Wave Rider

Verdant String #5

by Michelle Diener

Isolated . . . Verdant String scientist, Anja Farucci, is frightened. Her calls for help from her remote coastal research station on the moon Fynian have been going unanswered, and strange things are happening with the leviathan pod she's studying. Out of options, she sets out on the dangerous three-day journey to Rinc, Fynian's only city.

Stranded . . . Cal is a wave rider, and if anyone understands leviathans, it's him, but when Kada, a young leviathan, grabs his boat and strands him on the southern peninsula, Cal is at a loss to understand what is going on.

Thrown together . . . When Cal and Anja cross paths, they discover Anja's communications have been deliberately sabotaged. Someone doesn't want anyone coming or going from the southern peninsula. When the people involved start hurting leviathans, though, neither Cal nor Anja can let it go.

What they don't know, as they get deeper and deeper into the mystery, is that the secret they discover in the cold waters of Fynian's ocean will change them forever.

Wave Rider is the fifth book in the Verdant String series but like the others can be read as a standalone novel.

Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Adventure, Science Fiction Romance, Action, Aliens, Space

284 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 11, 2021

About the author

Michelle Diener is a bestselling, award-winning author of historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy. Having worked in publishing and IT, she's now very happy crafting new worlds and interesting characters.

Michelle was born in London 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 online at Twitter and Facebook.

Reviews

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fifth in a sci-fi romance series and doesn't have a lot of overlap with the others. I'd recommend reading the space-infection ones in order because there's a progression to them, but you don't have to. So books three through five (so far?) have a shared plot device that permeates their stories that I think builds enough over time to take them in order.

This starts with nobody infected, yet, so when we get a lot of Anja and Cal running around a cold watery planet with space whales I briefly worried it'd be silly or stupid. I should have trusted Diener's imagination better. Yeah, the space whales are a long-running plot device, but an interesting one with lots of flavor. And I liked that Anja and Cal were infected more-or-less simultaneously and that they got to build their teamwork along with their discovery and do so together. Indeed, I liked the whole team of them working together. And that they developed specialties and interesting flavors of the infection.

The pace for this one was a bit frantic with Anja and her locals underpowered and struggling to overcome huge adversarial odds, but that's not a bad thing. And I liked them figuring out all the ways to work around their sometime-captors, sometime-prey. It was a really interesting back and forth and the teamwork necessary to pull off their more spectacular feats was fun to see.

Yeah, this is another five stars and I'm glad that Diener was able to put a full team of six people working together and still have Anja and Cal come together as a believable couple at the same time. it worked well-enough for my entertainment (and late-night finish), at any rate.

A note about Steamy: There's a single sex scene making this the low end of my steam tolerance. This is three in a row with that same short, single scene so I'm wondering if this is going to become a standard for Diener going forward?

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I like this author and her series too. Nothing really strong or remarkable but they are pleasing and enjoyable. You probably won’t remember them after some time, still they are nice and easy.

[Marta Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another instalment in the Verdant String series that works easily as a standalone but is perhaps even better if you have read the other books as they help set this world up. Essentially we have a coalition of planets who sadly are struggling with rebels who wish to breakaway and profit at the expense of those less fortunate. Anja is a scientist studying the amazing Leviathans that live on the inhospitable moon Fynian. She hasn't heard from her handler back in the city of Rinc for days and the local pod of Leviathans are behaving oddly. Anja decides to return to Rinc but is shot at by mysterious men in black when she is helped by Cal, a man she met when she first arrived on Fynian. The couple evade their pursuers and find themselves rescued by the Leviathans and then they discover there's something beneath the icy, cold waters that men will kill for !
As usual in this series there is a mixture of sci fi and romance. I'm not a fan of insta love but thought the author did a good job of explaining that Anja and Cal had both been attracted to each other when they previously met. Plus obviously with dangerous people hunting them it was easy to imagine them ahem seizing the moment !
I particularly enjoyed the Leviathans and had visions of Whales crashing down their enormous bodies on the water. I've no wish to ruin this for others but will say there is technology in play here that has bizarre but amazing repercussions. Not everything is explained but with several characters feeling the effects of the technology the author can easily enlarge on this in her next book. For now I will say this was an adventure of good guys versus bad guys and certainly kept me entertained.
This voluntary take is of an advanced copy and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

[Mei · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the leviatans! LOL

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funnily, I enjoyed the animal characters the most in this one. Why funny? Well, I guess they weren't really the focus of the story but rather interesting supporting characters. The further development of the politics of the Verdant String world was also quite nice. Unfortunately, I wish the MCs and their relationship were a little more developed, but overall, I enjoyed this one. It was an easy read, and was just the kind of story I was looking for. Very relaxing.

