The lovably flawed crew of La Sirena Negra and their psychic cats return in this fast-paced and outrageously fun science-fiction novel, in which they confront past failures and face new threats in the far reaches of space from the author of the critically acclaimed Chilling Effect.
Captain Eva Innocente and the crew of La Sirena Negra find themselves once again on the fringe of populated space—and at the center of a raging covert war. When Eva’s sister asks for help locating a missing scientist, promises of a big paycheck and a noble cause convince Eva to take the job despite lingering trust issues.
With reluctant assistance from her estranged mother, Eva and her crew follow the missing scientist’s trail across the universe, from the costume-filled halls of a never-ending convention to a dangerous bot-fighting arena. They ultimately find themselves at the last place Eva wants to see again—Garilia—where she experienced her most shameful and haunting failure.
To complete her mission and get paid, Eva must navigate a paradise embroiled in a rebellion, where massive forests and pristine beaches hide psychic creatures and pervasive surveillance technology. Can she find her quarry while avoiding the oppressive local regime, or will she be doomed to repeat past mistakes when her dark deeds come to light?
My Review
Once again there are space cats and amazing ME styled plots and references to entice me to read another Chilling Effect novel. Though if I’m honest, I would have to say that I needed little enticing after how much I enjoyed the first book.
I definitely still have that ’15 Reasons Why Garrus…’ Buzzfeed article still on my bookmarks bar on my browser, so, given that Vakar is the same level as amazing as Garrus, I was completely ready to see Vakar and Eva’s relationship grow more serious in this book.
I wouldn’t even say serious like there are some wedding bells like we might associate with ‘serious’ but more like they are completely comfortable around each other and are a well-oiled machine together…in a non-sexy way but I mean sexy too. They are also so incredibly healthy in their relationship and are definitely emotional goals! They are independent AND work well together, and I could gush about them all day but I suppose that I’ll continue on.
This focuses more on Eva herself AND on more of the space cat(s) along with others on the crew of La Sirena Negra that perhaps didn’t get as much spotlight last time. There’s also a bit more focus, the last book was them doing many things to get to one goal whereas this is one thing at a time that is for one purpose, they’re all part of the one mission instead of many.
Eva is having to confront her past and there was something really satisfying about seeing this other side to Eva and to knowing so much about her past.
Oh did I mention we get to explore some pretty kick butt new planets? And there may be some Pokemon like beings? I KNOW. AMAZING. And the planets themselves were just so much fun to get to know, there was beauty, there was fighting, and there were conventions. So many conventions. ❤
There may also be new romances blooming aboard La Sirena Negra and I AM ALL THERE FOR THOSE HINTS. BRING ON THE SHIPPING.
The mission and their misadventures were just as much fun to read about and I think it was the eagerness in my wanting to get back to the crew in this book in combination with the character development that made this such a great read for me.
Thank you so much to Orbit Books UK for sending me a copy of this in exchange for my honest review it was a 5/5 cups of coffee read for me.
The Caffeinated Reader 