Tess Bailey is my favorite part of this book. She is intelligent, brave, foolhardy and with a large dose of vulnerability. This vulnerability comes not only from being a wanted criminal, but also from her own emotional desires. This combination makes her character one of the most compelling I have encountered in a while.

Tess also has a past that, in a twist, comes out early in the book. It is a revelation to the reader and to her crew on Endeavor. The shocking announcement comes out in the heat of battle right before Tess thinks she and her crew are about to die.

But they don't die. Hmm. Thinks could get uncomfortable now. Her crew members each have their own past to deal with, so they don't seem to mind. But the crew are not the only ones that heard it. I have a feeling that Tess is going to be jumping from one frying pan to another. Not just in Nightchaser, but in any books that follow.

“Shade Ganavan had oodles of arrogance, oodles of charm, and oodles of something that made me want to kick him...” Tess Bailey in Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet.

In the book, Tess is actually quite specific about where she wants to kick Shade.

It's hard for me to say much about Shade without possibly giving up a spoiler. Except that part about kicking occurred to me often and with increasing desire as the book progressed. But he is a charmer, and Tess likes him a lot. So with a bit of a spoiler about to come out – Shade did redeem himself in my eyes and ultimately my thirst for violence directed toward that charming man was abated.

And redirected. In a climactic scene, Tess's past comes back to totally mess with her life/escape. In a very bad way. I was heartbroken in a scene where two of Tess's crew pay heavily for their friendship with Tess.

Nightchaser is a welcome addition to the Scifi Romance genre. Colorful, charming and warm characters mix colorful, cold and evil characters. There is also a great complex plot with so much potential that it is sure to get even better with each installment in the Endeavor saga. And romance. Yes, it is a bit shaky at first, but I am planning on it to get even better as the series continues.

So let me say to Amanda Bouchet, “Welcome to Scifi Romance!” Ms. Bouchet's Kingmaker Chronicles are very popular fantasy romance books, so I am pleased to see her put her talent to SciFi. I am decidedly happy I found Nightchaser on NetGalley, and will be anxiously waiting for the next book in the Endeavor series.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the first book in this new series by Amanda Bouchet. It's like a mixture of sci-fi and Robin Hood, with an element of Firefly thrown in. The characters were interesting and the chemistry between Tess and Shade kept me reading. Also there's a cat! Looking forward to the next book in the series. If you're looking for a sci-fi/action/romance then I highly recommend this book.

***3.5 Stars***

I find myself in a bit of a conundrum with this one.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I thought the world building was very well done. There are various cultures and statuses amongst those who inhabit this world and each place has it’s own flavor that gave the world as a whole a depth that made it feel real. And this extended to the various characters that we met along the way. Some were more fleshed out than others, which is to be expected, but those who were close with Tess were unique and I really loved spending time with them ~ especially Jax, he’s my fav outside of Bonk.

But then comes there is that situation that brought about the conundrum. Tess and Shade. See, I actually like Tess and Shade. They have vibrant and complex personalities and have both been through more than most can imagine. My issue is that I’m just not feeling them as a couple *winces and ducks incase anything is thrown at my head* I don’t know what it is because I have no issue with the insta-lust thing they had going on, and can buy that they are into each other, I’m just not feeling them and really can’t explain it more than that. But seeing as this is a trilogy, I’m hoping that feeling will fade and I’ll become as intrigued by them as a couple as I am when it comes to them individually.

With that said, I will reiterate that I did enjoy everything else in the book and though I am not a hardcore SciFi fan, I really liked the Star Wars/Robin Hood vibe going on throughout the story. And while that ending is kind of a cliffy, but kinda not a cliffy, I am quite interested in seeing where things take these characters in the next two books and where they all end when everything is said and done.

