because this review could not get a three or higher rating I cannot publish this review publically but I am giving it to you so you know why its a two star.

I felt this story was rushed. And so rushed the character's development suffered for it. as a romance this is okay, as a space story it needs much much more. I think there is a great story here. It just needs to be longer and slow it down some or explain things just a tad more. this was a miss for me and I would not recommend this book to anyone as it stands right now.

I started reading this but it just was not for me sorry, so I never finished reading the book. I liked the sound of the book though.

With such a simple premise (two people captured together who have to escape, secretive pasts, sexual tension, etc), how good this book was truly depended on the execution. Unfortunately, I don't feel like it was executed very well, and I ended up quitting the book at about 50% (and based on the other reviews, it doesn't sound like I missed much).

I think one of the issues is that this book is so short. This isn't a problem in of itself, but if a book is that short, it has to really pack a punch to move things along, both plot and character/relationship-wise. This can be done, and done really well, but in Oops, Caught, both plot and relationship development seemed rather clunky and forced. Rather than giving me any reason why these two would be attracted to each other, the author simply stated over and over how the one character (I honestly don't remember which was which, because in half the book they had no distinguishing characteristics that stand out to me) was very attracted to the other, plus an averted "aliens made us fuck" trope.

I would have slogged on if either the plot or the relationship showed promise, but unfortunately, neither was something that I hadn't seen before, and as a result I was completely uninvested. I think another review mentioned that it read like fanfiction, and I would agree with that. The interesting thing about fanfiction is that since the characters and universe are already developed in the source work, the fanfiction author doesn't have to do as much legwork in developing the characters or the world because readers are all already at least a little familiar. This isn't the case with original fiction, which is why characterization is so important. This book read as if we were already supposed to know about these characters and be invested in them, but since we (or at least I) were not, it just ended up flat.

That is not to say that some people wouldn't enjoy it. If all you want is a simple m/m story set in space, then this does fulfill that brief. However, it doesn't do much more, and at this point, there are so many sci-fi stories featuring LGBTQ characters that I no longer feel compelled to settle for whatever I can find.

This was an okay story, but overall I feel like it was really just too short and the characters would have felt more real if there was some extra page time devoted to fleshing them out [I mean there is a bit at the end I guess but I would have preferred it more towards the beginning]. Still it was a fun story and I can only really handle sci-fi in short bursts usually anyway.

Mercenary Mark Noland and Officer Gavnson are trapped in Jail after being captured on a covert mission. The tension between them doesn’t help as they try to work out a plan of escape. This action packed science fiction adventure is sweet and fun. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A short story. Unfortunately, the pacing of the book was a little off. There was too much time spent at the beginning in the prison and the ending felt rushed as if the author was running into a limit. Overall though it got me interested in the world and I want more of the characters. Hoping there's more in the future.

This book was provided to me via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 2.5/5 stars.

To be fair, this is not actually a bad read. I was mostly just distracted by how much I felt like I was reading a Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic where the names and some details were changed.

Ex-criminal with a heart of gold who was raised by a crew of mercenaries? Check.

Team member who has the appearance of (what I assume) an Earth animal? Check. (Ken is a Nanaska fox.)

Badass lady on the team who may or may not be aggressively violent? Check? (Tamaroa is only mentioned once, but it's in, "[I] ain't messing with Tamaroa. That woman would have my pelt as a new rug if I left without giving you a chance to get back." That gave me major Gamora vibes, for some reason.)

Big battle on a planet where the ex-criminal's crew decided to say goodbye to their criminal ways and helped save the day? Check.

In a short book like this, the similarities were enough to have me majorly distracted.

Besides that, I found the dialogues to be stilted at various points throughout the book, which was disappointing. Additionally, the last third of the book was somehow unsatisfactory. I can't say what exactly it was, but I feel like the conclusion of the story was too fast, and the sudden feelings at the end just appeared out of nowhere, which is probably a common problem with short books like this.

All in all, it was okay, and at the length it is, I certainly don't regret reading it. Do I think you need to run and buy it? Probably not. You may enjoy it a lot more than me if you haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy, though.

This story suffered for its length.

It started fast and furious, our two heroes captured by insect-like aliens but while the action scenes sped along I was confused by the backstory between our MCs -- they obviously had history, possibly were only pretending to hate each other. I didn't think this was suitable explained. Then when they finally had a moment to connect I thought certain things came from out of the blue, not the attraction, because while I didn't really feel it, I knew it was supposed to be there. But Gavnson's feelings of worthlessness and the depth of his feelings for Norland seemed out of place. Also I wasn't convinced Norland wasn't doing it just because Gavnson claimed he couldn't recover on his own. Plus that whole scene where they 'talk' read as very stilted and forced. Nobody talks like that, not even aliens.

All in all, started great but couldn't keep up the pace.
I think I'd like to read the sequel to see where the author takes these guys.

I would give the first half of this novella a higher rating than I'd give the second half. I rarely come across a situation like this but here it is. The first part deserved three stars (pineapples) in my book, the second, one. The overall result: a sad two-star rating.

