I like this series. It's not the best thing I've ever read, the romance aspect is usually pretty weak, but I enjoy the scientific plots. It's been awhile since I read the first two books and I can only vaguely remember the characters but I liked Gunner and Joy. Their friendship was nice, even if it felt majorly unrealistic since everything happened in a week and they'd supposedly only just met. The plot line led in from the previous books, although it wasn't problematic to pick up - I may as well be counted as not having read the previous ones for all I remember of the plots. I'll definitely read more of this author. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.