3 (and a half) stars, but it might grow on me even more (and I don't consider 3.5 stars a bad read at all). I'll certainly be picking up the next couple in the series, I can see this really becoming a favourite.

 

Summary: Sirantha Jax is a J-gene carrier, one of a vanishingly few humans who can "jump" ships into "grimspace" (essentially cyberspace), in the company of a pilot who does the actual steering. Except her pilot (who was also the love of her life) is dead, along with the other 85 passengers on the ship they were in charge of, and she can't remember why or how.

 

Worse the mega-corporation she and all the other jumpers work seems to be setting her up as the fall gal, so things are looking bleak - until another faction busts her out of her cell and takes her on a wild ride in an attempt to break the corps hold on jumpers.

 

 

...really though, can there ever be too many?  But I haven't been reading the last two days.  Well, JW, the yin to my yang, will be going out of town tomorrow til Sunday.  I imagine I'll be able to catch up :)

God damn this book. God damn this book for making me stay up until almost 2 in the god damn morning to finish it.  BOOK...I FINISHED YOU!


"It hurts, but then, what doesn't? Pain proves that we're alive, gives us the ability to appreciate pleasure--everything in balance, everything in its time.

You don't need to be afraid of falling, I murmur, raising my lips to his, whispering into his skin, "when there's someone around to catch you,"

"I'm Sirantha Jax, former Farwan navigator, and that's my job."


This was a somewhat quick read.  But man the ride it took me on!  

I was a bit bothered by some insta-love.  Sirantha's world, which contains a whole new set of genetics I've not encountered, helped to alleviate that, a bit.  I mean it was pretty damn quick.  But they had a reason and I went along.  

The project, however, that sounds like a whole lotta books to come!  I'm loving it.  It's reminiscent of Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling world.  Completely different, but just as complex.  

I also loved the way the info-dump was dealt with.  Sometimes, I was just as clueless as Jax, just hanging on, hoping for some sort of resolution.  Aguirre's not just gonna give you all the answers, she's hoping you'll figure some out on your own.  I appreciated that.  

It's late, I can't give more than this.  All-in-all I love this book, I love Jax, this is definitely going on my 'series to continue' shelf.  Lovely, heart-wrenching, hopeful.  I give it 4 stars, there were some bad typos in my paperback that I got from my library; nothing much I could overlook most of it; and some Star Wars references that might just be me.  

Thanks, JennyJen for the recommend. Now you've added another series to my list!  (I try to sound mad but really I'm glad!)

I'm going to make this simple. The world building of the Ithtorian race and world was great and I loved getting to know more about Vel, he's such an interesting character!

I was a little upset with the March arc. I felt like the resolution to it was a little anti-climactic, I was expecting more crazy.

On to the next!

Doubleblind (Sirantha Jax, #3) - Ann Agu... Whew again, that was exhausting! My favorite of the series, so far.

Spoiler alert:

I loved the body-language stuff that came with the chip Vel inserted into Jax. Down-right poetic, it was. The way she's maturing in leaps and bounds is touching and I can't overstate how relieved I am that she has March back (for the most part). I love how his absence from her head helped facilitate it. I'll admit to some annoyance when they went to tell the truth about Jael and March was already gone. I chalk that up to it being 3 a.m., being almost to the end of the book, and being completely unprepared for...well, more. And to being mentally exhausted by the thought of it. I started to skim (which I rarely do), then realized what time it was and told myself to be a damn grown-up and put the book down and go to bed. I honestly just wanted a nice prisoner exchange and then for them to get the hell off that planet.

Aguirre is a master of "not so fast," however, and I should have known there'd be at least one more twist, one more hurdle, one more tension-packed life-and-death situation to get through. I was grateful at the way the taking of Jael played out. I could not have handled more suspense. I really love Hit. I hope she keeps being a good guy. After what went down with Jael, though...well, hell, I have to hope he's the only betrayer in the inner circle. Honestly I can't imagine any of the rest of them having nefarious intentions.

I love the way this woman writes! I'll say again: it's that alchemy of a fast-paced, seeming overview without the loss of any depth or detail. I don't know how she does it, but I envy it. I can't believe how fast these things read, but having been through the emotional wringer with this one, I'm going to try to take a break before buying the next.

"Try" being the operative term ;)