DThoris reviewed Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
Review of 'Chilling Effect' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
LGBTQ+ positive
Fun space opera
448 pages
English language
Published Jan. 9, 2019 by HarperCollins Publishers.
3 stars
(15 reviews)
Captain Eva Innocente and the crew of La Sirena Negra cruise the galaxy delivering small cargo for even smaller profits. When her sister Mari is kidnapped by The Fridge, a shadowy syndicate that holds people hostage in cryostasis, Eva must undergo a series of unpleasant, dangerous missions to pay the ransom.
But Eva may lose her mind before she can raise the money. The ship’s hold is full of psychic cats, an amorous fish-faced emperor wants her dead after she rejects his advances, and her sweet engineer is giving her a pesky case of feelings. The worse things get, the more she lies, raising suspicions and testing her loyalty to her found family.
To free her sister, Eva will risk everything: her crew, her ship, and the life she’s built on the ashes of her past misdeeds. But when the dominoes start to fall and she finds the real threat …
Captain Eva Innocente and the crew of La Sirena Negra cruise the galaxy delivering small cargo for even smaller profits. When her sister Mari is kidnapped by The Fridge, a shadowy syndicate that holds people hostage in cryostasis, Eva must undergo a series of unpleasant, dangerous missions to pay the ransom.
But Eva may lose her mind before she can raise the money. The ship’s hold is full of psychic cats, an amorous fish-faced emperor wants her dead after she rejects his advances, and her sweet engineer is giving her a pesky case of feelings. The worse things get, the more she lies, raising suspicions and testing her loyalty to her found family.
To free her sister, Eva will risk everything: her crew, her ship, and the life she’s built on the ashes of her past misdeeds. But when the dominoes start to fall and she finds the real threat is greater than she imagined, she must decide whether to play it cool or burn it all down.
flashy_dragon reviewed Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
Review of 'Chilling Effect' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Gave up after the heroine's sister enters the picture. The characters all felt cardboard, and the story felt as if the main character was ping-ponging from event-to-event, without much agency.
SI CLARKE reviewed Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
Review of 'Chilling Effect' on 'Goodreads'
DNF'd at 40%
I wanted to love this one. I really did. It started off so strong: a brilliant premise, flawed but loveable characters, a healthy dash of humour, and a stunning cover.
Alas, it was not for me. I found myself procrastinating FROM reading instating procrastinating from real life BY reading.
Two things prevented me from enjoying this a lot more than I did.
1. The structure. Instead of a traditional plot of a obstacle that must be overcome, this featured an endless series of tasks to be completed.
2. The language. Adding a few words of a different language here and there is more than fine. But having a main character who repeatedly drops in whole sentences in a language I don't speak really pulls me out of the story.
If you enjoy episodic fiction and speak at least a smattering of Spanish, then maybe this book is …
DNF'd at 40%
I wanted to love this one. I really did. It started off so strong: a brilliant premise, flawed but loveable characters, a healthy dash of humour, and a stunning cover.
Alas, it was not for me. I found myself procrastinating FROM reading instating procrastinating from real life BY reading.
Two things prevented me from enjoying this a lot more than I did.
1. The structure. Instead of a traditional plot of a obstacle that must be overcome, this featured an endless series of tasks to be completed.
2. The language. Adding a few words of a different language here and there is more than fine. But having a main character who repeatedly drops in whole sentences in a language I don't speak really pulls me out of the story.
If you enjoy episodic fiction and speak at least a smattering of Spanish, then maybe this book is for you.
patchworkbunny reviewed Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
Review of 'Chilling Effect' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Wow, there was a lot going on, and for the most part this was oodles of fun. I did struggle to keep straight all the various aliens though. I loved the crew and so will likely give the second book a try.
