Book Review: Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet

Bouchet has created an interesting dystopian existence amongst the stars in Nightchaser. Dictatorship complete with an evil book-burning overlord, rebels fighting the good fight from a mysterious location, a ragtag crew of Robin Hoods stealing from the overlord and giving to orphanages, and several other delicious tropes that make Nightchaser a combination that reads like Star Wars and Robin Hood. The beginning of the book is downright exciting and exactly what I expected. It all went a bit wrong for me when Shade was introduced.

I enjoyed Shade’s complexity and wish his background was fleshed out a bit more. We know his general motivations but more time could have been spent exploring his past. I think it would have made it easier to like him as a romantic interest. As it stands, and this may be a bit sacrilegious as a romance reader, we could have used less of the forced chemistry between Tess and Shade to urge the story-line along. I love romance in my books, just look at my Goodreads, but I would rather sacrifice a stilted romance and have an exciting read with well-crafted flawed characters that fit authentically within the story.

Unfortunately, I had a few things that didn’t work for me, the biggest being character consistency with Tess. For being a “street smart” captain whose crew members are loyal to a fault, Tess makes so many decisions that highlight her incompetence. She trusts Shade to do his job without even considering how SHADY the man and his business is. I mean, I get distracted by handsome men occasionally, but if I’m running for my life… If written as someone new to this Robin Hood-esque lifestyle then I can see how naivety and what not can contribute to her tendency to abandon all sense of self-preservation and giving sensitive information to a virtual stranger and not question their motives at a deeper level.

Ultimately, I don’t think Amanda Bouchet’s writing is for me. It wasn’t a terrible book (I finished it after all) but as someone that reads a lot of space operas and sci-fi romance, this one had a level of cheese, inconsistencies, and suspension of belief that I couldn’t handle. I’m sure this book will work for others and Bouchet has this set up for an explosive finish in Starbreaker, but I think Tess and I will part ways.