I just loved this book. It was so easy to get lost in and I just loved meeting these characters. I look forward to seeing what’s next from this author.

For a variety of reasons it took me forever to get around to reading this but I’m glad I finally did because I did love the first book in the series and I can’t help but to love a series that combines supernaturals and space even though a lot of the drama is caused by the very inhumane humans....

So after a 500 year journey through space the remaining 8 ships of the 24 that left Earth have finally found a home... the problem? Due to corruption and the general shenanigans in the first book all of the people that were supposed to be in charge didn’t make it. In the wake of those events another man has stepped up to take charge of the settlers despite the fact that they are all technically moving to different planets so he shouldn’t really think he can rule them all but... Luther Kinross is a man with a plan of course it’s sinister and of course it’s secretive....

Rico the vampire captain of the Trakis Two has sent his nephew Milo to represent him at a council meeting to get some information on what’s really going because obviously humans are always up to something and it’s rarely ever good. Milo a warlock never wanted to go into space and may have been a little kidnapped into it doesn’t want to go but doesn’t have much of a choice. So along with werewolf alpha Dylan he heads on over to Trakis Four to see what’s happening...

Destiny has spent all of her life secluded on the Trakis Four ship she’s never even met another person other than Dr. Yang in her 26 years of living. All she knows about her life is that Dr. Yang has assured her that she has some great purpose in life and she has to be protected at all costs. She’s important to the future of humanity. On her very first day out of the lab she spots a man and later she has another unexpected encounter with him and of course he happens to be Milo...

Their two worlds collide and sparks fly... literally. What is Kinross hiding? What’s in the tunnels beneath his castle? Where did the tunnels even come from? Who is Destiny? What is she meant to do? What does the ruler of Trakis Four mean for the not so human people of Trakis Two?


Sooo maybe it’s just my imagination or something but I felt like it seemed fairly obvious what Destiny’s so-called purpose was pretty early on. Why they couldn’t guess it even knowing how cruel and selfish humans are is beyond me but again maybe I just have a weird imagination. Though honestly if Destiny said something about her purpose or going back to those people one more time I was going to smack her. Like seriously no matter what they wanted her for it was NEVER going to be good I get it that they basically brainwashed her from birth but she was a bit ridiculous. It got exhausting after awhile.

It was good and interesting never a dull moment. Though you do have to wonder how Kinross would have imposed his rule if the Trakis One hadn’t met that unfortunate end. Though I suppose there was a plan for that too. And I guess the moral of the story really is that humans suck no matter where in the galaxy they are... always up to no good always scheming.

One thing I have to wonder though is how they managed to kill so many people back on Earth without anyone noticing.... because with all the switching that was done... I have a few questions just saying... Anyway on to the next.

Seriously, everything I look for in a paranormal sci-fi romance. So far with Nina Croft it has been nothing but awesomeness! Milo and Destiny are a fantastic Smokin' hot couple with an exciting romance. I can't wait for Dylan's story

A second book brings a warlock into a game in those SF series. Another great interesting book that I loved to read. The story is a mystery and I love that the layers are revealed bit by bit. Both Milo and Destiny are great loveable characters, and their story was such a pleasure to read.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley

This is the second book in the Dark Desires Origins series and my third read by Nina Croft. I am glad I picked up this series. It's such an interesting meshing of PNR and sci-fi with warlocks, shifters, and vampires in space. There's a bit of action, some romance, and a bad guy that needs to go down. Milo and Destiny's story can be read as a stand-alone but you would get a little more of the backstory by reading Malfunction first.

Deception is an intriguing mix of steamy paranormal romance, fantasy, space adventure, and mystery that explores what makes us who we are, despite our origins or species. An interesting story, diverse and well-developed characters, suspense, steamy romance, and entertaining action scenes make this a fun read.

Warlock Milo Velazquez awakens after 500 years in cryofreeze inside a ship on a planet light-years from Earth. Will him and other immortal, supernatural beings aka “monsters” be able to live in peace with humans without having to hide now that they are all refugees from Earth forging a new beginning? For him it would be a dream come true. Because Milo and the other “monsters” have been illegally transported aboard one of the ships, Milo must seek intel on the situation on the new planet and its self-proclaimed leader. While doing so undercover, he finds Destiny imprisoned in an underground cell and is inexplicably drawn to her.

any other people inside a laboratory all her life, Destiny is innocent, naïve, and has no control over her life, told she is special with an important role to play. Once they reach their new home, she is ready to experience life up close and personal finally, only to find herself imprisoned in yet another cell, left to wonder if she is so special why has she always been treated like a prisoner.

