REVIEW: Specimen by Shay Savage
*Dear reader, skip this entire review if spoilers drive you crazy. Read the book first, then come back and join in the comments. There are so many spoilers here it is impossible for me to parse them all. There will be an intense discussion of the end of this book, this can’t be avoided.
Dear Ms. Savage,
I was thrilled when I saw on Facebook that you had a new SFR release, Specimen. Dear God, when I read the blurb and discovered it was a post-apocalyptic romance about a super soldier and the doctor he falls in love with—I couldn’t one click fast enough!
I awaken in a laboratory.
I don’t know who I am.
I’m inexplicably drawn to the doctor who cares for me. She tells me I’ve been altered, that I’m stronger and faster, that I’ll be a key component in a war between corporations. She says I volunteered for this. She says I volunteered to be transformed, but I have no way of knowing if what she says is true.
Something isn’t right. My memories have been taken, wiped clean, but dreams begin to slip into my conscious mind. I can’t let anyone know when that happens, or they’ll remove my memories again. Somewhere inside of me, I know I need to remember something important.
I’m fighting a war I don’t understand, and the one woman I rely on can’t be trusted.
I’ve read several of your previous books and I’m a huge fangirl of your fresh/original storytelling and your spot-on portrayal of the hero’s pov. I thought your caveman hero romance, Transcendence, was one of the best books I read in 2014 (see the comments section of Jayne’s review for my fangirl squee). So I was happy to see from the blurb for Specimen this book was also written in the first person, hero’s pov. Transcendence and Surviving Raine were both in hero’s pov and wonderful, so I knew with you, there’d be no worries, I’d be in good hands.
Specimen is a fast paced, action filled joy ride that is part futuristic post apoc, part super soldier romance. I really enjoyed being in the hero’s head, learning about the heroine only through their interactions. The story is emotionally intense with lots of romance and hot, hot sex, which I loved. The plot is complex and very cinematic in its scope. I really enjoy erotic sci fi that is smart, character driven and romantic. This is my catnip. Thank you for this trifecta of all the things I love. Prior to the end, I was really enjoying this book and looking forward to whole-heartedly recommending it to anyone who would listen. Except…
Readers need to know that there is the possibility that the HEA of this book will be unsatisfying and in fact can easily be termed as not having an HEA at all.
I was enjoying this book so much, until I hit a wall at the end. At 93% I felt excitement, “Wow, I have no idea how this author is going to pull off this HEA.” Which is always a terrific feeling. I admire authors who can keep me guessing until the end. I adore heart pounding conflict, the stakes being raised, and a hard earned HEA as much as the next romance reader so this ‘down to the wire’ HEA was okay with me. I figured everything could be wrapped up with a sappy epilogue and I’d be happy, happy, happy. But at 97% all still seemed lost for this couple and I began to worry, I had a moment of doubt—Isn’t this book going to have an HEA? But I was like, “This is a romance, of course it’s going to have an HEA!” And then it ended with the hero dying and the heroine being dragged off by the bad guys who were going to do terrible things to her. And—That was the end. The. End. Seriously. I was like, WHERE THE F@#K IS MY HEA?!
Wait, there was still the epilogue to be read. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself, thinking maybe this could still be fixed. Nope. Oh, the epilogue…the epilogue is a repeat of the first chapter, letting the reader know the story restarts. Apparently, this was the surprise that had been hinted at in the first couple of reviews I read on Goodreads before going in…Come on GR reviewers, how about a little more clarification? I thought they were referring to a twisty plot point that made me want to read more, not a reneging of the HEA itself. And Ms. Savage, I was disappointed that there wasn’t a hint of this fuzzy HEA on the blurb. I thought I was going in for a genre romance with a clearly defined HEA. This wasn’t that at all. Wtf?
You had to have known that many of your readers would be having a Holy Shit moment when they got to the end of the book so you included this as an afterword:
Author’s Note:
My team had a lot to say about whether or not this story ends with a Happily Ever After. I say it’s subjective. Galen and Riley are together. They are, and will always be, in love. They exist in a constant and potentially never-ending cycle of rediscovering one another. In that way, their love is always fresh and new.
