Sweet Starfire

3.3 stars

This month's TBRChallenge (I know, I know, late again!) theme was Location, Location, Location. I can't imagine I'm the only one who's first thought was, “Get me the hell off this planet.” So, with that desire, I dove into my boxes of books and found myself on the way to the Stanza Nine system!

"What is it you want delivered?" Cidra cleared her throat. "Myself."

We're in space, folks! With povs from both our mains, Cidra and Teague, readers join them as Cidra is looking to book passage to travel the system in search of an artifact that she thinks will alter her mind to biologically become a Harmonic. While Cidra was born on Clementia to Harmonic parents, she didn't get the gene. In this time and space, humans are divided into Harmonics, intellectually and emotionally advanced, and Wolves, basic normies. Cidra's studied the Harmonic ways but can never really be them, she feels emotions in a way that doesn't cause her to be catatonic for hours. As a trained archivist, who focused on the First Families of their civilization, she thinks there's a “Ghost” artifact that can help her alter her brain. Teague's a postman and she wants to book passage on his ship to take her around to the different planets to search for it.

Teague Severance hadn't been quite what she had expected, and Cidra had been trying to adjust to that fact.

It's a set-up for a road romance between opposites attract, except Cidra and Teague are more alike than they want to admit, Cidra can't stop feeling those debased normie lust feelings and Teague is more kind and protective of Cidra than a Wolf should be.

His mouth came down on hers with the urgency of a man who was running toward the promise of safety in a wild and uncontrolled land.

On the cramped ship, these two have plenty of time to get to know one another and I enjoyed their calm, sweet, and frustrated with each other at times chemistry. There was humor and heart to Cidra being a little naïve and Teague doing some underlining talk but Cidra also pleasantly surprises with staying out of Mary Sue and waif territory. Her background of feeling lonely with not fitting in on her planet and Teague having lost a brother who was a Harmonic deliver some depth to their emotional characterization and provide for a villain in the wings. The villain thread delivered some danger and action but this was more of a sedately paced romance that took time to lean into the scifi world-building (that, ok, slowed it down a bit too much at times for me), but I accepted it because this is the start of the series and I imagine it's all building for a purpose.

He had forced the Wolf in her to the surface after she had spent years struggling to suppress that part of her nature.

Around 60% Cidra and Teague can't fight their chemistry anymore (not so bad lowering yourself to be with us normies now is it, Cidra!?) and we start getting sex scenes. There's more lore added to their Ghost ancestors (they were cats??? need more on this STAT, lol) and we get the calmest third act breakup when Teague is scared Cidra would regret leaving Harmonics for him. Cidra Rainforest would never waver and we get our space HEA. This was fun and had some wildly interesting additives, the aforementioned Furries, Fred the rockrug dog?cat?, a Chekhov's mantis, and the mutie evil alien dinosaurs. Cidra and Teague had just enough depth to them to pull me in and were sweet with a dash of spice to have me enjoy the ride in Stanza Nine.

“You’ll have to trust me to come back, just as I’ll have to trust you to be waiting."