Along with Milo and his shipmate Dylan, a werewolf, Destiny sets off on an adventure to experience life that unexpectedly changes the course of all their lives. But there is still the mystery of who or what Destiny is and what is the important role that she has to play in this new world? Why is she so advanced intellectually, but naïve and innocent otherwise? The mystery is fairly easy to figure out, which kind of makes you wonder why Destiny never started to catch on, at least after she was outside of her prison cell and free to explore the world and learn more about life. After all, once she is out and wandering the planet, her personality emerges, she’s independent, super smart, absorbs information like a sponge, resourceful, sassy, dependable, and unlike any other human or creature Milo has ever met. She intrigues him, which makes her a complication.

Deception gets off to a slow start, but the pacing does improve as the story goes along. At times, especially near the beginning, it feels like maybe something is missing from the story. Nevertheless, once the pacing picks up and the story starts to progress this feeling lessens. The characters are nicely developed and their progression over the course of the story is very well done, especially Milo and Destiny. By the end of the story, it’s clear that having met each other has changed both for the better and helped them to grow into who they are meant to be. Readers who like space adventures, erotic romance, and sci-fi/fantasy combined should enjoy Deception.

This Author and series is new to me and having read the book I think to fully enjoy it you really need to be conversant with the world and characters ....... this book almost feels like a prequel to the ongoing series , which made reading it at times difficult .
Part of the Galaxy has been settled for several centuries by refugees from Earth - now founded on the principles of an Authoritarian Church . Although in the Trakis system the origins of humans are now the set in myths and legends - one man has lived through it all .... Vampire Rico Sanchez . On his ship and just his ship many were changed to those similar to himself , along with weres and at least one warlock .
Rico decides to send his nephew . Milo , and shifter , Dylan to attend an Interplanetary meeting ...... what is the real reason for the meeting ? will it impact upon their own planets future ?
Will Dylan's meeting with genetically altered Destiny hold the key ? will their relationship be able to blossom or will their respective missions drive them apart ?

This is a Sci Fi novel with a touch of the Paranormal which I found enyetatining ........... although at times a little slow and difficult to follow .

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I now understand that this book is an origin story for another series and that explains a lot. It took me a long time to get into this book and that was frustrating because I have a lot of books I want to read. I liked it and it was an interesting mix of sci-fi and paranormal. Milo is standoffish and once his history is revealed, it is understandable. Dylan is a deadly but lovable were shifter that has a playful canine personality. He is protective of the mission and Milo. Rico is the typical ruthless vampire but seems to have a soft spot for Milo. Rico sends Milo and Dylan to another plant for an interplanetary meeting but their purpose is to find out what kind of society is forming and if it will be a threat to their newly forming planet. Destiny is a beautiful, smart, genetically enhanced woman who has been isolated and educated but has not been allowed human interaction. Her only contact was the female, Dr. Yang, in the lab where she grew up and that monitored her progress and constantly tells her that she has a duty but not what that duty is. She is being held in a locked room for her own “protection“ but is basically a prisoner. It took forever to find out what Destiny’s duty was and that was a little frustrating, a few hints along the way would’ve been nice. When Destiny encounters Milo for the first time they are mutually intrigued and their relationship slowly blossoms into something more but they both have their own respective missions. . Overall, I liked the characters and the story was plausible. My only complaint was that it was very slow and seemed to drag on and on. I liked the story but I don’t think I liked it enough to read the other books related to this story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

It is just so damn good to see Rico Sanchez again. He was my introduction to the original series, all the way back in the original and entirely too short version of Break Out in 2011. I liked that book the first time I read it, absolutely loved it in the expanded edition in 2013, and have followed the series ever since just to follow the misadventures of this vampire in space.

Along with marveling at the whole concept of vampires in space, and wondering why I hadn’t seen this before – but definitely wanted to again!

At the time of Break Out and the entire Dark Desires series, this part of the galaxy had been settled by refugees from Earth for several centuries. The empire they founded on the cornerstones of a universal church and an authoritarian regime has become settled if not stable. The Terran origins of the humans in the Trakis system has receded back into history, to the point of myth and legend.

Except for Rico Sanchez, who lived through ALL of it from the Spanish Inquisition to the time period of the original story in 3058. We’ve seen hints of what happened in between, but didn’t have the full story.

At least not until the Dark Desires Origins series began earlier this year with Malfunction.

While in the first book in this new series it’s the ship that seems to be malfunctioning, the premise of the series as a whole is that the entire Earth was malfunctioning, in a way that we can kind of see from here. The consequence of that malfunction was an expedition to a galaxy far, far away where humans could re-establish themselves as a species – and probably mess up an entire new galaxy as well.