~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

~ 4.5 stars ~

I have dabbled in the Sci-fi genre a couple of times and enjoyed it. When I saw that Amanda Bouchet, who wrote the amazing Fantasy trilogy The Kingmaker Chronicles, was writing a Sci-fi Romance novel, I just knew I had to read it. The reason I don't read a lot of Sci-fi is because of the complex word-building. Sometimes authors just go into too much detail, and I get confused and bored. However, that was definitely NOT the case with Nightchaser. The author did such an incredible job in giving very precise and easy to understand information about the world the story was set in. She didn't go in to unnecessary details, but the information she did hand out was spread evenly throughout story. Which I appreciated a lot.

As a predominantly Romance reader, I was happy to see that the author took her time to have the main characters connect and develop a bond. Also the dual POV was great and made it so much easier for me to connect to the characters and their relationship. Captain Tess Bailey is strong, loyal, caring and a fighter. Amanda writes the best heroines, and Tess is one I love and am intrigued by. Shade Ganavan is also great, I had my doubts about him but thankfully he didn't disappoint. Nightchaser is an awesome action-packed Sci-fi Romance. There were a couple of scenes that had me on the edge of my seat and in tears. I am pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book and characters. There were a couple of twists towards the end that made me excited to see what will happen next. I highly recommend any Romance reader to give this book/genre a try, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Solid, if melodramatic, Nightchaser offers plenty of action and futuristic world building. While secondary characters could use more fleshing out, this sci-fi romance will appeal to many fans of the genre.

I really enjoyed The Kingmaker Chronicles by Amanda Bouchet and was quite excited by her newest book, Nightchaser. It had all the elements I loved from her last series, a destiny held by one woman, a ragtag band of space galactic fugitives and an empire needing some rearrangement in its organization and policy. Yes of course there's also the hero, who basically, may or may not be her ally. There was a little bit of a slowing down in the momentum after the first few chapters of high speed action. This was also the period where Tess meets her romantic partner Shade, so it kind of evened out the plot and pacing for me. The chemistry was undeniable but both Shade and Tess had secrets that if revealed could actually derail their developing romance. I did love all the other secondary characters and would love for them to get their own story as well. (This was one of the things that I was disappointed in the Kingmaker Chronicles since I was hoping all the other characters get their own story told as well.) Overall, fans of Amanda Bouchet's will definitely love Nightchaser and those who haven't read her other books yet, this is a great way to introduce you to her writing.

Ahhhh! This was so good. I’ve read Amanda Bouchet’s prior series and it was amazing so frankly I expected nothing less. It took me a minute to get my bearings but once I dived in it was incredible. Tess is FIERCE! And Shade.... swoon! I’m looking forward to seeing where this series goes. There’s lots of unanswered questions and things that still have to happen. Amanda Bouchet is definitely a writing genius. 5 stars.

Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet

Science fiction romantic adventure. Adult female protagonist. First in a series. Not a cliffhanger but a good feeling of adventures to come.
Alternating view points with the heroine in first person and the hero in third person. Interesting dynamic but confusing once or twice.

I enjoyed this fast-paced read. Exciting and captivating with an altruistic heroine.

Excerpt
“Well, Shade Ganavan, I need someone to repair my ship. Do you know of anyone who has at least eight standard tiles of reinforced, space-worthy metal, welding equipment, and a way to get it all up to the three-hundred-and-fourteenth level of the Squirrel Tree?”
His head reared back. “You’re in the f**ing Squirrel Tree? Sh*t, princess, I guarantee they’re ripping you off.”
I bristled. “It was the only place to land.”
“Says the guy who controls the tower, who’s paid off by the guy who owns the Squirrel Tree.” He looked genuinely annoyed on my behalf. It was nice. I couldn’t remember the last time a stranger had stuck up for me simply on principle. This guy was such a contradiction. Shade Ganavan had oodles of arrogance, oodles of charm, and oodles of something that made me want to kick him in the nuts.”
Excerpt from the Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I also purchased a copy to share.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved getting to know Tess and Shade and Tess’ crew! The Overseer is horrible! Bonk is so cute, and I hope things work out for Shade. There were some really intense scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat. So excited to see where this story goes!!

