Review: “Beyond Addiction,” Kit Rocha

Pros: The plot thickens!
Cons: …
Rating: 5 out of 5

Kit Rocha’s Beyond Addiction (Beyond, Book 5) picks up where the previous full-length novel left off: Sector Five’s head, Mac Fleming, has kidnapped Trix. Mac is the head of the local drug trade (both recreational and medicinal), and he’s a cruel sadist who uses highly addictive additives to make sure people stay hooked on his drugs. Finn is one of Mac’s enforcers, and the only thing he ever loved was Trix, although he knew her as Tracy. He thought she died of an overdose, while instead she ran off to Sector Four and the O’Kanes. He was always left wondering if she really cared about him, or if it was just the drugs. Now Finn sees that Trix is alive, and he isn’t about to let Mac screw with her again. The two of them end up on the run, and Finn’s determined to get Trix back to the safety of the O’Kanes, even though he knows they’ll probably kill him for the things he’s done in the past.

Thanks to the fact that the erotic romance is front-and-center and the plot does not take up the majority of these books, Rocha can get away with some surprises authors would not normally indulge in. Let’s just say I did NOT see one particular thing coming, and it was great. There’s definitely more of the plot in this book; war is undoubtedly coming to the sectors. Eden is using up resources at an unsustainable rate, Fleming is destabilizing things in the interests of going after Dallas, Cerys is losing her grip on Sector Two as her “trainees” take inspiration from Lex, and several of the Sector Heads are more than a little irrational.

Note that in this volume there’s a character’s memory of being raped (handled well–i.e., not luridly). As usual there’s lots of explicit sex. Trix and Finn have a lot of time to make up for. There’s also a fun scene with Dallas, Lex, Trix, and Finn all involved, with emphasis on Lex and Trix. Luckily Finn is not the first person to come to Sector Four with bad history behind him, so the others are willing to grudgingly give him time to prove himself. The permissive atmosphere in Four is originally painted as debauched, but Finn sees it for what it is: hopeful. There’s no forcing of others allowed, there’s just consensual attempts to help others have a wonderful time. These are strong men and women who have made a family for themselves. Speaking of strong women, we get to see Lex take on more of a leadership role in this one, which is nice.

I’m really looking forward to seeing both where the plot goes and where the romances go. Jade and Dr. Dylan Jordan seem to maybe have a thing going on, but there’s a hint of something between the doctor and Maddox as well. There are a couple of new characters introduced as well, so it’s hard to know for certain who’ll be next!