White Fire

I enjoyed this space opera adventure and the character of Toni. I especially liked, Mate, the robo-dog, but I like dogs, so that could be a reason! The storyline kept my interest, and it was reasonably fast-paced. Anyone who enjoys good space-opera Sci-Fi may find this book entertaining. I will check out more stories/books by this author.

So the main reason I requested this space opera was Mate, the robo-dog and he didn't disappoint. For me everything else pales in comparison to Mate's awesomeness but all in all a very entertaining read and one I'll definitely go back to.
I'll be on the lookout for more by this author.

THIS WAS SO GOOD!

From the first few pages, I was hooked with a space battle that was so perfectly depicted that I couldn't put it down. Toni is the female gender bent version of Captain Mal Reynolds from Firefly and I couldn't get enough.

Mate was equal parts entertainment and perfect sidekick. I kept comparing him to every heroine-driven-sidekick film or book I've read, though. I wished he had a bit more uniqueness to him, other than being a robotic dog, which who doesn't love that? He was endearing anyway.

For world-building, I found myself wanting a bit more in terms of explanation of how things worked. It is the future and space, after all. We don't all know what certain dialects and flux fields are. An included map also would have been awesome. Overall, super excited for this book... I do hope it's a series.

Thank you!

Well, this was a little different to what I was expecting. And in a good way, I hasten to add. I am a relative newbie to the genre so some of what I read did need a couple attempts to get my head round, but on the whole, it flowed very well and left me mostly satisfied.
Agent Toni Delle, ably assisted by robot dog Mate and shipboard computer Zach, is on the trail of some smugglers. When we first meet her she has just completed one hairy mission and is about to accept her new one; to find and stop the manufacture of a new weapon and find its designer who has disappeared. As well as needing the money the mission will (probably) earn her, she lives for the excitement and thrill of the chase. Good job too as this mission will test her mettle as she flits between locations with much danger behind every corner. Teaming up with shady characters in her quest also comes with snags along the way as she endeavours to complete her mission and get her dues. And then there's Dan to contend with...
Once I got into the author's style of writing and the story started to flow better for me, I whizzed through the rest of the book. The story itself was well plotted, if at times a little disjointed, and very fast paced. I definitely had to have my wits about me with all the goings on! Toni has trust issues which, as things unfold, you do get to understand being as she isn't always the best judge of character. But she does seem to learn along the way, if a little slowly. Some of her personal observations on her own shortcomings did have me giggling along the way and also lent credence to her personality and realism. She's also quite resourceful which helped, even if it didn't always go quite according to plan, with sometimes funny and often action-packed consequences.
Mate and Zach are worthy sidekicks, both have their obvious limitations and vulnerabilities but together, the three of them work well and have a special bond. Nemesis Dan has his attraction and that in itself leaves Toni quite vulnerable but there's definitely something about him that makes their paths cross time after time and adds a bit of spice into the mix. Not that Toni really needs more excitement in her life... who'm I kidding, of course she does!
All in all, a deliciously bonkers space romp that kept my attention nicely throughout and left me hanging for more of the same. Roll on book two...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.