This is a great book for anyone who loves sci-fi romance. The story contains a tight plot and a believable romance. From the way it ended, I can only assume that this is the beginning of a series. I hope to see more of the secondary characters in the future and watch their development. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Capt. Tess Bailey is stealing from the more fortunate by providing for those who have less. A Robin Hood type heroine with a big heart and small pockets. She is running from the Dark Watch and has a price on her head with her identity a secret even from her own crew. When she comes face to face with the commander of the Dark Watch, someone she knows from her past. she makes the decision to jump into a black hole to what she and her crew thinks is certain death, to find they’ve landed close to a planet where they can recoup and hopefully get their ship repaired. She meets Shade Ganavan, a man she thinks is a mechanic, but who is really a bounty hunter. As he fixes their ship they grow close and we see a different side of Tess. One that is shy and sweet rather than direct and take charge. As Shade gets to know her, he can’t imagine that she is the type of criminal deserving of the price on her head and is forced to make a difficult decision, turn her in for the reward or let her walk away from him forever.

Amanda Bouchet proves again that she knows how to write a novel. This world was interesting and the characters grew on me, but it was hard not to compare Nightchaser with her Kingmaker series. They are completely different, one a science fiction romp while the other is a Greek mythology action adventure. Tess, like Cat, wasn’t sure exactly who she was and what powers she held and watching her explore and understand who she was and I’m sure in future novels, her personality and powers will unfold a bit more, but I found myself to be impatient for a big reveal that when uncovered was a little light on impact. I couldn’t quite figure out why this novel wasn’t a home run for me. I enjoyed it, but wanted more than what I got.

Shade was a scoundrel which fit this space adventure very well. Even though Tess was uncertain of his feelings, we knew from his POV that he’d fallen for her which took a little of the air out of his more impactful scenes. I have high hopes for the future novels in this series where we can get some epic adventures out of Tess, Shade and their crew.

A word to the wise, don’t do what I did by comparing this to the Kingmaker series. It’s completely different! I think I did myself a disservice, but in my own defense, I had really enjoyed the last series and wanted to escape into a book that good again. I didn’t get that but I still got a story that was good and characters that had a lot of heart and were interesting. They have room to grow and I have faith that this author will make this series another epic ride. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

NIGHTCHASER BY AMANDA BOUCHET

I didn’t realize at the time this was a sci fi/ fantasy novel, I honestly seen that Amanda was releasing a new story and I was like YES gimme, gimme, gimme.

Tess our main character, has secrets. A lot of them! And Shade is everything I adore in a main male lead. He too has a past and he struggles with that too.

The suspense was great, I enjoyed the other characters too, it was a fun and enjoyable read, it wasn’t my favourite, but it was still solid.
The book doesn’t end on a major cliffy, but it does set up the next one.

“Some ends are just a new beginning…”

The world building as always was fantastic and so imaginative, space pirates, stealing goods from the rich and giving them to the poor. I struggle with Sci Fi settings, but this was different with the different sectors and culture on each “city”

Straight away when you open this story it has you in the middle of action, I found it to be fast paced in the start, then a slow in the middle and picked back up in the end.

I wish it was told in dual POV instead of first person, and third. I did struggle to at times to stay connected with the story, I haven't read a lot of sci fi, that's what I'm putting it down to.

I LOVED all the ROMANCE, and totally here for Shade, he is again perfect male lead, if you liked Amanda’s other work you are going to enjoy the romance and male lead in this one too.

