Review: Ariston

Book Review: Ariston, by Ruby Lionsdrake, 5 stars


 

It’s been two years since delegates from the Confederation visited our solar system, pointing out a wormhole that leads into the rest of the galaxy. Former Marine Michelle “Mick” Saunders was one of the first people from Earth to acquire a spaceship and venture out among the stars. Still haunted by the devastating event that prompted her to leave the military, she’s led a lonely life of late, and longs to find something greater out there. But for now, she has a spaceship to pay off, so her longings must be set aside. When an Earth corporation wants to send a team of researchers to a uninhabited planet full of ancient human ruins, she accepts the job of transporting them. Little does she know that someone else has a claim on the planet, and that there’s a reason it isn’t inhabited anymore. When Mick runs into a Star Guardian, one of the fierce warriors that enforce Confederation laws, she realizes she should have asked more questions before accepting the mission. A lot more questions. Even though the hunky Ariston is someone she would rather date than fight, he doesn’t look like one to be swayed from his duty by a flirty smile. Instead, he’s determined to arrest her. Ariston, a Star Guardian placed under cover on a salvage ship suspected of illegal activities, hasn’t known contentment since he lost his wife years ago. But he’s not looking for anyone new. Especially now. He has evidence to gather and a rogue crew to turn in. There’s no time for distractions, definitely not in the form of an Earth woman trespassing on a protected planet. But Mick, a fighter and a beauty, intrigues him. Despite his certainty that he shouldn’t get involved, he finds himself wanting to protect her from the dangers of the ruins, as well as the salvage crew plotting to capture her vessel. His mission would have been daunting even without extra complications, but now, he must choose between his duty and the woman rousing feelings within him for the first time in years.


Genre: science fiction romance

Publication date: October 2017

Mature content: yes

Review: Ariston is a follow up on the Star Guardians series by Ruby Lionsdrake, with the plot taking place about two years after the end of book 5 in the original series. Ariston might also be my favorite in the whole series, and I loved following the adventures of Mick and Ariston. I did feel the end was a little bit rushed, and there are a few plot details I wish the author had given us more detail about (I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be as cool as Mick was with an alien chip lodged in my brain), but as a whole it was still a page turner and a book I just couldn't put down.
 
While Amazon claims it can be read as a stand alone, I believe having the insight of the previous books was useful to grasp the entire reach of the story (you can read my reviews of books one (Orion), two (Treyjon), three (Sagitta), four (Hierax) and five (Zakota)). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Overall, I had a lot of fun with this series (even if I felt the latest books to be much better than the initial ones) and I wish the author had written more, as I believe there were still some very interesting characters who deserved their own full sized story. 
 
There is one additional novella, Mikolos, that you can download for free on Ruby Lionsdrake FB page here

Happy readings,

The Book Worm, book blog

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