Audiobook review: Capture the Sun by Jessie Mihalik
Picking up roughly midway through the timeline of the second book, Eclipse the Moon, Capture the Sun follows recovery specialist (aka thief), Lexi, as she returns to Voloff for a potentially lucrative job. However, as soon as she arrives, she’s being hunted by the Empress’s agents, a move the Empress hopes will bring back one of her inner circle (book 1). When her nemesis Nilo shows up to save her, Lexi isn’t sure who to trust.
As the book progresses, the timelines of book 2 and 3 merge, and the gang reunites to rescue Starlight’s captain and Voloff crew. I liked how the story first focuses on Lexi and Nilo, giving the pair time to build trust, and then brings the group all together to deal with Morton, Fev, and a potential war. There is a lot of action and romance. Lexi doesn’t trust easily, and Nilo is willing to put in the time to earn her confidence and love. They do experience a few communication failures which leads to some unnecessary drama, but overall, they build a solid relationship.
Narration: The story is shared via the first person POV of Lexi. The narrator uses a strong and upbeat feminine voice which suits Lexi, who is fiercely independent. The narrator utilizes various inflections and tone changes for emotions. Dialogue is slightly adjusted for gender, race, and age, making each character unique. She gives the Valloffs a slight accent to differentiate their race. Her males are deeper and masculine. Overall, it is a solid performance and enjoyable to listen to.
Although there are more stories from this universe that could be shared, Capture the Sun wraps up the Starlight’s Shadow series with the promise of hope that all good things will come. Overall, I enjoyed the series and recommend to fans who enjoy romance with their space adventures.
My Ratings
Story: B
Narration: B
Jen
About the Book:
As a recovery specialist, Lexi Bowen’s jobs typically require more trickery and thievery than honest work. Her former captain might not approve of her flexible morals, but stealing artifacts for rich assholes pays the bills, and Lexi’s had enough of war and death. The FHP left her to die once; she doesn’t plan to give them a chance to finish the job.
Unfortunately, her latest contract takes her to Valovia itself–and right back into the orbit of Nilo Shoren, a Valovian teleporter who already cost her one payday and nearly stole her heart.
Armored against his clever charm, Lexi plans to get in, get the job done, and get out. But when her former crew goes missing in Valovian space, Lexi will have to work with Nilo to figure out what happened–and stop it–before the galaxy’s two superpowers can use the disappearance as an excuse to return to war.
Author: Jessie Mihalik
Narrator: Frankie Corzo
Series: Starlight’s Shadow #3
Genre: Sci-fi Romance
Audiobook Release Date: June 20, 2023
Publisher: HarperAudio
Length: 12 hours 28 mins
Source: purchased
Audio Speed: 1.5x & 1.75x
Purchase info:
Audible/Amazon (affilate link)