Fae in space is a brilliant idea! And they are just as beautiful and terrible as they are on Earth. The plot is so twisty you don’t know what’s real or whose side to take until the very end. And OMG, that ending is brutal!

In a way, I’m glad that I didn’t read Shoot the Messenger when it first came out because I was able to go straight into book two. I’ll be binging the rest of the series for sure. It’s completely addictive!

This was my first book by the author and I was really curious about it. And let me tell you a thing: I really enjoyed it! I would read the second one for sure. Also, I would read other books by DaCosta. I liked the characters, they are complex and intriguing, and I loved the story, we have some good twists in it and it's a fast-paced book. I enjoyed the reading and the worldbuilding. It's an interesting one, even if it could have been a little bit more developed. But in the end, I enjoyed the reading, a lot, and I am really looking forward to other books by this author.

Wow, this story starts out with a bang and continues to move at a fast pace. I'm always pleasantly caught off guard by this new series and rush out to purchase the next book in the series. I'm not sure why I waited so long to read it. Ms. DaCosta has a way of writing her female leads that just grab my attention. They are anti-heroes done in all the right ways. I must caveat that this book has very little sex so those who are reading this for the reverse harem, there is no harem in this first book. There are two or three males who want her, but nothing comes out of it. My second caveat is that this book goes more into fantasy and urban fantasy style with a cyberpunk twist. For those who do not like tech, this book may be hard to get into. For those who love cyberpunk, this book will have enough of it to whet your appetite.

Kesh is a messenger who delivers messages. She is good at her job and stays under the radar. She has a past that no one should know. When she delivers a message that ends up in a death, she's being set up and she knows it. From here on out, it is a fast race to figure out how to get her out from under it.

The character development in this book is excellent. The characters are unforgettable and unique. No one in this book is really what they seem. It is interesting to see how Ms. DaCosta creates complicated layers that usually end up surprising the reader with an anticipated twist. This is why I love her books. For me, it is very difficult to surprise. Why? Because I read an average of 300 plus books a year for the past decade or so, I've seen just about everything as far as plot devices and red herrings. So when an author can catch me off guard in a pleasant way that I totally did not see coming, I am impressed. I love the feeling of shock and then having to re-read the passage to validate what I read was really what was written. This one is done so well and finishes the book with another bang. It isn't a cliffhanger, but it definitely hooks a reader in so they want to know what happens next.

I love the world building in here. This is a mix of the fae mythology taken to another level. The interpretation here of fae mythology mixed with space opera theme plus technology is fantastic. It flowed well and the descriptions are so vivid, I can easily see it all. In some ways it reminds me of Valerian and the city of a thousand planets when it comes to the city description. I can visualize it so well based on her descriptions. Overall, this book is highly entertaining and I am eagerly looking forward to the next book.

This space opera is highly recommended to fae lovers and cyperpunk fans who like the female being the center of male attention.

This book was Just wow! I freaking loved it! It has everything I ever wanted in a space fantasy book such as kickass action, adventure, magic, unique plot, interesting characters, handsome and dark Villain, fascinating world, and a slow burn romance. When I first saw this book on Netgalley, I was very intrigued with the fae in space tagline. It’s a weird mix that I’ve never heard of and look at that stunning cover, who could resist that? So far, I’ve read only one book by Pippa DaCosta, but unfortunately It didn’t meet my expectations so I lowered my expectations before getting into this new series. After finishing the book, I was left wanting for more. I enjoyed every minute of it. It’s really an amazing start to a new series. I’m so glad the first book was mainly focused on the plot not on the steamy romance like the other typical Reverse Harem books.

In the Halow system, one of Earth’s three sister star systems, tek and magic—humans and the fae are at war. Kesh Lasota is like a ghost in a machine, invisible to tek. She’s hired by the criminal underworld to work as a messenger carrying illegal messages through the hollow system from one client to another. One day, when one of the recipient gets killed during her job, Kesh becomes the prime suspect and a bounty was put on her head. Proving her innocence is the only thing that can get her out of the mess, but unfortunately the evidence gets stolen by a warfae. Kesh gets pretty much shocked with the appearance of a warfae in the hollow system and she can’t believe that he could also wield Tek just like her which shouldn’t be possible for a fae because Iron hurts them. No one has seen a fae in the hollow system for over a thousand years, to normal people they’re just a myth. When the warfae reveals his future plans, Kesh is determined to stop another war that could destroy the entire humankind. While on her run, her path crosses with a witty Marshall who refuses to follow her. To hunt the fae, to stop him from destroying a thousand year long fragile peace, she must resurrect the horrors of her past that she buried inside her.

I absolutely loved Kesh even though she’s quite complex and hard to understand. She was pretty bad-ass with her magic whip. I really enjoyed her character, there were some things that made me hate her, but I still rooted for her. Her past was a mystery from the start and I loved how the author slowly unveiled it. All the side characters in this book were pretty interesting. I liked Kellee, he is a loyal police Marshall who works for the hallow government. He’s quite a tough guy who’s harboring secrets of his own. His charming and quick witted personality totally won me over. I loved the banters between him and Kesh. Talen, the fae is another interesting character that I liked. His dark and mysterious personality intrigued me and I can’t wait to know more about him. Eladan, the villain in this book is quite complex and very very interesting. He’s the bad guy but also my favorite character besides Kesh. Both Kesh and Eladan have some kind of twisted hate relationship but it’s definitely not love. I enjoyed every interaction between them including their steamy moments.

