BOOK ONE:
Queen & Commander by Janine A. Southard
(Hive Queen Saga #1)
Publication date: May 2013
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
(Hive Queen Saga #1)
Publication date: May 2013
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Synopsis:
**WINNER 2013 IPPY AWARD -- Silver Medal for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror E-Book**
On a world where high school test scores determine your future, six students rebel. They’ll outrun society as fast as their questionably obtained spaceship will take them.
Rhiannon doesn’t technically cheat the Test. She’s smarter than the computers that administer it, and she uses that to her advantage. She emerges from Test Day with the most prestigious future career possible: Hive Queen.
Gwyn & Victor are madly in love, but their Test results will tear them apart. Good thing Rhiannon is Gwyn’s best friend. Rhiannon can fix this. Queens can do anything.
Gavin is the wild card. Raised off-planet, he can’t wait to leave again... and he’s heard of an empty ship in orbit. The Ceridwen’s Cauldron.
Both Luciano and Alan fit in the system. They don’t need to leave. Only their devotion to Rhiannon spurs them to join the Cauldron’s crew.
Spaceships. Blackmail. Anywhere but here.
On a world where high school test scores determine your future, six students rebel. They’ll outrun society as fast as their questionably obtained spaceship will take them.
Rhiannon doesn’t technically cheat the Test. She’s smarter than the computers that administer it, and she uses that to her advantage. She emerges from Test Day with the most prestigious future career possible: Hive Queen.
Gwyn & Victor are madly in love, but their Test results will tear them apart. Good thing Rhiannon is Gwyn’s best friend. Rhiannon can fix this. Queens can do anything.
Gavin is the wild card. Raised off-planet, he can’t wait to leave again... and he’s heard of an empty ship in orbit. The Ceridwen’s Cauldron.
Both Luciano and Alan fit in the system. They don’t need to leave. Only their devotion to Rhiannon spurs them to join the Cauldron’s crew.
Spaceships. Blackmail. Anywhere but here.
BOOK TWO:
Hive & Heist by Janine A. Southard
(Hive Queen Saga #2)
Publication date: May 2014
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
(Hive Queen Saga #2)
Publication date: May 2014
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Queen
Rhiannon and her Hive have found safety on John Wayne Station, but with
no way to pay their docking fees or Victor’s medical bills, their debts
are racking up quickly. Thankfully, Gavin gets a job with American
Space Ranger M3L-15-A, who’s hot on the trail of dangerous criminals.
The teens move in with their Ranger benefactor, but when they revisit their ship to pick up personal belongings, they realize their Alcubierre tensor jet has been stolen!
If Rhiannon and her Hivemates ever hope to leave, they must find and steal back what’s theirs. But far from home and among strangers, who can they trust? Will they be stuck on John Wayne for the rest of their lives?
The teens move in with their Ranger benefactor, but when they revisit their ship to pick up personal belongings, they realize their Alcubierre tensor jet has been stolen!
If Rhiannon and her Hivemates ever hope to leave, they must find and steal back what’s theirs. But far from home and among strangers, who can they trust? Will they be stuck on John Wayne for the rest of their lives?
Review: Upon joining in on this tour, I had not read Queen and Commander, so I had to begin there before I could read the next book in the series. I felt like it was a pretty good first book in a series, though it did leave me wanting for a bit more. I do realize that sometimes first books can be this way as it is going to be continued, so I was mostly okay with it. I did like the characters very much and enjoyed the writing style, so I did know that I would be happy to move on to reading book two, Hive & Heist.
Now, I can say right away that I enjoyed book two more than book one. This is not unusual for a series, especially for me. I have found through most of the series I read that I am a big fan of book two. Like most series, this book gave me more information, more answers, and more information on the characters that was missing from the first book. The beginning of the book was a bit slow for me, but once I got to the middle it really picked up and I did not want to put it down.
One of my favorite parts of this book was the characters and how they come to work together. It was nice to get information on multiple side characters as well instead of just focusing on the main characters as a lot of authors seem to do. In this story, they all must work together in order to survive, so for me it was important to see and show that they were all playing their own part in the scenario. This also led to seeing growth of all of the characters as you read, too.
Overall, I feel like this book was a good mix of everything that I enjoy in a science fiction now. There was certainly adventure and some mystery, but it also had the elements of friendship and family that are so important, but so often left out in books of this nature. I do believe that book number two was better than book one, and I looked forward to seeing what happens next with the characters.
Now, I can say right away that I enjoyed book two more than book one. This is not unusual for a series, especially for me. I have found through most of the series I read that I am a big fan of book two. Like most series, this book gave me more information, more answers, and more information on the characters that was missing from the first book. The beginning of the book was a bit slow for me, but once I got to the middle it really picked up and I did not want to put it down.
One of my favorite parts of this book was the characters and how they come to work together. It was nice to get information on multiple side characters as well instead of just focusing on the main characters as a lot of authors seem to do. In this story, they all must work together in order to survive, so for me it was important to see and show that they were all playing their own part in the scenario. This also led to seeing growth of all of the characters as you read, too.
Overall, I feel like this book was a good mix of everything that I enjoy in a science fiction now. There was certainly adventure and some mystery, but it also had the elements of friendship and family that are so important, but so often left out in books of this nature. I do believe that book number two was better than book one, and I looked forward to seeing what happens next with the characters.
Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
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AUTHOR BIO
Janine
A. Southard writes and edits speculative fiction in between working on
videogame projects. She’s attended more than the average number
of universities, which she claims is a FEATURE. (“Oxford educated, but
Californian at heart.”) She’s also lived and traveled in Europe, the
United States, and Japan. Currently, she lives in Seattle with a husband
(and a cat) and sings with a Celtic band.
Author Links:
Glad you liked it, Tiffany! I've been having the opposite of luck with sequel lately where I'm very disappointed, but I think it's just coincidence. I love it when a sequel is great or even better than the first! I should check this series out it sounds really unique!
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