• Home
    • Contact Me
  • Reading Challenges
    • Pondathon II
    • Completed Challenges
      • CannonballRead 13 Bingo
      • SpringIntoLove Bingo
      • SnowInLove Bingo
      • JingleBooks Bingo
      • FallIntoRomBingo 2020
      • 2020 Ripped Bodice Summer Read Along Bingo
      • 2018 Romance Roundabout Challenge
      • Read Harder 2018
      • January – March 2018 Quarterly Challenge
      • Title Hunt Quarterly Challenge: January – March 2018
      • Cover Hunt Quarterly Challenge: October – December 2017
      • October – December 2017 Quarterly Challenge
      • Ripped Bodice Summer Read Along Bingo
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Series
    • Reviews by Year
      • 2017 Reviews
      • 2018 Reviews
    • Reviews by Rating
  • Rating System

Llama Reads Books

This llama reads - mostly romance, fantasy and science fiction

Reviews

Review: The First Starfighter – Grace Goodwin

August 17, 2021 Comments : 2

Review: The First Starfighter – Grace GoodwinThe First Starfighter
by Grace Goodwin
Series: Starfighter Training Academy #1
Also in this series: Elite Starfighter
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: April 22, 2021
Genres: Romance, Science Fiction
Pages: 230
Source: Purchased
My rating: One StarOne StarOne Star

Starfighter Training Academy. It was just a game. The newest, hottest video game release of the year. Choose a role. Build the perfect hero who joins you on missions to save the Vega star system from the evil Queen Raya and her merciless Dark Fleet.

Play for hours? Check.
Obsess over the in-game romance between your avatar and the sexiest alien you've ever seen? Check.
Win? Beat the heck out of the game? Check and check.

Open your door at 3:00 in the morning to find that smoking hot alien you thought you made up in your head standing there? Um... okay.

Wake up on the other side of the galaxy with that same alien insisting you're his... and that you haven't been playing a video game, but completed the training program to become the first Starfighter from Earth?
Holy sh$t.

Amazon  Apple  Barnes & Noble  Kobo  Indiebound  Bookshop

Goodreads

3 stars icon m/f romance icon scifi icon


Content notes: View Spoiler »scifi violence, fatmisia, alcoholic parent, neglectful parent (in the past), parental abandonment (in the past), death of MC’s brother (in the past), threat of torture, references to nonconsensual kink « Hide Spoiler

My love of scifi romance is well established, so it’s no surprise that my friend picked up something with the most ridiculous premise they could find (“It’s like Ender’s Game but not as genocide-y!”) as a pick-me-up. And while I can’t honestly say it’s a great book, it’s definitely served its purpose for cheering me up.

“To you, it was a game. To Velerion, a tool to identify and recruit the best Starfighters we can find.”

If the only thing Jamie has going for her is looking forward to playing Starfighter Training Academy, well, that’s at least something. Though now that she’s close to beating the game, she’s a bit sad to be leaving behind her custom-created video game sidekick, Alexius, and having to start over. That is, until she wins and the real Alexius shows up on her doorstep, insisting that she’s his bondmate and that she needs to go back with him to Velerion.

And as much as he doesn’t want to admit it, Alexius has problems more pressing than his new bondmate. Just over a year ago, someone leaked info to the evil Dark Fleet that led to the destruction of nearly all of the Velerion fighting forces, including Alexius’s brother. Left with no choice, the Velerions developed the training academy and launched it on several worlds, including Earth. Jamie is the first (hopefully of many) to graduate, and while he regrets being pulled from his top secret mission pretending to be a double agent in the Dark Fleet, he’s eager to finally meet the woman whose training missions he’s watched.

“There have to be better places to get fighters. I mean, seriously, look at me! I am not a soldier. I’m overweight, I’ve never held a gun, I deliver boxes for a living, and I’ve never even been to another country, let alone the other side of the galaxy.”

