Review: Petrichor Blooms by Mindi Briar

Petrichor Blooms (Halcyon Universe #2)
by Mindi Briar

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: FF

Blurb:
The hardiest love blooms in the rockiest soil.

Danya Xiang would rather dig potatoes than wield a blaster. Raised as a member of the Greenjacket rebel organization, she’s content to stay away from military glory and spend her days in food production—until her soldier twin, Nox, is injured right before a mission. Nox begs Danya to take her place, hoping to use their secret telepathic link to spy through Danya’s eyes.

Reluctantly, Danya agrees. But her loyalty to the Greenjackets is stretched to its limits when she’s asked to capture university student Amy Ediya, whose mother’s valuable genetics research has been missing for a decade. The Greenjackets are convinced that Amy has it hidden.

Danya realizes that, while Amy may not have the research, she’s the only one who can find it. The two of them desert the Greenjacket army and Amy’s university studies to embark on a quest for Amy’s estranged family. As trust grows between them, attraction blooms, too. But that only means they have more to lose when the search draws them into danger.

My Review

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I really enjoyed Adrift in Starlight by this author and was excited to read Petrichor Blooms, which is set in the same universe, but follows different characters. I really enjoyed Petrichor Blooms, it was another great science fiction story with a romantic sub plot. I liked both main characters and thought they both felt relatable and real.

The story was engaging and there was plenty going on. Amy joins a research team to another planet and I liked how it got her questioning her life path and whether she wanted to stay at the university or not. While Danya joins a team of Greenjacket rebels on behalf of her sister who want to kidnap Amy. When the two characters join forces they have to find out why the Greenjackets are after Amy and figure out more about the gen mods her mother gave her. Both characters have some interesting powers too, which were fun to read about. Amy gets impressions from objects she touches, while Danya has a telepathic connection with her sister. The plot kept my attention and there are some interesting reveals and twists throughout the book. The story has some bigger implications for the galaxy, humanity and what’s going on, but I liked how the scope still felt focused on the characters itself and what’s going on with them.

Danya and Amy are the two main characters and most chapters are from their point of view. I thought they were both likable characters and they felt real and relatable. They both have their own struggles and doubts about what to do with their life and I liked seeing them figure it out. There are also some interesting side characters with their own story. I immediately liked Prince and his friendship with Amy and later Danya was great to see, he also has his own past that he has to face. I didn’t like Nox, Danya’s sister at first and even though she gets better later on, I never fully warmed up to her and Petra. I do like how their actions made sense and I understand why they acted the way they did.

I liked the romance between Danya and Amy. Their connection is clear and I liked how Amy and Prince treat Danya right even though she stunned them and tried to kidnap them. Amy’s special gift to get impressions from objects makes it easy for her to get a feel for Danya and realize she’s not a bad person. I liked how it made sense why they trusted her quickly that way and it skipped that enemies to friends stage. I had hoped to see a bit more of them together as they do spend quite some time of the book apart, which made it a bit hard for the romance to develop. I liked how they both realized their feelings and the scenes at the end make for a great ending and show a glimpse of what their future will look like.

To summarize: Petrichor Blooms was a great science fiction romance book. The characters are likable and relatable and I enjoyed reading about them. I liked how both Danya and Amy had distinct personalities and how they both had to figure out some things about their future and life. The story kept my attention and it was interesting seeing it all unfold. There are some great reveals and twist throughout the book. The romance stays a bit on the backseat at first, but I liked seeing Amy and Danya together and the way they grew closer and realized their feelings for the other. The ending was great and I liked seeing a glimpse of what their future will hold.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.