I kind of enjoyed this book. It's futuristic. Also alarming

Leah is the sole survivor of a colony ship, and wakes up to find she has no power as a woman. It's male dominated.
Until she meets Keegan. A warrior of sorts.

The book reminds me of the original Planet of the Apes. Because the ending is similar. Except there are no apes.

As the book ended I became more annoyed. Because the end is where I'd like it to start again. I want more from the ending than the beginning to be honest. Is there a sequel? I hope so.

Enjoy!

decimated and all-but destroyed by our own greed, planet Earth is barely habitable. leah is part of a group of scientists, the fifth ship in a fleet of ten, who set off light-years away to Proxima B, a habitable planet that's humanity's last chance.

but when leah lands, something is wrong. she's landed in the desert rather than the habitable green zone of the planet, but that's the least of her worries - the cryogenics in the ship have suffered a catastrophic failure and everyone on board except her has perished. what's worse, when she finally finds some other people after trekking through the bone-dry, white-hot desert, they're nothing like she's expected. she's landed in a barbarous, regressed civilisation where women are commodities and people settle their scores in a fight to the death.

so what the hell has happened?

the message of this book is quite heavy-handed - we're destroying the Earth and unless we get our shit together we're all going to die, and even if we do manage to found an extraterrestrial colony we'll probably fuck it up again - and a few years ago, i'd probably have criticised such heavy-handedness even though i agree with the message. but now? we're shouting from the fucking rooftops and people still aren't listening, so yeah, heavy-handedness can't go amiss right now.

despite the post-apocalyptic dystopian setting, there is hope, and a reminder that although humanity might revert to its basest instincts in extremis, there's always people who are looking to a brighter future, who refuse to give up even when it seems like all is lost. and just sometimes, they even win.

i liked the relationship with leah and keegan a lot; it would have been extremely easy to make it insta-love or dependent or for the power imbalance to sour the whole thing, but vaun manages not to fall into any of these traps and create a multi-layered, flawed, realistic and beautiful relationship between the two women.

the only reason i'm not giving it five stars is because most of the plot twists i could see coming, and sometimes the writing was a little tell-not-showy or basic. but this didn't change the fact that i really enjoyed this, and i'd definitely recommend it to fans of sci-fi and post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction, as well as people who want a fantastic f/f romance in their stories.

I've read and really enjoyed Vaun's contemporary romances and when I saw she had a new SF out, I was stoked. Vaun is a great writer and lays out an interesting premise in Proxima Five that has action, intrigue and romance (all set on a distant world); but, the really strong characterization and great romance that I've seen in her other books seems to have been sacrificed to shoe-horn in the SF elements. This left me with the feeling that neither aspect was as fully developed as I would have hoped.

There's almost a Mad Max feel to this book - the desert landscape, vehicle chases and the structure of the society. Bleak and gritty - a world where the sun never sets (or never rises if you're on the other side of the planet), populated by an almost tribal society, based on one's position in the 9 Houses, that values strength and power over everything else. It was a great setting. I would have loved to spend more time delving into how the original colonists ended up devolving into this type of society rather than evolving and how those who didn't fit in managed to survive/thrive.

Proxima Five starts off with the idea that Earth had passed the point of no return and the only viable solution was to colonize a new planet (Proxima) and start over. As part of one of the advance teams, Dr Leah Warren and a group of scientists have been travelling in cryo sleep to Proxima to prepare the planet for the eventual migration of humanity. Leah wakes when the ship lands on Proxima and finds herself the sole survivor of her crew (based on all the SF books and movies I've come across, cryo seems to malfunction half the time - if I were a SF character I'd probably pass on it). Unable to contact the colonists who had arrived before her, she sets out on foot (first of many poor decisions) on a pretty inhospitable desert-like planet to figure out what has happened.

In the meantime, we meet up with Keegan, the strong and brooding alpha female warrior, who is leading a scout team that has found a settlement massacred by a rebel force. She splits her team and goes after the rebels on her own. After dispatching the rebels and dragging Leah back to the city with her ('cause Keegan "claims" her as spoils) Keegan has a confrontation with the leader's son (the villian) who is positioning himself for a power grab and has a bit hate-on for Keegan. Things spin out from there - with the building relationship between Keegan and Leah, Leah's trying to figure out what the hell is going on, and then onto some intrigue and action as the story continues.

