Actual rating 2.5/5 stars. This is the first instalment in the Refractions series.

I was initially enthralled and either this enjoyment was ruined by my slow reading progress, over the festive period whilst I was pretty sick and moving house, or the plot moved too slowly for me to continue to engage. Don't let this review be the deciding factor in picking the book up or not as it may have been a case of wrong timing!

Refractions was a fun ride through the universe! It was a unique blend of sci-fi and mystery that kept me captivated throughout. The twist weren't as twisty as I would have preferred and the ending was a bit disappointing but it was a nice escape from the heavier sci-fi I typically read.

Release November 16.

A complex feminist deeply characterized Science Fiction novel, at its heart REFRACTIONS (first in a series) is the tale of a woman so guilt-ridden due to her well-intentioned, obsession-impelled, actions on Earth, she literally "escapes" this planet on a decades-long journey into Space. Nathalie Hart is a virtually "last-minute" choice as pilot on a "rescue ship," sent on a 43-year journey to Bethesda, Humanity's only colonized exoplanet, after communications (with a 6-year lag between Bethesda and Earth) have gone dark.

The novel impacts immediately with a progression of heartbreaking and terrifying events, hooking the reader and evoking the high level of suspense and near-constant tension which rules throughout. The author, in addition to peeling away the layers of her characters and exposing their cores, also unpacks geopolitics, the rigors of space travel, and multiple layered conspiracies sufficient to drive a mentally stable person straight into the embrace of rampant paranoia!

There were a few issues that made this a problematic read/listen for me. The storyline is a well-trod path that I had hoped would have a unique twist (sadly, the mysteries were mundane). But also, the audio version that I listened to had a narrator who chose to do a very overwrought performance that made the main character sound like she was one step from a nervous breakdown most of the book (making it hard to really get behind her when she sounds like a mother in law when forced to choose between Coke or Pepsi for lunch).

Story: In a cold war between China and America, a Canadian like Natalie is extremely important as a 'neutral'. Fleeing a failed medicine/food/supplies protest that ended up costing the life of her sister, brother in law, and their newborn, Natalie is not coping well and hoping the position of pilot for a rescue ship will give her a new purpose in life. But when she is awakened suddenly from sleep in a full blown emergency, she will have to pull her life together, hold together a crew at odds with each other, and help not only a civilian colony transport ship in distress but also uncover the mystery as to why an established colony went silent.

The author does a good job at creating a plausible future in which America is a fundamentalist Christian state and China is a tech giant. The two have a cold war, whith China having a tight control over interstellar transport proprietary technology and United States not trusting what the Chinese are doing with it. The US has settled a missionary colony that has mysteriously gone silent, all the while another colony ship was en route. So a rescue/discovery mission is created by the Americans but with Chinese engineers, as required for the Americans to use the technology. It makes for a ship of warring ideals, mistrust, and anger.

Most of the book is Natalie (who was thrust into command after the death of the captain) dealing with the politics and holding the crew together. The Chinese communicate silently through mindlink while the Americans are militaristic and bombastic and somewhat luddite. Since Natalie's crew have been on the voyage for decades, as news starts trickling in about the current status of Earth, things begin to heat up fast. There is also the question of what happened to the colonists and what the rescuers will do about the colony ship with hundreds of colonists in cryosleep. This is in addition to an ever increasing web of intrigue as the crew on Natalie's ship find they are all mysteriously connected.

Perhaps because of the melodramatic narration or simply because I've read this story before many times, I had a really hard time getting into the book. It isn't bad and the writing is solid - I likely would have had a better impression had I read this rather than listened to the narration. It's not that the narrator was bad per se - I just felt it was too hard to really appreciate the strength of a character who sounded most of the time like a hand wringing, sweaty, nervous Nellie afraid of her own shadow. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

I hate to be this way! I really do! This book was just not for me. I was so hopeful because I love space and the description sounded so exciting, but this was a LONG haul of an audiobook. It dragged on so much, and I felt like it could have been finished half way through. I also had a hard time of keeping track of all the characters which made it confusing at times (this could have been a me issue though). The one saving grace of the book was the Narrator! She was truly fantastic and was the only thing that kept it from being a DNF for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape for an audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What a fabulous story! I loved listening to this Sci-Fi adventure! I couldn’t stop and sleep or eat - just anxious to hear the next chapter. The characters were deep, real and interesting! The storyline was emotional & eventful and felt so real. The narrator did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life & helping the story come alive! I absolutely loved this recording!!

A thrilling read that’s difficult to put down. Refractions has a complex plot line that involves a woman seeking redemption, a murder mystery, a missing intergalactic colony, life and death adventures and a clever unexpected ending. The interactions between characters is interesting andnot fluff filler.
This is a science fiction novelist to follow.
I listened to the audio book and the narrator was enthusiastic, spoke clearly, and modulated her voice that enhanced the characterizations.
Recommended.

I tried, really. I tried to like this book. Unfortunately, Patricia Rodriguez was not my cup of tea. As a narrator, she REALLY grated on me. She read like everything was urgent, and while I understand some things are, the entire book doesn't beg for urgency. I think if I'd read this another way, I might have enjoyed it. As an audiobook, I did not at all.

