The Danger Dance (Merculians #1) by Caro Soles: This book was a tough one for me. I love the genres of science fiction and fantasy. This one didn't really fit the bill for me. Perhaps I'm not part of the intended audience.

I liked the fact that there was a mixture of alien races involved in the plot. The Merculians were quite an interesting race although I found their self-proclaimed label of "hermaphrodite" difficult to read and feel as though the author should have used "intersex". The use of an outdated term was jarring when I was trying to read as though this book was set in the future. The overuse of endearments like "Baby" and "Sweetie" also pulled me out of a science fiction world of the future.

There are a lot of characters in this book, and they use different variations of their names. It took me a while to get the hang of which character was which and that slowed me down a little. There was a fair amount of intrigue going on aboard the ship. The first officer was one of the most interesting characters and I enjoyed the way Soles wrote about the crew and their interactions.

There are a lot of situations in this book which may be triggering for some readers and I feel that the author should have trigger warnings listed. Amongst other potential triggers: use of outdated language for intersex people, homophobia, coercion, sexual harassment, attempted sexual assault, bigotry, bullying, physical violence, non-consensual sexual encounters, people being drugged against their will and/or knowledge.

Sadly, not a series I would continue reading. ( )