Elite Starfighter: Game 3

This book was such a great read. I thought this was another wonderful entry in this super fun series. As a serious romance junkie and a gamer the concept behind this series managed to bring two of my most favorite things together in a delightful way. I really liked Lily and Darius. Their chemistry was electric and I felt they made an excellent couple. Feels, swoon, humor, heart, drama, sweetness, heat and action are smartly woven across the pages of this book to create a story that holds your interest and couple that captures your heart. This is my objective review that I am electing to post of my own accord.

Oh, Lily! She gives off the same vibe as Evie from The Mummy - a wannabe adventurer being stymied by her timid nature and nerdy job. Lily just completed her "game" and now she is awaiting her partner to arrive and sweep her into space. Thankfully her friends managed to give her a heads up on what was going to happen and she is all packed and ready to go when Darius arrives. He's prepared to give her the big speech as to why she has to come with him only to be met by a fully prepped Lily! This pair bond is off to a flying start but Darius questioning her and constantly trying to protect her is eating away at Lily's already fragile self-esteem. She still manages to lose her V-card and has a wild time doing so. When Darius catches sight of some of the books she's brought with her he finally catches a clue as to what Lily needs from him. Darius really wasn't a great pair-bond to begin with. He kept secrets and didn't open up to Lily about his past but equally Lily wasn't great at communicating how sidelined she felt by her parents and why she may feel overly-sensitive at him constantly trying to remove her from danger. I really loved the way the author took the mickey out of herself over Lily's complaining about her “Grace Goodwin Alien romances”. Will totally come back for more!

Adult, SFR, mouse-to-lion, female video-warriors, game-to-life, missing persons, quest, grief, war, military, something marvelous about Earth girls trope. The female lead seems self-absorbed for someone who looks to others for indicators of her self-worth. She goes through the steps to find herself in the quest to find her friends, in doing so she also becomes an alien abductee. No one knows her background or really seems to care much about her past experiences as long as she can get the job done. She doesn't have to be her old, mousey self but can choose to take on her gamer persona. Which one is real and what does she want from her life? Is she strong enough, angry enough, brave or prideful enough, clever enough to do what needs to be done or will she continue to listen to the ghosts of her past? Will she be smart enough to ask for help when she needs it? Can she get out of her own way in time to realize nobody is perfect and forgive them and herself their weaknesses in time? Love and relationships take effort, brainpower, and encouragement to really thrive. The main male character has his own set of baggage that includes pride, poor communication, questions of faith in his own abilities while dealing with grief, and the double-edged sword of how to navigate the need to protect while trusting his new partner in dangerous situations. There's just something marvelous about Earth girls, so far it's just been, girls with hints of boys being possible abductees in future episodes. Is it their new perspective on the situation or is it just the Deus ex machina of the trope? After all, this is a sci-fi romantic fantasy until we meet real aliens who tell us otherwise. We have authors' (sometimes researched) suppositions and readers' imaginations to work with. Many things that were once considered science fantasy have become factual. We have AI computers, Space Force is in the works, missions to Mars are not too far out of reach. Don't be afraid to dream of what could be, because if it's just us in the universe, that would be a lot of wasted space. Writing mechanics issues were not enough to knock this reader out of the story. I noticed a little Fourth-wall bending during some scenes and a little recycling going on. I hope it was done for humor and not because the muse was thin that day. There are cameos of characters from the previous two episodes to entice readers to be curious enough to pick up their books also. I will be looking into it. I received a reviewer copy of this book via Booksprout, read through GP-books and am voluntarily leaving my feedback.