Atana by Starla Night

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am a lesser from a servant world. 
But even before I was taken? 
There was no rescue for me.
The night sky isn’t the only place that’s filled with darkness.
And cages look different, but they’re all the same.
I might be fragile as glass, but I shielded my daughter with my own body. I’ll withstand these brutal aliens.
Their leader. The one who has blades in his wrists and a fractured look in his eyes? I’m all that stands between him and Earth.
But now I think I have the advantage.
Because he sees through me, which means he doesn’t see what’s right in front of him.
And I’m not afraid of anything.
This glass holds oceans. Planets. Stars.
Just try and make me break.

*** Contains unique alien shifters, fierce passion, and loyal warriors who find their fated mates in the stars. Each full-length book is a complete romance with an epic happily-ever-after. Claim your conqueror today!

Atana

An Engineer, a Survivor, and an Unforgettable Journey

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💛💚❤️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋🙂😁😛😘
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

Characters & Plot Summary

Atana surprised me because neither of the main characters starts this story from a place of strength. Lia has spent years trapped in an abusive marriage where she was treated more like a political accessory than a person. Even after escaping that life, she is still dealing with the effects of lusteal, leaving her unsure whether any attraction she feels is real or chemically driven. Watching her slowly reclaim her confidence was one of the most satisfying parts of the book. One scene that really stood out was how she gradually earns the respect of Atana’s crew without demanding it, simply by refusing to let her past define her.

Atana is just as damaged in his own way. Once a Blade, he has fallen from grace and now serves as an engineer while quietly nursing resentment toward the Arrisan system that discarded him. I loved that he is not the typical confident alien hero. He often hides his feelings behind indifference, even while constantly rearranging his priorities to keep Lia safe. His crew notices long before he does, which created several moments that made me smile. The growing political tension surrounding the human delegation and the conspiracies unfolding in the background kept the romance connected to the larger series instead of feeling isolated.

Highlights & Limitations

My favorite aspect of this book was how both leads had to rebuild themselves before they could truly trust each other. Lia’s journey from someone who expects to be controlled into someone willing to speak her mind felt earned. Likewise, Atana slowly moves from believing his life has already been ruined to realizing he still has a future worth fighting for. Their conversations about intimacy versus love were more thoughtful than I expected, especially because they approach those ideas from completely opposite experiences.

I also enjoyed the unpredictable engineers aboard Atana’s ship. Their chaotic behavior added welcome humor in between the heavier emotional scenes, even if they occasionally pushed the limits of believable professionalism. That was probably my biggest complaint. There were moments where the crew’s antics distracted from the urgency of the larger conflict. I also found the final stretch packed with so much action and political intrigue that I occasionally had to stop and sort through everything that was happening before moving on. Still, the twists kept me invested, particularly when hidden loyalties began coming to light.

Narration & Performance

Ri Paige gives Lia a quiet strength that fits her emotional journey. Even during the early chapters when Lia doubts herself, her performance hints at the resilience underneath. Thomas Locklear captures Atana’s detached, almost dangerous personality while letting the softer moments emerge naturally instead of changing him overnight. I especially enjoyed hearing the contrast whenever Atana tried to convince himself Lia meant nothing while his actions clearly proved otherwise.

Robert Hatchet’s contribution in the epilogue was a nice touch and left me excited to continue the series. Overall, the performances helped distinguish the emotional growth of the characters and made it easy to stay immersed in the story.

Final Opinion

This ended up being one of my favorite books in the Blades of Arris series because neither Atana nor Lia felt like perfect heroes. They are both carrying emotional scars and watching them slowly find confidence in themselves made the romance much more rewarding. I especially appreciated that Lia’s healing was never portrayed as quick or easy. Every small victory felt meaningful because of everything she had survived.

If you enjoy science fiction romance with layered world building, political intrigue, wounded characters, and a relationship built on mutual healing instead of instant perfection, I think this audiobook is well worth picking up. By the end, I found myself caring just as much about the larger Arrisan conflict as I did about Atana and Lia’s happily ever after, which is exactly what I want from a series like this.

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