Smada's Book Smack : Audiobook Blog Tour & Giveaway: Trust and Treachery (Echoes of Sol #1) by Charissa Dufour

Author: Charissa Dufour

Narrator: Ian McEuen

Length: 3 hours 57 minutes

Series: Echoes of Sol Series, Book 1

Publisher: Charissa Dufour

Released: Nov. 28, 2018

Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera

When space freighter pilot Calen Macleef accidentally wins Larissa “Bit” Earnest in a lucky hand of poker, his main concern is what his gruff and uncompromising brother, Jack, will say about it. Jack Macleef is the captain of the ship in a world where space travel has only recently become the norm and space piracy abounds.
Painful memories of prior abuse surface for Bit as she finds herself on a freighter full of rowdy, ungentlemanly merchant marines. Jack works to find a safe place for frightened Bit among the ungentlemanly crew, but good looks and innocent ways continually charm the men.
With tension and danger running high, each begins to wonder: Will they survive the pirates...and each other?

My Review:

3.5 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Another-World, Romance, Space, Suspense--

After spending her life in indentured servitude for her father's debts, being gambled away during a card game is just another day for Bit. But what she did not expect, was that her new Master would be nothing like her previous ones and that her new life would give her the opportunity to be herself and gain skills that she could never dream of as part of the crew on a spaceship transport vessel.

Trust & Treachery is not listed as such, but this 100% feels like a slow burn science fiction reverse harem. We have this one very timid girl who spent her lifetime being abused and sold off by men, and then we have a space ship filled with potentially eligible bachelors who are vying for the spot of her love (or at least some quality sexy time). There was no sex in this book, it was pretty PG overall with the actions (backstory was not PG, but not detailed) and right near the end there was one brief kiss. But there are at least five guys who are romantically and sexually attracted to the man character- I guess I will just have to read the next book to see where the romance will go (if it even goes anywhere- keep in mind, this is just my speculation).

My one complaint with the overall audiobook experience was that it kept switching between character perspectives randomly in the narration, I was never really certain who was the current narrator. Maybe it would have been easier to tell if I had been reading the book instead of listening, but since the narrator used the same voice for almost all the characters I was really confused. There was at least five character points of view in the book so you can see my confusion when it was suddenly a new view point in the middle of a chapter/scene with no warning. At times it would switch after a couple of sentences, so I was always second guessing what I was reading.

The ending was very abrupt, with almost nothing resolved, more like this book set up the world and a later book would continue the journey/plot. So that means I need to snag the rest of the books in the series. The audiobook was roughly five hours making this more like a novella or maybe a serial to be read back to back, with all the individual pieces fitting together to create an entire story. This is my second read/audiobook written by Charissa, both from different series and her ability to craft complicated, detailed worlds is very impressive. I recommend for sure picking up one of her series to read.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Charissa Dufour. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

My journey to becoming a writer began in 8th grade when I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and pulled from school to recover. During this time, I was left alone for hours on end and it was then that I discovered new friends within the pages of books. I also learned the blessing of creating my own friends by writing down the stories that plagued my lonely mind--as demented as that sounds. Therefore at the ripe age of fourteen, I wrote my first novel. It sucked! But I kept going and now I am an Indie Author with numerous books out. I never imagined that first horrible novel about a man who crashlanded on his long-lost homeworld would turn into a lifelong passion.

I now live in Chicago, IL with my amazing husband and two rambunctious cats, Groot and Rocket.