The plot was riveting, entertaining, and well written! It’s a fast paced plot filled with non-stop action, adventure, magic, a hint of romance, and a lot of unpredictable twists and turns that’ll keep you glued to the book till the end. The story was quite engaging and totally unputdownable. I just finished it in two sittings. The mystery surrounding Kesh’s dark past made the story even more interesting. It’s a slow burn reverse harem so don’t expect much romance in this book. So far we’ve only two love interests but I’ve heard there’s going to be more in the next installment so I’m very excited. I liked the writing style. The book was told in Kesh’s first person POV and I enjoyed reading the story from her perspective. The world building was fantastic! The author build a captivating sci-fi world filled with technology and a dash of Magic. Here the human’s greatest power is their Tek, and the Fae’s is their magic. It’s really a fascinating world and I can’t wait to explore more of it especially the fae world.

Overall, I loved it! It nearly came to a five star read for me but there are a few flaws that made me take out one star. The book finally concludes with a cliffhanger and I’m super excited for the next book

Reverse harems usually aren't my thing, but the fantasy aspect and world building of the story had me hooked. This is one of those books you reread when the next in the series comes out.

I’m going to be honest and say I only got this book because I really, really liked the cover. Yes, I judge a book by its cover! I regret nothing!

Shoot the Messenger by Pippa DaCosta was my first ever reverse harem reading experience. Well, right now there wasn’t a lot of ‘encounters’ going on, if you know what I mean… (*bow chicka wow wow*). Was kinda looking forward to that one since it was mentioned, but anyway, I understand the suspense on that one since this is a first of the series. That’s not to say this has no sexy scenes though. There were kisses exchange and fantasies daydreamed here and there.

I’ve always had problems adjusting to world building and writing styles whenever I encounter a new author, especially if it’s within the fantasy genre. Surprisingly I didn’t have the same issue with Pippa so I got to enjoy the story a whole lot better. Pippa’s writing was straight-forward and has it’s flair that just gets you sucked into the story and there’s no putting the book down until you’re done.

Kesh is a relatable character, maybe a little too on the stereotypical heroine bracket, but still someone you’d want to get to know more. I thought the mystery behind her identity was going to be a total buzzkill once I found out; I mean reading through the chapters, you kind of get an idea of who or what she is, but the story behind her identity had a very intriguing twist. Suffice to say, I was not disappointed.

When it comes to cliffhangers and plot twists, I am no stranger to them. But the ending of Shoot the Messenger caught me totally off guard. WTF, Kesh? Seriously? I still don’t know whether I find it brilliant or downright menacing.

Shoot the Messenger is the first book from Messenger Chronicles. It’s riveting and evenly paced, built with enough action and fight scenes that’ll keep your thirst for blood sated, not to mention some intense taste of the harem to come from the upcoming books that’ll probably make your heart raise just a tad in anticipation.

Upon finishing a book, I like to rate and shelve it on Goodreads, and my usual placeholder review is something alone the lines of "Review coming soon." I think it says a lot about this book that my placeholder review was "My heart. I can’t... words... Review to come later... once I can see again through this sheen of tears. Ack."

I'm still not even sure how to begin reviewing this book. I can't even peg the genre. The blurb touts it as being "a slow-burn reverse harem space fantasy adventure" romance. Apparently the reverse harem develops over the course of the series, as there isn't actually much romance in the book. It's set in this future society where we've advanced our society to space, but also has a sort of alternate reality where the fae are a part of the human history, so it's sci-fi, but it's also fantasy? But also romance. Oh, and with a sort of mystery element too. And adventure. But also paranormal/paranormal romance? But with a sort of steampunk, sort of western feel, sort of urban fantasy. ...Genre party! ALL THE GENRES!

This was my first book by Pippa DaCosta, but now I need to go check out her back catalog. And I also need the next book in this series, preferably injected directly into my veins RIGHT NOW. There is so much to recommend this book. The world building is amazing, the dialogue is witty and sharp, and Kesh is bad ass who doesn't take crap from anybody while walking around in a sweet pocket-filled techno duster that can disguise her and carrying a chain whip charged with magic. Add to that the bad ass warfae out to frame her for murder who has kidnapped her best-friend-slash-droid, a hot marshal (read: old west cop but in space, also with a sexy duster) who is more than he appears, and a caged and exiled (also sexy) fae, and you can see the beginnings of this reverse harem starting to build up. Oh, also, holy plot twists, Batman. I got so emotionally invested in this book and in Kesh and the other characters, and then right at the end it was like Pippa DaCosta reached her hand inside my chest and ripped out my cracked and broken heart. (...Which is fitting, actually). I felt like I needed to go find some tape and try to put my heart back together after finishing this book. That's after resisting the mighty urge to fling my kindle across the room and sob broken heartedly into a pillow.

