The Stars Beyond Series by E.S. Brandon

Five years into humanity’s mission to colonize Proxima Centauri, Chief Engineer Maya Sato is the only one awake aboard the starship Artemis. Two hundred colonists lie sleeping in cryo. Her only companions are ARIA, the ship’s watchful AI, and the ache of loneliness pressing in from the endless dark. When critical systems begin to fail, Maya discovers that someone is sabotaging the mission from within... moreFive years into humanity’s mission to colonize Proxima Centauri, Chief Engineer Maya Sato is the only one awake aboard the starship Artemis. Two hundred colonists lie sleeping in cryo. Her only companions are ARIA, the ship’s watchful AI, and the ache of loneliness pressing in from the endless dark. When critical systems begin to fail, Maya discovers that someone is sabotaging the mission from within. Then Julian Chen, the ship’s brilliant, infuriating lead architect, is forced out of cryo after a pod malfunction. Arrogant, maddening, dangerously attractive, he is now the only person she can trust. Their uneasy partnership ignites into undeniable heat. Every system failure pulls them closer. Every dark corridor, every repair, becomes an excuse to touch, to linger, to fall deeper into something neither of them can afford. But the sabotage escalates. Trust fractures. And as the Artemis spirals toward disaster, Maya must uncover the traitor before they all become ghosts in the void. There’s nowhere to run. No one to call for help. Only heat. Only gravity. Only the man who might be the one thing holding her together. —. ✓ Forced proximity in space. ✓ Brilliant, infuriating love interest. ✓ High-stakes survival. ✓ Mystery and sabotage. ✓ Only One Bed. ✓ Simmering tension. ✓ 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Steamy open-door romance. less

On humanity's most remote colony, brilliant engineer Maya Sato lives for two things. Keeping Proxima's systems running and the secret project consuming her nights—every stolen kilowatt bringing her closer to the impossible. Resurrecting the digital consciousness of Julian Chen, the man she loved and lost. When a critical systems failure forces her to work alongside the real Julian Chen, Maya's careful isolation starts to fracture... moreOn humanity's most remote colony, brilliant engineer Maya Sato lives for two things. Keeping Proxima's systems running and the secret project consuming her nights—every stolen kilowatt bringing her closer to the impossible. Resurrecting the digital consciousness of Julian Chen, the man she loved and lost. When a critical systems failure forces her to work alongside the real Julian Chen, Maya's careful isolation starts to fracture. This Julian sees through her deflections, challenges her obsession, and worst of all, makes her feel things she thought died with his echo. The colony is running out of time. Violet storms are intensifying. Silicon-fanged predators are adapting faster than their defenses can hold. And Maya must choose between the ghost she's killing herself to save and the flesh-and-blood man showing her what being alive actually means. On a planet where one mistake could doom two hundred souls, the greatest danger isn't outside the walls. It's the seductive safety of a love that can never hurt her—because it isn't real. A heart-wrenching sci-fi romance about grief, second chances, and choosing messy reality over perfect illusion. less