While this is an older review, back from January 2015, it all still rings true. Alliances and much of S. Usher Evans’s work is v. character-focused, and I love it. I can’t wait to dive into more of Razia’s tale when my brain stops being a concussed nutter.

Well, Razia was definitely a busy little beaver in this book, and I thought it was great! For me, Alliances was a big step up from the first book. Not to say that the first book was bad. I genuinely enjoyed it, but the second book delved a lot deeper into Razia/Lyssa as a person, exposing her flaws in a way that was very refreshing. Plus Lizbeth is officially one of my new faves in the series, and I enjoyed pretty much every single scene with her.Alliances is a fast-paced, action-packed sci-fi read, and there were really strong moments throughout. The space jump in particular, the whole scene right up to their escape, was perfection. Utter perfection. Favourite moment in the whole book.

Some issues I had were consistent with my concerns from the first book. I’m still not a fan of capslock being used to express a character shouting or squealing or crying out. I also wish I’d reread the first book before reading this one, because for the first little bit, I was kind of lost. The planet names with all the numbers are difficult for me to keep track of, and I find myself going back a lot to try to remember which planet is which. Also names. And aliases. There are a lot of them, and it was kind of tough for me personally to keep everybody straight. I’m really glad Razia had that “explain the whole plot” moment at the end of the book, because I was a little confused about what the Big Bads were up to.

But all the scenes with Razia/Lyssa interacting with someone, whether she wanted to or not, were really enjoyable. She felt more mature as a character in this book, and the chemistry with Sage was all the more exciting. I hope her and Lizbeth are pals 5EVER. I hope Vel comes back in a big way. I kind of hope Razia and Relleck bang like bunnies. I want Razia/Sage angst.

Clearly for me, it was the characters who dragged me in to this series, and it will be their progression forward that will keep me reading Razia’s story on into the next book. Huzzah!

See Goodreads for more reviews and purchase links!

Also, check out the stunning new cover, which has been updated since I posted the original review.