Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Review: The Darenti Paradox (Colonial Explorer Corps #4) by Julia Huni

Title: The Darenti Paradox

Series: Colonial Explorer Corps #4

Previous books in this series: The Earth Concurrence (#1) | The Grissom Contention (#2) | The Saha Declination (#3)

Author: Julia Huni

Genre: Adult, sci-fi

Publication date: October 2022

Published by: IPH Media

Source: Purchased ebook

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Synopsis: Lieutenant Serenity "Siti" Kassis has built a name for herself and the beginning of a career with the Colonial Explorer Corps. But after five years on active duty, she's assigned to a new mission: the return to Darenti.

Over a hundred years ago, her father discovered the first intelligent life in the galaxy, becoming the Hero of Darenti Four. Siti has lived in his shadow all her life, and now she's forced to follow in his footstep once again.

But this time she's on her own. After being separated from her team, Siti must decide if she can trust the Darenti--and figure out what their goal is. Because if she doesn't, they could unleash a terrifying menace on the unsuspecting human race.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I've really been enjoying reading this series, and one thing I have always been curious about is why Siti’s dad is called the Hero of Darenti Four. Well, in this book, Siti and the crew are heading to Darenti Four! I was very excited about that!


The Darenti were the first sentient alien life that has been found, and Siti’s dad was part of that expedition all those years ago. While there, Siti's dad saves the Darenti from danger and thus dub him the Hero of Darenti Four. In this book, I really appreciated how there was a bit of a parallel to Siti’s dad’s story when the Darenti came to Siti for help. They trust her dad, so they trust her. But both the embassy and the Darenti are hiding things and Siti isn’t sure who she can trust. But one thing she does know is that she needs to figure out what is going on because if she doesn’t it could unleash something pretty bad on humanity.


I really enjoyed learning about the Darenti! They were a pretty cool alien race and the mystery surrounding them was intriguing. Although I could definitely see why Sitit didn’t trust them... I didn’t trust them either. Some of the things they did were questionable... until you found out their motives. Then it all made sense. And while I guessed some of the revelations, it was still wild what we found out!


One of my favorite things about this series has been the characters and their evolving relationships. I love the camaraderie between Siti and Joss and all her friends. But one relationship I’ve been really enjoying is the one between Sitit and Lee. Lee was such a jerk in the beginning of the series, but then you got to know him and discovered the things he’s been through, and I honestly warmed up to him quite fast. I’ve really enjoyed his character arc going from this sort of villain to someone that Siti could potentially call a friend... and maybe more??


There was some sexual tension between Siti and Lee, and I’m not gonna lie, I loved every second of it! I love an enemies-to-lovers trope, okay? And I am really hoping that this is where their relationship is going! Especially because I’m finding Derek Lee to be a redeemable, likable character now. He was so sweet at times and I just love how he’s changed for the better from his academy days. Plus, the banter between Lee, Joss, and Siti was so good!

This book as a whole was good! It actually wasn’t very action-y, which I didn’t mind because it’s something I’ve learned to expect from this series. I'm usually an action kind of girl, but Colonial Explorer Corps is just a more laid-back series and I’m okay with that. The story itself was very interesting and I liked that we got to visit the famous planet of Darenti Four. In the middle of the book we did get this little adventure where Siti helps the Darenti find something, and that was a lot of fun! I love the characters (including Liam 😭), their banter, and their evolving relationships. I am very much looking forward to seeing what other trouble Siti can get herself into in future books! 😆


Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊

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