Shannon C.’s review of Hope’s Folly (Dock 5 Series, Book 3) by Linnea Sinclair
Science fiction romance released by Bantam 24 Feb 09

Linnea Sinclair is one of those authors that I feel I should love. Her books always seem to have strong world-building, which I love, kick-ass heroines, which make me squee, and nice romantic conflict. But the earlier books in this series did not do it for me. So it was with trepidation that I started Hope’s Folly because I didn’t think it was going to work for me very well, either. To my surprise, a shift from first person to third person and a more equal power dynamic between the characters worked to make this book one of my favorite reads of February.

Unlike Gabriel’s Ghost and Shades of Dark, the first two volumes in this series, Hope’s Folly follows newly minted rebel leader Philip Guthrie as he brings a stripped-down military cruiser turned fruit hauler to an alliance-controlled planet where the ship can be repaired and a full crew outfitted. He’s working with a crew he’s not familiar with, some of whom may actively be trying to kill him. Added to his dismay is Rya Bennton, the daughter of his former commanding officer, a rebellious, insubordinate and pretty woman who questions the things he’s always held true about himself.

I really liked Rya, who totally made this book for me. She’s resourceful and smart and she does what she needs to do, without being a complete hard-ass. I liked that we were introduced to her as she was leaving her lover, something that only ever seems to happen to heroes most of the time. She had all the qualities that seem too rare in romance heroines: she was smart, resourceful and competent. Because I liked her so much, I wasn’t even bothered by the niggling question of whether her feelings for Philip were genuine, or weren’t merely a case of hero worship. Then again, that question bothers Rya, too.

Philip. Oh my. He was my type of hero: charismatic, vulnerable in the right moments, and deeply, deeply honorable. I know most girls want bad boys, but I’ll take Philip’s strong moral code and sense of honor over rakes and rogues any damn day. I liked that he was alternately exasperated and delighted by Rya, and yet he respected her as a person. I was rooting for these two to get together throughout, because they were genuinely perfect for each other. And while the love scenes weren’t explicit, because I loved the two leads so much, they totally worked for me.

I liked that the universe is expanded. Sully and Chaz are mentioned, but they don’t actually make any appearances in the book, which gives Ms. Sinclair time to bring in and flesh out new characters. Unfortunately, if I have a quibble with this book it’s that the rest of the cast, being larger than it has been in previous books, is not as developed as I’d like.

The plot was intense, and kept me turning virtual pages until the end. The mystery of who is sabotaging the ship is handled deftly, and I didn’t figure out who it was until just shortly before Rya did. But even after that mystery is solved, I was genuinely not sure how Philip and Rya and the rest were going to make it to their destination, which made the last climactic space battle nail-bitingly suspenseful.

I still wish that the setting was a little more original and less Star Trek-tastic. And as I said, I could have handled a bit more development of secondary characters, but I finally see what the fuss is all about regarding this author, and I’m curious to see where else she can take this series.

Grade: B+

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Summary:
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It’s an impossible mission on a derelict ship called HOPE’S FOLLY. A man who feels he can’t love. A woman who believes she’s unlovable. And an enemy who will stop at nothing to crush them both.
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Admiral Philip Guthrie is in an unprecedented position: on the wrong end of the law, leading a rag-tag band of rebels against the oppressive Imperial forces. Or would be, if he can reach his command ship—the intriguingly named Hope’s Folly—alive. Not much can rattle Philip’s legendary cool—but the woman who helps him foil an assassination attempt on Kirro Station will. She’s the daughter of his best friend and first commander—a man who died while under Philip’s command, and whose death is on Philip’s conscience.
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Rya Bennton has been in love with Philip Guthrie since she was a girl. But can her childhood fantasies survive an encounter with the hardened man, and newly-minted rebel leader, who it seems has just become her new commanding officer? And will she still be willing follow him through the jaw of hell once she learns the truth about her father’s death?
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Shannon C.’s review of Shades of Dark (Dock 5 Series, Book 2) by Linnea Sinclair
Science fiction romance released 29 Jul 08 by Bantam

I think I’ve just about resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never be happy as a reader. I want strong heroines. I got one in this book. I want complex plots that go in interesting directions. I got that in this book. I like when characters make difficult choices. They do in this book. But I did not love it.

