Ahhhhh this was just such a great read. I just didn't want this book to end and I was sad to turn the last page. I'm so excited to see what's next from this author.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I found this book in NetGalley I giggled like a little kid in front of a sweet store (well, or like an adult… never lose your sweet tooth!!). Why? Because this is a Paranormal Romance set inside a spaceship in the distant future. Shifters and vampires in space!! IN SPACE!!! What else can I ask for? Maybe some misterious murders? Check! Perhaps a dreadful situation for the rest of the human race? Check! Amazing characters? Uhmmm… Never ending action? Well, no so fast… Explosive ending? Yeah, but not what you are thinking… This book was aiming to my nerdy heart, but it misses miserably…

I must confess that this is my first book of the Dark Desires saga. I know this book happens way before the rest of the books, so it can be read without the need to pick the previous ones. At least that is the theory. I have the feeling I would have enjoyed more some characters if I knew them better, but I guess I will never know for sure. Overall, the cast of this book is pretty generous in size, but rather mediocre in interest. Most of them will be stored in the bad cupboard and some of them in the “maybe I’ll check them later” one. Actually, just one of them would make that second category: Adam, the werewolf. He doesn’t have a lot of time in the story, but the little there is he seems like a charismatic and fun guy. The main couple is really annoying. Katia is too grumpy and she only does three things: eat, drink and have sex. Logan was slightly better, but those three activities are also his main rutine. It really pissed me off the fact they are constantly drinking alcohol. Not a good example for the little sample of humankind there is left…

The mystery could have been the redeeming factor, but it is horribly developed. No rhyme no reason. The investigators doesn’t expend much time investigating (too focused on drinking I guess…) and all the clues are practically thrown to their faces. Those same investigators have zero qualms about ending the life of another person. Taking into account there are not many humans left, I would have expected a less drastic approach to their problems…

Space the next frontier or is it? When a band of ships leave a dying earth seeking a new planet, people start dying and not of natural causes! Could it be a malfunction? Logan and Katia are awakened from cryogenic sleep to help figure that out! Katia has a secret of her own! Can Logan solve not 1 but 2 mysteries?


I read and reviewed this advanced complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley

This SF love story of the end of the earth and humankind is worth the time. Both Katia and Logan are woken up on their ship to find out the suspect or perhaps a serial killer that is on its march. They end up working together and besides that someone is trying to kill them they develop unexpected emotions between them. Really great story that is full of mystery, action, and suspense. I loved that it was not predictable and that it had some unpredictable twists.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley

There is so much going on in Malfunction that made it so good. Interesting characters and a good solid plot. enjoyed

Dark Desires Origins #1, Damn Good Sci-fi Romance! Which I'm not surprised I love her Beyond Human series and with this being the prequel to the Dark Desires series I really need to get all of those and read them. I thoroughly enjoy Nina Croft's writing, her books are immersive they pull you in and don't let go and this one is no different.

The Earth was dying, with twenty-four ships big enough to hold ten thousand people each there was a lottery the winners were the lucky ones, or as they were called "The Chosen Ones" they set off to find a new home. The crews were big enough to man each ship in fifty year rotations and their family got a free pass and an army. But after five hundred years supplies are running short and they still haven't found a new planet and now a "malfunction" is causing cryotubes to fail suffocating the person inside.

Logan Farrell is with the army his current assignment had him with the MPs and that's what they need an investigator, to make sure the failure of the cryotubes was just a malfunction. Well the Captain of the second ship doesn't quite trust the higher ups and wakes up his friend Katia Mendoza a detective with the London Police, or at least she was before they left Earth, to help investigate. Rico the captain of the second ship has his own reasons for putting in his own person on the case, he can't afford everyone to know the truth about his ship. The truth that a good portion of "The Chosen Ones" who were suppose to be on his ship were left behind and replaced by his own people, his own supernatural kind including Katia.

Together Logan and Katia try and find out who is behind the sabotage but with every step closer they get they have a new near death experience that just brings them closer and closer together. The chemistry between them is instant and hot, every spare moment they have is together. But what will Logan think when he finds out not everyone is human?

Overall, I loved this book. The characters, the situation, humor, romance , hot hot (not limited to the bedroom) scenes. I inhaled this book and I want more!