Safety No OP drama, no OP details, neither MC's past was mentioned at all, some violence toward animals (not explicit), animal death (not explicit), one very short intimate scene

[James McRay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last three books in The Verdant String series, Trailblazer , High Flyer , and Wave Runner, are really a separate storyline from the first three, so I’m addressing them here as their own trilogy. (There is an occasional reference to a few events and places from the earlier books, but nothing critical.)

One of the biggest compliments I can give Diener is that she is very consistent with the pacing of the romance in each book. It’s not insta-love, but rather it is based on the much more realistic growing mutual attraction of the characters. She doesn’t try to wrap-up everything by the end of the book, but rather leaves it with—again, a more realistic—let’s see where things go from here. She’s just a master at fitting the romance into the bigger story rather than shoehorning the story around the romance.

I do need to say that all her books are based on a formula, but it’s a formula I enjoy so I’m good with that, especially with the way she’s able to add a new wrinkle to each book so nothing feels repetitive. There is usually a connecting thread through each book in the series, and in the latter three books of the Verdant String, it is a very clever take on an old standby trope. No spoilers, go read the series.

And here's a fun postscript to basically every Michelle Diener book... No matter what new universe you may find yourself, humans will always have an addiction to some variation of coffee. Cheers.

[AlwaysV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here was one of my TOP SciFi/Fantasy/Romance series 💝 It was gorgeously written with superior world building. So, yeah, I was totally crazy loving this world. Even though this was Book # 5 in the series, we could definitely enjoy it as a standalone.

The characters were amazing and likable. It was easy to fall crazy in love with them as well as cheer them on. The SciFi part wasn't so outrageous/technical that we would get lost or lose interest. I was absolutely so captivated by the "silver balls", which were devices/heirloom, left in the lost Spaceships for the future descendants, by the space travelled ancestors from Earth.

This book was action packed, fun, entertaining, romantic, and yes, filled with fantastic fight scenes!

Sharing some parts from the final scene ~ my favorite:

"All this talk of silver balls. I had something made for you." He extended his palm and she saw he was holding a ring.

She picked it up curious. It was fashioned out of polished silver metal, and an almost perfectly round, silver piece of druk was set into it.

He took it back and put it on one of her fingers. . .

They weren't the original silver ball carriers, but somehow, for some reason, giving rings was a tradition for those people.

Cal must have felt the urge and decided to indulge it . . .

"Yes," she said.

"Yes, what?" He smiled even as his forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"I don't know. Yes to all this." . . .

"Yes works for me."

[Cheesecake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. But the last few tend to follow a formulae. And i'm not complaining... I love it!
But I am spacing them out to enjoy them more.
This one steps it up a notch with the ancestor nano tech. We also get an alien equivalent of intelligent whales (well more accessibly intelligent).
A biologist left for months on her own studying these majestic animals finds that she's lost contact with her home base.
An adventurer living in a symbiotic relationship with the same creatures, finds things are not as they should be.
They come together under fire from unknown enemies.
But he has friends and family and there is something that's been waiting a long time to meet them...

Safety all good!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, this series is a roller coaster. I was meh about one and two, then super psyched about three, and then kinda let down by book four. But then book five blew me out of the water again. What a godamn ride.

A scientist studying whale-like aquatic creatures has her communication cut off from the mainland. When she starts up the coast, she's shot at by unknown antagonists, and falls in with someone who is functionally a pearl diver who she knows from back in the day. There's a whole plot involving a strategically rare substance produced by the leviathans à la Dune, which then dovetails into the larger plot already in motion.

I love this.

