Review: Chain Reaction

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Elite 8th Wing pilot Celene Jur was taken captive after a mysterious device temporarily disabled her ship's controls. Three solar months later, when Celene receives intel on the man who built the device, she's ready to get the bastard. Only problem is, the higher-ups think her mission partner should be Nils Calder, a tech-head who can understand the disabling device. The attraction between them is electric, but Celene needs a soldier who can watch her back as she exacts her revenge.

Nils knows his department is nicknamed NerdWorks. Pilots like Celene think the closest tech geeks come to combat is all-night Nifalian chess tournaments. But behind the NerdWorks insignia on his sleeve Nils is an able fighter, ready to prove himself and gain Celene's trust.

The desire between them is unexpected, but with the fate of thousands hanging in the balance, the hotshot pilot and the tech genius must succeed in their mission—no matter the cost.

Genre: science fiction romance

Publication date: January 2012

Mature content: yes

Review: Chain Reaction is a fun, fast paced science fiction adventure, with a nice romance thrown in too. It reads pretty quickly, mostly because you just can't wait to see what Celene and Nils will get themselves into next. Of the two, Nils is clearly my favorite. For all her superior airs, I found Celene doubting herself too much at critical moments. Nils, on the other had, despite being portrayed as a geek, seems to be much more in control of any situation.

 

I had two main concerns with this book, hence the 4 stars rating instead of five. 

First, when the book starts it seems we are thrown into the middle of a story instead of at its beginning. And we are. Apparently there's a previous book (Collision Course), with different main characters but where it seems the story of Celene's abduction is told in more detail. I haven't read Collision Course (yet) and I honestly thought Chain Reaction was book one instead. If there's a note somewhere on Amazon about this, it's not immediately visible. It's not like Chain Reaction cannot be read as a stand alone once you past those initial pages, but it still feels like we are missing something.

And second, ninety per cent of the book is just Nils and Celene together. There are very few secondary characters, which kind of limits their interactions a bit and after a while even their dialogues become a bit repetitive. 

But overall, if science fiction romance is your thing Chain Reaction may be a good fit. 

Happy readings!

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