Review: Blue Shift by Jane O'Reilly

Author: Jane O'Reilly
Series: Second Species, #1
Released: June 1st 2017
Publisher: Piatkus
Length: 304 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

The Earth is cold, dead and divided. The rich hide away from reality while the rest will do anything to survive. Humanity have only one hope: reaching a habitable planet. But getting there means travelling in large numbers through alien-held space, something that's politically nearly impossible. Yet for some, fighting their way through space is just a way of life . . .

Jinnifer Blue is a rich girl on the run. An expert pilot, she apprehends criminals on behalf of the government and keeps her illegal genetic modifications a closely guarded secret. But when a particularly dangerous job goes south, leaving her stranded on a prison ship with one of the most ruthless criminals in the galaxy, Jinn realises that the rich and the powerful are hiding more than she'd ever guessed. Now she must decide if she can trust her co-prisoner - because once they discover what the prison ship is hiding, she definitely can't trust anyone else . . . 

Blue Shift is Jane O’Reilly’s first foray into (romantic) science fiction and I’m sure it won’t be her last, even after this trilogy is completed. A seasoned author, even if it is in new adult romance, generally knows her stuff, and O’Reilly did an excellent job applying her knowledge and experience to a whole new genre. While Blue Shift has its weaknesses, it’s perfect for those of us who like their sci-fi on the lighter side and their romance on the hotter side. Jane O’Reilly delivers both with ease.

Jinnifer Blue is an outcast wherever she chooses to go. As the daughter of one of the most powerful ministers, she is hardly your average freighter pilot. And yet, her body modifications and life choices make her very different from those residing beneath the Dome, those that usually surround her powerful mother. Given the choice, Jinn wouldn’t want to be around Minister Blue anyway. In fact, she used the first opportunity and went trough several painful procedures just to run away from her.

Blue Shift is delivered through multiple perspectives, and while I sometimes wished for a better emotional connection with Jinn, I must admit that the story was weaved seamlessly. I’m not one for switching between POV characters, but here it worked pretty well. It was important for us to see the political machinations of Jinn’s mother, as well as understand Dax’s motivations.

The book is heavy on the romance, which isn’t odd considering O’Reilly’s background. I’m primarily a romance reader myself, so it wouldn’t work for me otherwise, and I was overall satisfied with the progression of the relationship. There was, I felt, more than enough chemistry between Jinn and Dax for the relationship to be believable. I found myself deeply invested in their feelings for each other from the start.

Blue Shift ends with a vicious cliffhanger that made me wish I’d waited a while to read it, but all things considered, it’s well worth the nail biting and anxiousness I must endure until the next one comes out. Regardless of the flaws, I find myself deeply invested in this story. Read it if you liked Grimspace by Ann Aguirre or Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.