Overall, I liked Nightchaser, and look forward to the next one. It was a good start to a new series.
4.5 Stars out of 5

Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet is the first book in her new Endeavor series. Having read and loved Bouchet debut series, I looked forward to reading this one. The premise of this series is more sci-fi/paranormal, but OMG I loved every moment of this story. Amanda Bouchet keeps on rising up as one of my favorite authors, and in Nightchaser she proves once again what a wonderful author she is.
We meet our heroine, Tess Bailey, who is a Robin Hood space pirate, always stealing goods from the government (such as food or medicines) to help the poor/children. She is the captain of her ship, Endeavor, with crew (friends) that have been together for awhile and loyal to each other. Tess has a secret that very few know, she is the daughter of the overseer (evil leader) of the government, and she is supposedly dead.
From the start, they are in deep trouble, as they narrowly escape from a death defying situation with the evil Dark Watch; an exciting beginning. Tess is desperate to find a place to land and fix their damaged ship. When they finally find a place to land the ship, Tess will set out to find whatever is needed to repair the ship. Enter Shade Ganavan, our hero, who does a bit of everything, including repairs. Shade, who is a hunk, finds Tess interesting, and wants to know more. He offers to help fix her ship, and also is determined to find out more about her. When he discovers she has a major bounty on her head, he finds himself in a quarry, as he becoming attracted to her , but knows he needs the money desperately. Will Shade turn Tess in for the money?
What follows is an edge of your seat suspenseful adventure, pulling on all of our emotions. The last half of the book so exciting, I was unable to put the book down. Tess and crew find themselves in so many dangerous situations, we held our breaths if they would survive. Shade by then becomes part of the crew to help them survive, with the Dark Watch breathing down their necks. Bouchet catches us with some surprises that was unexpected, and it was very emotional. This turned into a fantastic read.

Tess was an awesome kick-ass heroine; so strong, independent, loyal to her friends and I loved her from the start. Her goal was always to help others, not caring about her own life. Shade was also great, a sexy, handsome, strong hero, who also had his own secrets; but he turned out to be so good for Tess, especially when he realized that he was falling hard for her. They made a great couple, which in future books will become even better, as I recognize this from the previous series’ awesome couple (Cat & Griffin). I also totally fell in love with Bonk, a little kitty Tess adopts. I loved most the of the secondary characters, such as Jax, Fiona, Miko, Surreal, ?? and even the evil characters like Overseer Novalight and Bridgebane were very well written.
Nightchaser was a fantastic ride, filled with suspense, excitement, pulse pounding action, romance, in a wonderfully imaginative world building. Once again Amanda Bouchet brings us into another world, very different than the Kingmaker Chronicles series, but oh so good. I cannot wait for the next book. I seriously suggest, if you have not read anything by Amanda Bouchet, it time for you do so. Bravo Amanda for totally pulling me into another fantastic series.

I am having a hard time rating and reviewing this book. I was so excited when I got it, because I love the author's previous series. But I ended up feeling let down. First of all, sci fi isn't my normal go to, but boy this seemed a lot like Star Wars...... Intergalactic totalitarian despot, rebel alliance fighting against it, special snowflake child..... Anyway, the book definitely started off with a bang, plenty of action for maybe the first 15%, then nothing. Literally nothing but the ship getting fixed happened for maybe 50% of the book. The only reason I continued was because I had enjoyed the last series so much I kept holding out hope. The end was fairly action packed, if not a little predictable. One of the things I liked about Kingmaker was the banter, which is lacking here. And Tess wasn't as bada$$ as I would have liked. Despite all of that (I know, it sounds like I hated it), there was something that drew me into the story. Something kept me reading, and made me feel invested. So regardless of my meh feelings, I know I'll probably read the next in the series.

Another page-turning success by the incomparable Amanda Bouchet. Bouchet’s characters take us on a quest to save sick orphans, attempts to evade capture from the Overseer’s forces, and return to the Fold. Tess’s character has as many hidden facets as the rest of her crew. The pace of the book kept the story moving faster than I anticipated. Shade is in the same predicament as the reader, in his attempts to uncover Tess’s secrets. Of course, the mystery of Tess eludes us to the very end of this book, with a cliffhanger. I hope there will be many more adventures with Tess, Shade, and the rest of the Nightchasers.