There's a lot of action, people shooting at each other, reversals, revelations, rinse and repeat. At one point I literally gasped out loud because one of the fuckers trying to kill our heroes took a shot at some alien whales. What is wrong with you?? There's a romantic thread, but the story is predicated on a whole group of people working together to save themselves, and a whole freaking planet. Cool stuff all around.

[Kate McMurry · Rating 5 out of 5]

More thrilling SF-romance adventures featuring AI-nano technology

Anja Farucci is a visiting biological researcher on the moon Fynian. She has been studying a pod of leviathans, an enormous, ocean-based, native species on the moon's southern peninsula. She has spent four months all alone at an isolated research station. She has become extremely attached to every leviathan in the pod she has been observing, but most especially the matriarch, Devinia. The established protocol is for her to check in every day with her supervisor at the scientific research center at Rinc, Fynian's only city. If no one hears from her by 6:00 in the evening, a runner is supposed to be sent out to check on her. But for the past three days, she has not been able to get through to anyone. She keeps getting an automated message, and no runner has come. On top of that, the pod, which normally stays right where they are in an established territory, has disappeared. Anja is worried that the two events are somehow connected. She decides to pilot her hover to Rinc to find out what's going on.

Calder (Cal) Mordova is a very experienced member of a close-knit team of wave riders. Their job is to jump from a moving boat onto the backs of rapidly swimming leviathans, run up their long necks, hang on the frills that run down their long noses and harvest druk from between their teeth. Druk is highly prized throughout the Verdant String interplanetary confederation because, when ground into powder and transformed into a special coating for the hull of spaceships, it repels space debris. Cal thought he was familiar with every type of leviathan behavior, but it is completely unexpected when Kada, a young leviathan, tows his boat a huge distance and dumps him on a beach on the southern peninsula. Shortly after he arrives, he runs into Anja, and they are immediately forced to go on the run, when mysterious villains with laz guns begin shooting at them and Kada.

I really really enjoyed the continuing theme of AI-nano technology in this fifth book in a wonderful SF romance series. It's reappearance is not redundant but, rather, MD expands seamlessly upon its appearance in the previous two books. In addition, the leviathans are absolutely fascinating marine animals. I loved everything about that portion of the novel.

Once again MD has offered dynamic, skilled, and honorable MCs. In the midst of droves of enemies, both Anja and Cal, along with his fellow wave riders, who show up midway in the story, do a wonderful job working as a team to defeat two dozen well-armed adversaries. Also, Anja and Cal frequently work as a dynamic duo, alternating back and forth between rescuing each other. Two things believably contribute to their growing love for each other across the length of this novel. First, in the backstory, they already met and were strongly attracted to each other, a few months ago before Anja left for the remote research station. Second, in the time-honored manner of romantic suspense novels, throughout this story, they are comrades-in-arms, and their sterling character traits are revealed again and again under fire.

Though technically each novel in this series is a standalone with a complete arc and no cliffhanger, they are linked together via an overarching Big Bad. I highly recommend reading this series straight through, in order, because every book in this series is terrific.

I have read this book multiple times since it was initially released, and I know I will read it many more times in the future. For me, every book in this series is a keeper.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining sci-fi romantic adventure. Def enjoyable although prob my least fave in the series so far.
3.5 stars= I liked it.

Plot- The plot was action oriented and interesting. I enjoyed the leviathans. However, I was kind of bummed that the MCs got the nanotech silver balls. I’m kinda over that plot line; it’s becoming somewhat redundant and predictable.

Writing- Good writing and world building. The harvesting of druk was very creative!

Characters- Unfortunately, I felt like the two main characters were underdeveloped in this book. They did not feel multi-faceted; I felt like I hardly knew them. Perhaps the nonstop action took away from necessary character development.

Romance- As a consequence of the underdeveloped characterization, I didn’t connect with the romance as much I would have liked. The entire book happens over the course of a few days and the 2 MCs just met for the 2nd time and yet they fall for each other right away. They have a sex scene at 45% in the book, which felt abrupt and premature.
The ending was sweet with how they seemed committed (he gave her a ring because he felt like it was meaningful based on his secondary instincts from the nanotech inside him), but I would have liked to see what THEIR culture did to show permanent commitment to a partner.

