Monday, March 5, 2018

Review: Shoot the Messenger (The Messenger Chronicles #1) by Pippa DaCosta

Book Blurb:

"Lies aren't her only weapons against the fae..."

In the Halow system, one of Earth’s three sister star systems, tek and magic—humans and the fae—are at war.

Kesh Lasota is a ghost in the machine. Invisible to tek, she’s hired by the criminal underworld to carry illegal messages through the Halow system. But when one of those messages kills its recipient, Kesh finds herself on the run with a bounty on her head and a quick-witted marshal on her tail.

Proving her innocence should be straightforward—until a warfae steals the evidence she needs. The fae haven’t been seen in Halow in over a thousand years. And this one—a brutally efficient killer able to wield tek—should not exist. But neither should Kesh.

As Kesh’s carefully crafted lie of a life crumbles around her, she knows remaining invisible is no longer an option. To hunt the fae, to stop him from destroying a thousand-year-long fragile peace, she must resurrect the horrors of her past.

Kesh Lasota was a ghost. Now she’s back, and there’s only one thing she knows for certain. Nobody shoots the messenger and gets away with it.

A new space fantasy reverse harem series where the guys are hot, the perils are many, and one rebel messenger holds the key to the survival of the human race.

Find out more about the book on Goodreads and pick up a copy from Amazon

My Review:

5 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Another-World, Faeries, Mystery, Royal-Court, Space, Supernatural, Suspense, Urban Fantasy--

Kesh keeps her head down to blend in, doing her job as a messenger to stay afloat. When her latest message recipient is shot in front of her, she makes a run for it since she knows she will be blamed for his death. Trying to track down the real killer just led to more questions and uncertainty, as well as the loss of her partner. Now on the run with a bounty on her head, a very attractive Marshal hunting for her, and a big secret looming over her past, Kesh may not survive this time.

If I had to describe this book in only 3 words I would choose:

Betrayal, Misdirection, Heartbreak

Nice, happy words, right? Yeah, not so much yet I could not put this book down. I was on the edge of my seat with all the secrets that were slowly unfolded and just when I thought I got a handle on the situation, BAM! I was sent down a different path with a whole new motivation. Where the book started was not even a little bit where the book ended and to put it mildly, I was shocked. This is my second Pippa DaCosta book and I absolutely loved the first one I read, but I think this has stolen the top spot for my love (if I can get over my emotional hangover!) Just the world building alone was enough for me to be sold on the book (it was a perfect melding of space sci-fi with fantasy Fae), regardless of the great characterizations and plot. I can say 100% I have never read a story like this before.

This story is listed as a reverse harem (my new obsession!) but it was not really in your face. There was one character that Kesh finds attractive, one character that she is drawn to against her better judgement, and one character that I absolutely loved but was not really seen in a romantic light for Kesh. There were a few (stolen) kisses and that was pretty much it for heat content. There was a LOT of tension, feels (remember the heartbreak listed before?) and thoughts, but no action. It makes me wonder what will happen further down the series and I am super interested to see how this will play out.

As mentioned, this wasn't a steamy book but still very much an adult book due to the other kinds of content such as abuse, death and a big heaping of gory murder. This is as gritty as an urban fantasy (in space- with Fae!!!) and I am desperate for more. If you are looking for a roller coaster of a twisty plot to keep you on your toes (and wondering who the bad guy really is) then this is the perfect read.

​ I am voluntarily reviewing an advance, complimentary copy of this book.

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