Go big or go home. For privateer Captain Magdalene Landon, it’s all about going big. For Kay Ellis, it’s about getting home. Together, they’re about to architect the most daring heist in the galaxy. Kay knows too much. She knows it’s a matter of time before a Conglomerate hitman finds her. She’s desperate for safe passage back to Union space. Then Magdalene shows up, promising a way home in … promising a way home in exchange for that information. It’s a risky bet, but Kay is out of options. So she strikes a deal: the heist of the century for her freedom.
Kay is playing a dangerous game, and she knows it. She’s made herself Enemy Number One of the Conglomerate. She’s relying on privateers for her safety. It’s a fool’s game. But the worst part is, her fool’s heart is starting to warm to the enigmatic captain. And that’s a risk for which she hadn’t planned.
(Cover by May Dawney Designs)
2019 Sci-Fi Lesfic Bard award winner
more
Our heroine didn’t have a lot of choices and took a job she probably shouldn’t have. Now she knows too much and her employers want to keep her on ice. But others want to use her to break the very security she designed. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
This is billed as the start of a new space opera series and I couldn’t be happier to see that happen. This book was very well written with a detailed and well developed plot that kept my attention throughout the story. It helps that the story is centered around two tough and smart female leads with a diverse supporting cast that help bring the story to life. Excellent character interactions with just the right amount of snark made the story very enjoyable to read and really difficult to put down. I am really looking forward to the next book to see what our crew gets into next.
Highly recommended
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes.
Book one of six. All are standalones. Science-fiction. Something I don’t normally read, but the author built a world and diverse characters that were very entertaining. I’m leaving other reviewers to discuss the storyline. It was a good one and kept me reading. I liked the characters so much, that I want to read the other books in the series. I may have been swayed over to science fiction–Certainly written by this author.
Well-developed likable characters
Safe passage is an awesome read. The characters are well developed and the story flows easily…I totally enjoyed reading it and I totally recommend it
Safe Passage (Black Flag, book 1), my eighth read from author Rachel Ford. This book is so well-written & enjoyable, no matter the genre a Rachel Ford book can be counted on to be entertaining & enjoyable. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reading & reviewing it. Barbara Riche’s talented narration adds to the book’s enjoyment. I look forward to the next book in the series. “I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.” (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Futuristic space pirate’s Kate and Maggie are using computer secrets/info to steal money , gold and jewelry. Its a very dangerous idea and a lot of planning. Can they pull it off without getting caught or worse killed or betrayed? It all gets reveled in one crazy outer space roller coaster suspense filled heist. And who can forget the crazy robot Sidney. Will they end up with the loot. Read it and see.
Audiobook review: Safe Passage is a light YA space opera romance that has fast paced action. The romance was a bit abrupt and there are a few things that come off as rough or aggressive overtures. The twists are predictable and there are parts that feel repetitive (calling characters by their name all the time in dialogue). Overall the story is ok. I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Safe Passage (Black Flag, Book 1) by Rachel Ford and narrated by Barbara Rich is a fun space opera. Would recommend if you’re into space operas or looking for something new that has a light YA romance feel to it.
What’s it about? Kay has made some not good choices that left her fleeing from the conglomerate. Enter Maggie and her crew and the adventures begin. There’s a good amount of focus on romance (more of a YA feel to it) mixed with space elements. Other things you’ll come across: planets, different races, pirates, bots, space ships, betrayal, love, death, kidnapping, heists, and more. Four stars for story- at times the dialogue was a bit drawn out.
The narrator, Barbara Rich, was OK. I’m not sure she is a good fit for this series. I enjoyed her speaking voice (easy to listen to) but most of the character voices I struggled with in the long run. And maybe she’s just not for me and you’ll feel different? Three stars for narration.
Overall I recommend if you are looking for something new in the space opera genre, looking to venture in it, or for a light romance.
Parental guidance/trigger warnings: kidnapping, kissing and sex indicated (light romance/not in graphic details- a YA feel to it), forced touching of leg by bad guy to the MC- also grabbing of hair forcefully to remove MC from bar, death (multiple), stealing, black out drunk, and possibly more I’m forgetting. Going light on the warnings due to spoilers.
*I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!
This review is for the audio book.
This is the first book by his author that I have listened to and I did enjoy it but wished there had been more action scenes than romance. I liked the plot idea and some of the characters were good fun.
Kay is trying to get of planet but when it is a conglomerate that you are running from your options are few and far between. In steps Maggie with a proposal, help rob a bank held by the conglomerate and she and her band of pirates would help her out run the hit men sent to killer. This leaves Kay a choice a certain death to stay on planet or death by robbing a bank,the most secure building on the universe. Kay should know she designed the system that protects it.
The narrator was good and you could tell who was speaking but one of the voices she used sounded whinny at times.
