Embrace the Passion (Pets in Space Anthologies, #3) by Various Authors – Review by Francis O’Sullivan

Embrace the Passion by S.E. Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Embrace The Passion is the third Pets in Space book. It is an anthology of science fiction romances, all featuring animals of some description, sold in support of an animal charity. There are 11 stories, each by a different author, and the stories are all very different and enjoyable.
The first story I read was Quashi. I was drawn to it as the cute fluffy aliens sounded a bit like tribbles. It turns out they aren’t exactly tribbles, but are similarly cute and disastrous! I liked the main character, Chanda, who is quite funny and relatable as she struggles to make the best out of a situation where she is hopelessly out of her depth!
Operation Ark is another great one, particularly if you’re after an array of different space animals! The animals do all seem to resemble Earth animals – they’re mostly introduced as “like x only bigger/a different colour”. But they have a lot of character and it’s an entertaining story! Like Quashi, there’s a mysterious creature no one knows much about that is developed over the course of the story.
I liked the space port setting in Starway and the way that Star, the sniffer dog, is introduced to the story. With lots of space politics and covert operations, it’s a gripping story with complex characters!
The stories are varied, but have in common exciting extra-terrestrial settings, animals with strong and loveable personalities and three-dimensional protagonists. For me, this is a overall a four star book. I’d recommend it to sci-fi fans who love animals and want to try out lots of different authors!

View all my reviews