Reading with teafortiffany

Hello friends!!!

Welcome to another ARC review! I can’t believe I’ve read as many ARC’s this year as I have. I did want to increase the amount of ARCs read and I’m glad that I have been able to do so. I’ve gotten a few through NetGalley and a few through “influencer” programs for indie authors and even some directly from indie authors. I’ve not yet made it to the attention of the larger publishers, but that’s okay. I’ve really been enjoying what I have been able to read.

Anyways, let’s get into it!

Thank you to the author for providing me with this ARC in return for an honest review.

My first Sci-fi book of the year, and it’s a pretty solid book to start with. This is the first book that I have ever read by AJ Wynn. It is filled with space adventure, romance, and spy stuff. Who doesn’t love all of those things?

This book revolves around Lark Sterling and her unintended partner, Damian Vaughn, as they pose as a couple with an Exception (the equivalent of marriage) aboard Vaughn’s ship, Radiant (Get it? Radiant Exception? I see what you did there.). The mission is to find out who the Phoenix, a criminal mastermind ruining the Galaxy, is and take him out. Lark and Vaughn each have their own reason for wanting to find this person, and they’ll need to figure out how to work together to solve the mystery.

I fell in love with these characters so quickly. We don’t get much time with the other crew members, other than the occasional interaction here and there. I would like to have learned more about them and really gotten a good idea of how close they all were going on these cargo runs all the time. I really enjoyed the interactions that did happen in the book; I just wanted some more because I loved them.

I will admit that I had an idea of who the Phoenix was most of the time (and no, I’m not telling); however, there was this one Red Herring that I did not expect at all. I love it when stuff like that happens, and while I might have known without actually knowing the major mystery, all of the little pieces that are scattered throughout still made the mystery itself fun to understand and watch the characters figure out. 

Now, let’s talk about the romance. It is adorable (and then steamy). I love these two characters together, and when Vaughn tells someone to “get away from my wife,” I swooned. It was perfection. They don’t get along at first, and Vaughn actively avoids her as much as he possibly can. As they get to know each other, the feelings sort of just hit like a freight train and explode. It’s fantastic. 

I loved the vibes of this book. It was fun, made me cry, and made me scream and giggle. I experienced the full rainbow of emotions through here, which is impressive for a book under 300 pages (this, of course, might change as I read an ARC copy). While there was so much that I loved, it wasn’t quite enough for me to give it a full 5-star, but it was at least a 4.5-star read. If you want some sci-fi, only one bed, grumpy bear romance, pick this one up. It is absolutely worth the read.

4.5 ★

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Thank you for reading this ARC review. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read through my blog posts. I love it especially when I see a new like. I started this blog to connect with others and to put longer-form content out. I do have a bookstagram, and I know that it gains much more attention, but I have a soft spot in my heart for this blog. Thank you all.

Until next time!

Bye friends!!!