For the romance - I had some mixed feelings about it. At the beginning, there's a really lopsided power dynamic and the interactions between Keegan and Leah are just this side of non-consensual. The feel of the relationship improves as the story progresses, but it didn't do a lot to make me like Keegan at the start and that carried over. Leah's character seemed to be a champion at making poor decisions and she spent most of the book reacting rather than acting.

For me, the pacing was off - the first half seemed slow as it focused on establishing the relationship between Leah and Keegan and world building but it picked up in the latter half as the intrigue and action started to heat up and then it just rushed into the big finale. I almost wish Vaun had expanded the book into two or three and spent a bit more time with how the Proxima society evolved to this point, more on the rebels who live on the dark side and spun up the intrigue and action a bit more.

This was a really interesting read, I wouldn’t say I loved it but I would recommend it to others because maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea!

I was surprised i actually enjoyed this because it's a dystopian sci-fi. I rarely read sci-fi as it's just not my thing but i really enjoyed the premise and world building the Vaun presented. The two females leads were both really interesting and i feel as if Keegan and Leah were both well rounded. They balanced each other well and it was good to see their internal struggles along with the external ones that their surroundings caused.

It was a great unique story. I like the romance. I was more interest in the dystopian world because what if that happen in real life because I just read a book about the lights going out around the world and everyone panic and attacking people I don't think we are prepare for that. Leah only surviving scientists landing in middle of the desert where she captured before her ship is back online. This is where she meet Keegan who rescue her before she sold slavery. As they fight to survive this world a romance develop between them. I won't tell you how everything work out in the end you have to read it yourself but I wouldn't mind reading a sequel to see if things became more better.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve only read Missouri Vaun’s Nash Wiley adventures and I really liked those. So with that in mind I started this new sci-fy dystopian romance set on a distant planet with rather high hopes. And although Proxima Five wasn’t a bad read, it wasn’t a high flyer either. I sure liked her contemporary stuff better.

Geologist Dr. Leah Warren wakes up from what she assumes a 20-year hibernation to get her and her crew to Proxima B., a planet 4 light years away from Earth. Hers was the 5th in a group of 10 colony ships that left with a mission to give humanity a second chance. Leah’s ship was knocked off course and arrived later than planned… much much later. Now she has to find her way to civilization, whatever that may be.

The sci-fy part in this story was inside Leah’s ship, outside everything was pretty Mad Max meets Tatooine with a warrior clan society. Muscle ruled and women were more or less chattel (unless you had muscles). Leah gets captured the moment she ventures out to get the lay of the land. Keegan saves her from what would be a short trip to the slave market and brings her home. And so the story begins.

I thought it became more interesting in the second part of the story after Keegan drops her cave woman attitude towards Leah and begins to see her as equal. The plot was not very sophisticated (for instance, I knew who Solas was from the get go). The bad guy was of the moustache twirling variety and the romance felt rather bloodless (they hardly talk but still there is this insta-love thang). It was an okay story but it could have been so much more.

f/f

Themes: I wonder how those protein bars were still edible considering how long they were in space

3.3 stars

* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. for an honest review.

Another fantastic novel by Missouri Vaun. Science fiction meets romance in a terrific story about a lost explorer who finds not only a whole new world, but the love of her life. Dr Leah Warren awakens from cryogenic sleep to discover that her ship has landed successfully, but that all of her crew is dead. Establishing that she has indeed landed on the correct planet, she leaves her ship to see if she can learn the whereabouts of the other nine ships that had left the failing Earth in hopes of building a new world on Proxima B. She is captured by armed men, who much to her surprise speak English. Keegan, one of the commanders of the Tenth Clan, rescues Leah, and, as is expected in their society, claims her as her property. Keegan has been brought up by the leader of her Clan. She was a lost child unaware of her heritage and is now faithful to the Clan and the leader who raised her. The son of the clan leader is a power hungry monster who envies the regard that Keegan enjoys from his father and considers her a rival for the leader role. Outside rebels threaten the safety of the city that they all call home, and Keegan strives to keep them at bay. In the meantime she struggles with an attractive to this unusual and interesting woman she rescued. Leah, of course, chafes at the idea of being anyone's property and manages to escape from Keegan's quarters, only to be quickly arrested and thrown into a cage. It is there that she realizes the depth of protection that Keegan had offered her, and when Keegan successfully rescues her, a shift begins to occur within their relationship. I won't say anymore about the story. The plot is very compelling, the characters are extremely well drawn. I would love to see more stories set in this world.

