Audiobook Review – Prime Deceptions (Chilling Effect, Book 2) by Valerie Valdes, Narrated by Almarie Guerra (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 14 hours and 40 minutes
Publisher: HarperAudio
Release Date: September 08, 2020
ASIN: B083LCHLS4
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Chilling Effect series
Source: Borrowed Audiobook from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Captain Eva Innocente and the crew of La Sirena Negra find themselves once again on the fringe of populated space – and at the center of a raging covert war. When Eva’s sister asks for help locating a missing scientist, promises of a big paycheck and a noble cause convince Eva to take the job despite lingering trust issues.
With reluctant assistance from her estranged mother, Eva and her crew follow the missing scientist’s trail across the universe, from the costume-filled halls of a never-ending convention to a dangerous bot-fighting arena. They ultimately find themselves at the last place Eva wants to see again – Garilia – where she experienced her most shameful and haunting failure. To complete her mission and get paid, Eva must navigate a paradise embroiled in a rebellion, where massive forests and pristine beaches hide psychic creatures and pervasive surveillance technology. Can she find her quarry while avoiding the oppressive local regime, or will she be doomed to repeat past mistakes when her dark deeds come to light?”
Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Chilling Effect series. I got a copy of this on ebook to review through NetGalley.
Thoughts: If you enjoyed the first book, I think you will enjoy the second book in this series as well. In my opinion, this book had the same strengths and weaknesses as the first book. I loved the sci-fi adventure, the crazy antics, and fun characters. I struggled with all the Spanish in here, some of the decisions the characters made, and some of the motives that drove the plot.
This adventure takes Eva and her crew back to one of Eva’s most tortured memories, the memory of what happened on Garilia. They are hunting down a missing scientist, and the mystery happens to tie in with the mystery of Sue’s missing brother Josh as well. Eva will have to face her past actions on Garilia and hope that her crew will understand and support her if they are going to complete either mission.
This was a fun and fast-paced science fiction adventure just like the first book in this series. I love the cast of characters here and really enjoyed watching Eva find some more balance in her life and start to work more with her crew on a collaborative level. We get to travel to more amazing places, and I really enjoyed that Eva’s mom joins the story some.
As with the first book, there is a lot of Spanish sprinkled in here; I really struggled with this, especially since this time I was listening to this on audiobook and couldn’t stop to look up phrases and terms. I really wish there were footnotes or an index or something to help with this. My other big issue with this book was the motivation behind the plot. Yes, I know they were working on a job, but that really took a backseat to finding Sue’s brother. I thought this was a bit odd since they just met Sue at the end of the last book, it seemed unrealistic that they would take on so much risk for her.
I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was very well done. I would definitely recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. This is another fun and fast-paced sci-fi adventure just like the first book. There are a creative and quirky set of characters that are a lot of fun to read about. I am also enjoying the character growth we are seeing from story to story. I remain a bit frustrated about how much Spanish is in here without any way for me to look it up to understand what is being said. I also thought the plot driving the story for this second book was a bit thin. However, I do plan on reading the third book in the series; I just really enjoy the characters and adventures here!
