Investigator Sgt. Logan Farrell has never been convinced the human race deserves saving. But it looks like he’s got the job anyway. It’s been five hundred years since humans fled the remnants of a dying Earth in search of a new home. Twenty-four ships, each carrying ten thousand Chosen Ones. All sleeping peacefully…until people start dying in cryo. Malfunction or murder? Hopefully, the … Hopefully, the former–a serial killer in the fleet would be drastic for morale. But Logan is determined to find the truth. Unfortunately, he’s got a new partner–and he works best alone.
Katia Mendoza, hot-shot homicide detective, has been woken from cryo to assist with the investigation. But is she really interested in solving the case, or does she have her own agenda?
Before he can answer that question, they become targets themselves.
Nothing like a few near misses with death to bring a couple together, and Logan finds himself falling for the alluring detective. But he doesn’t know that Katia is hiding a secret.
It’s not only humans who fled the dying Earth.
Each book in the Dark Desires Origins series is BEST ENJOYED IN ORDER:
Book 1: Malfunction
Book 2: Deception
Book 3: Insurrection
more
MALFUNCTION is the first instalment in Nina Croft’s adult, sci-fi DARK DESIRES SERIES: ORIGINS paranormal, fantasy romance series. This is military investigator Sergeant Logan Farrell, and homicide detective Katia Mendoza’s story line. MALFUNCTION and the Dark Desires Series: Origins is a prequel series to the author’s DARK DESIRES series set five hundred years earlier. You do not have to have read the original series to follow or understand the current time line.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Logan and Katia) MALFUNCTION focuses on the search for the truth. Five hundred years earlier Earth was dying, and seventy thousand of Earth’s Chosen had set off in search of a new planet able to sustain human life. Fast forward five centuries wherein no planet has yet to be found, but several mysterious and questionable deaths in the cryo-tubes, on each of seven ships, have warranted an investigation. Enter Earth’s former military investigator Sergeant Logan Farrell, and homicide detective Katia Mendoza, who, themselves, have been sleeping in suspended animation for close to five hundred years. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Katia and Logan, and the potential fall-out as Katia and Logan become targets of a psychotic mind.
Someone or something is slowly killing several members of The Chosen but a conspiracy based in theory surrounding Earth’s twentieth century terrorist organizations forces Logan and Katia to call off the investigation, an investigation they refuse to shut down or willingly let go. Working together to uncover the truth, our couple will find themselves targeted, on several occasions, including the total destruction and annihilation of ten thousand people, in an effort to hide the truth.
The relationship between Logan and Katia is one of immediate attraction but Katia hides a secret-she isn’t what she appears to be. After several attempts on her life, Logan begins to believe that Katia is the target but no one is prepared for the fall-out of one person’s need for revenge. From a vampire pilot, to werewolf security, demons, and shifting panthers, Logan will soon discover that his life literally is in the hands of the people in charge. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
MALFUNCTION looks at some of the background and introduces several of the characters we meet in the author’s Dark Desires Series including vampire and rogue pilot Ricardo Sanchez, and Callum Meridian, founding member of the Collective. The premise is entertaining and fascinating ; the characters are energetic, playful and colorful; the romance is captivating and lively. MALFUNCTION is a wonderful addition to Nina Croft’s Dark Desires sci-fi /paranormal series.
I love it , i really love it!! to be honest i jumped on this without knowing what to expect because it was written by Nina Croft and i loved all i’ve read from her so far so i wanted more. It’s what i would call a sci-fi paranormal romance suspense…..strange mix but wonderfully written!
You get shifters, vampires, fae etc and of course human too but in the space and of course there is some murders or malfunctions so an investigation is set to get the bottom of this…..However, if Katia is sent from the second ship in hope to find what is happening while keeping the existence of the others a secret, she must work with Logan, human empath and soldier wanting to fit in .Both have just been awoken from a 500y sleep in a cryotube and they have a lot to adjust to as well as deciding if they trust each other and what to do about an investigation some refuse to see be done.
I really got immersed in the story quickly and i loved it, the investigation is really well done with twists and lot of action as well as numerous humour touch so it was captivating and easily read. Rico the vampire captain is really funny and protective of his folk. Katia is so funny especially when she is hungry and Logan is really intelligent as well as courageous. they are steamy scenes well written but i enjoyed all the rest a lot more. Secondary characters like Callum were especially funny and interesting to read about, Dylan is a curious one etc so really you have at least one character you will want to survive.
I had my suspicions about the culprit identity ( and i was right) what i was a little disappointed with is the ending….it’s kind of HEA but culprit has it too easy and i hope in the next book we will see some consequences fall upon that being.
i’m really curious about this series now so i definitively plan to keep reading it as i want more of these characters.
