Return Voyage by Veronica Scott Series: The Sectors #14.5
on March 1, 2021
Genres: Romance, Science Fiction
Pages: 131
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Gianna Nadenoft is a reclusive survivor of one of the worst interstellar cruise ship disasters in the history of the Sectors. Now a renowned artist, she hasn’t left her home planet in decades, not since returning there after the wreck as a traumatized three year old. With her service animal at her side, she’s going to make the effort to travel across the star systems to attend her brother’s wedding and reunite with her fellow survivors.
Trevor Hanson is a security officer aboard the cruise liner Nebula Zephyr with his own traumatic past as a former Special Forces soldier and prisoner of war. He’s assigned to provide personal protection to Gianna during her time aboard the ship but soon finds his interest turning from professional to romantic. The two share more in common than either of them realizes and their attraction grows as the voyage continues.
But powerful enemies including a conspiracy theory-obsessed fellow passenger and sinister individuals with hostile intentions are watching Gianna and making plans to seize this rare opportunity to gain access to her and the secrets they believe she’s still keeping about the wreck.
Things come full circle when Return Voyage brings the youngest character from Wreck of the Nebula Dream, prequel to the series, back aboard the Nebula Zephyr a later-built cruise ship and a confrontation with her memories of the past. I had high expectations for this third story in the Nebula Dream sub-series and I was not disappointed.
Gianna Nadenoft was a child of three, and only one of six survivors of a thousand people, when the famous Nebula Dream disaster took place. Since then, she has never left her home world and barely left the grounds of her family estate. She suffers from PTSD, but copes with her amazing service animal and her artistic talent that has made her famous in another, more rewarding sense. Now, she must leave the planet and travel for her brother’s wedding. She will travel aboard the Nebula Dream’s later-built sister ship, Nebula Zephyr. Gianna determines she will face her memories and use the ship to help. A former Special Forces soldier and now ship security officer has been sent to guide and assist all the way.
Lt. Trevor Hanson came from a background light years away from the lavish wealth of Gianna’s family and he got away from those circumstances in the military only to fall prey to capture and rough treatment in an alien enemy prison which broke him and nearly killed him. Out of the military as a result, he copes in his job, but he is wary when his assignment is a woman with her own nightmarish past. They sense the darkness in each other, the struggles, and it bonds them even while attraction builds too as they spend so much time together. Trevor has a secret he suspects will be the one thing Gianna won’t be able to handle. But, that will all need to wait as the past is confronted and more danger lurks.
I love the blend of action, romance, and character development that comes together quickly because of the page count, but is fully-formed nonetheless. The complexities of relationship and mental health struggles, mysteries, intrigues, as well as the amazing space cruise setting and familiar cast of characters had me deeply engaged with the story and sad when I clicked on the final page. The big climax scene was worth the buildup as was the warm and spicy denouement that came after showing what will come after for Gianna and Trevor. I hope there are more adventures with the Captain, Maeve, the crew and the Nebula Zephyr.
Sci-fi romance and space opera fans should definitely have this The Sectors series on their radar.
About Veronica Scott
USA Today Best Selling Science Fiction & Paranormal Romance author.
Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own stories.
MISC FACTS ABOUT VERONICA
Seven time winner ~ SFR Galaxy Award
Proud recipient ~ NASA Exceptional Service Medal but must hasten to add the honor was not for her romantic fiction!
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt – I’ll improve your process (mwahahahaa)!
Elvis Presley’s best friend once serenaded Veronica on a local TV telethon…now that could be a novel…
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
Friend or follow me at Goodreads.
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This sounds like something I’d love, but wow there are a lot of books in the series😁
There are only three books in this specific mini series – Wreck of the Nebula Dream, Star Survivor and then this one. All my scifi romance novels are set in the Sectors so it’s a bit confusing the way I had to designate the books for the seller platforms. So I have little mini series and also standalones. There’s a mini series known as STAR CRUISE, set on the Nebula Zephyr, and this book crosses between the original arc of the wreck and the survivors series and the ongoing Star Cruise voyages. Whew, I’m even confusing myself at this point! Sorry!!! But thanks for letting me explain 🙂
Thanks for the explanation, Victoria and thanks for the wonderful review, Sophia! I keep saying I want to read these books. Now I know where to start. 🙂
I had to work all that out as I read the suggested reading order on Goodreads, but yes, her explanation was great, Rachel.
Hope you end up liking them as much as I did. 🙂
There sure are, Tammy. Most are standalone or can be treated as mini-series like Veronica indicated. I’ve been enjoying them once a month since Dec of 2021. Nearly finished. 🙁
Thank you for the incisive review and I’m so pleased you enjoyed the book. I really liked the three book arc of this mini series and being able to not only tell the story of the original disaster but then revisit the survivors at different stages. (My readers insisted I had to give Twilka and Khevan a sequel, which is the second book and then I HAD to write this one for Gianna.) I did a lot of research into the survivors of the earthly Titanic disaster and how their lives went on and how the experience shaped them.
That was fun getting Twilka and Khavan’s story and I’m glad you got hustled into it, but Gianna’s follow up story was a treasure, too.
I really need to give these books a try. The characters sound amazing!
Oh yeah, I’ve really enjoyed my jaunt through this series and hope you get the chance, Carole.
This novella (and all the ones before it that you’ve posted about) sounds so fun! I love that combination of sci-fi and romance. 😀
They have been that, Lark. I look forward to picking up the next installment each time. I’m nearing the end, but I do have a few of the spinoff series so I might just keep on going. 🙂
This sounds like my jam. Thanks for putting it on my radar 🙂
You betcha!
I don’t read much sci-fi, and I don’t know why because of the few books I have read I’ve enjoyed. I’ll keep this series in mind!
Kinda how I am about fantasy or chick lit. Glad to put it on your reading radar, Wendy!
Maybe 😉
If you do, go for the prequel this one follows up on. 🙂