I have become a Missouri Vain fan.

The attention to detail when world building is believable.

This book is fast paced with a lot of action, a lot of story packed into a few days. The characters are relatable but I feel they could use just a bit more backstory.

I'm looking forward to Missouri's next effort!

Proxima Five is undoubtedly one of my favourite books of the year. The story combines old-school science-fiction adventure with a modern romance in the best possible way. A cryogenically-frozen spacefarer is crash-stranded alone on a strange planet… and meets someone who appears to be a merciless barbarian warrior.
Pleasingly, it took some time for the main plot device to become clear in the story, but I think it took Leah far too long to catch on for a bright woman. I’ll chalk it up to stress.
Missouri Vaun really is an excellent writer and storyteller. The book has excellent characters with complex personalities, an imaginative and solid story-line, good internal consistency and superb writing. As I read, the book recalled the excellent work of C. J. Cherryh which should be taken as compliment.
Highly recommended. Please let there be a sequel, there are other numbers apart from 5 and 10!

Missouri Vaun has created an amazing new land with this novel.
We start with Leah on her ship, but with all of the crew dead, Leah takes matters into her own hands to understand the way forward. It doesn't take long until she crosses paths with Keegan and this is where things escalate.
As a reader, I felt very uncomfortable with one initial scene between Leah and Keegan. This hovers on the edge of force and it didn't sit well with me.
Vaun brings it back to the reader though as Leah and Keegan join forces.
I received an ARC for an honest review.

(To be posted to blog on Tuesday the 25th)

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved Proxima Five! The sci-fi setting mixed with the love/hate romance of the two leads combined to create a novel that I couldn’t put down. I adored the story, the characters, and the vivid story telling of Vaun – Proxima Five was a novel that I devoured and loved ❤

The story starts off with Geologist Dr. Leah Warren waking up from cryogenic hibernation to find that nothing in her mission has gone right. The discovery of the rest of her crew, the barren landscape, and her journey to find more information, start the novel off on its action packed adventure. Pretty much from this point on, the story kept an amazing pace with my attention not wavering once.

What really had me tapping page after page, was the mystery behind the story. Just as Leah doesn’t understand the society that she finds herself in, neither does the reader. Did Leah fly off course? Is this planet the one she was meant to land on? I found myself constantly looking for clues to the larger mystery of Proxima Five.

Outside of this fantastic pacing and storytelling, were the characters Leah and Keegan. The pair start off on uneven footing, Keegan is in a position of power and Leah is alone in an unknown place and time. To say the start of the pairs relationship is a bit rocky is an understatement, however from the very start there is the constant desire.

In some ways Keegan is a simple character, sure of what she wants, her place, and her desires. However as more is revealed about Leah’s past, so too does Keegan show more emotional depth. On the other side Leah is a nuanced character, she is intelligent and from another world. Often Leah points out the short comings of the world around her, prompting Keegan to begin to question the way things are done. As a pair, they fit well together and they were a pleasure to read.

Proxima Five is an emotional journey between Leah and Keegan as they not only overcome the power imbalance in their relationship but as they start to truly see each other. Once they do though, the results had me smiling down at the book.

The mystery of the novel combined with the non-stop action and romance had me flying though the book. Proxima Five is the first novel I’ve read of Vaun’s and the first from Bold Strokes Books, however I will be seeking more from both!

Best Bits:

*The world building – Vaun has created an intricate world in Proxima Five. Not only do we have a sci-fi story but we have a loaded backstory for the world. As more information is revealed to us, many other aspects of the story make sense. All the puzzle pieces fall into place to create a huge history for the planet and Leah’s mission.

*Leah and Keegan’s relationship – I said it before but I really enjoyed the love/hate relationship of the two. While not a traditional love to hate love story, the pair circle each other as they work to understand each other more. By the end I really loved the dynamic between and relationship of the pair.

