3 / 5 Stars!
Earth has been abandoned, and the human race is spread around the galaxy.
Orion is an entitled, shallow commander’s son, who has been banished to Mars by his mother for over a decade. He gets the news that it’s time for him to return and learn to take over command.
Kaia lives on Riker 109 as a scavenger. Her boss wants her to target Orion on his stop from Mars to Colossal, the colony ship. He wants her to make it to Colossal and get him information on how to access the ship. It’s full of resources and the best tech, due to its goal of finding New Earth.
The book follows their journey as they get to know each other, journey along Colossal, and use each other for their own means.
I greatly enjoyed the world building and unique aspects of the world and the ship itself. I had a hard time feeling very invested in the relationship forming between the two of them, as it’s more trauma bonding than anything else most of the time.
It definitely ends on a cliffhanger though, so now it’s time to wait until book 2 comes out!
TW/CW – check the authors website for full content warnings: though the dubcon is more like sexual assault with FMC feeling she “deserves it”, suicidal ideation, suicide, sexual violence, knife play
I was lucky to receive an ARC from the author to read.
Blurb from author’s website:
The predatory alien blood in Orion Halen’s veins makes him dangerous. Volatile. Addictive. But desire burns brightest in the depths of darkness… And the fall can feel so good.
Kaia never imagined her lifelong mission would lead to this: a sacrificial lamb on a colony ship, chosen to bear an heir for the ship’s ruthless soon-to-be commander. To Orion Halen, she’s a means to an end—a piece to play in his twisted game. But Kaia is no ordinary pawn.
Even as their machinations intertwine and secrets grow deep, an insatiable attraction takes root. Their dance of power and seduction blurs the lines between pleasure and pain. There’s a cruel lure in Orion’s glacial eyes. A mere touch threatens to expose a hunger Kaia can’t afford to let herself indulge, because she’s hunting for something far more precious than her own survival. But desire burns brightest in the depths of darkness… And it’s so tempting to give in.
Colossal: Dark Romance in Deep Space is a steamy science fiction romance novel where morally gray protagonists navigate treacherous desires in a slow burn that satisfies the senses and leaves the reader aching for more.
