Keir’s Fall by Pippa Jay

Source: ARC from author
Format: Kindle ebook
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

It’s been a year in paradise for Keir and Quin, but now the idyll is over. After Quin falls sick, they return to the hidden sanctuary of Lyagnius, and what she learns there will not only change their lives, but set them on a journey that could separate them forever.

When Keir falls victim to a ruthless Nercaandi Empress bent on conquering the galaxy with her cybernetic army, it will take all Quin’s diminishing powers and the help of her son to find him. But what waits for her aboard the tyrant’s ship will test her strength and the limits of their love, and put everything she cares about at risk. Including Keir.

With the galaxy itself about to fall, will she be able to save him?

Zhurrat Reviews received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

We meet Keir and Quin on Kasha-Asor, their idyllic island on Metraxi. It soon becomes evident that Quin is not feeling herself, and Keir persuades her to return to her Lyagnius base. On discovering that she is pregnant, they journey to Gethyon’s world, Loganum, so that Quin can be with her son until the baby is born. Things don’t quite go according to plan, and Quin finds herself back at Lyagnius, and Keir in the clutches of Tyra-Lee, a power-grabbing tyrant.

This second book in the Redemption series sure packs a lot of punch. When I’d finished reading it, I couldn’t believe that it’s *only* 71k words. Jay gets a lot of travel into those words, and not much goes astray.

At times Keir’s Fall is a real page turner. One evening I was reading it and told myself I had to get off the computer. Half an hour later I found myself still sitting here, reading. Not entirely sure where that time went, but Keir was busy, lol!

It’s fantastic to get another instalment of Keir’s story, and this book doesn’t disappoint. Keep giving us more stories, please!

Keir by Pippa Jay

Source: ARC from author
Format: Kindle ebook
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewer: Laurel

A demon waiting to die…
An outcast reviled for his discolored skin and rumors of black magic, Keirlan de Corizi sees no hope for redemption. Imprisoned beneath the palace that was once his home, the legendary ‘Blue Demon of Adalucien’ waits for death to finally free him of his curse. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise.

A woman determined to save him.
Able to cross space and time with a wave of her hand, Tarquin Secker has spent eternity on a hopeless quest. Drawn by a compulsion she can’t explain, she risks her apparent immortality to save Keir, and offers him sanctuary on her home-world, Lyagnius. But Quin has secrets of her own.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes the dormant alien powers within him and earns exile from Lyagnius, Quin chooses to stand by him. Can he master his newfound abilities in time to save Quin from the darkness that seeks to possess her?

This is a story of tortured souls, love and redemption. On a strange world, where the cultural and architectural influence is heavily medieval, Quin, a human traveller who moves among the stars on a quest for a lost friend, discovers Keir, an outcast in his society. All Keir wants to do is die, believing himself condemned and cursed – not to mention the fact he is badly injured – while Quin soon wishes to save him, having seen a glimpse of who he really is.

From this starting point follows an adventure that will warm science fiction and romance readers alike. As one hops between planets with this delightful pair, Pippa Jay sketches the different worlds with her pen, bringing them vividly to life. She does no less with each character, drawing one into their minds with ease.

This edition is longer than the original publication, with more depth in some areas. If anything, the story gains stature from the additional length, and I for one appreciated the added depth. I’ve seen some reviewers struggle with the two different story lines in the novel, but for me these two story lines make me ask more questions. I guess it helps that I know the author is planning a sequel, so I know there is more to come and, perhaps, some answers.

A solid romance in a science fiction setting, with time travel thrown in.

Tethered by Pippa Jay

Source: Own collection
Format: Kindle ebook
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewer: Rachel

She can kill with a kiss. But can assassin Tyree also heal one man’s grief, and bring peace to a galaxy threatened by war?

For Tyree of the Su, being an assassin isn’t simply something she was trained for. It’s the sole reason for her existence. A genetically enhanced clone—one of many in Refuge—she’s about to learn her secluded lifestyle, and that of all her kind, is under threat by a race capable of neutralizing their special talents to leave them defenseless.

For Zander D’joren, being a diplomat has not only cost him his appearance, but also the love of his life. Scarred, grieving, he must nonetheless continue in his role as co-delegate to the fearsome Tier-vane or risk a conflict that could only end one way.

Now both of them need to keep each other alive and maintain a perilous deception long enough to renegotiate the treaty with the Tier-vane, or throw their people into a war that could wipe out Terrans and Inc-Su alike. But there’s more at stake than humanity, whether true or modified. Can the love growing between them save them both? Or merely hasten their destruction?

This novella was everything I expect from a Pippa Jay story, with the right mix of action and romance. Only two complaints. It wasn’t long enough, and I missed having the hero’s POV. The story still worked without it, and it would have been difficult to keep it to the required length by adding Zander. Still, Pippa does an excellent job of showing us Zander through Tyree’s eyes.

I would have liked more detail in the romance, but again, this was limited by the length of the book. At 158 pages you can only do so much with multiple layers and really digging deep into the meat of a building relationship. I don’t read a lot of novellas because of the issues cramming everything I want to read into that short a length. Pippa does an admirable job of making sure all of her trademark stuff is included.

The title confused me at first, and I was thinking what the heck does tethering have to do with an SF twist on Greek incubi and succubi? Tethering is a process developed to help neutralize an Inc-Su assassin. It’s one of Tyree’s greatest fears, which makes the title perfect. There’s a surprising amount of background on the Inc-Su packed into this novella, yet it never drags or feels like an info-dump.

Pippa has created a very unique world here, with a group of assassins inspired by the incubus and succubus demons of Greek mythology. I want to know more about this world, and hopefully see a full length novel set in it one day.

I would hesitate to recommend this for younger readers, because Tyree does kill by using sex.

Gethyon by Pippa Jay

Format: Kindle ebook
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewer: JC

Gethyon is one of my most eagerly anticipated reads of the year. As soon as Amazon had it for sale, I snagged my copy, dropped everything, cleared my schedule and read it from beginning to end.

Gethyon is the sequel to Pippa Jay’s first novel, Keir, which I LOVED! (See my review HERE) The author is a shining star in a new wave of science fiction authors. Her effortless grasp of language and story structure takes you down a web of adventure, peril, budding romance and thrills.

The title character is a young man tortured by talents he cannot understand that leave him ostracized by his peers. It’s a similar theme and premise to Jay’s first book in the series, Keir. Gethyon is Quin’s son. He inherited his mother’s unusual psi powers, and her ability to navigate time and space with a thought, opening pathways through the universe.

I found the character of Gethyon to be well-drawn and fascinating as he struggles with coming-of-age and coming into an understanding of the powers he considers more of a curse than a blessing. With a light touch, the author’s sensitivity takes the reader along as Gethyon battles with his teen angst, forges difficult relationships with his mother and finds his feet all while on the adventure of a lifetime.

With colorful worlds full of nuance and dimension, characters that walk off the page, and themes that anyone who has been either parent or child can relate to, Gethyon was a wonderfully subtle read that I will joyfully be returning to again and again.

My only complaint is that it takes far longer for Pippa Jay to write her books than it does for me to read them.

Please, dear lady… Keep them coming!

*GETHYON is suitable for YA as well as adults