Certainly the “migration” was a clusterfuck in all sorts of very human ways. The best and the brightest were supposed to be “Chosen Ones’, but instead all the places on the 24 ships were taken up but the “rich and powerful” who purchased their places through bribery and kickbacks.

And one ship, just one ship, where Rico Sanchez replaced half of the originally intended passengers with people more-or-less like himself. Vampires, werewolves and other shifters. And at least one warlock.

Not a wizard like Harry Potter – although comparisons could be, and frequently are made. Rather, Milo Velazquez is the immortal “child” (he was over 500 years old before the migration) of a power-hungry witch and a demon. Not just any demon, either, but one of the lords of the seven Hells.

He’s also Rico’s nephew – sorta/kinda – so Rico doesn’t take no for an answer when Milo says he’d rather take his chances on Earth. Milo wakes up aboard Rico’s ship after 500 years of cryo-sleep in a place he swore he’d never go doing the one thing he swore he’d never do again.

Falling in love.

Escape Rating B: I’m enjoying this series so far because its an origin series for something I already loved. Based on reviews, readers new to the series are finding Malfunction and now Deception a great way to get into something marvelous, so don’t feel like you have to go all the way to Break Out to get into this one.

The setup to this series reminds me, in a peculiar way, of the way that Amanda Quick’s Arcane Society series took to the stars to become Jayne Castle’s Harmony series. People with psi powers on Earth first banded together to protect themselves, and then took themselves to the stars where they could fully develop their powers.

(Quick and Castle are the same person, Jayne Ann Krentz, and all of her books are wonderful.)

Robin D. Owen’s Celta series has a similar origin to Harmony. But both are based on the premise that there are people with psi powers here on Earth now who are forced to hide their powers and that they leave Earth not necessarily because the planet as a whole is FUBAR’d but because their particular situation is.

In the Dark Desires world, it’s the paranormal beings who are forced to lead a hidden existence, and who take advantage of a situation to get off Earth along with everyone else.

While most of the people on Rico’s ship are the traditional population of paranormal romance, Milo is a bit different. While it’s impossible not to see the influence of Harry Potter on his presence in this series, Milo explicitly isn’t quite like Harry even if he can do many of the same things.

One of the things that he and Rico have in common is that the “Church”, whatever its current incarnation, has always seen both of them as infernal creatures, eternally damned, who can be persecuted, crucified or burned at the stake – occasionally all of the above – anytime they need a scapegoat to keep the downtrodden masses occupied.

Neither of them is human and they only pretend to be when it suits them. Their views on humanity in general and the Church in specific are often quite scathing while being at the same time completely understandable.

All of which makes Milo’s attraction to the strangely innocent Destiny that much more fascinating. Destiny is naïve in a way that Milo hasn’t been for centuries. She’s not stupid, she’s just sheltered. And the more she breaks out of that shelter the deeper Milo falls – as much as he doesn’t want to.

The reasons behind Destiny’s sheltering turn out to be the heart of everything wrong with the new colony on Trakis Two. Discovering who and what she really is drives her journey and the dramatic tension of the entire story that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from the minute she awakens to the second she breaks out of her mental cell for good, forever, and especially for Milo.

I am definitely looking forward to more of this prequel series. Hopefully in the not too distant future!

Mixing paranormal with sci-fi? Very intriguing! Great characters and terrific story. I've already purchased Malfunction so I can go back to the beginning to find out how it all began.

Many thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing me an arc of this e-book. My review is solely based on my opinion.

It's quirky, fun, and an easy read. I enjoyed the unusual storyline with its mix of paranormal but set in a scifi setting. Can't wait to Each one can be read as a stand-alone but also keeps you up to date with the previous characters so you enjoy updates. I can't wait to read the next one.

Oh my god I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did!! This was amazing! I didn't realized this was a sequel because I enjoyed it as if it was a first book (I'm so getting the first book and reading it as soon as I can!)
This had action and mystery and romance and magic... yes!!! I liked Destiny and most of the side characters but... Milo... he's my baby. I loved him. He had the sass that I love in my characters. I adored him. Again this book was so good. I fully recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Entanglement Publishing for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Deception is the second book in the Dark Desires Origins Series by Nina Croft. This science fiction/fantasy romance story begins as the ships have landed on a new planet. A Brave New World sort to speak. Since it still is run by humans it is still the same in many way. If you thought the politics of 2020 were scary then you will be shuddering to read that life can continue to go downhill. But yet the many quotes at the beginning of the chapters by Alexandre Dumas from The Count of Monte Cristo seem at times hopeful. Some not so much such as -

“In politics, my dear fellow, you know, as well as I do, there are no men, but ideas - no feelings, but interests; in politics we do not kill a man, we only remove an obstacle, that is all.”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

There is a marriage of sorts between the new ruling powers and a new religion. No more than a cult that is run by the government it was one of the saddest parts of the story. This is a twisted man made version, certainly not the “Love the Lord, and take care of the widows and orphans.” This is a works by following orders religion.

