Scan barcode
transientmeow's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite pair in the series so far, but this book does a lot of work of setting up some opposing forces and giving the series a new direction to follow. Tasha was billed as a tough, kick-ass enhanced human, but I honestly don't know how much of that SHE actually is, versus what the Praetorian made her. If left on her own I think she'd probably still be protective of friends and family, but a bit more gentle overall. It's also worth noting that she's in withdrawal from a deadly drug for at least 80% of the book, so she's more vulnerable and emotional overall. Lodan seems more cold and stoic in this book than I remember him being in the main series, but that could be my faulty memory. We learn a little bit about his past before being conscripted by the Empire, but we spend far more time in Tasha's head than we do in his.
One thing that did get a little annoying, for me, was the long inner monologues between bits of dialogue. I noticed this when I re-read Decadence just before this, but it seemed far more noticeable in this book. Typically the non-POV character would ask a question, then the POV would spend a page or more thinking about their answer and analyzing their emotions before answering - sometimes this would take long enough that I forgot the question that had been asked!
While Tasha and Lodan won't be making it into my favorite characters list, I'm interested in the next book/novella that's set up in this one. In the previous book Jeral was tasked with escorting the group of Ephranian kidnappers to the dropoff so he could learn who had hired them. That storyline didn't come back in Decadence, but he's back in this book and apparently met a human female on that mission and is now grumpier than ever. Interested to read his story, hopefully sooner rather than later!
One thing that did get a little annoying, for me, was the long inner monologues between bits of dialogue. I noticed this when I re-read Decadence just before this, but it seemed far more noticeable in this book. Typically the non-POV character would ask a question, then the POV would spend a page or more thinking about their answer and analyzing their emotions before answering - sometimes this would take long enough that I forgot the question that had been asked!
While Tasha and Lodan won't be making it into my favorite characters list, I'm interested in the next book/novella that's set up in this one. In the previous book Jeral was tasked with escorting the group of Ephranian kidnappers to the dropoff so he could learn who had hired them. That storyline didn't come back in Decadence, but he's back in this book and apparently met a human female on that mission and is now grumpier than ever. Interested to read his story, hopefully sooner rather than later!
larissa568's review against another edition
4.0
Love Anna!
Anna doesn’t disappoint! I enjoyed reading Lodan’s story. I am looking forward to finding more out about the missing girls.
Anna doesn’t disappoint! I enjoyed reading Lodan’s story. I am looking forward to finding more out about the missing girls.
fairestskyebooks's review
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
j11shadow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
waywardkangaroo's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
raven168's review
3.0
3.5 stars
Well. Color me surprised. With the little bit we got of Tasha in Alexis's book, I did not like her and I was not looking forward to her book. But I actually really rather liked it. Tasha turned out to not be what I expected and was a character that worked for me.
As a child, Tasha was kidnapped and forced to undergo all sorts of terrible experiments and enhancements. She was turned into a killer and forced to become addicted to a powerful drug. But she always did her handler's bidding because they held the lives of her family over her head. That all came to an end when they had the ship that Alexis was on attacked and Tasha learned of her death. Now she's determined to get free of their hold and try to protect her remaining family. Which leads us to where Alexis's book overlaps with this one. Tasha not only unexpectedly comes in contact with the only race that could possibly save her life, but finds out her sister isn't actually dead. It's a lot to take in, but she's had to deal with worse.
Lodan has tagged along with Nythian when Alexis insists on finding her mother and brothers and making sure they're safe. On the ground, he is hit with a scent that immediately catches his attention. So it's not surprising that when he comes face to face with Tasha his mating fever is triggered. The only thing that seemed kind of random with Lodan was this whole thing with the ship. The ship's AI literally becomes jealous of how Lodan treats Tasha and tries to kill her. Now, sure it was interesting, and it was used to explain why Lodan was the best pilot they have, but was it necessary? Also seemingly completely random was the Avian alien's actions. Like, I really didn't see the point of any of it.
At first I wasn't sure how I felt about Tasha's constant need to punch and attack Lodan. As a person with violent tendencies myself (mostly with video games mind you), I even thought it was a bit much. But it did end up with these two coming together in a very believable way given their personalities. In fact, I think Lodan ended up claiming his mate much faster than anyone else because of it.
