Caffeinated Reviewer

Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik is the second audiobook in the suspenseful, romantic fantasy series; Starlight’s Shadow. I was excited to once again board Starlight Shadow and spend more time with its crew. This story shares Kee & Varro’s adventure & romance. Grab your gear and prepare for takeoff.

Kee Ildez has been many things: hacker, soldier, bounty hunter. She never expected to be a hero, but when a shadowy group of traitors starts trying to goad the galaxy’s two superpowers into instigating an interstellar war, Kee throws herself into the search to find out who is responsible—and stop them.

Digging up hidden information is her job, so hunting traitors should be a piece of cake, but the primary suspect spent years in the military, and someone powerful is still covering his tracks. Disrupting their plans will require the help of her entire team, including Varro Runkow, a Valovian weapons expert who makes her pulse race.

Quiet, grumpy, and incredibly handsome, Varro watches her with hot eyes but ignores all of her flirting, so Kee silently vows to keep her feelings strictly platonic. But that vow will be put to the test when she and Varro are forced to leave the safety of their ship and venture into enemy territory alone.

Cut off from the rest of their team, they must figure out how to work together—and fast—because a single misstep will cost thousands of lives.

Perfect for fans of Dianne Duvall’s Aldebarian Alliance or Ilona Andrews’ Kinsmen series. Mihalik has several series set in space and I love them! I absolutely loved her Consortium Rebellion series.

Eclipse the Moon takes us back aboard the Starlight Shadow and picks up where Hunt the Stars left off. After saving the heir to the Valovian Empire, the crew is now hunting for Commodore Frank Morten.

Kee Ildez is a hacker, bounty hunter and former soldier. She is magic with gadgets and finding information. While doing research, she stumbles upon a plot to start a war between the Valorians and their government. She may also have a slight addiction to cookies.

Varro Runkow is a Valorian weapons expert who came aboard in the previous installment. Kee and Varro had this interesting snarky, snippy, confused dynamic that I was excited about exploring romantically. Varro has a unique gift that has kept him from having a relationship.

The tale takes place mostly aboard the space station where Kee has secured a room. Varro follows to protect her and the tale that unfolds has lots of action, danger and intrigue with delightful moments of romance. Varro is the grumpy, silent type and Kee has this cute crush on him. The two struggle to express their feelings and I loved all the awkward moments.

As always, Mihalik pulled me into the story and while each book has its own romance and storyline, I recommend you listen to them in the order of their release because of the overall series arc and character development. Kee and Verro’s dance truly began in Hunt for the Stars.

We see very little of the rest of the crew, but when they are present, things get intense as the danger and suspense increased. I felt the romance was served as a side to the main course, but it was delicious and spicy. I’ve truly got no complaints. These two worked well as a team. We saw character growth, trust and plenty of tender, swoon-worthy moments that made my heart flutter.

Frankie Corzo narrates the series and has done a stellar job of capture both the characters and tone of the series. Both her male and female voices are authentic from character personalities to emotions.

Fans of space opera will love this grumpy sunshine romance while sci-fi fantasy fans will love the suspenseful fast-paced tale.

Amazon | Audible

About Jessie Mihalik

Jessie Mihalik has a degree in Computer Science and a love of all things geeky. A software engineer by trade, Jessie now writes full time from her home in Texas. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing co-op video games with her husband, trying out new board games, or reading books pulled from her overflowing bookshelves.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

About Frankie Corzo

Frankie Corzo is an actor and voice-over artist who has appeared on film and in television, as well as on stage. Her work in audiobook narration has garnered her several accolades, including an AudioFile Earphones Award.

About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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