Reviews

Skip Trace by Jenn Burke, Kelly Jensen

gillianw's review

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4.0

In which I entitle this review: OMG, hasn't poor Felix been through enough already??

Actually, that title's pretty much all I've got. Well, except for letting you know that this was another stellar book in the Chaos Station series and that I hope, hope, hope Felix and Zed will be able to have some breathing room before the next catastrophe (that's not gonna happen, is it? *sigh*).

4 stars

teresab78's review

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4.0

****Reviewed for Prism Book Alliance®****

4.25 Stars -

I love this series, I love these characters, but boy did I want to slap Felix upside the head a time or two!!

Once again we meet the crew of the Chaos, this time for Zander’s homecoming after his resurrection by the guardians. Federation forces are out to get him and the crew must work together to save him and his former teammates. Felix is feeling on the outs however and this leads to poor decision making on his part.

Felix’s attitude and behaviour is what really kept this from being a 5 star read for me. He had been broody in the past and I knew of his traumatic backstory but his actions seemed too over the top and didn’t match the man I remembered from previous books. I didn’t know if I wanted to hit him or wrap him in cotton wool and cry with him. His actions just made everything that much more tragic seeming. I guess that added to the tension of the book, but it made me mad at times.

However, the rest of the story was great and I loved seeing Zander and his vulnerability. There was a great scene of them playing that made me smile. I also liked seeing Zander interact with his family and yet how true he stayed to Felix.

I was very happy for the ending and the fact that the series seems like it will continue with more adventures from this crew. I loved seeing all the other cast members as well and look forward to more!

Prism Book Alliance®

marlobo's review

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5.0

4.5 stars

lolasreviews's review

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3.0

When I decided I was in the mood for a science fiction romance book I returned to this series. This is another solid read in this series, although it wasn't my favorite book in the series so far. But that's mostly due to my own mood.

I can repeat many of the comments from previous reviews about what I liked about this book. It has a great cast of characters, the story moves along at a great pace, the writing is well done and the world building is excellent. And there is another adventure and troubles that the crew of the Chaos has to deal with in this book.

After the big life changing events of book 2 I had mistakenly believed Zander and Felix would get a bit of a break in this book. I couldn't have been more wrong. Instead of bringing them closer, it actually pulled them apart more. Felix is struggling with everything, not feeling at home, afraid of losing Zander, still working with the emotions over what happens and all his dark fears and troubles are bubbling to the surface again. He makes a rash decision that he thinks will help, but it won't.

Zander has his own set of trouble too. The military isn't happy he's still alive and accuses him of sharing confidential secrets. And the danger is only increasing. Then there is Felix who seems off, but isn't telling him what is wrong. He is back among his family which is great and difficult at the same time. And he has to go through a lot more in this book.

And while Zander and Felix aren't as much together as I would've liked. I really do like them as a couple and there are moments that really show the strength of their emotions. And by the end of this book I am hopeful they can find a way to deal with everything thrown their way.

This wasn't a happy book, although there are some uplifting and awesome moments, it was mostly full of struggles or maybe it just felt that way to me. Struggles within the characters, but also the threat the military poses. They try and find the missing member of project Dreamweaver, even tough they don't know if they can help. them. And by the end it almost feels like battle lines are drawn, until it gets resolved in a way that almost feels too easy. And in a way what happens and how it gets resolved makes me wonder why all of this was necessary. And in a sense it wasn't, if someone had communicated better or made a certain thing more clear, half of this book wouldn't have happened. It just felt a bit off.

Part of why i struggled with this book is because it was hard to see what Felix went through. he isn't in a good place and I wanted to tell him tor trust Zander and talk with him, but ofcourse it isn't that easy. They also spend a big portion of the story apart due to reasons. And with my current mood I guess I just wasn't in the mood for that type of struggles. It just felt like a struggle to read at times, because of the emotional vibes, not because of the actual writing. Which I guess is well done, it just didn't mesh with my mood where I wanted something more happy and uplifting. Then the ending is great again and that sliver of hope and an interesting twist makes me excited for the next book all over again.

It was fun to finally meet a character we heard about in previous books and now meet her in real life. And another character who plays an important role. It was fun to read more of the characters we already know from previous books, although the focus is on Felix and Zander. It also was nice to meet some of Zander's family members in this book.

To summarize: this was another great read in this awesome science fiction romance series. This book just wasn't my favorite as the emotional struggles just felt like a struggle to read and I was in the mood for something more happy I realized later. That's more because of me than the book tough. There is a lot to like, the characters are awesome, I like the romance, it has some great world building and the plot progresses at a good pace. I also thought one thing was resolved almost too easily and it felt a bit off how one piece of information/ communication would've changed the whole course of this book. There is a great twist at the end that makes me curious about the next book.

crtsjffrsn's review

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4.0

Zander Anatolius has been through more than one person could ever expect to go through and survive. He was part of an experimental super-soldier program that should have killed him--and eventually did. Thanks to a few twists of fate, however, he was revived and made it back to Felix and the crew of the Chaos. But now it's time for him to return home and see his family, people he hasn't seen for years, to try to explain everything that's happened in his life. But the Anatolius family aren't the only ones waiting on Alpha and Zander's troubles are far from over. Add to that Felix's doubts about whether Zander might just be better off staying on Alpha with his family without Felix to hold him back, and Zander's got more than the Allied Earth Forces and assassination attempts to worry about.

I've been hooked on this series since book one, and that connection is still going strong. I guess I would call this light space opera where it just so happens that our protagonist is in a relationship with another man. The science fiction is the core of the story, and I love that it's all presented without any pretense or feeling like this story is any different than the space operas you might see where our hero must rescue the damsel in distress or finds a woman at every space station along the way. This is simply life for Zed, Felix, and everyone else. And why shouldn't it be?

But more than that, I love the universe that Burke and Jensen have created. While I'm definitely one who's starting to think that Zed deserves a break eventually (not to mention poor Felix), I will keep coming back for more as long as they're willing to write it.

[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

evybird's review

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4.0

So much ANGST, holy cow! It's like each book is trying to outdo the last on emotional turmoil. A bit too much even for me!

michaeljpdx's review against another edition

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3.0

You can read my review of “Skip Trace” at my web site.

kaje_harper's review

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4.0

After his near brush with death in the previous book, Zander returns home to his family at last. They are delighted to see him, but Felix feels a bit on the sidelines, unfit to be the consort of a son of one of the richest families in the galaxy. Zander loves him so much that he is blind to the possibility that Felix might weigh himself against the rest of Zander's life and feel that he can't compete. And Zander's family are determined to bring him back into the fold and not lose him again.

Zander's attempts to live up to everyone's demands get further tangled up in schemes of the AEF who do not want their experimental soldiers running around getting publicity for the things done to them. And a distress call to action gives Felix what he thinks is a way out from under all the pressure. But separating is not helping either man learn to cope with their stresses.

This book is less angsty than the last, more conspiracy theory and frustration and miscommunication. But another solid episode in the eventful lives of two men who should be together, if the universe would just quit kicking them in the gut.

paladinboy's review

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4.0

Big misunderstandings all around. Mostly resolved. Mysterious cliffhanger end. On to book 4

prgchrqltma's review

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4.0

Yay! Lots of action sequences and continuation of the romance and external plot arcs. Since I complained about another space book's lack of relationships, this is a good contrast. There are colleague and friend relationships, as well as more of Zander's family. I read this thinking it was the last, so I would have liked more concrete steps on what help for Felix and his PTSD looks like. Maybe there is more later, so it's not *ding* instantly fixed by love.