Noland and Officer Gavnson are shut up in a cell together. A mission went wrong and they both got caught by the Awoknain, nasty bug-like creatures who aren't famous for their hosptality. They have to plan their escape and define a not-so-clear relationship between the two of them.

The beginning was so much fun! What I expected. I liked Noland, he had a few tricks up his sleeve and he had an entertaining personlaity. He bought time for them coming up with an insane idea, they were also able to escape the cell because of his heroism.

The way out was exciting too: first they hid, then they fought their way through the bugs; at this point the book had all the potential to turn into a very decent Firefly-esque story. However, once they reached a spaceship that was fit to escape in, this sci-fi tale started to bleed from many wounds.

It was obvious while they were at the bug-base that something was not right with Gavnson. He wanted to sacrifice himself all the time, it seemed like he was eager to die. Noland started to ask him about the war they fought on the same side and what happened since, but Gavnson didn't open up easily.

He was also very willing (almost pushy) to engage in sexual activity with Noland who kept turning him away (even though he wanted him too... the bugs told them they have to mate and Noland thought Gavnson was only willing because he didn't want to be tortured, but it was so clear it wasn't the only reason).

The second half of the novella was a huge disappointment. Stuck on a spaceship with hours to spare Noland finally prodded Gavnson into telling him about his past and why he chose to come on the mission with Noland and his group.

The story we get is confusing and incoherent. Noland's fleeting presence in it doesn't really explain Gavnson's infatuation with him since they'd never actually talked or at least it is not clear if they've talked since the war or not. I found this part a bit muddy, past happenings were too vaguely described to give us a full explanation regarding Gavnson's motivations or his behaviour.

The writing takes a turn for the worse here too. It is repetitive and preachy. The subject they talk about is important but the converation is full of clichés, not to mention a talk like this is unlikely to occur between two persons who have started to get truly close to one another only a few hours ago.

Yet another unfavorable review from me, I know. At least I liked the beginning this time...

Book – Oops, Caught (Expanding Horizon, 1)
Author – Alli Reshi
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 50
Cover – Perfect!
POV – 1st person, one character
Would I read it again – Yes
Genre – LGBT, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Triggers – suicidal thoughts/actions, threat of cross-species alien cannibalism, PTSD


** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **


The book started with the main characters already captured and in prison, which wasn't what I was expecting, but once I got reading it, made for a good impact start to the story. It certainly kicked the action off, right from page one, with Noland admiring his captain, Gavnson, for the strong man he is, and introducing us to the fact that they're not exactly the same species, nor the same level of authority. Noland is bisexual, and smart enough to know that he shouldn't make the moves on someone like Gavnson, especially considering how tightly wound he is. But, when threatened by their captors – who are likely to eat them! – he convinces the aliens race of Awoknain that he and Gavnson are mates, something highly prized and revered. It buys them some time.

And, thus, the shenanigans begin.

I love that, despite Gavnson being reluctantly willing to see through the ruse to get them out of prison, Noland makes it quite clear that he considers coerced sex as rape and won't go along with it. I really want to thank the author for that, because too often the 'plot point' of “we must have sex to save the planet/species” is used and the whole aspect of being forced into that situation for the sake of the end goal if never acknowledged. So thanks for making Noland smart enough to say no, to vocalise how wrong it would be, and to find another way. I really appreciated it.

When it comes to the writing, I liked the style, but there were a few too many instances of dialogue slang slipping into the main text, e.g. 'gonna' etc. It would have been fine if it was consistent, but I think it was just a slip up with editing, because it only happened maybe one or two times. There were a few more editing issues, such as capital letters in the wrong places, an extra letter here or there, that was left over from previous changes. Since this is an ARC, I assume that these will be changed or fixed by publication, but I do have to mention them because they were present in my copy.

There was great world building, some strong characterisation, especially for only 50 pages, and a really solid plot that allowed for adventure, action, back story, and even some romance. The sci-fi elements were well done and, if you'll excuse the pun, nothing was too alien to be understood.

The story dealt with some serious issues: suicidal thoughts/actions, military PTSD, battle scars and burns, self-loathing, confused sexuality, and the emotional and mention turmoil left over from a war that someone thought they shouldn't have survived, as well as the idea that men have to be strong, that wounds/scars make a man weak. They were so delicately handled, but well written. As someone who has plenty of scars myself, I loved the authentic and sensitive way the issues were handled, both by Gavnson who hadn't had time to mentally recover before putting himself into another mission, and Noland who manned up and was there when Gavnson needed him.

I loved the chemistry and the couple, so I'm thrilled to see this is part of a series. I just hope it will center around the same people. If not, I'm sure I'll enjoy it anyway.

In the end, I had to give the story a 4 rating, because of the issues with editing, and because there was just an indefinable something missing. I'm not sure if it was the ending, or that I was looking for something that wasn't there, I can't tell. There's this niggle sticking with me, reminding me that it just didn't have that 'something' that would take it up to a 5 star. But still a great read, very enjoyable, and a lot of fun. I'll be reading the next installment, for sure.

~

Favourite Quote

“What exactly do you do for a person who hates himself for liking you?”