So yes! Read this book and be forever ruined, like me! I make it sound kind of awful, but it's that really good kind of pain, where you're like "Oh God, I can't take it! ...Give me the next book right now so you can continue sticking pins into my heart, Pippa DaCosta!"

A fun, fast read with a main character who likes her robot drone more than she likes anyone else, and with good reason. I was skeptical about the fae-in-space aspect, but the story rolled along so swiftly that I got caught up immediately. A good start to this series.

Shoot the Messenger (The Messenger Chronicles #1) by Pippa DaCosta is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I love this author's fantasy books anyway and this is a start t a fun new series. The world building is great with fae and other creatures living with humans. The plot has twists and turns and plenty of surprises! I like her writing style, makes the characters come alive.

I LOVED the world of this series; the blend between magic and technology was perfect and made for a thrilling ride! Lots of narrative twists and turns and I appreciated the complexity of the heroine (or maybe it's more accurate to call her an antiheroine?). This was definitely more of a slow-burn romance, which isn't necessarily a bad thing - but I would've enjoyed maaaaybe a little more steaminess just based on my current mood level for that sort of thing right now. All in all, an entertaining SF story and I'm definitely going to pick up the next book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Pippa DaCosta creates a captivating setting and an interesting cast of characters, but the plot left me behind after a while. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to begin a well thought out and wonderfully descriptive series.

Ok when I saw the words 'reverse harem' I was a mite nervous but I was in a safe pair of hands so it wasn't an issue. This was action packed, twisting and engaging. A complete surprise. I can't wait for book two.

Shoot the Messenger is the first book in a new series by Pippa DaCosta. There are a few things I’ve learned about books by Miss DaCosta.

① – She is not afraid of having her main Characters do horrible things.

② – She loves to wrap the emotions of her readers around her fingers and make them dance like puppets.

③ – Normal love lines aren’t necessary. She will bend and twist the road to romance anytime she pleases. Because who says there even needs to be a road to romance in the first place? Sometimes sex is just sex.

④ – You are going to think you know who the good guys and the bad guys are. Well you are probably horrible wrong and she is going to smack you in the face with it at some point.

⑤ – In my 3 series experience with Pippa I have learned that she isn’t a tidy wrap it all up with Happily Ever Afters for everyone kind of author. Sometimes that is a little hard on my soft heart, but it is always engaging.

When I read the synopsis for Shoot the Messenger I had to look up what a reverse harem was.

Reverse Harem Definition - A genre in manga and anime where a single (often ordinary) girl is liked and followed by a bunch of handsome men (3 or more) who are all madly in love with her. The girl often cannot pick which guy she should go out with and remains indecisive.


Well, while this isn’t my everyday cup of tea sometimes it is totally what I’m in the mood for especially if it is done by Pippa because I’m pretty sure it won’t be YA cheesy but more lustily scorching HAWT.

Kesh is the heroine at the center of this story. She used to be one of the Fae’s favorite play things. She learned well at the hands of her masters and she was one of the best. Now she has escaped and lived in hiding on an outpost delivering messages on the black market.

While Kesh isn’t exactly ordinary, she has a gift with technology and some pretty kick ass whip skills, she isn’t nearly as interesting as all the men who are in the picture. Let’s just say yum to them. While I definitely have a favorite in the growing Harem thus far the series is far from over and I could see someone else pulling into the lead.

Kesh ends up in a bit of trouble with a very large bounty on her head and ends up working with Marshal Kellee (hawt guy #1). He is beautiful, deadly, fast and not entirely human. I want one! But there is also Talen (hawt guy #2) a Fae in exile who is equally beautiful and dangerous but willing to help Kesh with her problems.

This, like most of Pippa’s works, is fast paced without much down time between crises, fighting and devastating revelations. There are some pretty big secrets held back until the last moment and man she suckered me again (see #4 above). It was a really good introduction to this world and a great set up for the next book in the series. I’m very excited to see the men of the Harem again and add a few more to it.

In case you are worried about the reverse harem thing, there wasn’t any actual sex yet. There are a few steamy moments but no full on sex. Not to say there won’t be in the series but if this is like any of the other series by Pippa DaCosta it won’t replace the story and while not fade to black in the past it wasn’t pages and pages of explicitness either.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pippa DaCosta for the arc

I keep trying to read Sci-fi, and I keep coming from it bored and uninterested in the story. I thought that this could be one that I liked because it also deals with Fae, but I felt a disconnect from the world. It often felt like I was missing some crucial backstory or explanation to help me get and stay invested in this world. There's lots of terminology in this book that I don't recall ever being explained. Perhaps my brain checked out on me.
Maybe it was just the massive disconnect I had from the characters that prevented me from liking this book as much as I would have liked. There was nothing about any of the characters that I found very relatable. This is the second book I have read by this author, but I didn't like this one as much. Maybe I just dislike sci-fi that much? I don't really know.
I can't say that if this was "bad" book because it was still well written. I just didn't connect to any of the characters.