I see where you are going with this, but I still call bullshit (in the most respectful way). Let’s look at it this way—even in the movie Live, Die, Repeat, the couple had a clearly defined HEA. They were also stuck in a cyclical story line where the ending continuously resulted in destruction, but each time they learned from the last go around in order to improve the chances of an eventual HEA, and in the end they got that HEA. In Specimen the couple is stuck in a loop where they fall in love but never get to the HEA. This is an important distinction. In lots of books that are not genre romance there are couples who fall in love and we are right there with them and it’s engrossing and beautiful, but what distinguishes these “love stories” from true genre romance is the HEA. Romance readers of course want the falling in love part, but equally important to us is getting to the end and knowing that this love will survive- as in the couple (or triad, whatever) will remain together, get to plan a future together, possibly grow old together. But Galen and Riley are forever stuck in courtship. And I’m left knowing that again, and again they will have to suffer the pain of being torn apart. How is that a satisfying ending?
This HEA can be easily debated. Is it really just a cyclical HFN? Is it in fact an HEA because they are still “together”? To answer these questions I have to go with my gut reaction after I finished the book: me pacing in the kitchen, ranting to my husband and sitting down to immediately write this review, all because the ending left me anxious and unsatisfied.
I was planning on giving this book a B+, but the “surprise” ending sucked out much of my enjoyment, I’d give it a C- (and I feel I’m being generous here).
Ms. Savage, despite my strong words on this subject I still admire your bold and original storylines. I still respect the hell out of the books that you take the chance to write even though you must know the risk involved. This book completely worked for me right up until the end because I can’t help it, the Happily Ever After is the hill I’m willing to die on.
-Michele
I did not like the ending of this book for every reason you listed. Shay Savage is an auto-buy for me and I consider her a genius at story telling. I will still auto-buy her, but I did not rec this book to anyone.
Is he an enhanced soldier like the movie Universal Soldier? I’ll admit that sounds like an amazing premise for a romantic suspense.
What a shame about the lack of a happy ending. I loved the movie Live, Die, Repeat (I saw it in its theatrical release when it was called Edge of Tomorrow) and I would love to read a romance novel along those lines. But with the characters perpetually stuck in a life-and-death loop even at the end, I don’t think this one is for me.
@Laura Hunsaker: I haven’t seen Universal Soldier! :( But yes, he is an enhanced soldier. They took away all of his memories of his old life. The action is great and I loved how the author showed in detail what the hero could do now that a normal man wouldn’t be able to do. He goes on missions and there is a whole story about the good side and the bad side and who is which and was he betrayed, etc. Yes, it is a terrific premise, and I loved this story so much, right up until the end, which made me sad.
@BJW: I’m so right there with you. She’s still an auto buy for me too, this one didn’t work for me because I’m an HEA purist.:)
@Janine: Yeah, for me it just can’t be called an HEA.
@michellemills I guess I’ll have to keep waiting for an enhanced super soldier romance. No hea is a deal breaker:/
Oh my god! I would be devastated if I’d read this without knowing how it ended. I get so wrecked when I expect a HEA and people die. Thanks for the warning. I loved other Shay Savage books but won’t read this one. :(
I completely agree with your review. It’s a good book but probably should be classified as sci-fi. It has a lot of romance in it but in my mind if it doesn’t have an HEA it’s not a romance book. I didn’t know that when I picked up the book so the ending kind of ruined the entire reading experience for me. However if you can live without an HEA it is a great story.
@Jill Myles: At least with Olivia I could see the “no HEA” coming at 60% and get off the merry-go-round but I didn’t know Specimen didn’t have an HEA until the very end!!!!! Yeah, that was harsh.
Hate stories like this. It’s a cop-out. Kind of like reading a book where the hero goes through terrible shit and died only to find out at the last page that it has been nothing but a dream.