Recommendations:

Proxima Five is an excellent and entertaining read and I would really recommend that everyone pick up this book and give it a go. However if you’re a fan of:

*Sci-fi
*Romance
*Lesbian relationships
or any combination of the above, then I would definitely recommend you read Proxima Five.

Please note: I received a copy of Proxima Five from NetGalley.

I requested this book on NetGalley because I really like sci-fi and, honestly, it reminded me a bit of the premise for The 100 (which I think has wasted a lot of its potential). This was my first Vaun book, and I'd probably read more in the future.

The premise is that Leah crash-lands on a planet called Proxima B after decades in cryogenic suspension. Her ship was one of ten, and it's the planet they were aiming for. Unfortunately, none of the rest of her crew survived and Proxima B isn't quite as uninhabited as she'd expected. Keegan, a military commander, finds Leah out in the desert and rescues her by taking her back to Hadyn City, where they get caught up in political struggles as well as their growing feelings for one another.

Honestly, I'm still having trouble rating this book. There were aspects I enjoyed and aspects I didn't, and I'm still not sure which side wins out. The beginning was a bit slow. Leah's POV is a bit discombobulated (on purpose, I think, to represent her coming out of cryo), and her decision-making is slightly suspect. These moments might have been more believable if the scenes--and Leah's internal dialogue--were fleshed out a bit.

Keegan is a character I tend to like--a badass warrior who doesn't handle emotions well. I liked her when she was doing her thing as a military leader. I liked her less when she was interacting with Leah. Actually, their relationship is the weakest aspect of the book. It starts out kind of weird and non-consensual. Even though they're both physically attracted to each other, there's definitely a power imbalance. At one point, Leah is grateful that Keegan doesn't act on her attraction, and my note there just says, "You don't get points for not raping someone." This definitely improves as the book goes on, but I wish the relationship had been handled differently at the beginning.

However, after the halfway point, this book really picked up for me. It focused a little less on the relationship and a little more on the plot, and that shift really worked. I found myself much more interested in the story line of the two different settlements and the power struggle in Hadyn City. Vaun also makes some interesting points about humanity and strength.

For me, the writing was okay, but I do tend to be very specific in what I like. Although sometimes POVs were separated by scene breaks, other times, Leah's and Keegan's POVs would slide right into one another, which was a little distracting. I was occasionally disappointed by scenes Vaun left out, like one important moment where Keegan is left for dead. Mainly, I wish the book had been longer so certain scenes and relationships could be fleshed out. I think there's a lot that could be done with the societies Vaun introduces. It ends rather abruptly, too, when Vaun could have taken more time to wrap things up. I liked some of the secondary characters, particularly Yates and Hardy, and if there's another book, I'd read it.

I believe I already mentioned this in a status update on Goodreads: this is kind of a post apocalyptic Conan the Barbarian type book set on a different planet than earth.

Like the previous book I read: earth is dying, certain groups are attempting to save humanity by fleeing in space ships. The book opens with Leah waking up in a spaceship on another world. A world with breathable air but locked with one part of the planet always facing the sun while the other only knows the night. Mercury is like that (I believe) - locked part not breathable atmosphere.

Leah wakes up as the sole survivor of her ship - but there were nine other colony ships that had set out from earth to this planet. Leah desires to find the colony/or possibly colony sites. So she leaves her ship and is promptly captured by humans but not any she had ever meet before (and she does have some knowledge of the other colonists). Some time later Leah is 'saved' by the female verison of Conan - the other main character Keegan. A commander in the Tenth (and ruling) clan.

I've used the term/shelf 'culture clash' for many books. But Leah truly does not understand the culture that she meets/finds herself interacting with; and while Keegan 'knows that Leah is something 'different' (for one: Leah is just too pale to have lived long on the sun side), she still expects reactions of her culture and is not getting it and so gets frustrated.

An overall interesting and good book. That had a somewhat riveting build up to conclusion but kind of fizzled there at end.

Last thought: I said female verison of Conan instead of referencing Xena because Keegan really did d'sseem more female Conan than Xena.

Rating: 3,82

September 3 2018

I had high hopes for this sci/fi story. I was looking for a believable social worldscape, though it started off well, the development throughout the book was lacking, confusing and at times not believable. The chemistry between the main protagonists started off promising, but didn't carry through to the end.