4.5 stars! This book was so different to other sci-fi books I’ve read. Paranormal creatures in space with the clunky, aging ships dying a slow death. Not to mention the real deaths of people in their cryotubes that our H/H investigate. If you love great writing that is paranormal, sci-fi, suspense and mystery all rolled into one, then this is the story for you 🙂
This was my first read from Nina Croft. It is an origin story for her Dark Desires series, but you definitely do not need to read anything before it to understand what is going on. It was a little different than I expected- mainly because I was not prepared for the paranormal aspects- shifters, vampires, etc. It was interesting to combine those pieces with a space journey story. It kind of worked though.
I liked Katia and Logan and their dynamics. Super hot and collaborative in their work. It looks like a couple of the side characters are in the other books in the series, so it will be interesting to see where they go.
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2020/06/18/review-malfunction-by-nina-croft/
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When I found this book in NetGalley I giggled like a little kid in front of a sweet store (well, or like an adult… never lose your sweet tooth!!). Why? Because this is a Paranormal Romance set inside a spaceship in the distant future. Shifters and vampires in space!! IN SPACE!!! What else can I ask for? Maybe some misterious murders? Check! Perhaps a dreadful situation for the rest of the human race? Check! Amazing characters? Uhmmm… Never ending action? Well, no so fast… Explosive ending? Yeah, but not what you are thinking… This book was aiming to my nerdy heart, but it misses miserably…
I must confess that this is my first book of the Dark Desires saga. I know this book happens way before the rest of the books, so it can be read without the need to pick the previous ones. At least that is the theory. I have the feeling I would have enjoyed more some characters if I knew them better, but I guess I will never know for sure. Overall, the cast of this book is pretty generous in size, but rather mediocre in interest. Most of them will be stored in the bad cupboard and some of them in the “maybe I’ll check them later” one. Actually, just one of them would make that second category: Adam, the werewolf. He doesn’t have a lot of time in the story, but the little there is he seems like a charismatic and fun guy. The main couple is really annoying. Katia is too grumpy and she only does three things: eat, drink and have sex. Logan was slightly better, but those three activities are also his main rutine. It really pissed me off the fact they are constantly drinking alcohol. Not a good example for the little sample of humankind there is left…
The mystery could have been the redeeming factor, but it is horribly developed. No rhyme no reason. The investigators doesn’t expend much time investigating (too focused on drinking I guess…) and all the clues are practically thrown to their faces. Those same investigators have zero qualms about ending the life of another person. Taking into account there are not many humans left, I would have expected a less drastic approach to their problems…
This SF love story of the end of the earth and humankind is worth the time. Both Katia and Logan are woken up on their ship to find out the suspect or perhaps a serial killer that is on its march. They end up working together and besides that someone is trying to kill them they develop unexpected emotions between them. Really great story that is full of mystery, action, and suspense. I loved that it was not predictable and that it had some unpredictable twists.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley
Dark Desires Origins #1, Damn Good Sci-fi Romance! Which I’m not surprised I love her Beyond Human series and with this being the prequel to the Dark Desires series I really need to get all of those and read them. I thoroughly enjoy Nina Croft’s writing, her books are immersive they pull you in and don’t let go and this one is no different.
The Earth was dying, with twenty-four ships big enough to hold ten thousand people each there was a lottery the winners were the lucky ones, or as they were called “The Chosen Ones” they set off to find a new home. The crews were big enough to man each ship in fifty year rotations and their family got a free pass and an army. But after five hundred years supplies are running short and they still haven’t found a new planet and now a “malfunction” is causing cryotubes to fail suffocating the person inside.
Logan Farrell is with the army his current assignment had him with the MPs and that’s what they need an investigator, to make sure the failure of the cryotubes was just a malfunction. Well the Captain of the second ship doesn’t quite trust the higher ups and wakes up his friend Katia Mendoza a detective with the London Police, or at least she was before they left Earth, to help investigate. Rico the captain of the second ship has his own reasons for putting in his own person on the case, he can’t afford everyone to know the truth about his ship. The truth that a good portion of “The Chosen Ones” who were suppose to be on his ship were left behind and replaced by his own people, his own supernatural kind including Katia.
Together Logan and Katia try and find out who is behind the sabotage but with every step closer they get they have a new near death experience that just brings them closer and closer together. The chemistry between them is instant and hot, every spare moment they have is together. But what will Logan think when he finds out not everyone is human?
Overall, I loved this book. The characters, the situation, humor, romance , hot hot (not limited to the bedroom) scenes. I inhaled this book and I want more!
