This was one of my SPSFC reads. Kenai is a semi finalist in the SPSFC, and I really loved it. The review and the score reflects my individual views and not the team's. 

 

Jess Amiko is a former marine who's working private security now. She's the one woman security for an archaeologist who is excavating the planet of Kenai which is uninhabited but shows remains of ancient cities. Someone attacks them but an unknown kills their attackers. Welk dies of a heart attack and Jess finds a cryptic message in their dig site which references a past experience. In her attempt to discover her saviour, she comes across a tree like creature who calls himself Elihar and a mysterious portal that has already killed a few people. Elihar helps Jess but is very cagey and Jess has to figure out what he's hiding and what's happening in Kenai before whoever is after her succeeds in getting rid of her. 

 

The first person narrative of Jess' story in Kenai is interspersed with her past experiences which serves to help us understand more about Jess as a person and the experiences which shaped her. The past plotline has no relevance to the events in Kenai, and are there only to help us understand the character development Jess had undergone prior to arriving in Kenai. 

 

Kenai is a well written and intriguing read. There were parts of it which went slowly and parts which were very confusing to me, but it's a well rounded story overall, and I found Jess to be a believable and relatable character. The only other characters of note are Elihar and Otieno who appears in the flashback chapters. Though we see only flashes of Otieno, I really liked her and Elihar, of course is one of the major characters in the plot. I found the world building to be done well and in an interesting manner. 

 

If you love Sci Fi, space opera, other planets, and flawed characters who mean well, stakes that are both personal and larger than that, you will love this book. I know I did!