The Elixir Deception

by Margena Adams Holmes

After the events of The Elixir War, Prince Jory is looking forward to having a quiet life with his wife and keeping the peace in the galaxy through his position at the Royal Planet Fleet. With the Elixir Trade looming, he hopes it will be an easy route to establish. The route to the Foridian System is patrolled by the space pirates of Ganta Zay who want the Elixir, so the former RPF pilot Evalycer Nicholls is pulled into service to get the cargo safely to the planet. The elixir and crew should be in good hands, but something in Evalycer’s past will put the whole team in jeopardy. Deception is everywhere, even on Foridian. Will Prince Jory be able to keep his crew safe this time?

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 18, 2018

About the author

Margena has been writing every since she can remember, writing her first poem in 1st grade. At her day job, when she's not kicking young kids out of R-rated movies, she's sweeping up spilled popcorn from the hallways and aisles (She's not your mother, though, so please take your trash out). Her days off consist of writing science fiction, space opera, and more movie theater shenanigans. Reading is a close second to writing, and she normally has her nose buried in an indie author book.

Many every things inspire Margena's stories. Going to concerts, working at the movie theater, and the crazy lady who owns the liquor store have all found their way into a story. An observer by nature, anything can and most likely will find its way into a story.

Margena loves all the Harry Potter books and movies, Star Wars, Star Trek, The Orville, The Crown, and the Los Angeles Kings.

Reviews

[Jane Jago · Rating 4 out of 5]

A prince, a pilot with a questionable past. A priceless commodity. Lies and deception. This book has all the ingredients for a real rollercoaster ride.

I love the idea of the Elixir - which I found myself thinking of as the ultimate performance enhancing drug. I also enjoyed the level of deception and double dealing in this book.

It’s a cool concept and a rattling good story, but for me it was a little let down by the characters, which felt a little one-dimensional in places.

Nonetheless it’s an enjoyable read and I’d give it a definite four stars.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margena Holmes The Elixir Deception is the second book in The Elixir Series. I didn't realise this when I started reading - so it put me at something of a disadvantage, and probably explained the slow start. It's quite a way into the story before anything really happens - but that makes more sense in a second book.

The premise is interesting. I enjoyed interaction and banter between the characters and there are some exciting space battles, kidnappings and rescue plans and political machinations across a number of solar systems, with some cool technology as well. Ex-RPF kick-ass pilot Evalycer in particular has to face her past and her disinclination to work as a team, while Prince Jory, though ready to face danger in an instant, struggles with being overprotective towards his capable sister and his equally capable wife.

Some of the logistics didn't quite gel for me and often information is repeated through characters' thoughts, then dialogue and reflections, but overall The Elixir Deception was an easy read with an interesting story set in space with political machinations, betrayals and general shenanigans. It will be interesting to see where Margena Holmes takes the story in the next book.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recap: With Elixir being made on two new planets, pirates see their opportunity to steal it for themselves.

Review: Good to see all the characters back together again. The premise is a little bogged down with more tell than show, but the story is interesting and Evalycer is a kick-ass character. She obviously has a lot of back story to explore.