Review: Liberty

Liberty by Annie Laurie Cechini

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Science Fiction/Space Opera
Reading Level: older YA
Recommended for: fans of YA sci-fi/space opera
Book Available: February 1, 2013
Trigger Warnings: Violence, murder

Disclosure: I received an ARC e-book copy of this book from Rhemalda Publishings in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: A STOLEN VIAL 
Eternigen is the miracle drug that allows humans to travel in deep space. Seventeen-year-old space captain Tabitha “Dix” Dixon has the only vial of Eternigen in existence.

A RELENTLESS ENEMY 
Eira Ninge always gets what she wants. She wants the Eternigen, and she’ll do anything—and kill anyone—to get it.

A DEADLY CURSE 
Since Dix stole the vial, everyone she loves seems fated to die. When young resistance messenger Jordan Berrett steals her heart, she has to decide if it’s worth risking his life to let him get close. When Dix is involved, even falling in love can turn deadly.

A CHANCE FOR FREEDOM 
If Dix can get her hands on more Eternigen, she and her crew can escape the solar system, leaving her dark past behind. But getting the Eternigen won’t be easy, and the bodies keep piling up. In the end, the cost of freedom may be too high.

My Thoughts: I am currently holding a giveaway for this book on my blog (linked here where formatting allowed).

I was a little concerned about the suspension of disbelief required to believe that a 17-year-old girl is the captain of a space ship. I mean, I read a lot of military sci-fi and space opera, and know a lot of what is needed in order to lead people, and I simply do not see a 16-year-old girl (as she becomes a captain a year before this story takes place) having that experience, knowledge, and know-how. Fortunately the situation was explained fairly early in the book so I wasn’t stewing about it for ages and distracted by it. However, it was still hard for me to believe she would be capable of it.

Fortunately, it’s quite fast-paced and once that nagging question was out of the way I was kept too busy to think about it anymore. However, I was bothered by a couple other things. The made-up swear words were really weird. I mean, our swear words have been fairly stable for several hundred years, but a couple hundred years go by and suddenly there are all-new words? And the old ones are conveniently gone? I know this is YA, but YA books are always dropping the f-bomb, so really, there was no need other than to make it sound exotic. It wouldn’t have bothered me so much if there had been other changes in the language, but otherwise it remained pretty much the same as now. Another thing: Dix is just downright stupid. There are so many things that were completely obvious, but she kept ignoring her guts and just stumbling ahead, constantly ending up in trouble as a result. Admittedly without that trouble there was be little tension in the story, but this kid is supposed to be a star-ship captain, for crying out loud. She should have some brains in her head. For instance: keep your weapon loaded! I know in the heat of battle it is easy to run out of bullets, but only have two in the chamber? Or forgetting to reload? Does she have a death wish??

I suppose I am just in a mood; I think ordinarily I would have enjoyed this book a great deal, and fans of YA fiction, especially space opera or sci fi, should enjoy it a great deal. It just wasn’t for me. However, if it sounds like something you will like, be sure to check it out, and be sure to go and sign up for my giveaway for a chance to win it.



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