Aside from the politics and corporate church the story which provide plenty of lies and secrets, deception, and open government dominance there are those who will stand against it. These characters are engaging, crafty, colorful, and uniquely supernatural, the superheroes of the book. Within their witty and often cynical dialogue are many references to books, movies, and ideas of today. It was quite entertaining so I found myself looking for these.

Warlock Milo Velazquez finds romance even though he is not looking for it. Destiny wants to love and she wants to love Milo. Their relationship is complicated but passionate. Her role in the new world is one of mystery but it is more then Milo’s better half. Little by little it is revealed.

From the beginning Deception grabbed my attention. Just when I thought I knew what will happen some event changed that prediction. The story is full of twists, turns and surprises. It is a character driven story so that as their emotions played across the pages mine followed suit.

Destiny sums up Deception with “We can’t control where we come from, who our parents are, …. but that doesn’t stop us thinking for ourselves. We can choose what we are. If we can see past the lies that other people tell us.”

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Deception is the second book in the (Dark Desires Origins series by Nina Croft. The character development is outstanding, little bits and pieces of information arriving at odd times to form a complete picture of the characters. A captivating story with vampires, shifters, and magic that is well written and keeps you interested from start to finish.

Having been thoroughly entertained by the original Dark Desires series that mixed sci fi with paranormal I'm truly excited to read these prequel stories that show what happened when humans fled their dying planet. Milo never wanted to travel in space or indeed the future but wakes up to find not only did his uncle put him in cryogenic sleep but he's now woken Milo up in order to find out exactly what is happening with the rest of the fleet. The humans have no idea that supernatural creatures have taken over one of their ships but five hundred years into the future perhaps some of the humans have also been keeping secrets !
Destiny knows her place and has no doubt that she has an important role to play but sadly has absolutely no idea exactly what is expected of her. Awake and on a new planet she's curious and oh so excited to finally start to live but oddly those around seem to want her confined and kept in the dark. What Destiny hadn't expected was for a stranger to quite literally walk in and then out of her cell ! Milo is gorgeous but very different from the few others that Destiny has met but is he exactly what he seems ?
Such a fabulous concept and so very original. I loved seeing Rico the Vampire and even better was the humour that Dylan the Werewolf added to this story. I do think Destiny was a bit clueless at times because to me her purpose was glaringly obvious. However Milo made an intriguing hero with abilities that I would have liked to know more about and I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to more set in this world.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Our favourite space-faring paranormals are back!

Milo may be Capt. Rico's nephew but even he admits that Rico may have gone too far this time. Yes, it was a worthy deed to save paranormals who were at risk of being made extinct when crooked humans rigged the lottery to save themselves. As usual only the wealthy and the "useful" managed to make it onboard. But Rico did some jiggery-pokery himself and left humans behind so he could put paranormals in their place!

They already have a rocky past, they really do put the fun in dysfunctional, but now Rico is deploying him to be a damn diplomat. Milo has problems keeping his Warlock behavior under control but he's the nearest to human they have so he'll have to do. So he and Dylan schlep off to Trakis too to see what the new politician on the block is up to.

Destiny has been awakened and not its time for her all-important duty. If only someone would actually tell her what that was! Between her caretaker Doctor acting squirrelly, being treated as a prisoner, and then meeting the mysterious Milo, Destiny is finding all this new information a but much. She's ready to begin her new life but will someone end it before she even gets to really live?

We thought politics in 2020 were dodgy, they got nothing on this motley bunch. I'm not going to give spoilers but can I just ask - why was the bad guy a Scot, and a Glaswegian at that! We always get the mad and bad roles! LOL

Destiny may be naive but daft she is not. She speed reads documents that'd make your head hurt. Quantum Physics, Medicine, Space Engineering - she'll tackle anything - including FSOG!

Earth’s Chosen and the Church of Everlasting Life are still making waves in the future and it looks like Earth's problems are following the population into the stars. Destiny and Milo are great together. He's jaded, she's bright-eyed and eager. He doesn't believe in love and she just wants to grab it and not let go. Sure the romance could have happened at a better time but hey Destiny has got a lot of missed time to make up for and you have to love her perseverance!

Roll on book 3 because it's getting really tense and I want answers!

this was a great read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed this book as it took a typical scifi element and added to it. I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to more in the series.

This is such an intriguing book. I was at times grinning others grimacing in disgust at the evil of some men. Well written with great world building I recommend this one.