I'm a well read grad student who's bluntly honest about all things, although I try to be most honest about myself.
This series gets better and better as more is revealed about why the Federation is being attacked, and how their new foe plans on getting information - and hopefully resources. There's also a subplot with the Romulans, including the first Romulan officer who is Earth born and feels more loyal to Earth than to Romulus.
All the threads are pulled together and come to meet quite nicely. And, yeah, someone gets kidnapped.