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A review by lynseyisreading
Dark Horse by Michelle Diener
3.0
I wanted to love this, I really did. I think what's happened is it's suffered very badly in comparison to a brilliant series in the Sci-Fi genre, the Firebird Chronicles by T. A. White beginning with [b:Rules of Redemption|43954881|Rules of Redemption (The Firebird Chronicles, #1)|T.A. White|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549936025l/43954881._SY75_.jpg|68359033], that I started reading last month. In fact, I probably picked this up because it sounded similar and I was jonesing for more. But it just didn't quiiiiite match up to that one for me.
The story follows human earthling Rose as she escapes from the nasty aliens who abducted her and seeks refuge with some nicer aliens. She has a sidekick in the form of an artificial intelligence "thinking engine", Sazo, that she talks to via an earpiece. Sazo helped her escape the bad aliens so she feels grateful and loyal to him/it, but she's also a bit scared of his ability to kill without a qualm. There's also the small problem of thinking engines being outlawed 200 years ago.
This setup and worldbuilding I did like. Though I found Sazo quite creepy. He wasn't the type of sidekick that steals the show with how cute and lovable he is. He was more like the sinister voice in Rose's ear that keeps threatening to kill people. That did improve over the course of the book but it never got to the point where I didn't think everyone would be safer if someone just... accidentally switched him off. And I don't think I was supposed to think that.
I should say, I did listen to this on audiobook so it could be the narrator's voice for Sazo that added to the creepy. The narrator was brilliant, but she definitely affected a strange and unsettling voice for Sazo to convey his inhumanness.
What let this book down massively for me was the romance. It just didn't connect to my heartbox, ya know? And this book is actually, unbeknownst to me either before or during reading, a Sci-Fi romance... As in, a love story that's all wrapped up with a HEA and the next book in the series is about a different couple... Honestly, you could NOT tell this book was supposed to be a romance! I just assumed it was going to be a Sci-Fi adventure space opera series with a focus on the action and the war between alien races, with a romance subplot that was perhaps going to grow and get more convincing over time. But at the end of the book, they started romantic speeching at each other, you know how they do when they're wrapping things up, and I was like...what is happening? I headed over to GoodReads and sure enough, the next book is not about Rose and Dav.
I'm not 100% sure if I'll continue with this series. The books are included for "free" on the audible plus catalogue and the narrator was good, and I guess there's always a chance I'll connect more with the next pairing so I'm not ruling it out entirely. We'll see. Until then... Onto my next read!
3.5 Stars ★★★1/2
The story follows human earthling Rose as she escapes from the nasty aliens who abducted her and seeks refuge with some nicer aliens. She has a sidekick in the form of an artificial intelligence "thinking engine", Sazo, that she talks to via an earpiece. Sazo helped her escape the bad aliens so she feels grateful and loyal to him/it, but she's also a bit scared of his ability to kill without a qualm. There's also the small problem of thinking engines being outlawed 200 years ago.
This setup and worldbuilding I did like. Though I found Sazo quite creepy. He wasn't the type of sidekick that steals the show with how cute and lovable he is. He was more like the sinister voice in Rose's ear that keeps threatening to kill people. That did improve over the course of the book but it never got to the point where I didn't think everyone would be safer if someone just... accidentally switched him off. And I don't think I was supposed to think that.
I should say, I did listen to this on audiobook so it could be the narrator's voice for Sazo that added to the creepy. The narrator was brilliant, but she definitely affected a strange and unsettling voice for Sazo to convey his inhumanness.
What let this book down massively for me was the romance. It just didn't connect to my heartbox, ya know? And this book is actually, unbeknownst to me either before or during reading, a Sci-Fi romance... As in, a love story that's all wrapped up with a HEA and the next book in the series is about a different couple... Honestly, you could NOT tell this book was supposed to be a romance! I just assumed it was going to be a Sci-Fi adventure space opera series with a focus on the action and the war between alien races, with a romance subplot that was perhaps going to grow and get more convincing over time. But at the end of the book, they started romantic speeching at each other, you know how they do when they're wrapping things up, and I was like...what is happening? I headed over to GoodReads and sure enough, the next book is not about Rose and Dav.
I'm not 100% sure if I'll continue with this series. The books are included for "free" on the audible plus catalogue and the narrator was good, and I guess there's always a chance I'll connect more with the next pairing so I'm not ruling it out entirely. We'll see. Until then... Onto my next read!
3.5 Stars ★★★1/2