‘Proxima Five’ by Missouri Vaun is a powerful and brilliantly conceived sci-fi story. Leah Warren, a geologist, finds herself the only survivor of her colony ship and is immediately in danger on an unfamiliar planet. She owes her life to Keegan, a warrior and member of the ruling house. The story deals with a violent society where women are seen as property and the whole construct is so alien to Leah. Why is the society like this? Who are the raiders and why are they attacking Hadyn City, Keegan’s home? Finding out the answers took me by surprise. It was thought-provoking. The descriptions of the planet and life there were so well written. I could picture the dry, hot, unforgiving landscapes and the dangerous and rough city streets. The relationship between Leah and Keegan was intense and sexually charged. Leah found herself being expected to be a certain way but she was not some subservient weak woman - she was intelligent, strong and capable. Keegan came across as the usual military type at first glance but she was so much more than that. She was caring and decent and showed Leah a side of her that really appealed to me. The story screamed hope. I loved it and highly recommend it.

I was given this Arc by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for review.

As sci fi novels go this is a fairly simple tale, but that was in some ways part of its charm. I enjoyed the story and the romance. The Proxima world was evocatively described and I liked the link back to the Roman armies and the human condition. I think the book is intended as a stand alone, but it could be developed into a decent series with stories about the Fain or Yates.

Leah Warren climbs out of her stasis chamber after her cryogenic sleep to find all her shipmates are dead and she’s not entirely sure where she is. When she ventures out she’s finds she’s in a hot desert but realises she’s gone too far when she’s captured and caged by some type of raider. She’s rescued by a tall, muscular woman (Keegan) who turns out to be a commander of one of the warrior clans that inhabit Haydn City. Keegan is the same rank as Tiago, the chief’s son, but Tiago knows that taking over from his father could be challenged by Keegan. Animosity between them is growing.

I’ve read a number of books by Vaun but this is my first of hers in the sci-fi genre. One of the things I love most about her work is that the environment she creates is powerful and immersive. Usually I can feel the wind, taste the dust and hear the thunder but I didn’t get that from “Proxima Five”. The environment, culture and people felt very generalised and indistinct. Leah finds herself on a planet which is not earth where the people not only speak English but they speak the same English as her. So while it makes for easy reading, it also causes a loss of atmosphere and tension.

The story is heavy on the romance and the main characters’ relationship is a little insta-love-y. There also isn’t enough on-page communication for me to entirely believe the romance. But, it’s not a bad read in spite of everything I’ve said. It has good pace and the story line has a lot of potential. I had a strong sense that this would have worked better if it was double the length (possibly split into two books) to give it the depth and nuance that it needed.

I would highly recommend this for readers who are not sci-fi fans but would like to give the genre at try. The jargon in sci-fi can be quite overwhelming and often becomes a stumbling block to good pace. “Proxima Five” doesn’t have this problem; it’s accessible. Also the romance would make it more appealing to non-sci-fi readers. I need more from my sci-fi reads.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Very intriguing! Once again Missouri Vaun has written a book that you'll want to read again. Her imagination is full of adventure and romance. Her story telling is riveting. I loved the plot and the characters and how they all meshed. The chemistry between all the characters was engaging and kept the story rolling along from beginning to end. A must read.

While the romance is okay in this story, I was more interested in the dystopian world created by Vaun for this story. In fact the romance could have been even less prominent and this story would have been just as good.

It is the standard sci-fi story where the earth is dying and humanity must flee the planet to preserve itself. Leah is the sole survivor of her ship of scientists that was heading to a new planet along with nine other ships. Her ship has crash landed in the middle of the desert. Where she is captured before her ship's systems can come back online and let her know if she has indeed landed on the correct planet or some other planet in a different system. And where are the rest of the colonists?

<spoiler>

She is of course saved by Keegan before she can be sold into slavery and a romance ensues. Leah soon learns she is on the correct planet, just 300 years too late. Society has not gone as planned for the colony. They struggle for survival and must fight for everything. Women are sold/used like slaves.  Being a romance all things work out in the end. The ladies are victorious over the misogynous regime. I, for one, would be interested in having Vaun revisit this planet many years in the future to see how the clans are faring with their new leader and ideals.

</spoiler>

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.