While temporarily stranded on the planet, Albion 5, Tess meets Shade Ganavan, dubbed “SRP,” or “Space Rogue Phenom.” Tess hires him to patch up her ship and there’s an instant attraction between the two. Should they destroy the serum? Or give it to rebels to help overthrow the tyrannical Overseer? Tess and her crew narrowly escape, but must take shelter on a planet to repair things, fuel up, and decide what to do with this discovery. Instead, the lab is filled with a serum designed to turn people into super soldiers.

The crew believe the lab contains vaccines, which they plan to distribute to those in need. We open with Captain Tess Bailey and her crew having just stolen a lab from the Overseer and his Dark Watch. What it was missing most, though, was momentum. There’s a slow burn romance between two characters whom I came to adore, an exciting cast of secondary characters, and big secrets. In promotional materials, the book was described as “Robin Hood meets Star Wars,” though I’d warn it’s more of the former and less of the latter, at least in this first installment. Since I’m always looking for new sci-fi romance and I loved Bouchet’s previous series, I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite some time. If you’ve been bopping around the site for the last few months, you’ve probably seen me mention it or at least, heard me discuss it on the podcast. Nightchaser is the first book in the new sci-fi romance series by Amanda Bouchet. TW/CW: A brief scene of self-harm, child deaths, murder, though none of these things are graphic in description.

Nightchaser by amanda bouchet