Title: Defiance
Author: Etta Pierce
Series: Intersolar Union #7
Pages: 259
Releases: July 31, 2025
Novak Gaul is a free agent on a short leash. Usually he can forget that his life isn’t his own, but when he captures a woman’s scent that calls to him like she was meant to be his, he runs the other way so he doesn’t risk the consequences. But when his boss calls in a favor, he finds himself working with that woman to help capture the enemy, even if it means letting her get captured to do it.
After meeting Novak in the previous books I was very curious to get his story and see him fall in love. Novak is a covert elite but because he is also an advenan he is on a short leash. His species is used for diversity breeding and has aphrodisiac venom so the government heavily controls his species and treats them like second class citizens. It was heartbreaking to learn everything that Novak has been through to get where he is today. He was a strong and protective male who was hiding a heart of gold.
Charlie is a 43 year old Irish ichthyologist (study of fish) who jumps at a chance to explore more of the universe and their aquatic species. She knows she is playing the role of bait but she uses this as an opportunity to learn and make contacts outside of Renata. I loved how straightforward she was. She wasn’t afraid to flat out tell Novak she wanted him or speak out against the mistreatment of his species. She was a fantastic heroine and I really loved her.
Novak and Charlie have a forbidden relationship because advenans are considered lower class and ruled by their instincts. Charlie can tell that the whole race is being punished for the act of a few individuals though and follows her heart. I really loved how sweet and protective Novak ended up being with Charlie. We really see him open up and show all his scars, and I loved it. The whole idea of a chemia (scent basically) being used to track across planets was fascinating. Basically, I really loved these two and really hope we get to see more of them in future books.
This one also finally saw some resolution with the attempted kidnapping of humans for their living code. Charlie is playing bait to try and capture Councilwoman Guei, who we meet in the previous book and found was buying living code to make clones. I enjoyed the whole storyline of trying to trap and capture Guei. It was an interesting trap, even if it did lead to Charlie being captured, but it lead to the outcome they were wanting. I also liked that while this was the main point of Charlie leaving Renata, it was overshadowing the relationship growing between Novak and Charlie, it just helped it grow stronger.
Overall, this was another fantastic book for this series. I really can’t wait to see what will happen next for Renata and the humans who inhabit it.
TW: kidnapping; medical experimentation; voluntary hysterectomy (past); multiple miscarriages mentioned; toxic ex-husband; sex work mentioned (MMC); violence, gore, and death;
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*
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Previous books and reviews for the series:
Red-Haired Ash Reads 