Content-
Language- some low level swearing, infrequent f-words (10 total) spoken by the villains.
Substance abuse- none
Spice- one very short sex scene.
Cover- meh
Format- KU


How I rated this series-
(Each book is a standalone, although they do sometimes build on each other in the grander space opera storyline.)

#0.5 Interference/Insurgency - 5 stars
#1 Breakaway- 5 stars
#2 Breakeven - 5 stars
#3 Trailblazer - 5 stars
#4 High Flyer - 4 stars
#5 Wave Rider - 3.5 stars
#6 Peace Maker - 4 stars
#7 Enthraller - haven’t read yet

[Lynn Latimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anja Farucci, a scientist on the moon called Fynian and working in a remote location, has recently lost contact with those who are supposed to be monitoring her work, health, and safety. Anja has been studying a group of leviathans whose intelligence is quite high; they began exhibiting an odd behavior adding to Anja’s stress. She decides to make her way back up the coast back to the home base of Rinc. Not only is Anja worried about the lack of communication, but she has decided the loneliness and isolation of the research job is not for her.

Wave Rider Calder Mordova works with the leviathans harvesting a valuable element know as druk that several groups want because of its use in space travel. Rider and beast have a relationship far beyond just the animals’ utility and abilities. When Cal’s partner leviathan, Kada, grabs his boat and tows him to the south, he does understand what is happening or why.

Once Anja and Cal meet up while is she journeying north, they spend a lot of time dodging enemies, one of whom they thought was a trusted colleague. Anja and Cal are joined by some of his family members as well as his group of Wave Riders to help defeat the invaders who are after not only the druk, but an ancient spaceship that has been hidden for millennia leaving behind some unknown alien tech. This tech turns out to have surprising effects on Anja, Cal, and their group changing them in strange and sometimes uncomfortable ways, but giving them new abilities as well.

Fans of the series will enjoy the new aspects as well as Anja and Cal’s efforts to defeat the bad guys as well as their burgeoning relationship that is made all the more intense because of their new physical and mental paradigm. This story is fifth in the Verdant String series, but can be read as a standalone.

[Olga Godim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the #5 in the VERDANT STRING series. It was a solid sci-fi with a romantic flavor and it concluded the series, but I think I'm saturated with this author for now. I enjoyed the story but I'll have to take a few months break from reading her, before I start a new series of hers.
I have to admit, I share the other reviewers' opinions about the leviathans - I liked them. They are a cross between a whale and a dinosaur, they live in some chilly oceans of a sci-fi world, and they are smart beyond belief. And they helped our human heroes to fight the bad guys. Very attractive marine giants.

[ImABookAddict · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very happy

I finally got the answers to all the questions I had since book 3. I like the Verdant String series better than the Dark Horse series for that reason alone - everything wrapped up, no loose ends left hanging. The stories are different as well. Plus, there's a lot more action. At times, maybe too much. Anyway, I loved this book. You should read it. Just make sure to start reading from Book 1, so you have a better idea of the world and the current circumstances surrounding it.

[Maddy Barone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy these Verdant String books so much. The heroines are always able to stand for themselves and the heroes always respect them for it.

[Lyndi W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun installment of Verdant String. I felt like things got a little repetitive for a moment with the "we're going to stop them, get captured, escape, rinse and repeat" plot.

[Aly is so frigging bored · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel awful, but I can't muster any enthusiasm for this book or the continuation of this series

[CB · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of this author, but this book felt like a somewhat weak entry in the series. There was definitely plenty of adventure, almost non-stop really, and maybe that was part of the problem. I never felt like the two main characters were ever really developed, and certainly not the connection and romance between the two. And the villain was so over the top and the MCs had too many TSTL moments, it took away from my enjoyment. Overall I felt like the book was fine, but not memorable like other books in this series have been. 3 stars.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teamwork

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the fifth book in a series of connected stories told in the same universe in a single timeline. The books all share an overarching plot and each book progresses that plot, but they are about different people though references are made to characters and events in other books. There is no cliffhanger in this book.