Look, this book is ridiculous on several levels, but the thought of a romance loosely based on The Last Starfighter absolutely tickles me. I mean, who wouldn’t want to pretend that all my hours spent playing split-screen Halo were actually, um, useful? Jamie’s a fun heroine, if a bit prone to putting herself down, but I loved how her confidence was rock solid once she was in her starfighter. Even all the other aliens are bowled over by how good of a fighter pilot she is, which is, ok, yes, ridiculous, but I got a kick out of it. Alexius doesn’t have much characterization beyond his insta-lust for Jamie (something that she also has an issue with) and his need to be all alpha protective of her, so that was a bit of a bummer. As for their relationship? It’s completely insta-lust on both sides, complete with getting derailed by inappropriate thoughts and boners at really inconvenient times. Oh, going to go blow up an enemy station? Cool, cool, gonna think about how hot my bondmate is instead of concentrating on my actual job. There’s a tiny bit of relationship development, courtesy of Alexius’s spy work, but for the most part, it goes straight from insta-lust to insta-love. The plot’s also… thin… to say it kindly. Why does Queen Raya want to conquer Velerion? Who knows? But she dresses like a Disney villain (there heroine literally says that), so she must be evil! Look, Dark Fleet=bad, Velerion=good, got it, I just want to read more about Jamie blowing stuff.

There’s some attempt to be non-heteronormative, as there’s mentions of being able to pick male, female or nonbinary partners, and the only other Elite Starfighter pair in the book are two men, which I suppose is better than most fated mates/insta-love type stories, though still a bit lacking. There’s also attempts to address the inherent consent issues with unknown military recruiting via video game (yes, Alexius had a chance to turn down the pairing; yes, Jamie had to agree to go to Velerion with him; no, Jamie didn’t agree to getting alien tech injected into her neck, what the heck, dude).

Overall, this is a quick and fun read, if you can overlook the lack of anything substantial in the relationship development or plot.

Related Posts

  • Starfighter Training Academy Series
  • By Grace Goodwin
  • Same Genre
Elite Starfighte
Review: Elite Starfighter – Grace Goodwin
Starfighter Command
Review: Starfighter Command – Grace Goodwin
Elite Starfighte
Review: Elite Starfighter – Grace Goodwin
Sadie
Review: Sadie: An Amish Retelling of Snow White – Sarah Price
Summer in the City
Review: Summer in the City – Lori Wilde, Priscilla Oliveras and Sarah Skilton
Shadows of Eternity
Review: Shadows of Eternity – Gregory Benford
The Gentleman and the Thief
Review: The Gentleman and the Thief – Sarah M. Eden

You might also enjoy

Broody BritReview: Broody Brit – Naima Simone
The ChateauReview: The Chateau – Tiffany Reisz
Adulthood Is a MythReview: Adulthood Is a Myth – Sarah Andersen
Previous:
Release Blitz: Elite Starfigher – Grace Goodwin
Next:
Review: Starfighter Command – Grace Goodwin

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Me



READING LLAMA

Hi, my name is Lauren, and I’m the Reading Llama! I love reading books. My favorites usually include a female protagonist with at least a little bit of romance.

Twitter    Goodreads    RSS    email

Follow

Currently Reading

May Reviews

Something Wilder by Christina LaurenJust Like Mother by Anne HeltzelForged in Flames by Ali WilliamsA Show for Two by Tashie BhuiyanUnder Fortunate Stars by Ren HutchingsIf You Want Me Close by Skye KilaenBlame It on the Brontes by Annie SerenoThe Prince's Poisoned Vow by Hailey Turner

Recently Read

Goodreads Challenge

2021 Reading Challenge

2021 Reading Challenge
Lauren has read 7 books toward her goal of 250 books.
hide
7 of 250 (2%)
view books

Reading Challenges

CBR13 Bingo

CBR13 bingo
July 1 - October 31

hide
12 of 25 (48%)

Badges

25 Book Reviews Reviews Published Professional Reader Frequently Auto-Approved Romanceopoly 2019 Participant

Latest Tweets

Tweets by llamareadsbooks

Archives

Currently Reading

Wanting a Witch Wanting a Witch by Lauren Connolly
Legends & Lattes Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
The Stardust Thief (The Sandsea Trilogy, #1) The Stardust Thief (The Sandsea Trilogy, #1) by Chelsea Abdullah

Archives

  • Ghosts, a secret library and magic collide in a dystopian Edinburgh. Highly recommended!
  • This month’s sticker from the #RomStickerClub is super cute and SHINY!
  • Finished up my ARC of Jackie Lau’s His Grumpy Childhood Friend (out this Tuesday) and I loved this quote! “Practice”
  • Starting off with a quote from one of my favorite books, Charlie Adhara’s The Wolf at Bay, second in Big

Categories

  • Book Tour
  • Challenge
  • Cover Reveal
  • Excerpt
  • lol
  • Most Anticipated
  • PondathonII
  • Reviews
  • Sunday Update
  • TBR
  • Uncategorized
  • Wrap-Up

Copyright © 2022 · Dreams Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in