Book Review: Chaos Station (Chaos Station Book 1) by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen

 
 
The war is over, but retired soldier Zander is still struggling. When he hires a ship to help him rescue an old friend of his who's in trouble, the last thing he expects is to find his old best friend and lover, Felix---who was declared killed in action many years ago---alive and well and part of the crew. Although feelings still remain, there's a distance between them now, and the two men will have to figure out what their new relationship is, all while battling inner demons of their own.

Book Review: Chaos Station (Chaos Station Book 1) by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen | reading, books, book reviews, science fiction, space opera, lgbt, m/m
Title: Chaos Station
Series:
Book Number: Book 1
Pages: 220
My Rating: 4 Stars
More Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Publisher
 

Review:

This book was exactly the kind of angsty, struggle-filled relationship story that I wanted. Zander and Felix used to be best friends and then, briefly, lovers, but they got separated because of the war. Not only that, Zander thought Felix was dead. So once they ended up on the same ship, of course things got interesting. Even though the book didn’t make me emotional the way I wanted it to, I still loved all those realistic feelings of longing and sexual tension and confusion between them. They clearly still had feelings for each other, but neither man was the same and nothing was the same between them after so many years apart.

Another thing I really liked was a realistic inclusion of disability (unfortunately it ended up being essentially cured in a later book, but at least it was realistic for a few books). Felix’s hand got injured at some point during the war and basically rendered useless. He did have a prosthetic-type glove thing, but it sounded very similar to a type of prosthetic that actually exists already in which he wasn’t able to move it with his mind or anything, but he was able to use his wrist or his thumb or maybe his other hand to move the prosthetic into different positions. So he still had struggles with it, and there were also times when he didn’t wear it at all. And although the actual term was never used, Felix also seemed to have PTSD throughout the series from his time as a POW, so there was mental illness in the book too.

I also thought the characters themselves came across as believable and realistically flawed but still likeable. There was also quite a bit of action in the plot since the goal was about rescuing Zander’s friend, Emma, but the focus was still on Zander and Felix’s relationship, so there was plenty of character-ness too.

Also, this wasn’t something I noticed in this first book (I’ve already read the whole series), but I want to point it out for anyone considering reading, the world-building in this series was absolutely incredible, realistic, and detailed.

I only had a couple complaints, one being that the book could’ve used one more proofread. Nothing major, but it just would’ve seemed more polished. Also, it was sometimes confusing to remember/figure out whose POV I was in since all three sounded very similar and were in 3rd person.

Overall though, I liked the characters and the angsty romance and the space settings and went on to read and enjoy the whole rest of the series!

 

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Have you read Chaos Station by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen?
Do you prefer reading about easy relationships, or ones with lots of struggles to overcome?

 
 
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26 thoughts on “Book Review: Chaos Station (Chaos Station Book 1) by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen

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  1. Lola

    Oh I’ve been waiting for you to post this review as I liked the cover and it looked like a series I might enjoy, so i was eager to hear your thoughts :). It sounds like a good set-up. That must be tough that now they meet again after they’ve been apart for so long and Zander thought Felix was dead. Sounds like they have a lot to work through.

    I like how you describe the characters as believable and realistic! And neat the disability was also realistic, even though it ended up getting cured later. I had a sci-fi read where that happened recently too.

    Your comment about the world building being well done makes me really curious. I love well done world building I am adding this one to my wishlist.

    I kinda like both type of relationships, sometimes it’s nice to read a more easy relationship with less drama, but other times I like seeing them go through a bit of struggle before they get there.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Yeah it’s taking me a really long time to get this one posted. I just have so many reviews that needs you to post it, but I only post to a week, so it’s a problem. But anyway…

      I’m glad you added this to your list, I think you would like this one. Actually, I got these from Amazon, so I’ll check if they’re ones I’m able to loan. But yeah, the character’s and World building were great, and I like reading about struggles in relationships!

  2. Greg

    Finding out your long- lost lover is still alive- awkward! Love the title and the cover. And I’m curious about Emma too as she sounds like a badass!

  3. Uma @ Books.Bags.Burgers.

    I’ve never read a space Opera book! I like that the characters are realistic and angst at a right amount works really well 🙂 Wonderful review Kristen! And sorry I haven’t stopped by in quite a while! I started my Postgrad degree recently and it’s SO exhausting!!

    1. Kristen Burns

      You should totally give space opera a try, even if it’s not this series! I didn’t think I was into space books until I read Starflight LOL. And no worries! I’ve just been returning visits to people who visit me because that’s easier on my tennis elbow, so I haven’t been the best blogger either!

  4. Di @ Book Reviews by Di

    Hmmm. This is a tough one because I haven’t read a lot of space books lately and I’m not normally big on angst… But it’s clear that you loved this one and that there are so many great aspects to this book! You’ve made it sound so good!

  5. Karen

    I love this series. It’s the perfect blend of action, sci-fi, romance with great character development over the course of the trilogy.

    i don’t usually like angst but this was good angst that moved the story forward.

    For What It’s Worth

  6. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    You’ve got me dithering about this one. I loved the sound of it and the excellent world building, I love me some good old world building and the disability rep! That’s great, but then to go and magically cure it in a later book, that makes me sad. This book, and series, does sound really good, though, so I will definitely try and check it out.

  7. Danya @ Fine Print

    I like the sound of this one, especially since I’ve been in the mood for a space opera lately. But I gotta saying, knowing that the disability is basically cured in a later book (I assume through magic or ~science~) gives me pause. WHY do authors do that? Sigh.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Well if you’re in the mood for space opera, I do recommend! But ugh, the disability thing bothers me in so many books. At least this one had realistic disability for like 3.5 books, which is more than most, but that almost makes it more disappointing because it could’ve been perfect disability rep for a whole series!

  8. Olivia Roach

    After reading a lot of self-published books, I’ve come to overlook proofreading issues. I note them, and mention them in my review, but they don’t bother me too much unless there are a TON of them. I used to stay away from co-authored books as well, but I think they work for me now.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I overlook it too when there’s a small amount. I really only mention it if it’s bad, or if it’s a case like this where the proofreading issues are minor ones but it feels a little bit unpolished. I’ve actually never had an issue with co-authored books. Did you find some that were poorly written or something?

      1. Olivia Roach

        Nope. Just that as a writer myself, I have been terrible at co-writing books. I’m too perfectionist and controlling xd Which made me unsure of how they ever actually work, so I just avoided them. Recently, I gave them a try and I don’t even notice any difference. So, that’s that problem solved 😛

        1. Kristen Burns

          I don’t understand how co-writing even works to be honest. I couldn’t even co-write a blog let alone a book lol. I’m too perfectionist and controlling too. But I’ve never found any issues with co-written books, so it must work somehow!