While the speed at which Tasha ends up trusting Lodan and the other Kordolians is unbelievably fast considering her huge trust issues, I liked her character because she trusted them. I had gone into this expecting her to be some hardass, stuck-up, won't listen to anybody because she has been physically enhanced and knows how to fight so can take of herself kind of character....but she wasn't. And that thrilled me. This drug that she's addicted to slowly degrades her physically and will eventually kill her if she doesn't get another dose. So she knows that she's too weak to do much good and she actually lets people help her and does what is asked of her. Unfortunately, this drug was something that was supposed to have been destroyed and banned because of its devastating effects on Kordolians. How these people on Earth have had it for so long is a mystery. Just another reason for the Kordolians to wipe them out. And oh what bloody fun that was for them.
The ending was good with a very typical Kordolian raid on the compound. Tarak even joined them, which was fun. This book ran pretty perpendicular to the last one, time frame wise, so I don't really think much changed or we learn more about the enemy. I'm sure that's to change pretty quick though with only 2 books left in the series.
Well. Color me surprised. With the little bit we got of Tasha in Alexis's book, I did not like her and I was not looking forward to her book. But I actually really rather liked it. Tasha turned out to not be what I expected and was a character that worked for me.
As a child, Tasha was kidnapped and forced to undergo all sorts of terrible experiments and enhancements. She was turned into a killer and forced to become addicted to a powerful drug. But she always did her handler's bidding because they held the lives of her family over her head. That all came to an end when they had the ship that Alexis was on attacked and Tasha learned of her death. Now she's determined to get free of their hold and try to protect her remaining family. Which leads us to where Alexis's book overlaps with this one. Tasha not only unexpectedly comes in contact with the only race that could possibly save her life, but finds out her sister isn't actually dead. It's a lot to take in, but she's had to deal with worse.
Lodan has tagged along with Nythian when Alexis insists on finding her mother and brothers and making sure they're safe. On the ground, he is hit with a scent that immediately catches his attention. So it's not surprising that when he comes face to face with Tasha his mating fever is triggered. The only thing that seemed kind of random with Lodan was this whole thing with the ship. The ship's AI literally becomes jealous of how Lodan treats Tasha and tries to kill her. Now, sure it was interesting, and it was used to explain why Lodan was the best pilot they have, but was it necessary? Also seemingly completely random was the Avian alien's actions. Like, I really didn't see the point of any of it.
At first I wasn't sure how I felt about Tasha's constant need to punch and attack Lodan. As a person with violent tendencies myself (mostly with video games mind you), I even thought it was a bit much. But it did end up with these two coming together in a very believable way given their personalities. In fact, I think Lodan ended up claiming his mate much faster than anyone else because of it.
While the speed at which Tasha ends up trusting Lodan and the other Kordolians is unbelievably fast considering her huge trust issues, I liked her character because she trusted them. I had gone into this expecting her to be some hardass, stuck-up, won't listen to anybody because she has been physically enhanced and knows how to fight so can take of herself kind of character....but she wasn't. And that thrilled me. This drug that she's addicted to slowly degrades her physically and will eventually kill her if she doesn't get another dose. So she knows that she's too weak to do much good and she actually lets people help her and does what is asked of her. Unfortunately, this drug was something that was supposed to have been destroyed and banned because of its devastating effects on Kordolians. How these people on Earth have had it for so long is a mystery. Just another reason for the Kordolians to wipe them out. And oh what bloody fun that was for them.
The ending was good with a very typical Kordolian raid on the compound. Tarak even joined them, which was fun. This book ran pretty perpendicular to the last one, time frame wise, so I don't really think much changed or we learn more about the enemy. I'm sure that's to change pretty quick though with only 2 books left in the series.
bookmarkfaerie's review
5.0
This was a good one as it wasn't as it showed a patience love from Lodan's end and Tasha learning how to sort through her trauma in order to allow herself to be loved and not do everything alone. Although she wasn't in the story much, I loved Tasha's mom. Can't go too much into detail since it maybe seen as a spoiler.
miolla's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.5