Holly‘s review of Chain Reaction (8th Wing, Book 2) by Zoe Archer
Elite 8th Wing pilot Celene Jur was taken captive after a mysterious device temporarily disabled her ship’s controls. Three solar months later, when Celene receives intel on the man who built the device, she’s ready to get the bastard. Only problem is, the higher-ups think her mission partner should be Nils Calder, a tech-head who can understand the disabling device. The attraction between them is electric, but Celene needs a soldier who can watch her back as she exacts her revenge.
Nils knows his department is nicknamed NerdWorks. Pilots like Celene think the closest tech geeks come to combat is all-night Nifalian chess tournaments. But behind the NerdWorks insignia on his sleeve Nils is an able fighter, ready to prove himself and gain Celene’s trust.
The desire between them is unexpected, but with the fate of thousands hanging in the balance, the hotshot pilot and the tech genius must succeed in their mission—no matter the cost.
I was excited for this book since I enjoyed the first one, Collision Course, quite a bit. While I think this had a strong romance, I was a bit disappointed in the lack of additional world-building. The world is one of the things I loved most about the first book.
We first met Celene in Collision Course. She was captured when the enemy developed a new weapon that rendered her ship useless. Now she wants revenge. Nils has been working on figuring out where the weapon was developed. When he gets a target on the enemy, he knows he has to accompany Celene on the mission to destroy it since no one else would be able to break the code. Celene has serious reservations about taking someone from NerdWorks along, but reluctantly agrees after Nils proves himself capable of handling a weapon.
This story takes place almost exclusively in a ship as Celene and Nils travel to face down their enemy. While that made for a great romance, it didn’t do much for the world. Since they were the only two on the ship, they were forced to talk to each other and learn about one another. Celene is reluctant to open herself up to anyone, since she’s been burned quite a bit in the past. Most people don’t see Celene the woman when they look at her, but Captain Jur, the fearless – and mostly flawless – pilot. She can never live up to those kind of expectations, so she’s given up trying.
Nils has had a crush on Celene forever. He knew she’d never see him as anything but NerdWorks, but that didn’t stop him from hoping he’d be able to impress her. When things heat up between them, he has to convince her he sees all of her – and wants her, flaws and all.
I liked that Nils was a nerd. Let’s face it, nerds are sexy. Especially smart nerds with hot bodies. I understood Celene’s reasons for holding back with him, as well as his own insecurities where she was concerned. A fighter pilot and a computer geek isn’t the most natural pairing. Celene and Nils made it work, however. Although he’s a tech geek, he isn’t a wimp. Celene needed someone who was compassionate but strong enough for her to lean on. Nils was willing to take care of Celene the woman, so that Captain Jur could be strong the rest of the time. I love it when that happens. She also gave back to Nils, boosting his confidence and doing her best to take care of him as well. It was a solid partnership.
There were a few things that bothered me. The first time they started getting naked with each other seemed didn’t make sense. It was a very inappropriate time for sexy-times, which I think they both knew but neither addressed. I also missed being immersed in the world Archer created. This could have been set on any ship in any world, which bummed me out.
Even so, this was a solid read. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
3.5 out of 5
The series:
This book is available from Carina Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I’ve read Zoe’s other books, but not these