DNF @ 50%

Nightchaser (Endovier 1) has an alluring synopsis that will pull in sci-fi and fantasy fans alike. Tessa is a space pirate of sorts, on the run and highly wanted, not because she’s particularly dangerous or anything, but because, well, secrets.
We start off with a bang where Tessa and her crew of ragtag criminals are about to face their deaths at the hands of a black whole rather than be captured. They survive (because would it be a story if they didn’t) because, well, mystery and need to get their ship fixed ASAP. At this point, the story just breaks down. It was all fast paced and teasing with bits of enticing information and then boom. It just stops.

Instead we meet Shade, the love interest. Tessa and Shade have insta-attraction and it’s clear they wanna bang. Honestly, their interactions are insufferable and their romance reads like a wannabe smut novel that was smacked on the wrist, telling it to keep it YA.
I’ll sum it for you:
Shade: Oh, man. She’s dangerous and could really make my life a lot easier if I turn her in. But oh god, those long legs, freckles, <s> dat ass</s> cute butt. I want.
Tessa: He’s dangerous, I should not involve him in my affairs, but damn is he attractive. I like dirty talk. But I also turn beet root red when he flirts with me. Good thing that clearly <s> gets his cock hard and throbbing </s> <i> ( Bouchet: shit gotta keep it YA)</i> turns him on.

Even if I could ignore the infuriating romance, The plot just stalls after Tessa meets Shade. NOTHING happens and I’m sad to admit I DNF’ed right around 50%. I had SUCH HIGH HOPES for this book. So many people have raved about Bouchet’s King Maker Chronicles which I have not read yet - and now feel significant hesitation to do so, given how much the writing in Nightchaser disagreed with me.

Oh, PS: Tessa is a spechul snowflake. SO SO SPECIAL. She allude’s to her specialness from the very beginning but makes it clear she won’t be telling us why she’s exactly so effing spechul.

I’m not really in the mood for caveman alphamale right now, so there’s a chance I’ll pick this up again at a later date, but for now, my expectations were set too high and I need to give them time to be blown to smithereens.

If you however, DO LIKE cavemen alpha male and have previously like Bouchet’s work, you may like this as well. The supporting characters are consistent and Jax will become an instant favorite for many readers. I do like the world Bouchet created. Different planets, worlds, people, needs. I have 0 problems with the world building and I was enraptured by that part, at least. I think, ultimately, everyone will have to decide for themselves whether to give Nightchaser a try. I can’t really decide if I can make a recommendation on this one or not. *shrugs*

1 ½ ★---- DNFed at 47%
When I saw this and got approved for it on Netgalley I was super excited. Even when I started reading, it really started out good……….
But sadly after about 12% in, it went downhill, and when I say downhill I mean a steeeeeppppp hill.
Pretty much when she meets the main love interest, it goes down. Tess just becomes sooo dumb and oh so weak in the knees and pretty much just lusts after him all this time.
You would think all that is bad enough but that is not all, the story is completely taken over by the romance….. Shane our main guy seems more douche than alpha hero and sometimes felt forced to be macho funny. The same for Tess.. She also felt forced at times and not much to her, very blah and two dimensional and flat. The only thing I enjoyed about her was her friendship with her crew.
A lot of the story felt like a filler, and most of it didn’t even make sense really, People disappear and reappear for no reason, other parts of the story are thrown in and make no sense whatsoever.
And yes I only read 47% of the book and then cheated and read the last few chapters, well everything I thought I figured out at 20 some percent was right, it was very predictable and again some things didn’t even make sense. Not because I didn’t read it all, no but because it didn’t fit into the main story arc.
Another thing for me personally was, the switching of POV. I love multiple povs in a book, what I don’t love is when they alternate between first and third person. Either it should be all in first person or all in third person, but that is just my personal preference.
Overall, I really wanted to like this book, I really did but I just couldn’t there are just way too many things that annoyed me that I couldn’t even really finish the book.
I hope that other people enjoy it more and can overlook some of the things.
I rate it 1 ½ ★

An excellent first book in this new series. The story was engaging and surprising. A few twists occurred that I wasn't anticipating. The heroine is selfless and brings out the hero's better qualities. An interesting set of side characters are present throughout the story and a couple of them I want to know more about. Its hard to leave a review without giving too much away about the plot. However, if you enjoyed Bouchet's other books you'll definitely enjoy this foray into sci-fi romance. I look forward to seeing where Book 2 goes.

