Title: Riding the Odds
Author: Lynda K. Scott
Rating: 4/5 stars
Synopsis:
Spaceship captain Tara Rowan has her secrets. One is her Rider, Zie.
Zie is an organic symbiote—like a living tattoo—that enhances Tara’s
physical abilities, including superhuman strength and reflexes. The
other is the past she’s tried so hard to leave behind her. But it’s not
until oh-so-sexy Trace Munroe decides to blackmail Tara that she
realizes her secrets aren’t so secret after all…
Trace is a Holy
Knight who does everything by the book. Desperate to find a missing
princess, he’ll do whatever it takes to rescue her and bring her
kidnappers to justice. Including blackmail. Yet something about the
feisty ship captain draws Trace in and stirs his desire—even if she is a wanted criminal. Because the last thing he needs is any complications…especially when he has his own secrets to hide.
I received a free ebook copy of this book by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
My thoughts:
I should be reading fantasy books and here I am reading sci-fi after glorious sci-fi. I didn’t regret picking up Riding the Odds though,
hell, not for a minute. Frankly, I didn’t expect it to be as engaging
as it was; I found myself lost in between the pages right after I
started reading it.
The reason why I requested this book on NetGalley was because I loved
the concept. A female spaceship captain and a space knight (how cool is
that) go searching for a missing princess – I read the synopsis and I
just couldn’t ignore the existence of this book anymore… Thank God.
The descriptions of the space stations and planets where the story
was set were very vivid. The characters were extremely well-written and I
loved how detailed their backstories were. Knowing about their previous
ordeals, it was easier to understand their ambitions and their
reactions to certain events. The chemistry between Tara and Trace was
very strong but – thankfully – they didn’t jump into bed with each other too early
(like it happens in many romance novels). Their relationship developed
nicely as they crossed the universe and experienced hardships together.
I loved how gender stereotypes were busted in this book. Tara is a
very feminine woman, but at the same time she knows how to fight and her
favourite free time activity is playing poker with a bunch of men at a
smoky bar at some distant point of the galaxy. Trace (whom I call space
Jamie Fraser, because physically he resembles Jamie a lot and he used
the words aye, lass and lad often – don’t mind me), though otherwise a
very manly man, is afraid of the sight of his own blood. The part where
it turned out was hilarious. He is very tender and all in all a good man
and an enjoyable character.
I cannot fail to mention Zie here, because she’s basically the third protagonist of Riding the Odds.
Zie is Tara’s rider, a tattoo-like creature that lives on Tara’s skin.
She was totally adorable. I wouldn’t mind having a rider myself, because
it means you’re never alone, there’s always someone there for you. Tara
had a very close relationship with Zie, which was heartwarming to read
about.
My favourite secondary character was Drummer, who was like a brother
to Tara. I enjoyed the dynamics between him and Trace, I liked to see
how their opinion changed of each other as the story developed.
Before you pick Riding the Odds up, acknowledge the fact that it is a
(sci-fi) romance novel with erotic bits in it. The book is not
overstuffed with sex scenes though, which was another pleasant surprise
for me – it’s getting harder and harder to find an erotic novel that has
an A+ plot and doesn’t solely focus on certain physical activities.
I recommend Riding the Odds to those who loved the tv show Firefly
and generally to anyone who likes sci-fi and doesn’t mind if their
reading material is spiced up with a bit of romance.