Once upon a time there was a book called Break Out. It takes place in a far distant future – 3050 – in a galaxy far, far away. It’s kind of a heist story, and the first paranormal SFR I ever read. It’s SFR because, well, obviously, 3050 and humanity has managed to get itself off this rock. It’s paranormal because one of the lead characters, the captain of the spacefaring band of mercenaries that the series follows, is Ricardo Sanchez.

Rico was born on Earth in 1452. He became a vampire – yes, you read that right, vampire – during the Spanish Inquisition. A vampire, whether from the Spanish Inquisition or otherwise, is not what you expect to discover on a spaceship.

And yet, when humanity fled Earth, Rico managed to beg, borrow, bribe or steal – mostly bribing and stealing – his way onto one of the sleeper ships heading away from the disaster. And he brought 5,000 or so of his fellow paranormals along with him. Vampires, werewolves, werecats, demons, etc.

Through a bit of timey-wimey time travel bits, we got a few glimpses of Rico’s life before he went space traveling in Break Out and the books that followed. However, while he and his friends talked about their journey to get to the far-flung future, we didn’t get to actually see it.

Now we do. Malfunction is the first projected book in a prequel series to Break Out and its series, which is either titled Blood Hunter or Dark Desires. And if you’re wondering why I’m going through all this background information for a prequel, it’s because my love of Break Out (I gave it an SFR Galaxy Award in 2013.

I was interested in this book because I loved that one. Whether a reader new to the series will have that same reaction is anyone’s guess. I’m not sure.

Because this is not actually Rico’s story – not that I didn’t love seeing him again. Instead, this prequel is an SFR murder mystery – not that there aren’t plenty of paranormal elements in the mix.

This story takes place aboard the good ships of the Trakis expedition – and they are all falling apart. But those malfunctions are mostly what you’d expect after 500 years of continuous operation with no resupply and no hope or home in sight.

The Captain of the Trakis One and Rico on the Trakis Two have each woken an investigator from cryosleep because a recent audit of ships’ systems has turned up a malfunction that is not merely not random. It’s not even likely.

Someone has been running from ship to ship sabotaging cryosleep chambers – including each and every failsafe built in to those chambers to prevent the dozens of deaths by asphyxiation that have occurred.

Trakis One wants their investigator, Sergeant Logan Farrell, to declare the whole thing an unfortunate series of accidental but coincidental malfunctions. He’s not buying what they’re selling, but he’s a good enough soldier to pretend he does.

Rico Sanchez, on Trakis Two, wants his own investigator, Detective Katia Mendoza, to make sure the investigation stays away from the Trakis Two and doesn’t poke its nose into the many, many illegal things that Rico did to get his people onto the ship instead of the people who were supposed to be there.

As Katia is also one of Rico’s illicit people – and a werecat – she’s more than willing to keep the fleet out of their business. But her detective instincts are aroused by the crimes, which are definitely real and definitely crimes and not accidents or malfunctions at all.

That her baser instincts, as well as her emotions, are equally aroused by Sergeant Logan is something that she’ll have to either ignore or let Rico deal with – permanently. One way – or another.

Escape Rating B: I loved the early books in the original series, so I was all in for Malfunction. That being said, Malfunction didn’t feel like it hung together nearly as well as the early books in that series. I enjoyed Malfunction for its look back at the origins of a story I really liked, but I’m not sure that I’d have liked it nearly as much without having already seen the future of this universe and at least one of its characters.

Although the reviews seem to be saying that I’m a bit off-base, and readers new to this world are still loving this book. Your warp speed may vary, of course.

For this reader, it felt like the story existed on three levels. One is the “nostalgia” factor, that I already knew where this universe ended up, so it was fun to see where it began.

The second, and the primary plot of this particular story, is the spacefaring murder mystery. In a strange way, it reminded me of Medusa Uploaded, probably the bit about the mysterious deaths being investigated as well as the class system that has been not just preserved but enshrined in the way that people where chosen for this journey. It also has a bit of Veronica Scott’s Star Cruise/Sectors SF series to it, as that spacefaring SFR series often deals with crime aboard a spaceship. But the tone in Malfunction is dark in the way that Medusa Uploaded is dark.

Third, of course, is the romance between Logan and Katia. They have instant chemistry together, and they both resist it for equally good reasons. Sometimes for the same reason – neither of them has ever fit in and they are afraid to trust themselves emotionally. Of course Katia has another reason for resisting the attraction. She’s not sure how Logan will react once he knows her secret and she’s not sure about becoming emotionally involved with someone that she will probably outlive by centuries.

