Book Review: Inversion Point (Chaos Station Book 4) by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen

 
 
A new gate has opened, and when the new species finally starts making contact, it becomes Zander's job as the Guardian's emissary to facilitate contact and peaceful relations among them and all the other species. But Zander's new role is exhausting, and it doesn't help his mood any that the human ambassador is Felix's ex. Meanwhile, Felix has his own problems to face when the very same stin who tortured him interferes in his life once again.

Book Review: Inversion Point (Chaos Station Book 4) by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen | reading, books, book reviews, science fiction, space opera, lgbt, m/m
Title: Inversion Point
Series:
Book Number: Book 4 of 5
Pages: 216
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
More Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Publisher
 

Review:

Oh these poor, poor characters (or maybe poor, poor Felix is more accurate). Every time it seems like things are getting better and they’re gonna get a break from all the problems, things just spiral down again. It gave me this really weird mixture of feeling awful for them and feeling happy because that’s exactly the kind of thing I like to read.

Anyway… the reasons I loved this book. For one thing, just like all the others, it had a great plot but also lovable and realistic characters with imperfect but still sweet friendships and romantic relationships.

I also loved the mental health aspect that’s been in all the books. Felix was a POW for years, but that was never used as just some tragic backstory; it truly affected him and was part of his character. Even when he and Zander would have sex, anytime Zander would pin him down or get on top of him or push him against a wall, Felix would have a moment of panic and feel trapped and have to remind himself that he wasn’t back in the work camp, he was safe in the arms of his lover (and Zander would always ask Felix if what he was doing was ok because he understood). Felix also had flashbacks and nightmares and other emotional struggles. And for a while he wasn’t handling things well, but in this book he was finally seeing a therapist and doing a lot better because of it. Even Zander was seeing a therapist because he too had a lot to deal with emotionally from his time in the war and everything that had happened to him. So it seemed like mental health was handled realistically and well.

But, despite finally seeking out help, Zander and Felix still weren’t perfect (because no one is) and had inner demons and stress to deal with, which made their relationship still a bit rocky (but ultimately loving).

Also, you know a book is good when you get through an intense scene and realize you’ve been literally clutching your shirt in horror and concern and have to stop and stretch your hand out for a moment before continuing.

Another thing (I know, lots of gushing, but there’s a reason I gave this book such a great rating), it just hit me at some point while I was reading, these authors have created an entire universe. The sheer amount of detail about the aliens and societies and planets and militaries, the backstories, the events in the war, the characters’ memories and things that have happened in their lives… It was like, up until that point I just felt like I was reading something real and then suddenly remembered it was all created in someone’s imagination, and it just kind tripped me out. That’s how intricate and vivid it was.

My only complaint is how disability was used in this book. *SPOILER* One of the characters lost an arm, but then it was replaced with alien technology that gave him some extra abilities, in addition to curing the original disability he had (a bad hand). *END SPOILER* It was disappointing to me because, up until then, one of the things I loved about the series was how realistic the physical disability inclusion was.

Overall though, that one thing aside, this book was amazing and sucked me into the story even more than the previous ones!

 

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Talk to me!

Have you read Inversion Point by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen?
Have you ever read a book with such great world-building you forgot for a while that it wasn't real?

 
 
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8 thoughts on “Book Review: Inversion Point (Chaos Station Book 4) by Jenn Burke & Kelly Jensen

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  1. Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra

    I’m glad this series is still working so well for you. I think it’s cool that they’ve managed to create an entire universe too. That’s pretty darn impressive! That is a shame about the way the disability is used though.

  2. Olivia Roach

    I love when the world building is so good that you actually forget there isn’t some planet in the sky where this actually happens and exists. Oh man, these characters sound like they never catch a break and like they struggle with so many things plot wise but also internally and emotional wise. My heart cries for their suffering but like you I also love when that happens in books because I get so invested in their stories that I just want more and more. I need to read this series because it sounds kind of epic to me.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Same! It’s incredible when authors can make a world feel so real. Ahh we’re such sadists/masochists when it comes to the poor characters we read about lol.

  3. Lola

    I skimmed your review as I don’t want to get spoiled. I read the first two books and hope to continue to this series soon. It sounds like it keeps going strong. Although after book 2 I do feel bad it seems there is even more difficult stuff for them to get through. I already felt in the first two books that there was way more universe behind it than that we saw so far and it sounds like throughout the series we get to see more of that, which is great. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Understandable! You reading them reminded me that I needed to post my reviews already lol. I’m glad you’re liking them so far. But yeah, there’s a lot for these poor characters to go through! I recall you mentioning the world-building, you seem to notice world-building quickly, sometimes it takes me a while. It is really great in this series though!