I’m all about the HEA. A C is indeed generous. There’s just no way this book is a genre romance. I cannot nope out fast enough.
See, this is absolutely the kind of book I love to read… when I do not want to read a Romance book. I’m fine with sad endings in books but absolutely define Romance as having HEA.
Then again, I hated the epilogue of Transcendence and felt it ruined the whole book for me, so what do I know. I’ll likely get this and read it on a “Yep I’m cool with unhappy endings” day though, because I do like the author’s writing a lot. It also sounds sorta similar to a series I’ve been reading, Alexis Morgan’s Paladin series, but they definitely have an HEA (they’re definite B reads for me, I just make faces at a couple of plot holes).
Books like this should get a special No HEA tag. Especially if the author is trying to slip it into Romance with a “subjective” HEA. I’m always on the lookout for SFR and might easily be misled into buying this.
I don’t care how good a writer she is; she’s going on my “can’t be trusted for an HEA” list.
Thank you Michele for this thoughtful and informative review. Like you and several respondents above, I believe that the HEA IS nonnegotiable if it is a genre romance. Since I love SciFi romance this is the sort of book that would have appealed to me. Boy would I have been cranky when I got to the end.
I think I will avoid this author’s work unless I read a review that is positive about the story and provides assurance there is a HEA.
Can any other readers suggest some SFR authors for me to check out. I’ve read Linnea Sinclair, Rachel Bach , Susan Grant, Lois McMaster Bujold, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Veronica Scott and of course Ilona Andrews. I note I have some Amy Kaufman and Megan Spooner, Ruby Lionsdrake, Sonya Clark, Mary Winters on my TBR pile. Any suggestions of other authors who write adventurous SFR with definite HEA will be appreciated. Thank you.
@Frances: Sounds like you’ve got SFR covered Frances!:) Some books you might try though – Dark Horse by Michelle Diener, seems to be universally loved. Also, I really think you might like The Last Hour of Gann, The Land of the Beautiful Dead and Cottonwood by R Lee Smith. Happy reading!
@Frances: You might try Catherine Asaro. I’ve only read a little by her, but I believe she generally has an HEA.
@Frances – that’s a pretty comprehensive list.
Zoe Archer has a couple SFR space opera novellas. I loved Collision Course and but didn’t love the sequel as much (because I thought one of the MCs acted out of character at a peak momment, not because of a lack of hea).
Cathy Pegau has a series for Carina with both m/f and f/f pairings.
Lyn Gala – I love her Claimings series – m/m between a human and large, logical purple turtle like alien. It’s much better than I’m making it sound and each book in the series has a very satisfying hfn.
JAK writes some SFR under the pen name Jayne Castle. Sweet Starfire is my favorite of the ones she wrote in the 80s and it holds up remarkably well – it’s probably the closest she gets to space opera.
I like her Harmony books as well – the world building is a bit silly but the endings are always satisfying.
@cleo: Cathy Pegau, yes! Duh, how could I have forgotten Caught in Amber? SFR at its best. That book desperately needs to be turned into a movie. I’ve been meaning to read Lyn Gala. I need to get on that…:)
@Frances & @Michele Mills: I have heard good things about Dark Horse by Michelle Diener, but I haven’t read it yet.
@Janine: Thanks for the link Janine! I read Jane’s rev of Dark Horse last fall and I think Jessica Clare was singing the book’s praises too, but I still wasn’t sure- I was worried it wouldn’t have enough sex for me, I like my SFR smart but still leaning toward erotic. Anyway, after months of seeing others reading Dark Horse on Twitter and loving it I finally concluded the book was universally loved and I needed to get off my you know what and read it, so I did – a few weeks ago. And yes it was really good, and yes, I was right, I wish it had a bit more sex. But still, really good. But I didn’t continue with the second book in the series because I heard it had even less sex/romance than the first book…so, you can see where I’m going here.:) But yes, I totally rec Dark Horse, terrific SFR!