I enjoyed reading this space adventure, it had action, intrigue and a love interest. You will like the ending even if you think what the **ck. You will think that hey, this is close to real life situations. It’s fiction and we are not there yet.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’m a sucker for scifi romance, and when I saw this had lesbian space pirates taking on a big heist, well, I couldn’t wait to read it. And for the most part, it definitely lived up to my expectations.
Kay’s had a bit of a run of bad luck and bad choices lately, with the latest leaving her stranded on a backwater planet waiting for the galactic mob, the Conglomerate, to decide to kill her. Turns out, being the key engineer behind securing their planet-sized bank means they’d be happier off with her out of the picture. So when a pirate captain – excuse me, a privateer captain – approaches her with a crazy idea to rob that bank, well, what’s one more bad decision? But falling in love with that captain might be an even worse one…
“But from where I’m sitting, I’m a dead woman anyway. I’ve got nothing to lose. But you?” I shrugged. “There’s trillions of credits sitting there in Deltaseal’s vaults. And the only way you see a penny of them is through me.”
She gritted her teeth. “Ten.”
“Forty-five.”
She snorted. “You’re insane.”
“Maybe.”
“I’ll give you fifteen, and nothing else. I’ve got an entire crew to split this between.”
“And I’ve got a life on the run to fund. Forty. And that’s undercutting myself.”
She scowled at me, and I fought to repress a grin. I had the impression that Magdalene Landon wasn’t used to losing, and didn’t care for it. She pushed her seat back and got to her feet. “I’ll give you twenty-five percent, Kate Ellis. And that’s my final offer. I mean it.”
Kay’s an interesting character. After a multibillion dollar mistake – caused mostly by being run ragged by her employer – Kay’s basically blacklisted. The only job she can find is with a security-obsessed businessman, and while she realizes quickly that he’s affiliated with the Conglomerate, she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. For a lot of the book, she’s stuck reacting out of desperation instead of making conscious choices, but when she finally recovers, she’s got an amazing backbone of steel – she’s a survivor. While Kay almost immediately develops a crush on Maggie, since the book is from Kay’s first person POV, Maggie’s feelings are much less obvious. Maggie’s sort of your stereotypical no-nonsense ice queen, and it’s a ton of fun watching for all the little hints that she’s thawing.
Kay describes her initial infatuation with Maggie as sort of a teen crush, and parts of the romance do read a bit YA-ish. It’s light on actual sexual content, but the tension between the two of them was great (when Maggie wasn’t freezing her out). There’s a lot of “does she like me? no, she doesn’t like me” back and forth, and it doesn’t help that Maggie blows hot and cold for the majority of the book. One moment they’re going on their first date (buying parts to fix the ship at a seedy hole in the wall joint, followed by a drink at an equally seedy hole in the wall bar, hello, AWESOME), the next thing Maggie’s giving Kay the cold shoulder with zero explanation. There’s reasons behind Maggie’s behavior, which she does share with Kay eventually, but it is initially frustrating, and I could see it turning some readers off. There’s also a hint of a gay-for-you vibe, since this is the first time Kay’s been attracted to a woman, but I think it was handled well – there’s a deliciously sweet list of all the reasons why she likes Maggie. The only other thing that bothered me is that there’s a bit of a love triangle. There’s some parts where other people (including Maggie) assume Kay is romantically involved with another member of the crew, but she sorts that out with him as soon as she realizes it, and while he does have feelings for her, he supports her (possible) relationship with Maggie.
I didn’t read the author’s bio before I started the book, but I guessed pretty quickly that she was a programmer. The techie stuff – from firewalls to rebooting servers – was well done and Kay not only loves her job, but she’s really quite good at it. Maggie’s equally a great captain, managing her crew with efficiency and camaraderie, and quite frankly it was great competence porn. The heist portion was a little bit understated for me – the actual heist part is pretty fun, but I wished there was more about the planning of it.
“My algorithms are adaptive, Katherine. They will adapt to adjust for this new information.”
“That sounds ominous,” Maggie observed.
“On the contrary, Magdalene. I only mean that – as you humans would say – ‘a friend of Katherine’s is a friend of mine.’ Knowing the value she places on you, I shall now adjust my own.”
I wasn’t sure I had ever heard anything simultaneously so sweet and yet so insanely creepy.”
Of the other crew members, we get the most about Frank, and then, to a lesser extent, Fredricks, the doctor, Ginny the engineer, and the cook, David. I really liked Kay’s friendship with Frank and all the little bits that came with him being an alien. I also got a ridiculous kick out of Kay’s robot, Sydney. She accidentally acquires him after their first heist, where the rich owner decided it was a good idea to reprogram hulking security bots to serve as a butler. This results in an interesting mishmash of programming, and the robot basically adopts her and follows her around like a puppy dog.
Overall, I think I’d rate this around 3.5 stars. While I had some issues with the book, I still really enjoyed it, and I’ll definitely be picking up the next in the series to see what happens!
I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.