Leaning On Water by Joan June Chen

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Space Opera
Content: Strong language
 

  

A talented young pilot.
A mysterious Bionic.
A dark past that threatens the future...

LIVINTHEA PARK has the Mark of Dresden mutation, only she doesn't know about it.

When a tragic accident exposes this hidden secret, her life as Galactic's top pilot quickly unravels. The Bionics barge in and stake their claim, whisking her away from her beloved home to the otherworldly Atlas Station I.

Though these mysterious Bionics look human, with nanobots coursing through their veins, they are anything but just plain human... especially the one with the steel grey eyes.

Commissioned since the turn of the millennium with guarding the Erlion System against a dark menace, the Bionics take Livi on a cosmic journey where wonders abound, mysteries unfold, and a heroine rises.

 

This was one of the books we voted on a while back when we were choosing a book club read. I voted for it, but it didn't win. Of course I still wanted to read it, so it went on my to-read list. I'm glad I finally got to it because I really liked it. 

This is a pretty standard space opera or space fantasy type book with different worlds and the people that inhabit them, some of whom reminded me of the Borg from Star Trek, or even the Cybermen from Doctor Who. There are also the Bionics that are like cyborgs. I kept thinking of Wolverine when they talked about the procedure of changing humans into cyborgs and was expecting something excruciating, but we never see that. The character in the book that undergoes the change is unconscious and just wakes up after the change, so that was a little disappointing. There are also, of course the humans whose origins seem to come originally from Earth. I won't say anything else about that because of spoilers. 

The main character, Livi was very likable and so was Triton and several other characters. There was quite a bit of good action in the book, and I had a hard time putting it down. There is room for some romance to take root in a future book and I like that, but I also liked that the relationships and personal drama didn't overwhelm the overall plot of the story. The second book was supposed to be released in 2020, but apparently that didn't happen. I have no idea when it will be published, but I'm looking forward to it, and I hope it doesn't take too long.