Anja is a marine biologist whose research station is 3 days travel on land to the nearest town. She lives alone with only the leviathans she studies for company. When the pod she is studying disappears for several days she worries about the reason and at the same time her daily scheduled call to headquarters is ignored for the first time. When she finally decides something must be wrong she sets off on her little one-person runner for her long and cold trek back to civilisation.

Cal is a wave runner, one of the people who have a symbiotic relationship with the leviathans. A material called druk becomes stuck in their teeth and they get the humans to yank it out. It also happens to be a very very useful material and it’s incredibly sought after. They are close to ‘their’ pods and though they can’t communicate they understand each other to a certain extent by their behaviours. One of Cal’s leviathans is acting strangely and yanks his boat, dragging it to near where Anja’s station is.

When they meet up, they find themselves asking similar questions and decide to stay and work together, when they are attacked. This is the start of trying to escape their attackers and at the same time find out why they are being attacked.

I really enjoyed this book because the main characters were working with others in a team. There was the usual romance, adventure and fantastic world-building. The story sucked me and didn’t let me go until the end. Now it’s the last book in the series and I’m so sad! I hope the author writes another one because it’s kind of been left open-ended so it’s possible for the series to continue

I particularly enjoyed the leviathans who seem to be a cross between the Loch Ness Monster, sea serpents and whales. They were the heroes of the story in my opinion. The author created a beautiful, strange and harsh world that captured my imagination so clearly, I can see images of what it looks like and almost feel the biting cold wind and sleet and bitter ice chill of the sea.

I shall miss this series, it was excellent and you should read it if you like Sci-fi adventures with a touch of romance thrown in.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Lauren loves llamas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content notes: scifi violence (including gun-like objects), murder, violence against animals, space vehicle crashes

I’d read and enjoyed one book by this author before (the first in her Class 5 series) so I jumped on the chance to try out this one. A scientist and what sounds like a surfer dude running from bad guys? Sounds like my kind of thing! This is fifth in a series, but I read it as a standalone.

First off, a little background. The small moon of Fynian has only one city, Rinc, but has a larger than you’d expect impact on the economy of the Verdant String planets as the only source of druk. Ground up druk has the ability to repel space debris, making it a highly in-demand substance for coating spaceships. The amount available is limited as well, as it’s harvested from the teeth of leviathans, large sea animals, by a group of highly skilled and athletic people called wave riders.

Anja is a scientist sent to a remote outpost to study one pod of leviathans. Due to frequent solar flare activity, communications can be a bit dicey, but when she’s unable to contact Rinc for several days and the pod she’s been studying mysteriously disappears, she decides to risk the multi-day trek back herself. Cal, a wave rider, intercepts one of her transmissions when one of the pod he’s been following inexplicably decides to tow him ashore. While he only met Anja briefly before, once he realizes she’s in danger, he sets out to intercept her and warn her. But Anja and Cal quickly figure out that the missing pod and the men following her are linked, and before they know it they’re caught up in a discovery with galaxy-wide repercussions.

“I’m Fynian. There aren’t a lot of us, and we help each other. This is a rough place. With the solar flares, we have no mobile comms and the weather is dangerous. I wouldn’t leave anyone out here alone, but certainly not someone who’s under attack by strangers and who’s genuinely got the interests of the pods at heart.”

Both Anja and Cal are great characters, brave but still cautious and united in their desire to protect the leviathans. While most of the scientists before Anja were dismissive of the wave riders, Anja’s more open to their observations of their pods. After all, who would know the creatures best than someone who practically becomes a member of their pods? I’m not exactly sure what the leviathans were supposed to resemble, but my mental picture was a bunch of space Nessies. Yes, SPACE DINOSAURS, which if you can’t tell from my all-caps squeeing, was a childhood dream of mine, plesiosaurs in particular being my favorites. So of course I was immediately enamored of the wave riders and their lifestyle!



