Hunt the Stars

OK I quite enjoyed the basic story. We get do or die action, a mystery to be solved, really bad guys doing nasty stuff, a small close-knit team going up against long odds – what's not to like?
Well, actually several things caused me to knock my rating down to three stars.
First, the romance angle was a bit too standard and too heavy for my taste. YMMV.
Possible spoilers from here on.
The Valovians pushed my WSOD to the limit. They appear to be humans but with magical psi abilities (telekinesis, telepathy, teleportation, healing ability, and doubtless others). WTF? How? I finally decided that they were space elves and just went with the ride.Then, everybody is soooo damn pretty, and so damn skillful and smart. Really?And my final problem -- the main character has an alien companion. It is small, cat-like, very cute, has telepathic/tele-empathic abilities, is probably smarter than you think, and its species is protected on its home world. Ring any bells? Really? That is very close to a knock-off of Honor Harrington's Nimitz, don't you think?
But still, overall I enjoyed the story. YMMV.