In the book Refractions, author M V Melcer writes about Nathalie Hart and humanity’s quest to colonize Bethesda, who has ceased communicating with earth. Hart, a talented pilot and last minute addition to the ship, is awaken from cryo-sleep to the sound of alarms and a fire. The captain is dead and she is now thrust into command of the ship, which she feels unqualified for. And she has to deal with the multi-national crew who don’t get along because of their nationality and the tension back on earth. Who can she trust? Is their a traitor on board? Who started the fire the killed the captain and several crew members?
This is a great fast-paced action packed mystery that keeps you guessing with the many plot twists. I would recommend this book. The audio-book narration was very good. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.7 stars

Nathalie Hart, a pilot, is woken from frozen sleep early on the 100 year journey to a new planet. They are so far away it takes six years to get updated information. Nathalie wakes to sabotage on board and the space colony ahead of them not what anyone was expecting. Lots of political intrigue and trying to figure out who can be trusted while figuring out what happened to the other colony.

I enjoyed Patricia Rodriguez's narration.

Author M.V. Melcer has done a decent job with this novel. The character development for the lead is linear and well done. Even if she is bone-headed, the protagonist is at least consistent in her thoughts and behavior. The tech is straight forward enough that no long explanations of how it works is required. The plot is good mystery until the reveal.

I was not a fan of the pretty one dimensional bad guy or the henchmen. Only one of the secondary characters was developed very well. The narrator imbued emotion into the story fairly well, but I found that modulation between the characters was lacking.

Three and a half stars is my rating. The story was above average overall, even with the issues I had. I stayed engaged so that bumped up the rating. My thanks to Dreamscape Select via Netgalley. No compensation has been requested or offered for this honest review.

Just finished the audio version of this book, and WOW! The narrator did an amazing job, so much so that I think this needs 6 stars! The narration here allowed me to fully inhabit the book, much as a movie immerses one. The emotions, the conflicts, and the tension—it all came fully alive with this nuanced and amazing narration. If you like character-driven, realistic SF, listen to this book!

Refractions by M V Melcer
Narrated by Patricia Rodriguez

It's in the future and Earth is a mess. But there is Bethesda – humanity's first extra-solar colony and the hope of developing others like it. Except that the colony has stopped communicating with Earth. So a ship has been sent to Bethesda and it'll take thirty five years to get there and then thirty five more years to get back home. What kind of people would volunteer for such a mission, a mission that will mean never seeing their loved ones and friends again, a mission that means the volunteers come home to a world that is seventy years plus further along while the volunteers have been in stasis most of those years?

The story is mostly in the "future" present day although it also goes back to before Nathalie Hart, a Canadian space pilot, volunteers for the trip to check out what has happened at Bethesda. Imagine her surprise when she is not only accepted for the trip but made second in command, a job for which she is in no way qualified. She's not been trained for the job but also she understandably has PTSD from the latest events on Earth, events that she feels she is responsible for, events that killed so many.

Ha, when things go very lopsided on the ship and Nathalie ends up in charge, and then things go even more lopsided, seeing Nathalie crumbled on her floor having what seems like teenage rebellious hissy fits put fear in my heart, too, that she could not do the job. Nathalie has no confidence in herself. She just wants to sulk in her cabin and have everyone stop depending on her. But Nathalie pulls herself together, her immense guilt is something that pushes her to pull herself up by her bootstraps and at least pretend she can do the job, pretend she can lead a diverse team that is made up of hostile parties who could turn on each other in an instant.

Nathalie wins me over in the end. So do many other characters who I wasn't fond of at first. When the going gets tough, when the going gets impossible, maybe people can pull together, not all of them, but some of them. Maybe there is hope for humanity even though some super powerful somebodies would like to take everything away from anyone but the super powerful few. Patricia Rodriguez does a really good job with the narration of this space opera. There are so many characters, with various accents, and foreign words and her narration even helped me to keep track of the characters since she gives them distinctive voices.

Thank you to Dreamscape Select, Storm Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

Oh boy the twist was wonderful!

Fast paced, a fallible likable MC with a mysterious past. Told in 2 timelines, now & recent past.

Earth’s 1st colony has gone silent, a multi-national rescue mission is on the way.

Our MC is 2nd in command when she goes into cryosleep. Her sleep is interrupted by a fire, now she’s the reluctant leader & the 1st thing she sees is a message - sabotage.

There’s mystery, environmental, religious & political intrigue, social strife due to fear & paranoia. Actions, consequences, choices. Drama.

The dialog & situations/interactions felt believable. Well written. Well narrated! Great cover! I’d like more!

Thank you NetGalley & Storm Publishing!

Publication day - 11/16/23

Nathalie Hart is on an interstellar rescue mission. The space colony, Bethesda, has fallen silent. The colony is made up of men, women, and children and the rescue mission is a last ditch effort to save the first colony of its sort. But Nathalie is awakened from cryo-sleep way too early. Someone is trying to sabotage the rescue mission, and they don’t care who dies in the process. Finding herself in command of the mission, she hast to find out who is behind the attack and what secrets on Bethesda are worth killing for. A rip roaring roller coaster ride with a strong and believable protagonist.