I can’t say too much more about the plot without going into spoilers, but it was well paced and the villains’ actions were sufficiently twisty to keep me interested. Anja and Cal start out very much in the dark about what the villains want, and bits and pieces are gradually revealed until they’re able to form a picture and take action. They’re very much the underdogs, so there’s a lot of sneaking around and figuring out how to win against much greater (and better armed) forces, and it was a great deal of fun. It did take me a little bit to get up to speed on the politics and past of the Verdant String Coalition and breakaway planets – I assume this was something I’d have known had I read the earlier books in the series – but it was explained well enough that it made sense in the context of this story. It made me very curious to go back and read other books in the series!

As for cons, like the previous book I read from her, this reads more as sci fi with romantic elements than sci-fi romance. There is a romantic relationship between Anja and Cal (and even an “only one bed!” situation) but it takes second place to the overall scifi plot. There’s so much going on that they have very little time to themselves, which was great for the pacing of the mystery but not so great for giving the romance time to bloom. It progresses a little too quickly from “oh hey, I saw you at that bar” to love for my tastes.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and I’ve already gone and bought the first book in the series. Recommended if you, too, get ridiculously excited over space dinosaurs and also are looking for a well-paced and intriguing scifi escapade.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[OneDayI'll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sea pearls, and mercenaries and Nessies, oh my

Anja is here on Fynian to study leviathans. They are massive sea mammals that produce important additives needed for safe space flights. Wave riders have a bond with the pods that's also being studied. But studies get interrupted when she notices her radio is silent. No one's answering, and it's been 4 days. Setting off to town begins sets of a chain of events that involves a wave rider, mercenaries and a very angry pod of leviathans. Oh, and some previously mentioned hitchhikers mentioned in earlier books.

Spoilers ahead.
Not really any closer to explanations of what the nanos do, as they are definitely different this go round. For reasons I can't explain without huge spoilers. The leviathans aren't really described but the movements mentioned, them being mammalian plesiosaurs/styxosaur/nothosaur (think Nessies) seems likely. Long necks are frequently mentioned, and if they're swimming and able to breach with power, strong paddle like flippers are a distinct possibility. But, the whole story revolves around an elusive signal, the druk the leviathans produce, the nanos and a handful of humans. Things quickly go from bored and alone (for Anja) to holy crap. Cal sees sides of his leviathan friends he hadn't seen before. The story is oddly disjointed around the main arc. Wave riders are solitary, but a tight knit community. One substance seems to be be their only export, but the beings that produce it don't seem to have legal protections. Their inhabited moon isn't tech friendly but their life isn't without tech. I'm curious about the land to water ratio, how many humans are actually settled there. This is only vaguely tied to the Verdant String series through the mercenaries and druk needed. It's entertaining but as the blurb states they can be read as standalones. But, I do suggest reading the 2in1 prequels, then 1-4 before this one as events are mentioned and the mercenaries' actions make more sense. No Caruso are mentioned, which considering their interference in previous books was odd. This one reminded me of 3 in that it was continuously action scene after action scene. The 2 snuck in bonding scenes don't really feel like love, more like a battlefield fling. If not for the (not spoiling it) bond the initial attraction would simply fizzle out after everything settled down. But if you leave that part out the rest is a decent action adventure novella with an intriguing alien species.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wave Rider stands alone, but is part of the Verdant String series. Those who have read the previous books will be familiar with the ancestor’s colonization of the system, the silver balls, and the adversaries that don’t play well with the Verdant String planets.

Just as important as main characters Cal and Anja, are the leviathans that swim in the oceans and provide the druk, a valuable natural resource. No one understands the leviathans better than the wave riders who harvest the druk. Except perhaps the biologist who studies them. When outsiders take an interest in the area the leviathans inhabit, wave rider Cal and scientist Anja get caught up in their schemes.

When the bad guys dump Cal, Anja and Cal’s friends in the ocean, the leviathans help the group survive by getting them to a small island that also happens to be the location of a downed ancient spaceship that the bad guys are looking for. Well, it really is not chance that brings them there, but to explain that might lead to spoilers.

Waver Rider takes place on a moon called Fynian. The out of the way location means a close-knit community of folks who watch out for one another. When people go missing (which is going to happen), rescues are launched (meaning there is a lot at stake).

