I hate when I want to read a book and it falls down my TBR Mount Doom pile. You know the feeling? I’ve been intrigued by Chilling Effect since before its release last year. And I just got to reading it last month because of Latinx Heritage Month. Talk about being late. But that’s the good thing about books: they always wait for you. Keep reading this book review to see what I thought of these psychic cats.
Summary
Captain Eva Innocente and the crew of La Sirena Negra cruise the galaxy delivering small cargo for even smaller profits. When her sister Mari is kidnapped by The Fridge, a shadowy syndicate that holds people hostage in cryostasis, Eva must undergo a series of unpleasant, dangerous missions to pay the ransom.
But Eva may lose her mind before she can raise the money. The ship’s hold is full of psychic cats, an amorous fish-faced emperor wants her dead after she rejects his advances, and her sweet engineer is giving her a pesky case of feelings. The worse things get, the more she lies, raising suspicions and testing her loyalty to her found family.
To free her sister, Eva will risk everything: her crew, her ship, and the life she’s built on the ashes of her past misdeeds. But when the dominoes start to fall and she finds the real threat is greater than she imagined, she must decide whether to play it cool or burn it all down
Review
Chilling Effect was a fast paced action space opera with a clever Latinx Heroine and psychic cats. While there could always be more cats, the main thing I loved about this book was Eva. She’s smart, fast thinking, and has a streak of recklessness. But at the same time she’s caring, compassionate, and willing to help her family even when they don’t quite deserve it. Spaceship crew dynamics is one of my favorite things. I love watching the ways they dance around each other and unravel their histories.
Throughout Chilling Effect, Eva slowly uncovers this larger scheme while also struggling to let others in and be 100% transparent. They always seem to find more trouble and their tasks are either more than meets the eyes or they have horrible luck. I love how Eva copes with sarcasm and humor, while also feeling incredibly passionate and angry when she’s been wronged. There are some fabulous twists and turns about what family is willing to do, or not do, for you.
At the heart of Chilling Effect is a found family, with their embraces and inside jokes. It’s a story with action that will keep you guessing and space ship escapes that will leave your heart pounding. Find Chilling Effect on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.