Shades of Dark picks up right where Gabriel’s Ghost left off, so if you’re thinking about reading the series, this would not be a good place to start. We reconnect with Sully, space mercenary and handsome bastard as well as super-powerful telepath, and Chaz, capable and competent ship captain and former pride of the Sixth Fleet, on board their ship as they continue to stop a diabolical scheme we found out about in the first book. A monkey wrench gets thrown into their plans when it turns out that Chaz’s brother Thad has been captured.

Thad knows about Sully’s gifts, and it’s likely he will be made to talk. But much as Chaz wants to go rescue her brother, that seems just as likely to be playing into the hands of their enemies, so they agree to meet a contact they need, who brings his own brand of trouble to the crew, and Sully must deal with the fact that his powers are growing exponentially and have a definite dark side.

I didn’t like this book nearly as much as I liked Gabriel’s Ghost. While it was nice to check back in with Chaz and Sully, I never really felt the danger as well as I was meant to. I also felt a certain distance from Chaz as the book progressed, which is not a good thing in a first-person narrator, and since I wasn’t really involved in her character to any emotional degree, I ended up feeling that the first three quarters of the book dragged. I also still think the world-building is a shade derivative. Chaz in my head sounded quite a bit like Janeway from “Star Trek Voyager”, and I found myself bothered by a few minor little details, the revelation of which constitute spoilers.

That being said, after slogging through a huge part of the book, things do pick up. I really loved the introduction of Dell, who was the most fascinating character in the book. His motives were complicated, and I wish what had happened to him in the end hadn’t, because he would have been great as a redeemed hero in a future book.

The story also ends at a definite happy for now type ending, after Ms. Sinclair put her characters through the ringer. I liked that things weren’t resolved too neatly, and I found the end of the book gripping.

I do have an ARC of Hope’s Folly which, as of this writing, I intend to dive into. I know Ms. Sinclair is a writer with a lot of potential to write something I will find brilliant, and I’m hoping the POV shift from Chaz to a third person narrator will mean better things as far as my enjoyment goes. If you’re a fan of this series, definitely don’t miss this one. But for me, it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped.

Grade: C+

Summary:
Can love alone save the day? Award-winning author Linnea Sinclair returns with a vibrant interstellar thriller of romance and adventure in which two lovers are tested in the crucible of deep space, where there are only…

Before her court-martial, Captain Chasidah “Chaz” Bergren was the pride of the Sixth Fleet. Now she’s a fugitive from the “justice” of a corrupt Empire. Along with her lover, the former monk, mercenary, and telepath Gabriel Ross Sullivan, Chaz hoped to leave the past light-years behind—until the news of her brother Thad’s arrest and upcoming execution for treason. It’s a ploy by Sully’s cousin Hayden Burke to force them out of hiding, and it works.

With a killer targeting human females and a renegade gen lab breeding jukor war machines, Chaz and Sully already had their hands full of treachery, betrayal—not to mention each other. Throw in Chaz’s Imperial ex-husband, Admiral Philip Guthrie, and a Kyi-Ragkiril mentor out to seduce Sully, and not just loyalties but lives are at stake. For when Sully makes a fateful choice, changing their relationship forever, Chaz must also choose—between what duty demands and what her heart tells her she must do.

Read an excerpt.

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Are you tired of reading 2008 wrap-up lists yet?? Too bad! Read on, suckers gentle readers.

My top 10 books I read in 2008 (in no particular order): 

	Heart Fate (Celta’s HeartMates, Book 7) by Robin D. Owens Fantasy romance released by Berkley Trade Sep 2008 A series that just keeps getting better and better!
	Flat-out Sexy by Erin McCarthy Contemporary romance released by Berkley Sensation Nov 2008 Sweet, sexy, fun read! The internet buzz sucked me in and I’m glad. )
	Innocent In Death by J.D. Robb Futuristic romantic suspense released by Berkley Aug 2007I purposely keep myself behind in this series but I’m catching up – oh noes! I must pace myself better.
	Pleasure Unbound (Demonica, Book 1) by Larissa Ione Paranormal romance released by Forever Jun 2008 An excellent start to a new series! With a looonnngggg wait between books one and two. However, books two and three will be out back-to-back. Yay!
	Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair Sci-Fi romance released by Bantam Oct 2005  Sully! Does anything else need to be said? I didn’t think so.
	Grimspace by Ann Aguirre Sci-fi romance released by Ace Feb 2008
	A Lady’s Secret by Jo Beverley Historical romance released by Signet Apr 2008 I love the Mallorens and this was one secret I was glad to see revealed.
	At the Bride Hunt Ball by Olivia Parker Historical romance released by Avon May 2008An excellent Avon debut! Ms. Parker’s website says she is working on the sequel.
	Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James Contemporary romance released by Berkley Oct 2008 More online buzz I couldn’t ignore and another excellent debut.
	With Every Breath by Lynn Kurland Fantasy time-travel romance released by Jove May 2008One of my very favorite authors! She doesn’t get the attention she deserves, says me.

