Keir’s Fall by Pippa Jay

Book Two of the Redemption series is here, and boy was it fun – but if that isn’t enough for you, author Pippa Jay is giving away a FREE paperback copy on her Goodreads page!

Title: Keir’s Fall
Author: Pippa Jay
Series: Redemption Book 02
Publish Date: December 29th, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Source: Provided by the Author

Publisher’s Description: A seductive tyrant. A lost hero. And a galaxy about to fall…

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?

Possible spoilers beyond this point.

Vagabond Vahn says…

For those familiar with my review of Book One of Redemption: Keir, you know I wrestled with fitting this into a specific category before finally admitting that I enjoyed a novel whose genre officially includes romance. Well, I enjoyed book two as well; more so perhaps because Keir and Quinn are now like friends, returned from a time away and I want the best for them.

The Good: Author Pippa Jay takes advantage of her second entry to introduce characters that help ground Quinn to the world, and provide experiences to both Quinn and Keir that we as readers can relate to. At the risk of a very minor spoiler to those who have not read the first novel, we know that Quinn is not as young as she looks, and that she has a son who she mentioned in the first novel. We meet him, a grown man with his family, and it solidifies Quinn’s character in a way that only benefits her and her story from here on. It was great fun to have another character who had a real connection to Quinn, knew about her, accepted her and the actions that she had spent the first novel guilt-tripping over. That was satisfying.

The villain in this entry was introduced as though borrowed from The Borg in Star Trek lore. Yet, they ended up much deeper than that, with a culture founded on women in an almost Amazonian hierarchy usually reserved for cultures ruled by men – that you are the ruler because you have bested all others, but that you can also be challenged at any time. They were very interesting, and the leaders’ ability to influence people – particularly men – made for interesting encounters that pushed the characters to their emotional limits. And yet…

The Bad: My frustration with common romance themes persists, like that itch in your calf you can’t quite locate, despite scratching your entire leg raw – or does that only happen to me? With everything Keir and Quinn went through in the first entry, and to finally have had a year of peace to themselves – in addition to the life-changing knowledge they discover, they are bound, intertwined, and trusting. Or so I thought. Imagine my surprise when “The Betrayal” scene found in most romance novels and movies I’ve consumed occurs, and Quinn just dives into it completely. Gone is all of that trust and bond strengthening they spent so much time building. This may well be because I’m a man, but dammit, Quinn! Think! You too Keir, you don’t get off that easily.

Like the first entry, this was a bit short for me. It seemed everything resolved before I was ready to say goodbye to that scene, that event, or those characters found within. It reads very fast, and while often I find that to the credit of a novel, I noticed it here as, if not unfortunate, not as satisfying as it could have been.

The Conclusion: You may recall that Keir won my 2015 STANDOUT AWARD. This is a proper follow-up.

I am a fan. Keir and Quinn are my friends. I will miss them while waiting for the next entry to spring forth from Pippa Jay’s brain-space and onto my Kindle for my eye-holes to absorb. Despite any frustrations my beard and I have over romance story tropes, I was never bored – the pace saw to that, even if there was more room to breath than was utilized. While sex scenes are more prevalent in this entry than the last, they have a specific purpose and are not dwelt upon for sex-scene’s-sake, but to further the motivations of all involved. I know that sentence reads strangely, but just roll with me on this one – it works. Don’t forget to enter The Giveaway On Pippa Jay’s Goodread’s Page if you’re on the fence about picking this up!

Our reviews in this series…

Keir, Book 01
Keir’s Fall, Book 02

Other reviews…

If you like this book…

…consider trying Dragons of Dorcastle by Jack Campbell or Star Wars: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray. They don’t fall into the same genre, but they also feature protagonists who are from entirely different walks of life, with entirely different perspectives on reality, thrust together in an epic adventure.