Desdemona Johnson or Dusty is trying to find a bomb when she encounters Reese who is also doing the same. It turns out Reese is the new person in charge and a prince as well. They fight their attraction for each other. Reese is from an alternate earth that brought a whole island with them. Together they are working to build a spaceship to explore the universe. There are some that are trying to stop them and Dusty and Reese try to figure it all out before one of them gets killed.


Even though I had not read the prior books in this series I had no problem keeping up with the action and characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the world.

I was given the book free from the publisher for an honest review.

DNF at 39 %.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. It was not bad, but there was no tension or chemistry between main characters. They jumped right to the intimate level so there was really no room for a relationship developmend or sexual tension, what is a pity, otherwise I would like the book a bit more, I guess.

Thanks to Netgalley for this arc.

I received this free from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
One little thing that really bothered me is that the "alien" is really a human from an alternate universe. Other than that really enjoyable read. Interesting storyline. In fact, so interesting that I am going to read the first in the series.

I loved the new spin put on a fairy tale romance. Wonderfully written, fast paced, romance.

At the beginning I was like "whoa", then it dropped off a bit. Dusty was a great character and I enjoyed her techie thinking. Reese was a good character but I didn't get as much from him. The relationship between the two of them put me off. Too much sex without any other interactions before the love word was thrown about not to mention a weird timed sex romp near the end. The concept was very interesting and the plot was steady. I will pick up more by this author even though this one lost some of the initial steam. I received an ebook at no charge for which I voluntarily provided an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would like to read more. Fun romp through space, good characters. Looking forward to more!

Just wasn't a fan overall. I went in thinking A Man...writing romance? LET ME AT IT.

Unfortunately, the writing as subpar and I the name dusty for a woman...(or man for what it is) just did not sit well with me. I felt the characters were immature and there just wasn't a lot of depth. I hate writing this review, because I want to encourage more men to write romance. I think, maybe, this book would be better suited and re-edited to a younger populace at the middle-grade level.

The entire book was a funny, exciting adventure, with a hint of intrigue.
The opening scene is fantastically written, and proves that just because you're facing death doesn't mean you can't be witty and snarky! The opening scene is action packed. Normally, I don't care for opening scenes that are action, as I struggle to get into them unless I know enough about the characters to be invested in them. That wasn't a problem here. I was engaged immediately.
Throughout the book, the two main characters prove they make a great team. It's when they are working together that they are both at their best. The relationships between all of the characters, both main and minor, are very realistic and relatable; and the dialogue, both external and internal, is spot on. Often when reading, I find myself adjusting the dialogue in my head to make it more nature - I didn't find myself doing that here.
The only parts that left me uneasy were aspects of the relationship between Quinn and Marianne. The way he speaks of her bi-polarism teeters on ablism, and at times their relationship is one of him controlling her and seeing her as a possession. This conflicts with other scenes in which they are clearly in love with each other and equal partners.
I read this as a standalone book - and it is - and it makes me want to go back and read the preceding books in the series. The one thing I really wanted more information on was what a history of the Americas would look like without colonialism. Obviously, the indigenous populations would have thrived and been more advanced than American societies are now, as the book confirms; but the book implies that these cultures were not completely free of colonialist influence. I wanted to know about the historical background of Kwandra, and I'm hoping previous books will provide.

I must admit, I did not finish this book. I got about 56% through, but that's it for me. These characters are supposed to be the smartest of the smart, working on a top-secret, underground, highly professional project, but instead they talk and act like damned high schoolers. The gossip, bullying, and unprofessional behavior is ridiculous.

The science part of the book is wonky, hole filled, and not well thought through. The "alien race", which are actually humans from a parallel dimension, are supposedly from 200 years in the future. Apparently this gives the author carte blanche to introduce new technologies whenever the need arises without any hint prior to their race having these capabilities.

The romance felt very insta-lovey, although the hero does make 1 attempt at actually talking to the heroine prior to ditching her.

All in all, this was just not for me.

<I>Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.</I>

I'll start by saying I haven't read the previous 3 books and maybe I would have like this one more if I had but the hero was a little to annoying and the formulaic plot of the book was easy to predict so no surprises or anything to set this book apart from many others.