This is something totally different to what I would normally read being a LGBTQIA | Sci Fi & Fantasy.

It had a little bit of action and romance but just seemed a bit rushed at the end.

Good world building and interesting characters make this a good read though.

A engaging and interesting book to read, nice cha with a nice flow to the story and writing. I would recommend this book to science fiction readers.

This is an extremely fast paced book. There's not a lot of time given for world building or character development, which is a shame since the few glimpses we get seem interesting. A lot of it reads like stream of consciousness so there's lot of thoughts but not a lot of surroundings. If it were a bit longer and more time was given to the world and characters I think it could be a much stronger book. For being an interspecies romance there wasn't a lot of cultural differences, which was surprising. There was alien anatomy but not a lot of alien culture. Overall the story was decent, but it was just too fast.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not the best audience for sci-fi romance. After reading a lot of science fiction, I have high expectations when it comes to books that fall under that umbrella. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite work for me.

My biggest issue was with the worldbuilding. The two main characters are a human, Addison, and Deveral, a member of an alien race. Coming from different planets and cultures, you would expect them to be very different in ways other than their appearance, but too often that wasn’t the case. For example, Deveral mentions being a fan of horror films, and then the two of them discuss slasher movies. That’s a very specific cultural reference for an alien to make, especially one who also mentions having an isolated lifestyle and not having been around humans much. Now, that may seem minor, but enough moments like that occurred throughout to throw me out of the story.

I also think the book would also have benefited from being longer to allow the romance more time to develop. It’s got a busy plot, with Addison and Deveral on the run from adversaries for most of the story. On top of that, Addison is reluctant to get involved with Deveral because Deveral’s people do not allow genetic modification, and Addison has many mods. It’s not until the very end of the book that the two of them really come together as a couple, which I found frustrating. I wanted more feels!

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Modified and Sacred is a sci-fi novella that follows a simple escort mission gone wrong. There’s a lot of potential here, but I think the short novella length of the book prevented plots and characters from being fully fleshed out. Pacing-wise, some things moved extremely fast, while other moments dragged a little. The most interesting aspect of this novella was the exploration of different the different races and cultures. Overall, this is the sort of novella that you would casually pick up and enjoy but not really much about after.

A well written science fiction of multiple worlds and species. The story is character driven with a humanoid empath and a genetically modified human.

A simple escort job shuttling a planet's ambassador to an off world diplomatic meeting turns into a scramble for their lives when Addison and Deveral are forced to crash land on a nearby planet. They run, hide, and try to avoid being captured while hoping for a rescue. As the action unfolds we are given glimpses of each character's background.

Addison was taken as a small child and illegally genetically modified. This is a frowned upon yet common practice in this future world. Mods are looked down upon even when the modifications were not of their choosing. They are treated as property or slaves to further financial gain for their owner.

Deveral comes from a world whose inhabitants evolved the ability to change colors like a chameleon. They're most revered members also have psychic powers of some sort. As an empath, Deveral can feel his escort's pain, anger and even his attraction. But Addison's mods are not easily visible and Deveral comes from a society that abhors mods.

As the two figure out how to stay alive, they also have to figure out their attraction to each other as well as the obstacles to it.

I enjoyed the story and I'm interested to get more background information on both species as well as the universe they live in.

The descriptive bit: Lieutenant Addison Hunt is recovering from a nasty injury and is happy to have a simple mission escorting a Diplomat through space. He’s a bit of a loner, genetically modified against his will when he was a child, abused and finds it difficult to socialize. On the other hand, Diplomat Deveral is Sacred Kin and empathic. What makes Deveral a talented Diplomat makes him a challenging colleague for Hunt … especially when they realize the mission isn’t as straight-forward as it should be.

My thoughts bit: This novella is futuristic and Denardo manages a fair bit of world building within the limited number of words.

Although genetic modifications seem to be reasonably common, in this story they are often frowned upon. Hunt experiences discrimination because he has modifications – even though it would never have been his own choice. He is ashamed of his modifications and tries to hide them whenever possible. His body has been altered so that he is able to breathe through gills under water and withstand high pressure. It’s an intriguing premise and I found myself wishing that the story had been longer so that a bit more of Hunt’s character could have been revealed. The back story behind his abduction and modification would be an interesting read. I would also have enjoyed reading about the reasons behind such discrimination against people with such useful modifications.

The Sacred Kin are an interesting race. They have color changing skin that reflects their emotions, hair that contains color transforming liquid and eyes that are described as being lizard-like. The fact that they are empathic is considered to make them divine although, Deveral is quick to point out that it’s a genetic trait. Denardo’s plot suggests an interesting dichotomy in the Scared Kin – people believe Deveral to be divine and he is accepting of that role even though he knows it is simply genetic planning. This skims the surface of a deeper debate regarding science versus religion.

The relationship between Deveral and Hunt felt a bit rushed even though there was a lot of attraction between the two of them. This may simply be because of the novella length of the book and some time jumps. It seemed a bit implausible to me that while they were struggling to survive they would take the time to attempt to have sex… I didn’t have a problem with the sexual tension between the two characters but they seemed to act on it at strangely inappropriate times.

Overall, this was a pleasant read, something you might enjoy having on your eReader for a commute or an afternoon drink at your favorite coffee shop.

The warnings bit: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In this novella: violence, mentions past sex trafficking, mentions physical abuse, bigotry, descriptions of dead bodies.

I received an ARC of Modified and Sacred by Jana Denardo from NineStar Press via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.