The confluence of wave riders, leviathans, a biologist and ancient technology make for a breathless cat-and-mouse adventure. Someone is always hunting and someone is being hunted. The plot is constantly moving and being shaped by both the people and the leviathans.

The intelligence of the leviathans, the closeness of the community and the attraction between Cal and Anja are what make Wave Rider such a great story. Yes, I mentioned the leviathans first because they are critical to the story in many ways. Wave Rider may be my favorite book in this series so far.

Many thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

[Louise H's Book Thoughts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, by new-to-me author Michelle Diener, has definitely put her on my "favourites" list. SFR spans a wide spectrum and I have found myself frequently disappointed by books that have very few true speculative fiction aspects to them. Stories where the setting could easily be changed to any town or city on Earth and the narrative still work. Thankfully this is from the other end of the spectrum, proving to be an exciting, action-packed and fast paced story with plenty of elements to please any SFR fan. When I requested the book from Netgalley I wasn't aware it was book #5 in a linked series, however the author wrote it in a way that allows it to be very easily read as a standalone. Given how much I enjoyed this, it is very much my intention to read more of the author's work.


Anja and Cal are both strong, resilient and relatable characters whom I very much enjoyed getting to know. One improvement for me would have been to have had a more comprehensive backstory for them. Whilst I knew their personalities and jobs there was no history given for either protagonist - I don't even know if Anja had any family! Thankfully it didn't stop me enjoying the story. The pair had amazing chemistry and whilst the romance aspect perhaps felt a little rushed, a touch underdeveloped, I was happy to forgo that part in return for the suspense and sci-fi aspects of the plot. I quickly found myself caught up and immersed in this world and just couldn't put the book down.


The world building was solid, the author doesn't overload and for a few aspects I had to read between the lines. However I got the impression that more information is provided in earlier books so I can't find fault there. If I had read them in order I wouldn't appreciate too much recapping each time, so for me it was the perfect balance. I was very much reminded of Carol Van Natta and Jess Anastasi by what is a must read for any SFR fan.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

‘The seven planets of the Verdant String, the green, fecund sources of life spanning five solar systems, comprise the Verdant String Coalition. While the people of the Verdant String know they have a common ancestor, a group of explorers who colonised the planets at the same time a thousand or more years ago, the mysteries of who they were, and where they came from, persist.’

Wave Rider is Book #5 in The Verdant String series by Michelle Diener. I have really enjoyed exploring this series which is made up of captivating science fiction, romance, and adventure, all set against the lush and imaginative backdrop of seven life-rich planets, spanning five solar systems. The worldbuilding is one of its strongest elements - each planet feels distinct, with its own culture, politics, and environmental challenges, making the Coalition setting feel alive and interconnected.
A series highlight is the balance between high-stakes action and heartfelt character development. Ms. Diener’s protagonists are resourceful, intelligent, and emotionally layered, often navigating both interplanetary intrigue and deep, personal relationships. The romance elements are woven seamlessly into the plot, never overshadowing the sci-fi core but instead enriching it.
Throughout it all there is a sense of optimism and resilience. Even amid danger, there’s a thread of hope, cooperation, and respect for diversity - both human and alien.
If you enjoy richly imagined space settings, strong and capable leads, and a perfect mix of romance and adventure, then you should jump on board for a rewarding journey through the stars.
Happy Reading…

[HappyBookWorm2020 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 5 in the Verdant String series. The Verdant String is seven green planets in five solar systems. I had not read any of the first four books but didn't feel lost when I read this one. The book starts slowly as there is a lot to introduce, but the momentum builds until it becomes a suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat read.

This book takes place on a moon planet (is a moon but has an earth-like atmosphere, oceans, land, and indigenous people). It also has leviathans who live in the oceans and produce a substance called druk that is essential to the space industry - it repels space debris. Without it, space travel would be much more dangerous. Some of the indigenous people make their living as wave riders - they harvest the druk from the leviathan's teeth and have close relationships with the members of the pod that they work with.

Anja is a biologist stationed on the moon planet to study the leviathans. Odd things begin to happen - she can't find any of the leviathans, no one is answering her calls for help, and the person she sees most often is acting strangely. She decides to try to hike back to the main city on her own. Avoiding the people hunting her, she meets a group of wave riders, and together they make an astounding discovery that changes all of them.