Unless, of course, the course of this investigation sends them both to “kingdom come” in a ball of fire. After all, someone is committing the crimes that they are investigating, and it becomes almost instantly clear that whoever that someone is they are willing to murder not just dozens but literally thousands of people to cover their crimes.

Or to fuel their need for vengeance. After facing near-death at every turn and always – so far at least – managing to survive together, it’s not any wonder that Katia and Logan decide to grab whatever joy they can in the now – because tomorrow really might never come for either of them.

I, however, certainly hope that there will be more books in the Dark Desires Origins series. It was fun to see Rico and company at an earlier stage of their journey – and the trials and tribulations of watching a new human colony being created while hiding in more-or-less plain sight should be fascinating.

I really enjoyed this book. I grew up reading sci-fi and this filled up a need I didn't know I had. Will have to look for the other books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled for an advanced copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Malfunction
By: Nina Crist

*REVIEW* 🌟🌟🌟.5
Malfunction is the prequel to the Dark Desires Series, but I didn't even know that, having never read Nina Croft. This story reminds me of The 100 with leaving a dying planet, cryosleep, strange mishaps on the ship, etc. The difference is the aspect of shifters as characters, and I am not a fan of shifters. That put me off this story a bit, and I wasn't as invested in the characters, Katia and Logan, as I had hoped. It's not a bad story at all; it's well written, intriguing, complex and the characters have a great dynamic. I'm not the right reader for this one, but tons of people certainly are and will enjoy reading Malfunction.

Logan is a military investigator. His new partner Katia is a cat shifter. Her boss is a vampire. And they’re all investigating a series of suspicious deaths. Sounds like a typical UF set up, right? Except that Malfunction is set 500 years in the future. In space. I do love a genre mashup!

In the not too distant future, the Earth is dying. Several thousand people escape in a fleet of space ships in search of a new home planet. Five hundred years later, they’re still searching. Supplies are running low and the surviving ships in the fleet are starting to fall apart. Then a suspicious malfunction is discovered in several of the cryo-pods housing the survivors. Logan and Katia are awakened from their own pods to look into the malfunctions, and determine whether the aging technology is to blame or if in fact, it’s a serial killer. As a series of more “malfunctions” threatens their lives, the latter seems increasingly likely.

It took me a little while to get into Malfunction, but that could just be a mood thing. Once I got to the halfway point I was engrossed in the mystery, though I felt like I figured it out too easily. I enjoyed the chemistry between Logan and Katia, as well as the fact that their backstories are set more or less in the present. I also thought it was interesting that even in the future, humans weren’t aware of the supernatural creatures sharing their ship. My biggest complaint is that the ending, though it was exciting, was maybe less than heroic.

Malfunction is actually a prequel to Croft’s Dark Desires series, set about 500 years prior. Rio, the hero in book one of that series, plays a significant role in this book, as does the hero from book three. I haven’t read either of those but I’m curious enough about the world that I’ll probably pick them up. I’d also be willing to read more in this prequel series to see how the world evolves. I’d especially like to see more of the werewolf pack, a few members of which are introduced here.

3.5 stars

Malfunction is the prequel to Nina Croft’s Dark Desires Origins series and sets the tone for an intriguing and entertaining series of captivating stories. For those who have read the original Dark Desires, you will be reintroduced to characters like Rico, but he is not our current hero. Luke and Katia are the primary couple in this epic tale and definitely deserve the title of hero/heroine. There is so much happening that I’d be remiss to write spoilers, so I will simply say this is certainly a thrilling read that provides a fascinating foundation for more to come.

This was my first read from Nina Croft. It is an origin story for her Dark Desires series, but you definitely do not need to read anything before it to understand what is going on. It was a little different than I expected- mainly because I was not prepared for the paranormal aspects- shifters, vampires, etc. It was interesting to combine those pieces with a space journey story. It kind of worked though.

I liked Katia and Logan and their dynamics. Super hot and collaborative in their work. It looks like a couple of the side characters are in the other books in the series, so it will be interesting to see where they go.

I loved the futuristic space vibes. The idea that we had to leave a dying Earth behind and a lucky handful of people get to space travel to a new world is something I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of reading about. All the what-ifs and literally infinite possibilities of time and space will reel me in every time.

