Battle Stations (Alliances: Book Two)
Author: Chris T. Kat
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
American release date: October 12, 2015
Format/Genre/Length: E-book/M/M Sci
Fi/Romance/217 pages
Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★
While fighting Tash’Ba war beasts on yet another planet,
Berit becomes separated from Tom, Carson, Niyara and the rest and fears he’s
about to become elgoth chow. But someone must be watching out for small spunky
commanders, and Tom arrives to save the day. A joyful reunion with the rest of
the crew is marred by the knowledge that Berit was targeted by the beasts for a
particular reason—one which doesn’t sit well with any of them.
This mission has Berit more shook up than usual, and Tom is
determined he will get a break before they take on another. When Tom learns
that Berit has been avoiding his counseling sessions, he isn’t pleased, and
Carson wonders how he got away with not doing something so mandatory. Just
Berit being Berit.
Berit, Tom, Niyara, and Carson return to the ship, and
unpleasant accusations begin to fly from one of Berit’s previous one-night
stands. Why is he so obsessed with Berit? And what lengths will he go to to get
his attention?
Things go from bad to worse. The Tash’Ba queen has her
sights set on Berit, but why? And what has been done to the beasts to change
them? Will they have to start from square one in order to obliterate them? And
do they have enough time to do that before doom comes down on the whole human
race?
The second book in the Alliances series is every bit as good
as the first, continuing where the other left off. Berit is just as spunky and
mouthy as ever. The only difference is he’s settled down with Tom, instead of
being a sleep-around kind of guy, even if he isn’t exactly ready to admit it yet.
I love the relationship between Carson and Niyara,
especially with her being pregnant. I love how she is the dominant one, and how
Carson comes to accept that and doesn’t let his fragile male ego get in the
way. A lot of m/m books blow women off as almost non-existent, which is so
impractical it’s not funny. Hello? There are women in the world, men do not
exist in a vacuum, much as some of those authors seem to wish. Relegating them
to bitch roles or second bananas is just not very nice (especially as most of
those m/m authors are women). Ms. Kat
develops a very satisfying secondary m/f relationship which I thoroughly
enjoyed. I also love the affection between Berit and Carson, the deep love they
share which has never been and never could be physical, thus showing that men
can be friends only, just as women can.
I also love the developing relationship of Rene and Ylkurt.
Rene lost his beloved wife in the first book, and then learns that Ylkurt—who
is male—is his mate. That’s a bit much for a previously hetero male to absorb.
But time does heal all wounds, and true love will find a way. Along these same
lines, there is Jazzy, Fleur’s baby, who is growing up and has formed an
outside bond of her own.
The stars of this book are Berit and Tom, of course, and their
relationship. I love seeing them together, love seeing how much in love they
are, and to what lengths they will go to in order to protect one another.
Action, romance, suspense, mystery… this book has it all,
including memorable characters who will stay with you long after the last page
has been turned. I highly recommend this book, but be sure to read the first
one first, in order to gain the whole experience. You’ll be glad you did!
Author Name: Chris
T. Kat
Book Name: Battle
Stations
Series:
Alliances
Book: Two
True series –
should be read in order
Release
Date: October 12, 2015
Blurb:
The fight to eradicate the Tash’Ba breeding stations continues, with spunky Commander Berit Turner and his Nadisc mate, Tom, in the thick of things. Sometimes it seems as though they’ll never locate and destroy them all. And there’s always the fear that the Tash’Ba have something else, something worse—if that’s even possible—lurking ahead.
The fight to eradicate the Tash’Ba breeding stations continues, with spunky Commander Berit Turner and his Nadisc mate, Tom, in the thick of things. Sometimes it seems as though they’ll never locate and destroy them all. And there’s always the fear that the Tash’Ba have something else, something worse—if that’s even possible—lurking ahead.
As if things aren’t bad enough, Berit’s less than stellar past is
threatening to bite him in the ass, and they’ve received alarming new
information. The Tash’Ba Queen needs to use Earth as a place to hatch the egg
of her successor. And if what she says is true, the new Queen will be even more
voracious and cruel than her predecessor.
Berit, along
with his team—Tom, Carson, Niyara, and Fleur—must do everything in their power
to stop her. If they fail, Earth will be lost forever.
Pages or Words:
Categories: M/M Romance,
Science Fiction
Excerpt:
Veering to the left, I
allowed myself a quick glance over my shoulder. Not that I saw any chance of
the elgoth having lost interest in
me, because those fucking beasts never lost interest once they’d set their
sights on prey, but sometimes a new prey might attract them more, which I’d
have welcomed right then.
My lungs burned and my leg
muscles smarted like hell from running like a rabbit through thick brushes and
overgrown ferns. I even zigzagged around. Too bad I couldn’t find a rabbit’s
hole to hide in.
I had no idea where Tom,
Carson, and the rest of the team were, either.
We’d been separated before—it
happened when gigantic Tash’Ba war beasts decided we looked good enough to
eat—but I’ve never liked it. No, scratch that. Every time it happened, it put
the fear of God in me. A gust of warm breath, mingled with some spittle,
sprayed my neck. I squeaked and swerved to the right, vaulting over a stunted
tree trunk. Seconds later, wood splinters sped past my head, and I lost my
footing on the vibrating ground.
I sprawled facedown in the
mud, panic sending bolts of confusing messages through my body. Maybe… maybe if
I kept completely still, the elgoth wouldn’t touch me? The first time I’d made
the acquaintance of one of these towering forty-foot-tall creatures, Tom had
instructed me not to move, because they wouldn’t be able to locate us.
It had worked on Ligador and
a couple of other breeding stations, but last time a team member tried this
approach, the elgoth had roared and ripped him apart. All Tash’Ba war beasts
seemed to be altering their tactics, making them even more unpredictable than
before.
The mud around me sloshed,
almost causing me to inhale some of it. I suppressed the urge to cough and kept
my mouth shut as tight as I’d ever done, even though a whimper threatened to
spill over my lips any second.
Another gust of foul breath
struck my neck. My hair stood on end, my muscles locked in some kind of rigid
stupor. That was it. I’d end my life as a morsel for an elgoth.
A blast echoed from the
south, and the beast’s breath vanished from my neck. Gunfire followed the
blast, and voices filtered through my terrified haze. They’d run right into the
elgoth if I didn’t warn them. But… if I moved, or raised my voice, the elgoth
would bite my head off. Literally.
Buy the book:
Meet
Chris T. Kat:
Chris
T. Kat lives in the middle of Europe, where she shares a house with her husband
of many years and their two children. She stumbled upon the M/M genre by luck
and was swiftly drawn into it. She divides her time between work, her
family—which includes chasing after escaping horses and lugging around huge
instruments such as a harp—and writing. She enjoys a variety of genres, such as
mystery/suspense, paranormal, and romance. If there's any spare time, she
happily reads for hours, listens to audiobooks or does cross stitch.
Where to find Chris
T. Kat:
Goodreads
Link:
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover
Artist: Anne Cain
Tour Dates & Stops:
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Faerie's Tales and Reviews, BFD Book Blog,
MM
Good Book Reviews, Andrew Q. Gordon,
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Fiction Nook, Full
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Gold Reviews, Velvet Panic
Rafflecopter
Prize: Two print copies of ‘Breeding Stations’
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Julie, thanks so much for hosting me today and for the wonderful review. <3
ReplyDeleteIt's always a pleasure to have you visit, Chris! And I loved Battle Stations. I'm crossing my fingers you'll write more about Berit and Tom! *hint hint* lol
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