Friday Mini Reviews #4 - Fade To Black, An Officer's Duty and To The Princess Bound

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Fade to Black by Francis Knight (Rojan Dizon #1)

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Synopsis from Goodreads
From the depths of a valley rises the city of Mahala.

It’s a city built upwards, not across—where streets are built upon streets, buildings upon buildings. A city that the Ministry rules from the sunlit summit, and where the forsaken lurk in the darkness of Under.

Rojan Dizon doesn’t mind staying in the shadows, because he’s got things to hide. Things like being a pain-mage, with the forbidden power to draw magic from pain. But he can’t hide for ever.

Because when Rojan stumbles upon the secrets lurking in the depths of the Pit, the fate of Mahala will depend on him using his magic. And unlucky for Rojan—this is going to hurt.
Amazon  US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK | The Book Depository US/UK

5/10

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I should have listened to The Book Smugglers when they expressed their disappointment with this book. The world-building is pretty awesome, peeps. But something was missing. As in great characters. Rojan was very grey without any bright, distinctive traits. The love interest was a bit bizarre and unexpected as well, so while I liked some parts I wouldn't read beyond this book and wouldn't recommend it. It was simply uninspiring.

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Надо было слушать The Book Smugglers, когда те выражали своё разочарование этой книгой. Ну вот чего-то очень важного здесь не хватало. И герой какой-то серенький, и интерес у него любовный появился совершенно не в тему и всё как-то было ну очень скучно. Совсем не советую.

 An Officer's Duty by Jean Johnson (Theirs Not To Reason Why#2)

bought

Synopsis from Goodreads

Jean Johnson—the national bestselling author of the Sons of Destiny novels—returns to the world she introduced in A Soldier’s Duty with a terrible vision of the future...

Promoted in the field for courage and leadership under fire, Ia is now poised to become an officer in the Space Force Navy—once she undertakes her Academy training. But on a trip back home to Sanctuary, she finds the heavyworld colony being torn apart by religious conflict. Now Ia must prepare her family and followers to secure the galaxy’s survival. Her plan is to command a Blockade Patrol ship. Her goal, to save as many lives as she can. But at the Academy, she discovers an unexpected challenge: the one man who could disrupt those plans. The man whose future she cannot foresee...
 Amazon  US/UK | Amazon kindle US/UK | The Book Depository US/UK

10/10

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I freaking ADORE this series and am dying to read Hellfire which is being released this month. Excellent, mind-blowing, reality bending, Dune-like military sci-fi with a kick-ass, gorgeous, tough heroine who is trying to save the Universe. I loved it to bits and expect everyone else to rave about it. This is also one of the very few books with 10 out of 10 rating for me this year. And I can't wrap my head around it, because I can't stand the same author writing paranormal romance, but she is awesome in sci-fi. *shrugs* See my review of A Soldier's Duty.

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Я уже пищала от восторга, рецензируя первую книгу серии, и теперь продолжаю в том же духе со второй. Джин Джонсон, паранормальные романы которой я терпеть не могу, написала одну из лучших серий научной фантастики, которую мне когда-либо приходилось читать. Какой-то парадокс прямо-таки. Я с огромным нетерпением жду когда получу третью книгу Адское Пламя, которая будет выпущена в этом месяце. Страстно рекомендую всем ценителям Дюны. Это также одна из немногих книг, которым я дала самую высокую оценку в этом году.

 To The Princess Bound by Sara King (Terms of Mercy #1)

kindle freebie

Synopsis from Goodreads

Sometimes, Life leads us where we need to go…

Six years ago, Victory’s mind and body were brutally shattered by those she trusted. The betrayal has left her with a closed and tortured heart and an innate fear of the men around her. Her father, a cold, compassionless emperor who rules Victory’s life the same way he has ruled Mercy, has an inhuman solution: Chain her to a massive native man from the war-torn planet that kidnapped her to prove to her there’s nothing to fear. Yet when the huge and gentle native shows himself to be something more than anyone expects, will Victory open her heart and allow this handsome and powerful healer to help her flower, or will she turn him over to the Imperium that hunts him?

Bound to an Imperial princess, their bodies lashed together by a cruel decree, Dragomir is tired of helplessly watching Victory’s past overtake her. He has the power to fix her, and if she doesn’t like it, she can kill him after he is finished. He is a healer—he will mend her broken spirit, or die trying. Yet, in healing her, he must reveal his secret to her, and in doing so, Dragomir must also trust her with his life, for those with his special talents are feared and hunted by the Imperium. What Dragomir doesn’t foresee at the outset is his own passion: She’s his soul-mate, their lives entwined throughout the ages, and her mere presence sparks a fire within him that he’s tried for years to ignore. He finds himself fighting his body’s deepest urges every time he looks upon her graceful form, struggling for the control she needs of him, warring with inner desires and an ancient need that could make her abandon him forever…
 Amazon kindle US($4.99)/UK(£3.33)

9.5/10

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 I keep telling you how much I enjoy reading Sara King, despite her horrible covers, and have you read her yet? No. She writes complex, intense and convoluted books be that urban fantasy or sci-fi with an absolutely insane chemistry and brilliant banter between main characters. They are very human, imperfect and incredibly likeable. I never know what to expect from Sara, because her world-building is awesome, and the power is strong in her *grinning* Don't waste your time and grab one of her books. See my review of Alaskan Fury.

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Ну как долго мне придётся вас убеждать прочитать Сару Кинг, когда я так часто пою ей дифирамбы? Покупайте одну из её книг и читайте. Я уже прочла 5, и каждая из них просто невероятно харизматична, сложна и полна безумной химии между главными героями и шикарных диалогов, от которых невозможно оторваться. Читайте, не пожалеете!