I read this book weeks ago but I needed to think better about the review I was going to do. Because I didn't love It, but I didn't hate it either.
Maybe it's because I didn’t read the first of the serie and so I found myself confused on several issues, but in general it was a nice reading.
The characters were enjoyable and also the plot.
So in conclusion I appreciate this book and I rate it 3 stars!

I was a bit lost with this book. Maybe it would have helped to read the first in the series to understand some of the technical jargon the author uses. Things like, what is a refesher? When she gets rescued from the prison planet and she went into a decon tube, what's that? Would have like some additional information on these made up items, since I don't really know what they are.
By the time I made it to chapter 10 I was riding the struggle bus to finish this book. I'm missing something to really draw me in and keep my attention in the beginning of this book. This story does pick up the pace once we hit the later chapters. I'm kinda stuck on the puppets. What are they? I get they are playing and important role in this story, but I'm not sure what they are, robots, brainwashed alien beings, computer programed beings, a form of an alien?
There are some really interesting parts, all the secrets they keep from each other, lying by omission and then being called out on it later when they have time to talk in private.
The back half of the book is where this story picks up and really turns into a can't put down story, I just wish that the beginning and middle had the same effect.

I had not read the first book in this series, but the synopsis sounded interesting, so I was happy that it really didn't affect my understanding of the world-building. If you are a fan of Star Trek with some romance thrown in, this book hits all the sweet spots. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.

Review will be posted here - https://louisesbookbuzz.home.blog/ on Monday 30th August


Whilst I like romance in the books I read, first and foremost I want an engaging and action filled story, which I definitely got with Andromeda's Pirate. The author's characterisation was excellent with two well rounded complex individuals in Kelra and Darvik, along with a wide ranging and varied cast of supporting characters. The world building was also very pleasing, sufficiently complex and neatly woven into the story so as to avoid the dreaded info-dump.


Cleverly used foreshadowing allowed for a variety of possible outcomes, so whilst you know that the story will have a positive outcome and HEA the specific journey taken to get you there felt neither predictable or trite. This is a world that I would gladly read more of, I will definitely be exploring the Debra Jess' previous work. Connecting with Kelra and Darvik was incredibly easy, they were immensely likeable individuals with motivations that made relating to them absolutely effortless.


The emotional aspects of the book would have benefited from being shown rather than told. I need to see how feelings are developing through the emotional, psychological AND physiological impact that results. Descriptions of stomach fluttering, heart pounding, blood rushing moments were sadly absent, which left me having to accept Kelra and Darvik's feelings for one another as a fact, as opposed to being utterly convinced that they were meant to be. However, for me, this book is still far superior to so many SFR's where the "alien/space" element could be removed and the story still work. This was very much a space opera story with a side or romance, and if that is your preference too then I highly recommend this book to you.

The good:
The author spins a decent yarn. The adventure she created was entertaining and at times gripping. The quest to find the abandoned ship and avenge the heroine’s parents and the adventures and mishaps encountered along the way was a good story in and of itself and captured my attention though it was unable to hold it until the final 30% or so of the story when it suddenly became an un-put-downable book for me.
The not-so-good:
The romance was difficult for me to accept. A part of it being that the author kept the event that really defined the turning point in the H and h’s relationship shrouded in unnecessary mystery for nearly the entire book. The result is that the relationship felt a little too much like insta-lust even though the characters all seemed to think they were in love. I think that if the book had started with a prologue showing the event that led to the h allowing the H to escape and ultimately her own incarceration, rather than telling us about it near the end of the book, readers would be more invested in them as a couple from the get go. Instead I wans mostly irritated by the romantic/sexual interactions between the pair since I couldn’t relate to how they came to care about each other.
The very not-so-good:
The villain of this piece was portrayed almost as a caricature. Everything about him made him seem to be evil for the sake of being evil and he had a hate on for the h that was never truly explained to my satisfaction. In fact, the h couldn’t even remember him from her days at the academy when she supposedly stole everything from him, which made him just seem pathetic. When a villain drops everything and breaks all the rules to chase after someone, you would expect him to have a decent backstory to go with his hatred. This guy was just presented as someone who hated the heroine and wanted to see her suffer before she died for no particular reason that I could tell.
Overall:
A decent read but with problems that if fixed, could elevate the story. The novel definitely has “good bones” but could stand to be fleshed out a little with more backstory early on to justify both the romantic relationship between the H and h and the implacable hatred of the villain. 3.5 of 5 stars.

An absolutely lovely sci-fi enemies to lovers romance. Fans of Star Wars, Trek, and Battlestar Galactica will all find something to adore in this swoony story!