Sara's Review: The Starfarer (The Araloka Chronicles #2) by Petra Landon
APC PUBLISHER: Petra Landon RELEASED: November 16, 2018 GENRE: scifi, romance, space opera LENGTH: 424 pages FORMAT: ebook
ADD TO GOODREADS BUY LINKS AMAZON AUTHOR LINKS TWITTER | WEBSITE BLURB
On a sleepy agrarian planet, Sila Gatherer hides a deadly secret. Until an accidental encounter with a mysterious alien starship changes her life forever. Star Captain Zh’hir Mu’raat is Ur’quay — renowned across the galaxy as warriors and explorers. Thrown together, the starfarer and his accidental captive forge an unlikely bond. One that is tested, time and again, when Sila finds herself threatened, exiled and adrift.
In a dangerous sector of space where powerful factions battle for control, Sila and the Star Captain must fight for a future together as her ability, Ur’quay tradition and a complicated legacy test their faith. When a powerful foe threatens Sila, they race against time to unravel a centuries-old secret. With the fate of Sector Araloka and the Ur’quay at stake, can the starfarer follow his heart or will history repeat itself again … THREE BOUNDLESS STARS I voluntarily received a copy of Starfarer for review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I think I did this book a disservice by not giving myself a refresher and rereading book one, The Mercenary which I rated 4.5 Boundless stars. In my opinion, The Starfarer really can’t be read as a standalone novel, because even though each book in this series has a different set of main characters with a romantic subplot; the overall plot of the books and the series is a Space Opera. Which is great, but if you are like me and read and listen to 100’s of books a year you need that refresher and sadly there really isn’t any recap. It just basically starts from where The Mercenary ends. I found my self a bit lost, searching my brain for the remnants of the Mercenary that I read a year ago. I think had I not read the Mercenary I would have been in better shape for this book rather than grasping at tatters of my horrible memory. So my suggestion either refresh or read together, I would never ever suggest starting a series at book two so you can forget that. LOL
Sila and Zh’hir share a unique ability, and that is the reason they become close. Nope, not going to spoil it. Zh’hir is an expert in his and is helping to train Sila. What I didn’t understand if this is an innate ability of the Ur’quay people why is it forbidden? What is its use, if they don’t use it? Why is Sila put in danger over and over using an ability she can barely control when Zh’hir is the better choice? These things didn’t make sense to me.
Overall the book was good, especially the interactions with Sila and Zh’hir, I loved watching their romance bud. I am giving The Starfarer 3 Boundless Stars.