Aries has lived her entire life aboard mankind’s last hope, the New Dawn, a spaceship traveling toward a planet where humanity can begin anew-a planet that won’t be reached in Aries’ lifetime. As one of the last genetically desirable women in the universe, she must marry her designated genetic match and produce the next generation for this centuries-long voyage.But Aries has other plans.When her desperate escape from the New Dawn strands her on a desert planet, Aries discovers the rumors about pirates-humans who escaped Earth before its demise-are true. Handsome, genetically imperfect Striker possesses the freedom Aries envies, and the two connect on a level she never thought possible. But pursued by her match from above and hunted by the planet’s native inhabitants, Aries quickly learns her freedom will come at a hefty price.The life of the man she loves.
My Thoughts:
Paradise 21 is a Sci Fi Romance which had an interesting premise that caught my eye. Aries is running away from an arranged marriage on the star ship New Dawn,which is on a mission to journey to a new planet after Earth dies. The people on the New Dawn are chosen to survive because they are deemed to have good genes and generations of people are born and matched with the perfect genetic partner to help repopulate their future home which will take centuries to reach. Aries is facing a marriage that she’s loathing to accept even though she is genetically well matched with her future husband, the cold ambitious Barliss. She flees using an escape module after planning to land on the nearest hospitable planet which is a desert world.But there she encounters the ex-pirate, Striker who is also marooned there. They strike a partnership as he has found an alien ship which may be their only hope to get off the planet. But they need to defend themselves against the hostile alien habitants and the determination of Barliss to find Aries.
The main strong point of the book was the settings and tone and I loved the descriptions of the aliens, even though there are a couple of scenes which are pretty reminiscent of ‘Dune’ with huge worms who attack the heroes and the bad guys on the desert planet. However I think this added more spice (no pun intended) to the plot. I especially loved the sub-plot with an alien ship which Striker hopes to escape the planet with and the alien eggs that are stasis to a suitable world to hatch. I would definitely read a sequel if it features these aliens in a future book.
I really liked the plot and premise of the story of a starship filled with the remaining survivors of humanity and pirates who live in a ramshackle spacestation on the cusp of imploding socially and physically- marooned characters trying to survive in a hostile world. Even though I had trouble trying to figure out the reason why there should be arranged matches when there was other ways to genetically produce a diverse population.
However I was really disappointed with the romance between Aries and Striker. I actually found Aries reason to escape from her destined future wasn’t realistic especially since Barliss ,who wasn’t even truly vicious or evil, but instead came across as someone who was calculating and ambitious to rise in the ranks on the ship.
Nonetheless my main gripe was the lukewarm romance between Striker and Aries. I found it interesting that I actually felt there was more time and focus spent on Barliss and his relationship with Aries than her relationship with Striker. I also felt that Aries was less developed than Striker and even Barliss, and the fact she had some several too stupid to live moments. For instance Aries didn’t plan enough to survive when she escaped and her target planet was a desert world with no weapons or stores of food and water was beyond silly especially in the world she has chosen to escape to.
When she encounters Striker the romance that develops between them was severely lacking. I wished there was more time developing the love story between the hero and heroine who just magically fall in love in a very short amount of time and for me this aspect felt rather forced. There wasn’t much heat or passion and it felt very tentative between them- I couldn’t see how they could be so invested with each other later in the book.
I could understand Aries being naive and innocent in a lot of ways because she has come from a protective and insular environment but that is never really focusedor expanded on, or described how that was a factor in her relationship with Striker. Whilst Striker has had a bad betrayal by a female co-pirate, Tiff (who I found annoying and inconsistent) which led to his marooning on the planet. This makes him wary towards Aries, but again this isn’t explored later in the story on his realisation on how he comes to love Aries.
I also had issues with the ending, which I wont mention because it is a spoiler, but concerns Barliss and a character that is linked with Striker, and I seriously didn’t find this realistic. This especially made Barliss’ character inconsistent since his motives and choices were to keep the status quo for his world, and for me that made the world-building pretty confusing for his decision.
Despite the inconsistent characterisation, issues with the main romance and aspects of the plot I did enjoy enjoy reading this sweeping space opera. The author had an engaging voice and the book flowed well for me. Although there was no unique or fresh elements in the story, it did draw me in but I just wished more time was spent expanding the romance and development of some of the characters- this book had the potential of being a very good story. I have wavered in giving this book between 2 and half and three bookies but because I did enjoyed the book despite the flaws I will give it three bookies.
I give Paradise 21 – Three Bookies
***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.
About Has
Has is a bookaholic and feeds her addiction whenever she can. She usually can be found lost in a Romance or an Urban Fantasy novel. Her favourite sub genres are Paranormal, Fantasy and some Scifi. Her most treasured authors are, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Ann Aguirre, Lisa Kleypas and Tamora Pierce. She loves that discovery of finding a brand new author and falling in love with their books. Has also blogs a The Book Pushers - Book chatter and reviews
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