Founder's Mercy

I hate to write a negative review for a debut author, but Founder's Mercy didn't work for me at all. The world building was standard “rebels against Evil Empire,” and halfway through the story our teenaged hero Adan literally encounters a deus ex machina that makes him virtually invincible. So there's very little about his own skills or strengths that define Adan as a hero, other than the fact that he is a loyal BFF.

Despite the disappointing plot, I was still hoping the story would include a decent romance, but the one that develops is lukewarm, and barely made an impact. The book ends with very little resolved. I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger, but the Evil Empire is still evil, and Adan still has no clue why he has such unique powers.

The book's chapters are interspersed with excerpts from the logs written by several members of the original crew that landed on planet Nesta generations ago. These snippets are actually more engaging than Adan's story, indicating that the author is not without talent. Maybe future installments of the series will be better, but I'm noping out after this one.