Nightchaser is a science fiction romance novel following the Endeavor spaceship captain, Tess Bailey and her crew as they steal from the rich to give to the poor. In this Robin Hood-esque post-epic-space-war world, the Galactic Overseer has dominance over all the planets and does not feel like sharing the wealth. Tess and her crew are part of the rebel movement shipping mostly food and medicine to those who need it most, including orphaned children, until they suffer an attack from the Dark Watch (the villains of the piece) and are forced to dock for ship repairs. Enter Shade Ganavan, the man who can fix her ship cheaply and bounty hunter extraordinaire. With a bounty of at least two hundred million on her head, delivering Tess and her spaceship to the Dark Watch could be the easiest payday of Shade’s life but the more he gets to know her the more their chemistry builds and it soon becomes a question of trust for both of them.

Now that description does not do this story justice but I daren’t say more for fear of spoilers. I knew going in this was a romance story but there is so much more going on than blossoming love. We have daddy-issues, dysfunctional family drama, trauma, warfare, loyal friendships and general badass-ery. There is even an adorable cat that makes life better for everyone just by allowing the characters to stroke him. If you enjoy fun stories with characters you can root for with a realistic romantic thread, Nightchaser is for you.

The plot is complex, thought provoking, fun and sexy – a wonderful blend that Bouchet has once again proved she is expert at delivering. We get chapters from both Tess and Shade’s points of view which wasn’t something we got in her previous series but was an aspect of Nightchaser that I really enjoyed. As usual with the romantic sci-fi/fantasy genre, there are misunderstandings and complicated histories so the insight into both protagonists’ thoughts was welcome as it helped understand their motives and feelings. I found both characters’ view points compelling and I can’t wait to see where they go from here, as expected, there was a bit fo a twist at the end! The side characters are also well developed and have their own complex histories and motives which drives the plot forward and links them to Tess. I have a feeling we will learn more as the series progresses which is definitely something to look forward to.

My main concern with science fiction is that the world building and technology will be too complicated for me to follow or so new and innovative that it overshadows the characters and plot but thankfully that was not the case here. Everything made sense and was familiar enough for me to grasp without constantly having to think about logistics and whether it was ‘believable’ enough. I know that sounds bizarre from someone who loves reading fantasy that is usually set in worlds without electricity let alone technology, and generally features supernatural/fantastical beasts and races, but there is something about stories featuring technology/space that makes me feel like it should be more true to life as we know it today. But that is my personal issue and luckily I found the world building in Nightchaser well explained and easy to understand so it didn’t distract me from the plot or the characters’ journeys. I can happily confirm that Bouchet can write epic, addictive and expertly crafted science fiction just as well as she can fantasy and I look forward to reading whatever she comes up with next.

I love Amanda Bouchet. I think she has quite a talent for writing. The Kingmaker books were fantastic, so I saw her name and had to read Nighchaser. I guess I thought it was a modern day suspense romance, but I was wrong. This is a Sci-Fi Romance. Because I was not prepared for that, I kept putting the book down and could not get into it. Something about the spaceship and the Tess reminding me of Han Solo, I was very leary to continue reading. I am glad that I picked it back up. Bouchet creates the best characters and sets up her relationships up well. I do wish she had spent a little more time interacting with side characters of her flight crew. This was definitely tagged a romance and did not disappoint in that respect. All in all this is a worthwhile read for romance readers who will venture away from mythology, fantasy, modern day, or historical romance novels. I can't wait to read the next one!!