The author sets the stage with mysterious malfunctions that are causing death by asphyxiation, a strange crew that is definitely hiding something and two MCs that I was instantly curious (and rooting for) Katia and Logan. Back on Earth, Katia was a homicide detective and Logan is part of the new world military. Katia is a strong, capable heroine who calls it like it is and doesn’t pull her punches. Logan was the more vulnerable of the two and it totally worked for him. He was smart and compassionate but also had his rough edges just like his leading lady.

These two, along with the secondary characters had me pretty invested in the story.

Overall, I liked the story and I can definitely see this continuing especially with how things left off in the end. I’ll love to see Dylan, Adam and Callum again. I would recommend for the sci-fi fans who like space operas. The romance isn’t focal to the story, but rather a nice bonus in this suspense/mystery read.

This book is a prequel and I'm hoping that there will be a lot more because the original Dark Desires series was extremely interesting and well thought out. This particular story gives the origins of the humans that left a dying planet Earth and bravely set out to find a new world. Following a lottery those who were successful agreed to be placed in cryogenic sleep whilst skeleton crews took turns piloting the ships but not everyone is who they are meant to be with malfunctions galore and sadly not everyone has survived but is it really just systems breaking down or something far more sinister ?
I've no wish to ruin this for others so will say that this book sets the tone for what could be a very entertaining series. I loved seeing Rico again although obviously he wasn't the hero here. No that dubious title goes to Logan, an army sergeant turned investigator who is woken up to face all kinds of mayhem. Now luckily Rico has his very own sleuth extraordinary in the shape of cat shifter Katia ! Red herrings abound as the couple wade through Just what is truth and what is misdirection.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Interesting and amusing story. But at least there is Logan! Yumm
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I don't often pick up a book in the urban fantasy genre. Often it just seems too far fetched to me. I have read Nina Croft before, so I thought I would give another one a whorl.

This book starts off with a bang and keeps on going.
Location - deep space
Years in the future - 500+
Holy Hotness - Heck yes - Logan!

We have some fun and amusing characters in this book. The connection between Logan and Kitia is immediate and sizzling. For me that was the best part of the book.

But Croft is treating us to so many different genres in one story. Murder, mystery, crime, vampires, shifters, and so much more. You don't have time to become bored or uninterested in this book. Always plenty of action, one way or another!

Fun read!

What I Loved: I really loved the writing in this story. I just felt captivated by what was happening and I really wanted to get to the truth. Nina Croft did a great job of writing this one!

How I Felt: Right from the start, I was hooked on Malfunction. Waking up in a cryotank…finding it’s 500 years in the future and there’s a problem. It was right up my alley and I loved it! There’s a bit of humor and I appreciated that to lighten the story a bit. The murder mystery was a good plot and I was definitely interested in who did it. Overall, I was very happy with this book and I look forward to reading more from Nina Croft!

To Read or Not To Read: If you enjoy science-fiction, end-of-the-world survival, paranormal mysteries, this book is right for you!

I was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book for free. I am leaving my honest, unbiased review voluntarily.

Nina Croft's Malfunction is the first installment in what is being called Dark Desires Origins. The story actually features two main characters: Sergeant Logan Farrell, Investigator of the Federation Security Force and Homicide Detective Katia Mendoza who spent 9 years in the London Metropolitan PD. 500 years ago, Earth became unsustainable. There was a lottery to choose which ones will travel on 24 ships seeking a new home that can sustain life. Each ship holds 10,000 chosen and 30 crew members who alternate for 10 rotations plus an army.

As the story opens, things are going to hell quickly. Ships are disappearing, people are dying in their Cryopods, and almost all of the ships are malfunctioning. Onboard Trakis One, Logan is awakened from cryo-sleep by Major Travis Payne claiming that Logan is needed to determine if malfunctions caused the deaths of people in cryo-sleep or something more nefarious. Similar murders have happened on other ships. So far, it appears as though at least 30 Chosen have died. When Katia arrives, Logan knows he's in trouble.

Similarly, Katia is awakened from cryo-sleep on Trakis Two by Rico, a vampire who is now captain of the ship, who she owes a bit of loyalty to because of what happened to her when she was 19. Rico's ship includes a collection of Unchosen Ones such as vampires, werewolves, demons, witches, warlocks, and one werecat, Katia. Rico informs Katia that someone has been killing the Chosen Ones, the name given to the people who won the lottery to leave Earth and find a new home. Katia who was the best at solving murder cases, is sent to Trakis One to investigate and solve the mystery of the cryo deaths.