I already have the first book in the series to read as I want to know more about the Verdant String. I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley and was pleased to voluntarily read and review it.

[Rosalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wave Rider

Dr. Anja Farucci is a Marine Biologist who has been isolated and she only had the pod of Leviathans that she has been studying to keep her half way sane the last few months. But something has changed, the Leviathans that she had studied so intently have disappeared and she is unable to contact the main office to tell them about her worries.

Something needs to change and Anja is determined to find the answers to all the questions that she has, she’s also determined that once she closes the door on the hut that she has spent all her time in…she’s not going back!

Anja isn’t the only person who interacts and needs the Leviathans. The Wave Riders are a specialized group who collect something called Druk, Druk is used as a coating for vessels in deep space. As a Wave Rider Cal is near and interacts with the great beasts as much if not more than Anja. But where Anja only observes the Leviathans Cal gets up close….he climbs in their mouth kinda close! 😂

Journey across Fynian with Anja and Cal and their band of Wave Riders as they battle thief’s, rotten Core executives, injured Leviathans! This is a fantastic journey you won’t want to miss!

If you enjoy fantastic world building, out of this Universe action and an FMC who will do anything for her friends and loved ones then this is the book for you! One click this book now! You will be so happy that you did!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the Verdant String series but can be read as a standalone since the stories are loosely tied together but involve different groups in the Verdant String. I loved Anja Farucci, who is alone at a remote coastal research station on the moon Fynian and decides to leave for the closest town after the leviathan pod she’s studying disappears and she isn’t able to reach anyone to check in as usual. Along the way she encounters Calder Mordova, a wave rider who has observed a young leviathan acting strangely, grabbing his boat and stranding him near Anja’s location. Then they are attacked by strangers and must make a run for it. When the strangers start attacking the leviathans, Anja and Cal have to step in to find out just what is going on. As they discover more about the strangers and their activities, they and four others that came to rescue them and got attacked as well, fight to stop the off-worlders and their plans. Working so closely together, Cal and Anja build on the attraction they felt when they first met in Rinc, the moon's only city, and romance blossoms. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the way the group worked together to foil the bad guys - and the leviathans were pretty cool too. I look forward to reading more in this series, I’ve really loved all of the stories so far.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another exciting adventure in the Verdant String. This time we are on a sanctuary planet with scientist Anja who is observing the leviathans (who I thought of as whale like creatures even they are probably more like water-based dragons) and wave rider Cal who harvests the valuable druk a by-product produced by the leviathans and harvest directly from the leviathans mouths (without harming them of course). When her pod disappears & Anja loses contact with HQ she sets out to find out what is going on only to be ambushed and promptly rescued by Cal and with a helping nudge from a leviathan. That soon leads to a desperate journey, rescues, captures, escapes & battles with a mercenary crew along with the discovery of a mysterious alien wreck and some overly helpful alien tech that readers of earlier Verdant string novels may recognise. We alternate between Cal & Anja's POV and they develop a romantic relationship but the story actually features a group of six including Cal & Anja and I particularly enjoyed the team dynamics and the bond between the group in this one and I LOVED the leviathans.

[J.Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very first chapter starts with mystery and suspense. It has drama and action, and lures the reader in for a great read. The excitement is non-stop, and feels like a wild, roller coaster ride of adventure.
Space has many secrets, and biologist Anja Farucci's job is to discover some of those secrets by studying one of the indigenous life forms of the moon Fynian. Alone on a strange world, Anja is beset by hidden enemies who will stop at nothing to keep anyone from discovering their secret mission. They'll even kill in order to obtain their objective. And, Anja's only thought is of escape…until her enemies make the mistake of attacking the life forms Anja has been studying. Joining forces with Calder Mordova, a local whose profession of Wave Rider has him firmly protective of the leviathan life forms, the two set out on a hazardous journey in order to stop what the outsiders are doing, prevent them from doing any further damage to the leviathans, but most of all, to survive.
Another great story from Michelle Diener, a fantastic author from whom I have come to expect great works of fiction in many different genres, and who has never once disappointed me.