A Sea of Endless Light – Chani Lynn Feener

Fox Axford has been tasked with capturing a feared thief who has been terrorizing the Hild Empire, not flirt with the impassive captain he’s been unlikely paired with.

When Fox is assigned to the Hild case by the Intergalactic Police Force, he doesn’t anticipate it taking very long. He’s known for his wits and charm and is confident enough in his abilities to have this thing solved and closed before the week is through. Except, he didn’t account for how distracting working with Captain Jiro Arc was going to be.

Jiro Arc has a secret he’s been keeping all his life, one that he’s never wanted to share with anyone. Until the day Detective Fox appears.

Having lived quietly climbing the ranks of the Hild Comets, Captain Jiro is used to rebuffing attention with his steely disposition. All of his efforts seem to have the opposite effect on the detective, however, who only seems more and more interested in Jiro and his personal life as time goes on. Their main task is to find the mysterious thief Shilling and bring him to justice, but Jiro has an agenda of his own, one that might ultimately lead to him betraying Fox, whether he likes it or not.

Fox grows even more conflicted after meeting the thief they’re after. Shilling isn’t at all what he expected, and when he finds himself sympathizing with the enemy, Fox is forced to acknowledge that there may be things he doesn’t yet know or understand about the vast universe, and the people living in it.

This book is a standalone featuring one charming detective and the captain he’s set his sights on. It is a slow-burn, forbidden romance with depictions of violence (though mild) and explicit sexual scenes not suitable for all readers. While this book is set in the same universe as A Bright Celestial Sea, it is a complete standalone with an all new cast of characters. You do not have to read both books, but if you choose to they do not have to be read in any particular order since there are no connections between the two.

I’m slowly but surely sinking into the rabbit hole of Chani Lynn Feener‘s immersive universe of Intergalactic Police detectives finding adventure and romance while solving cases and catching criminals.

From last week’s dark offering, Between the Devil and the Sea, this week’s tale features more derring-do, secret identities, and beachside confessions. It also has more sci-fi elements and beautiful aliens. One in particular has fabulous purple hair and unique abilities!

A Sea of Endless Light stars Fox Axford, the top detective of the IPF. He’s the detective who helped Shade and Apollo.

He, his partner, Inspector Nova, and his cousin, Jr Detective Dawon, were tasked to solve a series of thefts in the Hild Empire. Upon landing, he met his liaison officer, the taciturn Captain Jiro Arc, with whom Fox had an instantaneous strong attraction. He was rebuffed, but it didn’t stop Fox from shamelessly flirting any chance he got.

Fox is charming as heck, and as most of the chapters are from his third-person perspective, it’s a fun and wily POV. Cavalier and Han Solo cocky, he’s also very good at his job, having a perfect record. He easily puts people at ease with his mask of nonchalance and has the uncanny ability to read people and predict their next three moves. Of course, he immediately tried to read the enigmatic captain in an effort to win him over.

Jiro’s POV is rarely shown, so he’s mostly a mystery. His attitude was off-putting at first, but he slowly loosened up, and when he started bantering with Fox, we see him shine. He’s the type of guy worth taking time to know and it’s very rewarding to discover the nuances of his personality. He’s gorgeous, especially in uniform, formal, reserved, and also unexpectedly needy. I loved the dynamics of his and Fox’s opposite personalities. The chemistry is a total chef’s kiss!

The Captain is a closed book most of the story, but clues are scattered here and there. The author did her magic spectacularly because even though I figured out Jiro’s secret early on, it was still thrilling to watch Fox piece everything together for the big reveal.

There is a love geometry present. I normally loathe this type of conflict, but the author gave us another fascinating character in Schilling the Thief. The man is beguiling and as shameless a flirt as Fox, if not more. I didn’t expect him and Fox to have such fantastic chemistry!

The romantic development between the three characters was beautifully crafted. I seriously can’t choose between Jiro and Schilling, and to be honest, I don’t want to. I loved them both! So, when the pieces started to click, I was ecstatic with the resolution!

A part of the geometry is Prince Obsidian, who claimed Jiro whether the captain wanted him or not. He’s the possessive type who would cut anyone who’d so much as looks at Jiro, so Fox had to tread carefully. This guy was tagged as bad news early on and he stayed that way till the end. We don’t want him anywhere near our boys.

Nova and Dawon stood out as secondary characters. Nova was the voice of reason when Fox got wilder ideas, and Dawon made me laugh with his tactless comments. Their team had an engaging found family dynamics, and them living in their ship Lagoon with Fox as pilot, reminded me of Han Solo and Chewy in their Millennium Falcon.

Slow burn is the way of things, so it took a few chapters for the story to hit its stride. Things got into high gear when Schilling appeared, and Jiro started warming up to Fox. From that point, I was completely hooked!

The plot seemed like a straightforward case of theft. Then it threw me for a loop when it turned out to be something more insidious. And even with the predictable part I mentioned above, it’s still a very entertaining story. It made me want to hop aboard the Lagoon and tag along with the team!

A Sea of Endless Light is a story of public masks, secret identities, and needful lies. It is a novel take on the Gemini star sign that was executed cleverly and will always be memorable. Overall, it’s a space adventure that captivated me to no end!

Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away

Soundtrack: Endless Light
Artist: O’Brother
Album: Endless Light

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