I've been reading The League series for the last couple of years and generally they are great fun. Science fiction/Romance, if the Star Wars franchise did a Harlequin crossover, these could be them. If Star Wars did a series where it discussed how each of the couples of the Rebel Alliance came to unite. Only, in this case, we swap out Rebels for the Sentella, and Empire for the League. So when I saw that my library ebooks centre had this one available for borrowing, I snatched it up and settled in for an afternoon of losing myself in a galaxy far, far away. However, while I did enjoy the book, it wasn't quite up to the standard of the last few books in the series.
There are a few problems with this one -- primarily the setting. This is book 8, and up till this point, all the books have been happening chronologically, beginning with the tale of how Nykirian, one of the main badasses running the Sentella, and Kiara come together. The seventh tale ended with hints that it will be Fain and Galene's story, leading from situations that end that story. With this book, however, we get a suspension of this chronological order. It really should be situated between the first and second books in the series, not eighth --- and it takes some doing as a reader to figure out what has happened to the time frame. It was so confusing that, following along with the details as they had been revealed, it seems like Talyn Batur,the main male protagonist, is his own grandfather or something. The constant "when the heck are they? " really brought me out of being fully immersed in the book several points in the tale.
The next problem to deal with is a rather annoying trope. It's the "I couldn't possibly tell him/her" trope. In this case, it has to do with the parentage of Talyn. On Andaria, the lineage is fiercely matrilineal and very status-defined. Preservation of a bloodline is worth more than gold -- and marriage deals are made to increase your family's status by linking to a higher-status family.
Personal status is defined by where on the social hierarchy you are, with different families having different ranks. At the bottom of the ranking are those that have been ejected from their families by their matriarchs. Only one level up from that are those that are unacknowledged by their male parent's family --outcasts. Talyn is a member of the unacknowledged ones, and this fact shapes his whole life, making his social life and workplace hell. His life is restricted in so many ways (some spoilery) - and why? Not because his father rejected acknowledging him in the first place --- because his mother refused to tell the father about the pregnancy in the first place. And it's not because the father was abusive or otherwise harmful. Just didn't wanna. GAH! This has gone on for twenty some-odd years. You've seen the impact it has had on your kid, now a man, you know your society is majorly prejudiced in this fashion. Yeah, you're a strong military woman, but you are also an idiot. Suck it up buttercup. (And in addition, they keep mentioning how much he looks like Fain. No one puts two and two together and sends the guy an email?)
The final issue I have with the book is with the amount of times the book tries to prove how much the cards are stacked against Talyn and Felicia -- and yet some of the saves in the book are a little too providential. Probably the greatest is when Felicia contacts her brother, Lorens,in order to get help pull Talyn out of a certain military situation. They haven't talked ever as adults, he always treated her like crud when they were kids because she is his half-sibling . Conveniently, however, he happens to be high up the military chain of command and can swing this matter -- and takes very little convincing to do so. It was difficult to buy how easily the pair jump into easy familiarity and trust. He later comments that he cashes in a lot of favours to do so. Maybe I'm cynical, but if I were Lorens, I would be making Felicia jump through a lot more hoops before I cashed in all my markers --even in a society where the males main role is defense of the females.
Would I read this book again? Yes. Just like all the other League books, it is very entertaining, and in this one you get a lot of hints at backstory of other characters that aren't the focus of the narrative. Would I buy it full -price from the store? No. Thank goodness for libraries.
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