Review: Between Venus & Mars

Between Venus & Mars by S.C. Mitchell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Between Venus & Mars is the first sci-fi read in The Soul Mate Tree Collective, but even though it’s the third book in the series you do not need to read the prior books to enjoy this one. What The Soul Mate Tree Collective gives us is a series of standalone novels, allowing you to pick and choose across thirteen months which of the stories you would like to read. Thus far I have picked them all up, and they have all been wonderful. I think Realm of the Dragon is my favourite but Between Venus & Mars is certainly a close second. I probably shouldn’t be ranking them just yet, considering we only have three stories (and all three were wonderful reads), yet with how much I’ve enjoyed the stories thus far I’m already setting high standards for the future books. I’m fairly certain that by the time we reach the thirteenth book my mind will have been blown.

Despite being a fan of sci-fi novels, I’m very particular about which sci-fi books I will pick up. They have to scream out to me before I’ll give them a read, and this one certainly caught my interest. Just because a sci-fi novel manages to reach the stage of me being willing to pick it up, it does not mean it will be a good read. Fortunately, this one delivered even more than I had expected.

What we have is a very interesting intergalactic system. I would have liked to know a little bit more, but what we were given was plenty enough to understand and love the story. Our female lead comes from a planet on the edge of the system, earning her the label ‘rim rat’. Due to the planet she was born on, our female has very unique views on galactic laws. It certainly makes for an interesting read, especially when our hunk is a marshal. That alone put him in my fantasies. A space cop? Sign me right up! Seriously, I have this thing for cops; thus, giving one authority in all of space and I’m so down for such a male lead. But yes, back to the intergalactic system: we get interesting snippets of a handful of planets, but the main focus is upon planet earth.

You see, earth isn’t what it once was. It’s changed, and been taken over by… well, I’m not going to say what. Just know it makes for a very amusing read. At first I was a bit like ‘huh, what’, but once the details were given and we got to see how things played out I was more than a little bit amazed at how something so simple could become so captivating. Honestly, the changes that have occurred to earth make it a wonderful backdrop to the story.

And what a story it is.

The story was super addictive, leaving me on the edge of my seat as to what would happen next. It all seemed so simple, and yet it make for a very intricate story. The way things come together is wonderful, and I loved watching each new aspect unfold. My favourite aspect, of course, was the interaction between our lead characters. The chemistry between them was wonderful: I loved every moment of it. So much amusement came from their interaction, but throughout I found it to be beautiful.

Overall, this was another brilliant addition to The Soul Mate Tree Collective. Once again, I’ve been introduced to a new author that needs more of my attention.

View all my reviews