A side note – I have got to change my rating system, dang it all. I suppose I’ll go back to numbers. I always have too many books with the same rating and then I can’t sort them properly.

Honorable Mention:

	Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English Mysteries – yup, I read them all in 08…I can haz moar, plzkthx?
	J.L. Langley’s Englor Series – just so fab!

Shannon C.’s review of Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair
Science fiction romance released by Bantam 25 Oct 05

I understand that Linnea Sinclair is quite popular among readers of science fiction romance. Which, of course, explains why I haven’t read her until now. I am the absolute last to know about this stuff, I swear. Anyway, I started with Gabriel’s Ghost because it has sequels that I will be reviewing soon. And I’m glad I read it. Ms. Sinclair has a great gift for storytelling, and I was entranced from the beginning. Despite its flaws, I will definitely eagerly read the rest of the series.

Chasidah “Chaz” Bergrin has been exiled to a prison planet for a crime she didn’t commit. A long-time captain in the Fleet, this has been pretty devastating for her, but she finds herself rescued by none other than Sully, a man she spent years of her career chasing through the galaxy, a man she has always been attracted to. Sully wants Chaz’s help to stop the breeding of an alien monster. Along the way, they face danger, and their attraction grows.

This story is told in Chaz’s first-person POV. This was both a strength and a weakness for the book. I liked Chaz’s narrative voice, since it was pleasant and relatively snark-free, but I really didn’t get a very good sense of who she was. I have my ideas, but I don’t feel I got to know her as well as Sully or the others, and that’s a shame, because I did like her. Except for the times that I thought she should have picked up on a few things a lot faster than she did.

The true star of this book, though, is Sully. Sully has a huge secret, the extent of which is not revealed for quite a while. It’s a secret that has deeply influenced the kind of person he’s become, and he totally had me from the beginning, mostly because, as I’ve said before, I love me some emotionally repressed tortured heroes. The chemistry between Sully and Chasidah was obvious, and though the sex scenes were more lyrical than explicit, there were definitely more than a few squirm-in-my-seat moments reading them.

The other characters we meet are equally well drawn. Sully’s crew is made up of fascinating people, and I hope we get to see more of them as the series progresses. Even Chasidah’s ex-husband, featured near the end of the book, is painted sympathetically. There are villains, too, but their motives aren’t simply maniacal and evil, and I really appreciated that.

The plot moves along at a brisk pace, which kept me reading as quickly as I could. I also liked that the romance arc and the more action-packed sci-fi arc really couldn’t have existed without each other, which, to my mind, is what creates believable science fiction romance. I do think some of the world-building could have been better — I felt at times like I was reading something just a shade too derivative of Star Trek — but that’s a minor quibble, because I liked the rest of what I was reading.

Overall, this was a good introduction to Ms. Sinclair. I hope that, in the sequels to this book, she has chosen to provide more insight into Chaz’s character so that I can fall in love with her as much as I did Sully. Other than that, though, I think fans of science fiction romance and Star Trek should definitely give this one a go.

Grade: B

Summary:

A life-and-death battle where giving up the ghost has a whole new meaning…

After a decade of cruising interstellar patrol ships, former Captain Chasidah Bergren, onetime Pride of the Sixth Fleet, finds herself court-martialed for a crime she didn’t commit—and shipped off to a remote prison planet from which no one ever escapes. But when she kills a brutal guard in an act of self-defense, someone even more dangerous emerges from the shadows.

Gabriel Sullivan—alpha mercenary, smuggler, and rogue—is supposed to be dead. Yet now this seductive ghost from Chaz’s past is offering her a ticket to freedom—for a price. Someone in the Empire is secretly breeding jukors: vicious and uncontrollable killing machines that have long been outlawed. Gabriel needs Chaz to help him stop the practice before it decimates imperial space. For Chaz, it’s a matter of survival. For Sully it means facing the truth about who—and what—he really is. The mission means putting their lives on the line—but the tensions that heat up between them may be the riskiest part of all.

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