It has been said that love and hate are equally intense and that transitioning from one to the other is easier than one would think.  In Joann Chaney’s As Long as We Both Shall Live, a couple remain fused together in a tangle of passionate antagonism and attraction.  Matt and Janice are only married about a year when Janice suspects that Matt is having an affair. As the novel opens, she is about to confront the lovers, unsure which of the two should receive the brunt of her rage.  Tragically the night ends in death, but Chaney leaves the details a mystery.  The author instead flashes forward twenty-three years later as Matt and a second wife, Marie, are on a hiking getaway attempting to reset a relationship that has gone seriously awry.  This time, one of the pair winds up missing- could this be an unfortunate coincidence?  Investigators Spengler and Loren are suspicious about the two circumstances connected to Matt and they begrudgingly work together to dissect layers of secrets forged over many years.  As they pursue the case, one of these officers is also being hunted by a former colleague who is convinced that he/she killed a former partner. Full of unexpected twists and relentlessly vicious repartee between characters, As Long as We Both Shall Live is an exciting novel that will keep Chaney fans riveted and guessing right up to its last sentence.

I was going to summarize the plot myself but every sentence I came up with made the story sound cheesy and did it absolutely no justice so I'm going to post the blurb and leave it at that.  : ) 

A lost ship. An unknown civilization.

The Renegade Star is stranded, its engines totally shot, surrounded by the unknown. Floating in the dead of space, they receive a strange transmission from a nearby planet, warning them to stay away or face the consequences.

When the message mentions how this world belongs to Earth, the lost cradle of humanity, Captain Jace Hughes knows he has no choice but to investigate.

With an endless snowstorm, bloodthirsty animals around every corner, and no sign of any colonies or people, the mission won't be an easy one.

Good thing they sent in the Renegade.

Experience a sprawling galactic tale in this fourth entry to The Renegade Star series. If you're a fan of Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, or Leviathan Wakes, you'll love this epic, space opera thriller. 

This is a great series you just want pure entertainment. It's lots of fun, tons of action and the characters, especially Jace and Siggy, the ships A.I. will make you laugh. 

*If you like audio books the narration is really good. Publisher's Pack #1 contains books 1 & 2 and Publisher's Pack #2 contains books 3 & 4.

This book is a continuation of Jace and his crew's search for Earth and their neverending battle to stay two steps ahead of the enemy. Perfect series if you like a lot of action, space battles and laugh out loud humor. The audio narration (Publisher's Pack #2) is also really good.

I didn't get to hear from Siggy, my favorite AI as much in this book though. : (

Do you guys remember the show Knight Rider and the AI, Kitt, that was installed his car? Well the main character in this series, Jace Hughes, has an AI in his spaceship named Sigmund aka Siggy and he's so cool! He's like the star of the series.

I have some good memories of watching Knight Rider and Indiana Jones and this series is like a cross between the two but set in space, so I'm enjoying it tremendously. But if you're not a fan of over the top, outrageous action scenes then you might want to find something else because this is pure entertainment. You really have to be willing to believe the unbelievable as they say.

I listened to the Publishers Pack audio version and the audio performance made the story come to life even more. There's no audio for books 3, 4 and 5 though which completely sucks especially after hearing and loving the narration in this book.

I've read some of Chaney's other books and really enjoyed them but I'll be honest I've been hesitant to read this series because of the awful covers. I know, I know, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but I think subconsciously I still do it. Anyways, I was in the mood for a light story last night so I said what the hell, lets go for it and it actually ended up being the perfect book. It was so much fun! It seriously reminded me of an Indiana Jones movie set in space with it's similar group of scholarly characters following a map, silly banter and the same non-stop, stay one-step ahead of your pursuers, action.

The main character, Jace, is a Renegade which is basically a thief that takes odd jobs stealing and transporting things for money. Jobs have been few and far between lately and he's in desperate need of quick cash to pay back the money he borrowed from a loan shark to buy a cloaking device for his ship. So against his better judgment, he takes on a job transporting a "nun," Sister Abigail, and her suspicious crate of supposed medical supplies. When he starts hearing sounds coming from the crate, he learns what it really contains and that the Union military and every Ravager in the system is hunting Abigail and her package. With no option to return home now, he decides to go all in with Abigail and her group, joining them on their ultimate quest to find the long lost planet Earth. 

If you're an Indiana Jones fan or really liked Revenger by Alistair Reynolds, I think you would enjoy this. It has the best of both worlds.