Review: Dark Matters by Michelle Diener

Title: Dark Matters
Author: Michelle Diener
Series: Class 5 #4
Publication: October 15th 2019 by Eclipse
Genre: Science Fiction
Purchase it on: Amazon
Rating: 5/5★

The new instalment in the award-winning Class 5 series.

DARK MATTERS . . . taking matters into her own hands

A time bomb, waiting to go off . . .

Lucy Harris is on the run, not sure where she can turn to for help, or if help is even available. But even as her abductors chase her down, she realizes they don't just want to recapture her, they want to erase her.

When your very existence puts a planet at the risk of war, there's no choice but to do everything in your power to stay out of your enemies hands.

A predator . . . waiting for the chance to pounce

The powerful AI battleship, Bane, is accompanying the United Council envoy to Tecra to mete out the punishment the Tecrans have earned for breaking UC law. He revels in the power he's about to have over his old masters. But his mission isn't only to rain down retribution on the people who kept him chained for years, he's also looking for a human woman his fellow Class 5 thinking system mentioned in the final seconds of his life. Paxe admitted to taking Lucy Harris from Earth, and Bane has been looking for her ever since.

A warrior conflicted . . .

Commander Dray Helvan thinks the Grih made a mistake in not pushing for war with the Tecran, but he's had to accept the compromise, that he and the other envoys from the United Council will go to Tecra and dismantle its military from the top down. His mission is not one of his choosing, but when he and his team arrive, he's handed a very different job. While he distrusts Bane on principle, when the thinking system tells him there's a woman running for her life on the planet below, he will do whatever he has to to see her safe. And if that means war for Tecra, well, then it means war.

Note: Dark Matters can be read as a standalone novel but is part of a larger story arc which was started with Dark Horse, the first book in the Class 5 series.

First of all I want to say how glad I am that the author wrote this book because it had actually already ended in 2016 with the third book. So I feel really blessed that we have gotten a fourth book in the series. Out of her science fiction series, this series is still my favorite so yay I was so happy to have been able to read it. Now on to the review!

Right from the start this book completely hooked me. It was hard to put my Kindle away and to stop reading, it was that good. Starting this book, being already very familiar with the whole world (or should I say galaxy?) of this series it was like coming home and I really liked that feeling. Michelle Diener simply outdid herself with this one.

Dark Matters had a kickass but very relatable and human heroine named Lucy, a military but caring hero (who made me swooooon!) named Dray and a dangerous but loyal AI named Bane. There was no lack of action. In fact, this story was almost non-stop action and oh how I loved that! Never a boring moment! I'd even go as far as to say that this book might rank in my top ten favorite books of 2019 blog post at the end of the year. 

I have to say that Lucy, Dray and Bane made a very good team together. I just adored Lucy. She had been through a lot in the last few months since she was abducted from Earth. She was very brave but even so she wasn't afraid to show her emotions and vulnerable side and that's something I want to see more in the books I read. Dray was an amazing character as well. Knowing how important finding Lucy, he didn't hesitate to protect her and at the same time know that she wasn't just some damsel in distress. I might be in love with him. Sigh. The romance between them was secondary to the overall story but still Lucy and Dray had such chemistry, even though they just met. Definitely my favorite couple!

But my absolute favorite character was Bane, the thinking system willing to do anything to keep Lucy safe from harm, even destroying planets if he has to. I just loooove AI characters. And I especially loved how the author wrote them, not just in this book but in the other books of the series as well. I thought it was great how they all were so loyal to the human women and how well they worked together. I just loved it all, really!

Overall, Dark Matters by Michelle Diener was an explosive sci-fi adventure with romance and action all around! I absolutely loved this fourth book in the Class 5 series. For me it was the best book in the series (the others were fantastic as well though) and in case my gushing about it wasn't enough I will say that I absolutely recommend this book and the series to everyone.  

Author bio:
Michelle Diener writes historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction. Having worked in publishing and IT, she’s now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters and wondering which part of the world she can travel to next.
Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

When she’s not writing, or driving her kids from activity to activity, you can find her blogging at Magical Musings, or online at Twitter, at Google+and Facebook.

Check out my reviews of Michelle's other books:

{Science Fiction)

Sky Raiders (Sky Raiders #1) — 3/5★ 

Calling the Chance (Sky Raiders #2) — 4/5★ 

Shadow Warrior (Sky Raiders #3) — 4/5★

{Science Fiction}

Dark Horse (Class 5 #1) — 5/5★ 

Dark Deeds (Class 5 #2) — 5/5★ 

Dark Minds (Class 5 #3) — 4/5★ 

Dark Matters (Class 5 #3) —  5/5★ 

{Science Fiction}

Interference/Insurgency (Verdant String #0.5) — 4/5★ & 4.5/5★

Breakaway (Verdant String #1) — 4/5★

Breakfeven (Verdant String #2) — 4/5★

Trailblazer (Verdant String #3) — 4/5★

{Paranormal}

Breaking Out Part I (part of Entranced Halloween Box Set — 4/5★ 

Breaking Out Part II — 4/5★ 

{Fantasy}

The Golden Apple (The Dark Forest #1) — 4/5★ 

The Silver Pear (The Dark Forest #2) — 5/5★ 

{Fantasy}

Mistress of the Wind — 3/5★

{Historical Fiction}

The Emperor's Conspiracy (Regency London #1) —5/5★

Banquet of Lies (Regency London #2) —5/5★ 

A Dangerous Madness (Regency London #3) —5/5★ 

 {Historical Fiction}

Daughter of the Sky —5/5★

 {Historical Fiction}

In a Treacherous Court (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker #1) —5/5★

Dangerous Sanctuary (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker #1.5) —5/5★

Keeper of the King's Secrets (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker #2) —5/5★

In Defense of the Queen (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker) —5/5★