Just finished reading…Pushed to the Limit by Nico Rosso

Pushed to the Limit (Limit War series, book 2) by Nico Rosso [NOVELLA]

Teryn Pilander lives in a world of secrets. She is a Shadow Corps operative for the Core Army in the Limit War, trained in espionage. Her latest mission takes her to the planet Viela, drawn by a communication that the local government captured a Dusk Warrior Officer for questioning. More interesting than the message, though, is the voice delivering it. A little shy, but deep and strong, the masculine voice sparks dormant fires in Teryn. She tells herself that once the mission is over, she might put her spy self away for a bit and live a little as a woman.

Drel Kol has secrets of his own. He is the one who sent the message drawing Teryn and her team to his planet. But he was just following orders and led her into a trap. Now, the woman he spoke with could be in grave danger. Her voice alone is enough to ignite a passion he has never known. Yet he’s only a technician. Can he fight against his own government and the Dusk to save her? And will the new bond between Teryn and Drel be torn apart when she learns his secret?

Typically, I tend to be a bit compulsive when I read a series, hating to read out of order. However, when I was asked by the author to review this novella, I was assured that the story would stand alone just fine. And, I was so relieved to discover that it was true. While there were some references to what took place in Taken to the Limit, book 1 in the Limit War series, I never felt like I was missing out on any important storyline, character development, or information.

I really liked this story of Teryn, a strong, kick-ass heroine, and Drel, a shy but tough beta hero. Pushed to the Limit opens with Teryn arriving on the planet Viela after being lured to it by communications tech Drel. She quickly sees it for the trap that it is, and Drel realizes that he’s made a big mistake. When they join forces against the Dusk (a stealthy invading force) and Vielan collaborators, the story kicks into high gear.

At the beginning of the story, their connection felt sort of like “insta-love,” with a pretty extreme reaction on Teryn’s part just by hearing Drel’s voice as he guided her and her crew to land on Viela. However, as events unfold, Teryn and Drel are given an opportunity to connect and get to know each other. (The time-frame is still pretty fast, but the time is well spent, with each learning what makes the other tick.) I really appreciated that even in the compressed format of a novella, a good amount of it was focused on developing their connection. One really gets why they are drawn to each other.

As far as the world-building, there was just enough given the novella-length, with out the story feeling either wallpaper-y or too dense. There also was a good balance between the romantic relationship and the larger story arc.

I would really enjoy seeing a long story in this world, with a greater complexity of plot and more time to develop characters. However, Pushed to the Limit was a satisfying introduction to the series, and I’m now curious enough about it that I’ve gone ahead and bought the first book. I’ll be looking forward to reading more about the Limit War.