommendation is, that is what I give this book.
*** 4.5 Perfectly Synchronized Heartbeats ***
I don't want to go into too much detail in my review (because I think half the allure of this book is discovering this world and these characters for yourself), but I just have to say that this book was frickin' AWESOME!
I thought the whole sci-fi/world-building aspects of this story were extremely well done. Then again, as a newbie to the genre, I can count the number of sci-fi books I’ve read in my lifetime on one hand – my right hand, if I’m being honest. ;)
I also really dug the telepathy angle of the story. Not that I'm above a little bump and grind, but I’ve always found the mental and emotional connections between two main characters WAY sexier than the physical ones, and this book had that in spades. And it was INTENSE. You throw in the fact that Brady’s touch was actually need to keep Cam alive and I was toast. TOAST, I tell you!
That brings me to the Faceless - they were creepy as fuck. Like, right up there with the Dementors from Harry Potter on my metre-o-terror. I was completely terrified of Kai-Ren by the time we got to meet him in the flesh. Or black latex shell. Or whatever the hell it was. And he only got more pee-my-pants-sleep-with-the-lights-on-and-one-eye-open scary from there.
I had only one real criticism of this book: considering how vividly I could hear that clock in the background of the story ticking down to doomsday, I thought that was a teensy bit underwhelming. I think there was an opportunity in that moment to seriously ratchet up the tension in the story, but it was missed/fell a little flat. That said, the next couple of scenes more than made up for it!
Verdict: Dark Space was damn good. So close to a 5-star rating I could practically taste it (and it tasted more like officer's rations and contraband chocolate bars than that crap they serve the enlisted). I think if the sex had been just a little hotter, or if the heartbreaking moments had had me reaching for a box of tissues rather than leaving me with a temporarily quivering lower lip, it would have been a 5-star novel without question. As it is, there is room for improvement. Which is FABULOUS, since I hear through the grapevine that Lisa Henry has Part 2 coming at us in 2014! :D
PS: I gotta say - and I know this is practically blasphemous to say to a website full of readers, but… - I think that Dark Space would make a fucking WICKED movie. Except… Ugh. Hollywood would probably make it a male/female relationship and I’d want to gouge my own eyes out...
I don't want to go into too much detail in my review (because I think half the allure of this book is discovering this world and these characters for yourself), but I just have to say that this book was frickin' AWESOME!
I thought the whole sci-fi/world-building aspects of this story were extremely well done. Then again, as a newbie to the genre, I can count the number of sci-fi books I’ve read in my lifetime on one hand – my right hand, if I’m being honest. ;)
I also really dug the telepathy angle of the story. Not that I'm above a little bump and grind, but I’ve always found the mental and emotional connections between two main characters WAY sexier than the physical ones, and this book had that in spades. And it was INTENSE. You throw in the fact that Brady’s touch was actually need to keep Cam alive and I was toast. TOAST, I tell you!
That brings me to the Faceless - they were creepy as fuck. Like, right up there with the Dementors from Harry Potter on my metre-o-terror. I was completely terrified of Kai-Ren by the time we got to meet him in the flesh. Or black latex shell. Or whatever the hell it was. And he only got more pee-my-pants-sleep-with-the-lights-on-and-one-eye-open scary from there.
I had only one real criticism of this book: considering how vividly I could hear that clock in the background of the story ticking down to doomsday, I thought that
Spoiler
the scene in the Dome with Kai-Ren, Cam, Brady, and the othersVerdict: Dark Space was damn good. So close to a 5-star rating I could practically taste it (and it tasted more like officer's rations and contraband chocolate bars than that crap they serve the enlisted). I think if the sex had been just a little hotter, or if the heartbreaking moments had had me reaching for a box of tissues rather than leaving me with a temporarily quivering lower lip, it would have been a 5-star novel without question. As it is, there is room for improvement. Which is FABULOUS, since I hear through the grapevine that Lisa Henry has Part 2 coming at us in 2014! :D
PS: I gotta say - and I know this is practically blasphemous to say to a website full of readers, but… - I think that Dark Space would make a fucking WICKED movie. Except… Ugh. Hollywood would probably make it a male/female relationship and I’d want to gouge my own eyes out...
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Brady Garrett is a recruit on a space station doing his duty to defend Earth. And he's focused on finishing out his service and getting back home to his family. But when Cameron Rushton, a pilot who was kidnapped by an alien race four years ago, mysteriously returns, Brady finds himself called to the aid of the medical team. When his revival is botched, Brady finds himself tied to Cameron to keep him going.
Space stories are often hit or miss for me, but this one really ended up on the hit side. It was very easy to get immersed into this world and the characterization of and tension between Brady and Cameron was very well done.
Content warning: sexual abuse, dubious consent, rape, stockholm syndrome (this one bothered me a bit, to be honest)
Space stories are often hit or miss for me, but this one really ended up on the hit side. It was very easy to get immersed into this world and the characterization of and tension between Brady and Cameron was very well done.
Content warning: sexual abuse, dubious consent, rape, stockholm syndrome (this one bothered me a bit, to be honest)
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was such a unique read, I really enjoyed it! The writing was great! Wasn’t expecting spice but happy with what was given!
I enjoyed this a great deal! I read the second book, Darker Space, immediately after and liked it even more than the first. I wasn't ready to leave Cam and Brady and I had to find out what happens next. This was my first experience reading M/M romance, and a science fiction to boot, looking for comp titles for my own.
Oh. My. God.
What a hot book.
Read them both.
Oh. My. God.
What a hot book.
Read them both.