Thank you NetGalley and Entangled for an advanced copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Malfunction
By: Nina Crist
*REVIEW* .5
Malfunction is the prequel to the Dark Desires Series, but I didn’t even know that, having never read Nina Croft. This story reminds me of The 100 with leaving a dying planet, cryosleep, strange mishaps on the ship, etc. The difference is the aspect of shifters as characters, and I am not a fan of shifters. That put me off this story a bit, and I wasn’t as invested in the characters, Katia and Logan, as I had hoped. It’s not a bad story at all; it’s well written, intriguing, complex and the characters have a great dynamic. I’m not the right reader for this one, but tons of people certainly are and will enjoy reading Malfunction.
I loved this! It’s a compelling mystery/suspense/paranormal romance in space. The characters are interesting and the story is well-written. The fast pace kept me turning pages because I just had to see what happened next. I really loved the relationship and romance between Katia and Logan. It’s plenty sexy but didn’t dominate the story. I am excited to read the next book of the series because this one was great!
I am voluntarily reviewing an advance reader copy of this book.
This book is a prequel and I’m hoping that there will be a lot more because the original Dark Desires series was extremely interesting and well thought out. This particular story gives the origins of the humans that left a dying planet Earth and bravely set out to find a new world. Following a lottery those who were successful agreed to be placed in cryogenic sleep whilst skeleton crews took turns piloting the ships but not everyone is who they are meant to be with malfunctions galore and sadly not everyone has survived but is it really just systems breaking down or something far more sinister ?
I’ve no wish to ruin this for others so will say that this book sets the tone for what could be a very entertaining series. I loved seeing Rico again although obviously he wasn’t the hero here. No that dubious title goes to Logan, an army sergeant turned investigator who is woken up to face all kinds of mayhem. Now luckily Rico has his very own sleuth extraordinary in the shape of cat shifter Katia ! Red herrings abound as the couple wade through Just what is truth and what is misdirection.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
Malfunction is the backstory to the amazing Dark Desire series by Nina Croft. This is one of my all time favorite series by Ms. Croft so I was thrilled to see a return to characters I had appreciated in the first series. While Rico is not the main character he does make an appearance, an important one in fact.
Investigator, Sergeant Logan Farrell finds that the people who are sleeping while waiting for a safe new place since fleeing a dying earth are suddenly dying too. Hence the name is, it a malfunction of the ship or is it something much more sinister. Katia Mendoza joins the investigation; danger abounds as these two dance around their attraction and secrets. All the best elements of what made the Dark Desire such a wonderful series.
Malfunction is titled as the Dark Desires Origins 01 means that there are more to come along in the future. Woohoo, can’t wait.
4.5 Stars
The publisher/author gave me a complimentary ARC of the book which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I enjoyed this book a lot has a bit of everything . It is set in the future when earth is evacuated and in space people are dying in the cryo-units . Logan is a detective that’s awake to help keep things running Katie is another detective that is awoken from Cryo to help solve the case .Really great storyline I really enjoyed the interaction between the characters kept my attention until the end . Really well written
Who says you can have too many genres in one book? Not me!!! I loved I got lots of bang for my buck in this new series. SciFi, PNR, Action/Adventure with a healthy dollop of Romance!
Think of all the great SciFi shows and Moves in recent years and you’ll probably find a nod to it here. It was irreverent, funny, witty, filled with action and with a couple of scenes where my kindle nearly melted! I loved the fact that Logan was constantly thwarted with the other characters bad timing LOL.
I had a bet with myself as to who the baddie was – I was half right!
When Earthlings finally screwed up the planet beyond salvation they sent huge ships into space, searching for a new home. The Chosen Ones were supposed to be selected by lottery, we all know that has to be rigged, right! When a certain “Captain” makes it his mission to save his own people, Shifters, Vampires, Demons, etc, he has to do some creative moving of personnel.
Fast forward a couple of hundred years and there appears to be a serial killer on the loose, even if those in command just want to label everything a malfunction! Katia and Logan are woken up and paired up to help make it look like Command are covering all the bases. Sadly, Katia and Logan are just a bit too good at their jobs and find themselves in the blaster sights of someone who doesn’t want them interfering.
Rico is a complete rogue. Even when doing something noble, he’s also being a bit of a killer. Logan feels way too much, Katia has the appetite of a competitive eater and Sardi…well just wait till you meet him! There is even the obligatory Scotsman in space, Adam! Thankfully not an engineer, well so far anyway.
There are other great support characters that I’m fascinated by, especially Callum and I really hope that they all get a book of their own eventually! There is a bit of cliffhanger as justice is NOT served so I’m hoping that means the search continues in the next book!