Words I Write Crazy: Week 27 Reviews: Off Planet, Off Balance, In Command, On Mission

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Week 27 Reviews: Off Planet, Off Balance, In Command, On Mission

From Goodreads:

In an all-too-plausible future where corporate conglomerates have left the world's governments in shambles, anyone with means has left the polluted Earth for the promise of a better life on a SpaceTech owned colony among the stars.

Maité Martinez is the daughter of an Earther Latina and a powerful Aunare man, an alien race that SpaceTech sees as a threat to their dominion. When tensions turn violent, Maité finds herself trapped on Earth and forced into hiding.

For over ten years, Maité has stayed hidden, but every minute Maité stays on Earth is one closer to getting caught.

She’s lived on the streets. Gone hungry. And found a way to fight through it all. But one night, while waitressing in a greasy diner, a customer gets handsy with her. She reacts without thinking.

Covered in blood, Maité runs, but it's not long before SpaceTech finds her…

Arrested and forced into dangerous work detail on a volcano planet, Maité waits for SpaceTech to make their move against the Aunare. She knows that if she can't somehow find a way to stop them, there will be an interstellar war big enough to end all life in the universe.

There's only one question: Can Maité prevent the total annihilation of humanity without getting herself killed in the process?

From Goodreads:
Broken, beaten-down, and plagued by nightmares, Amihanna di Aetes is surrounded by the Aunare race that makes up the other half of her heritage, but she feels alien amongst them. She's not sure which is worse: SpaceTech's overt hatred of Aunare or the Aunare's covert hatred of halfers. She hears their whispers whenever she enters a room and sees her death reflected in their eyes. Amihanna doesn't know who to trust anymore, but she hasn't survived this long by ignoring the warning signs all around her, especially when her instincts are screaming that a familiar choice is coming: flee or fight.

Her parents assure her everything is okay—that there won't be any reason for her to fight, let alone flee—but with Amihanna's sudden return, questions arise among the Aunare: who should be blamed for the start of a full-scale war with SpaceTech, how much danger will the war bring, and is Amihanna truly fit to be the next high queen?

Honestly, Amihanna wants to forget all the politics, her betrothal to Lorne, and the possibility of being queen. Her needs are much more basic. All she wants is a solid night's sleep where she doesn't wake up screaming with the phantom pain of her skin burning. All she needs is to live without fear of a mob tearing her away from her family. All she hopes for is a chance to dream of a future instead of constantly fighting for her right to live.

And yet, somehow, everything she does leads her back to Lorne. He always seems to know when she's about to break under the pressures of her new life. His quiet patience is wearing Amihanna's protective walls down, and she's terrified of what will happen if they fall.

From Goodreads:

Amihanna di Aetes is used to fighting, surviving, and relying on her strength to get through the hard times. She thought the worst was over when she accepted her engagement to Lorne ni Taure, the High King of the Aunare, and claimed her place as the future High Queen.

It should be easy to slide into her new role. How hard can it be living in luxury with your soulmate after growing up alone on the streets?

But the more she learns about the Aunare and their politics, the more she realizes that the true test of her strength is just beginning.

Amihanna di Aetes is in for the battle of her life if she wants the Aunare to accept her.

From Goodreads:

Sometimes my life doesn't feel real to me.

It's so different—infinitely better—than anything I had on Earth. I'm not running or hiding or afraid anymore. I'm not dealing with the trauma of my past. I'm not alone because I have Lorne. Every time I look into his eyes, everything else fades away—the war, the fight ahead, the fact that we have so much work to do if we want to win. I see him and I forget that SpaceTech is moving against us, but it's not just me I’m trying to save anymore. It's the Aunare.

And yet, the Aunare High Council isn't listening to a word I say.

I'm the only one who seems to understand the danger that we're up against, and that if we don't start acting soon, it'll be too late. I want to dissolve the High Council, but I'm not sure I should. I don't even know if I can. But I know that SpaceTech is closing in. Their war ships are stationed at the edges of our colonies' territory, and I can feel the fight growing closer every minute of every day.

The time for us to act is coming, and I'm not sure how much more politicking I can do. That's not who I am. It's not who I'm meant to be. I can only be a fighter. A warrior. A queen.

If no one else will fight with me, then I will do what I need to take down SpaceTech.

Because I'm Amihanna di Aetes, the future High Queen of the Aunare, and I won't quit. Not ever.

My first review of Off Planet, Off Balance, In Command, On Mission
My Review:
I wasn't planning on rereading this series-I was waiting until the ARC of the final book came out. And oh, look, it's out! So I moved things around so I could, and I'm so glad that I did, even if this series is hard to read sometimes, its just so good!

Maité has a lot on her shoulders, given that she's actually Amihanna di Aetes, a halfer, and SpaceTech wants all halfers-and full Aunare-dead. The first book, oh, does she go through a lot, and it's so infuriating, because the rules and the odds are stacked against her. But she survives, and I love the blow that she gives them!

But that does leave her with some new issues to deal with, along with having survived these 13 years in survival mode. Off Balance really dealt with those issues, at least so that she could deal with them, as well as figure out who she was now, now that her purpose to survive has gotten her to safety.

I just love her relationship with Lorne. They have the bond because they are shalshasa, but she doesn't want to be Queen of a people who don't want her. So it's complicated, but oh, they're meant to be together! And once they're on the same page, they're unstoppable!

There's so much unfairness in this series, with the way that SpaceTech runs things, how Lorne's father was like, how the Aunare people treated her before she opened up their eyes to what Liberation Week was like. And how the declaration of war works with their allies, that was just awful! I just had to breathe, knowing that it would get better, but it was hard to read through it, especially the beginning of Off Planet with Jason!

Loved rereading this series, and I can't wait to see how it all ends!

Author: Aileen Erin
Series: Aunare Chronicles #1, 2, 2.5, 3
First Read: February 13th, 14th, 2020, February 24th, 2021, July 12th, 2021

Read: July 7th, 8th, 8th, 8th, 2022
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Rereading, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Books!
Publisher: Ink Monster, LLC
Published: March 19th 2019, February 11th 2020, February 23rd 2021, July 27th 2021

Off Planet: