26 Jan 2015

Review - Riding the Odds by Lynda K. Scott


Title: Riding the Odds

Author: Lynda K. Scott

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

Spaceship captain Tara Rowan has her secrets. One is her Rider, Zie. Zie is an organic symbiote—like a living tattoo—that enhances Tara’s physical abilities, including superhuman strength and reflexes. The other is the past she’s tried so hard to leave behind her. But it’s not until oh-so-sexy Trace Munroe decides to blackmail Tara that she realizes her secrets aren’t so secret after all…

Trace is a Holy Knight who does everything by the book. Desperate to find a missing princess, he’ll do whatever it takes to rescue her and bring her kidnappers to justice. Including blackmail. Yet something about the feisty ship captain draws Trace in and stirs his desire—even if she is a wanted criminal. Because the last thing he needs is any complications…especially when he has his own secrets to hide.

I received a free ebook copy of this book by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My thoughts:

I should be reading fantasy books and here I am reading sci-fi after glorious sci-fi. I didn’t regret picking up Riding the Odds though, hell, not for a minute. Frankly, I didn’t expect it to be as engaging as it was; I found myself lost in between the pages right after I started reading it.

The reason why I requested this book on NetGalley was because I loved the concept. A female spaceship captain and a space knight (how cool is that) go searching for a missing princess – I read the synopsis and I just couldn’t ignore the existence of this book anymore… Thank God.

The descriptions of the space stations and planets where the story was set were very vivid. The characters were extremely well-written and I loved how detailed their backstories were. Knowing about their previous ordeals, it was easier to understand their ambitions and their reactions to certain events. The chemistry between Tara and Trace was very strong but – thankfully – they didn’t jump into bed with each other too early (like it happens in many romance novels). Their relationship developed nicely as they crossed the universe and experienced hardships together.

I loved how gender stereotypes were busted in this book. Tara is a very feminine woman, but at the same time she knows how to fight and her favourite free time activity is playing poker with a bunch of men at a smoky bar at some distant point of the galaxy. Trace (whom I call space Jamie Fraser, because physically he resembles Jamie a lot and he used the words aye, lass and lad often – don’t mind me), though otherwise a very manly man, is afraid of the sight of his own blood. The part where it turned out was hilarious. He is very tender and all in all a good man and an enjoyable character.

I cannot fail to mention Zie here, because she’s basically the third protagonist of Riding the Odds. Zie is Tara’s rider, a tattoo-like creature that lives on Tara’s skin. She was totally adorable. I wouldn’t mind having a rider myself, because it means you’re never alone, there’s always someone there for you. Tara had a very close relationship with Zie, which was heartwarming to read about.

My favourite secondary character was Drummer, who was like a brother to Tara. I enjoyed the dynamics between him and Trace, I liked to see how their opinion changed of each other as the story developed.

Before you pick Riding the Odds up, acknowledge the fact that it is a (sci-fi) romance novel with erotic bits in it. The book is not overstuffed with sex scenes though, which was another pleasant surprise for me – it’s getting harder and harder to find an erotic novel that has an A+ plot and doesn’t solely focus on certain physical activities.

I recommend Riding the Odds to those who loved the tv show Firefly and generally to anyone who likes sci-fi and doesn’t mind if their reading material is spiced up with a bit of romance.

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