Rating: 4 stars
Buy Links:  Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

 

Aidan Blackwood was kidnapped by trillionaire Oswin Lewis Quint, brought to his secret space station hidden in an asteroid, and experimented upon. Quint is rich enough to have anything he wants… except to be a runner. Aidan, and others like him, have a unique ability to travel through the Nowhere, a void between worlds. It allows them to essentially teleport by traveling near instantly between any two points. Quint kidnapped Aidan, along with fellow runner, Laila, subjecting them both to horrible experiments in an attempt to figure out how to replicate their abilities. Fortunately, Aidan was saved by his best friend, Caleb, and made it out alive, though he has lost his ability to travel through the Nowhere.

Caleb was willing to do anything to find Aidan, including get himself hired at Station 17 in an attempt to locate his friend. Caleb risked his life, but it was worth it to get Aidan to safety. Now that Aidan is free, he wants revenge on Quint, and he has a plan to do it. But Aidan also is afraid that his notoriety as a famous runner, combined with his risky plan, is putting Caleb in danger. Aidan tries to push Caleb away, to keep him safe by keeping his distance, but Caleb refuses to let Aidan face danger all alone.

Aidan may grudgingly agree to Caleb’s help taking down Quint, but he is determined to stay away once it is all over. However, both men are finding that there is more to their relationship than just friendship. In fact, Caleb has realized that he not only is he interested in guys, but that he wants Aidan more than he could imagine. And for his part, being with Caleb is like a dream come true for Aidan. He never thought he could have any kind of happiness, let alone share a love with his best friend. But their plan is dangerous and their chances of success are low. And even if they make it out alive, Caleb has to convince Aidan that he wants to be by his side, no matter what the risks.

Out of Nowhere is the second book in Felicia Davin’s Nowhere series. I totally loved the first book, but I somehow missed the release of the second one, so it has been about three years since I read Edge of Nowhere. While this story features a new couple in Caleb and Aidan, the overarching story featuring Station 17, the rift in the Nowhere, and other plot elements carry over the series and this book picks up fairly soon after the end of the first. Aidan’s actual kidnapping and rescue also take place in the first book, and this story focuses on the aftermath. All of which is to say, I really think reading Edge of Nowhere will be helpful to get the background on the couple, as well as the larger story elements.

While the first book takes place primarily at the space station and adventures traveling the Nowhere, this one focuses more on what is happening on Earth as Aidan and Caleb try to take down Quint. There is a big development that becomes central to the plot to destroy Quint that I found to be a really fun twist. It happens early on in the book, so I wouldn’t necessarily consider it a spoiler, but it is not mentioned in the blurb, so I am going to throw it behind the spoiler tag.

It leads for a twisty, fun adventure as there are double crosses and mixed motives and a lot of clever moments as they seek to take down Quint. I will say, there is a middle period where the guys are enacting their plans where things slowed down for me, especially compared to the more high octane first book. But I loved the set up and I think things really come together in an exciting way.

A lot of the focus to the story is on the development of the romantic relationship between Aidan and Caleb. The two have been best friends forever and Caleb was willing to risk it all to save Aidan. But it is not until something sparks in Caleb that he recognizes his own interest in men, which opens him up to his feelings about Aidan. For his part, Aidan has feelings for Caleb in return, but Aidan doesn’t think he can ever have someone like Caleb. Aidan is essentially an outlaw given the way people feel about runners, and he knows that being around him will be dangerous for Aidan. His instinct is to push Caleb away until he finally realizes that Caleb truly wants him and deserves to decide what risks he is willing to take.

Where I struggled a little here is that so much of the book is both men being interested, but thinking the other is not. There is moment after moment where these guys are misinterpreting or misunderstand the other’s looks or comments, sure that what is obvious to us readers as interest is really nothing. I found myself a little frustrated that this carries on for so long, with both men assuming the other isn’t interested while not sharing their feelings or talking to each other. And then once they are acting on their attraction, Aidan is determined that they will not stay together. I just found this dragged on too long and became too repetitive. The fact that this overlapped with some of the slower portions of the main plot just added to the problem. That said, I really liked Caleb and Aidan together and I love how things end up for them. I appreciated that Davin gives them an ending that really fits them and what they both want out of life.

In addition to Caleb and Aidan, we also spend time with Kit and Emil from Edge of Nowhere, as well as Laila and some of the other runners and space station folks. There is a nice ensemble element to this book, particularly as the runners band together to help Caleb and Aidan enact their plan. While the focus here isn’t what is happening on the space station, there is also a pivotal event that sets things up for the next book, so I am really excited for that third story (which has already released).

I am finding this series a lot of fun and am particularly enjoying the sci fi elements. I am not a hard core sci fi reader, so this is the perfect tone for me and I love the way Davin is playing with the idea of the Nowhere, the runners, and the plot to take down the bad guys. I am really looking forward to seeing how things play out in the next book.