Shannon C.’s review of In Heat by Leigh Wyndfield
Science Fiction Romance eBook released by Samhain 4 Apr 08
Science fiction romances are some of my favorites in the paranormal romance subgenre of doom. Sometimes they work really well. Sometimes they really miss their mark.
Leigh Wyndfield’s In Heat is a nice but flawed edition to the genre. We start out with Jax, our hero, who has a problem. See, it’s time for his once-yearly mating heat, and he needs a woman. So he buys a slave for an outrageous sum, intending to use her to slake his sexual hungers and leave her in the morning. This premise leaves my inner feminist, who is a mouthy bitch, stomping around and muttering to herself.
Thing is, Waverly, the slave he rescued, is no ordinary slave. She’s a pilot who’s been double-crossed by her former boss. She wakes up not particularly happy to be where she is, but hey, Jax is hot, and it’s her own mating heat time, so what are two people to do?
Soon Jax and Waverly are off on a mission to clear Jax of crimes he didn’t commit and to find happiness with each other.
The strongest point of this story is the heroine. I love Waverly. She’s spunky without being feisty, she’s capable of taking care of herself, and she’s not afraid to be feminine. She’s a smart ass, too, and we can never have too many of those.
Jax… well… I couldn’t quite get rid of the impression that Waverly was way smarter than he was. He is your bland macho type found in pretty much every other romance book, and so he didn’t really stick out for me.
The plot is a bit of a mess. It goes along well for the first three fourths of the book, and then the climax feels oddly unresolved. I’m not sure if there’s more to Jax and Waverly’s story, but I still had questions when I finished the ebook.
Overall, this one didn’t particularly work for me, although I am going to give the author points for a heroine that I liked.
Grade: C+
A mating ritual as old as time could be the death of them both…
Jax’s yearly mating cycle couldn’t come at a more inconvenient time. He’s on the verge of ending seven years of exile and claiming his birthright, but for 24 hours he’ll be vulnerable to his enemies, alone and in agony—unless he can find a willing partner. He thinks he’s found the perfect solution in the beautiful slave Waverly. He’ll buy her at any price, and after it’s over, he’ll give her the one thing all slaves crave.Freedom.
But Waverly isn’t really a slave. She’s a transport pilot double crossed by Junkeaters and sold to a notorious gunrunner. Escape is the only thing on her mind—and she better disappear fast, before her own heat reaches a crescendo. Before she can slip away, the overpowering need to mate crashes over them, the intensity taking them both by surprise. But the Inter-World Council is out to hang Jax for a crime he didn’t commit, Junkeaters are hot on their trail, and ruthless arms traders are gunning for them. Their passion may burn hot enough to last a lifetime, but first they must survive.This book has been previously published and has been revised and expanded from its original release.
Read an excerpt here.