As Katie and Logan try to figure out what is causing certain cryo pods to stop working, trapping the occupants inside with no oxygen and no escape, other forces are working to stop the investigation. In fact, there are several attacks on both Katia and Logan that give them both pause to reflect who could be so evil that they would not only kill innocents, but the detectives trying to solve the murders. As the number of ships dwindle, Katia and Logan are against time and an unseen enemy with an unknown agenda. (Note: I figured out the parties involved quite quickly which kind of ruined the story for me.)

At the same time, Logan gets more than he bargains for with Katia. She's his perfect match and the sex scenes are very steamy. Logan's relationship with Rico is humorous and you can't help but like Rico who is just trying to save his people by doing some things that aren't necessarily above board. I actually really liked Katia. She's feisty, and snarky, and doesn't take a crap from anyone, not even Rico. Logan is an empath who has tried hard to fit in, but figured out that fitting in isn't all that cracked up to be which is why he joined the military.

This series actually takes place 500 of years before the Dark Desires 6 book series which is why it is called Origins. Some of the same characters from that series like Vampire Ricardo Sanchez and Callum Meridian appear in this book. Rico, as I said, is Captain of the Trakis Two, while Callum is a hero pilot who was once engaged to marry the daughter of the Federation President. In this story, he's the captain of Trakis 7 where a large piece of the mystery is revealed thanks to not believing the BS he's been handed by those in charge. While Rico's appearance is almost a main character, Callum's appearance is pretty brief.

500 years ago 24 ships were launched from Earth carrying the “Chosen Ones” deep into space in hopes of finding a new home as Earth was dying. Now after 5 centuries things are starting to go wrong. Only 10 ships remain and it seems somebody is killing the sleeping passengers. But who could possibly be killing people cryogenically frozen for 500 years and why bother? How is it happening on different ships? The number is small it seems random so is it just a fleet wide malfunction in the system? Or is there something more sinester at work?

Questions that Sergeant Logan Farrell and Detective Katia Mendoza have to figure out. The ships are all on various states of disrepair so it has to be a malfunction right? Just an unfortunate incident with no malice intent behind it whatsoever... right? The powers that be seem to want them to do just enough investigating to prove that it’s nothing more than a malfunction. Which might have worked if a sudden “malfunction” on a shuttle they were on that was in way better shape than most hadn’t almost got them lost in space. Something seems to be going on but still it seems impossible that any body could have committed these potential murders.

If a murder case wasn’t enough trouble Logan becomes aware that something odd is going on on the Trakis Two, the ship Katia was woken up from. A ship that unlike his ship the Trakis One doesn’t appear to be so rundown and falling apart. And Captain Rico is definitely not what he seems. The Captain seems to be hiding something and he really doesn’t want Logan on his ship. What he doesn’t know is that what Rico and Katia are hiding is that half the passengers on Trakis Two aren’t human and neither are they. Unknown to the rest of the fleet they have supernatural being in their numbers. Humans weren’t the only ones desperate to survive the end of the world.

After multiple interferences and multiple near deaths Logan and a Katia are eventually able to get done where in their case. While the powers that be are certain that convenient new information about a terrorist solves all the mysteries they aren’t do sure. Once they are able to actually investigate properly and get some much needed information the motivation and the murderer’s identity become pretty clear and it’s a race against time to stop said murderer from enacting their final plot. And just in time for the fleet to finally arrive at their destination. Though once two loners over the course of their time together Logan and Katia have grown close and feelings have developed. So they kind of would like to live to do something about it.

This was great and I loved it! It’s another of my recent reads where I wasn’t familiar with the author until I read the book and it did not in anyway disappoint. How could it? Supernatural beings and a murder mystery in space? Right up my alley. The mystery was good it was hard to guess what was really going on before the truth came out and I love a few good twists and turns.

Awesome book and extremely well written, better than many "SciFi" books I have read. It takes the space adventure genre and adds a few interesting twists.  So if you are looking for something unique and one with multiple twists, rising tension and a true whodunit I would recommend this book.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I loved this book!! It has a bit.of everything. Murder, action, romance, paranormal, whoo. The characters were terrific! Katia, and Logan were developed and just fun. Rico had me laughing! The prologue freaked me out a bit, but I laughed and tried to figure out who dun it. Not telling!! It was convoluted in a fun way! I am hoping that this will become a series. 4 1/2 stars