Gwen’s review of Ecstasy in Darkness (Alien Huntress, Book 5) by Gena Showalter
Sci-fi Romance released by Pocket Star 26 Oct 10

For the first chapter or two (or three) of this book, I was convinced I would hate the hero.  The heroine I loved – great dynamic between her and her BFF, and I was getting a kick out of how she treated the hero.  She’s someone I’d love to go to lunch with.  He was someone I wanted to pummel with a rotten fish. But then I kept reading…

Showalter’s Alien Huntress’ world always surprises me.  The stories are fun, the characters engaging, the dialogue a blast to read, and the romance hot and believable. Don’t let me forget to tell you that there’s almost always a twist to the story that makes it a boatload of fun to read. Ecstasy in Darkness is no exception to all these “rules”.

The hero, MKell, is introduced in earlier novels.  He’s is downright surly and nasty for the first few…  well, for the whole book. BUT! But he grows on you.  I actually got to like him and, more importantly, I got to sympathize with him and loved his romance with the “mere human” heroine, Ava.

I found myself many times cheering Ava on when she would yank a knot in McKell’s tail (Texas saying – let me know if you’re not sure what I mean here).  I also love – LOVE I tell you – how McKell would stop time so that he could punch the smarmy face of some dickhead that insulted Ava, then start time again whereupon said dickhead would try to figure out how come his face hurt. HA!  I mean, how many of us have wished we could do THAT?!

The great thing about Showalter’s Alien Huntress books is that she takes characters who would not typically get HEA’s in “typical” romance novels, and gives them the full treatment.  Her heroes and heroines aren’t always noble, upstanding citizens, but they’re still people (mostly) and, according to Gena, they still deserve that one, special love. And we deserve to read about them – thank goodness.  I have derived many hours of contented entertainment reading Showalter’s books. I don’t think I’ve been disappointed by her yet, and I’m a very unsentimental reader.

The pace of Ecstasy in Darkness is quick and fun, though the reader is never left in the dust.  It can be read on its own, but you’ll have a lot of fun reading the other books in the series and will understand more of the hero’s backstory.  The ending is a little abrupt, but I think there must be more to this story in the next few of the series (I can’t wait!).

I highly recommend this book to anyone following the series, fans of sci-fi romance, or just fans of quirky, action-packed romances. It’s a great story about a surprising couple set in a memorable world.  Loved it.

Grade: A

Read more information on this series by following its tag here.

Summary:

Growing up poor on New Chicago’s meanest streets, Ava Sans had two options: be the predator, or be the prey. No contest. Now, working for Alien Investigation and Removal, she’s been ordered to capture the biggest, baddest warrior of all—a vampire too beautiful to be real, with the ability to manipulate time. Once the leader of the entire vampire army, McKell has been deemed savage and unstable, spurned even by his own kind.

To McKell, humans should be nothing more than sustenance. Yet the petite, golden-skinned Ava is a fascinating contradiction—vicious yet witty, strong yet vulnerable, lethal but fiercely loyal. Against his better judgment, McKell craves that loyalty, and much more. When the chase leads to seduction, McKell and Ava will race to discover the truth about his past. But the answers will come at a price, even for a woman who thought she had nothing left to lose. . . .

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

Gwen’s review of The Iron Duke (A Novel of the Iron Seas) by Meljean Brook
Steampunk romance released by Berkley Trade 5 Oct 10

Well, hello there.  Miss me?  That’s correct.  I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet, and, contrary to popular rumor (Sybil), neither have I been committed to the local booby-hatchery.  I’ve just been keeping a low profile, trying to reassemble my life after some pretty significant changes (more on that later).  Now on to the reason I’m here – to tell you about Meljean’s latest fantasy romance set in a cool steampunk world, The Iron Duke.

Meljean Brook started this world in a story called “Here There Be Monsters” in the Burning Up anthology.  If you haven’t read the story first, you’ll be okay and shouldn’t get too lost in the details.  But I’d read it – it’s a good story that I’ll review another time.

For those of you who are saying “what the hell is steampunk?”, here’s a quick definition from Wikipedia:

Steampunk is a sub-genre of…  speculative fiction that… involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them…  Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of “the path not taken” for such technology as dirigibles, analog computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage’s Analytical engine.

Brook’s world is not so much steampunk dystopia as it is alternative and slightly grungy and full of wicked cool machines and automatons. Oh, don’t forget hawt hawt hawt men and the beautiful, capable women who love them.  If you’re not a huge steampunk fan, I think you’ll be okay with this book.  Steampunk is used as a tool to expand the possibilities, creating surprising situations and solutions, not as a character in itself (thank goodness).

As per usual, I won’t spend time summarizing the plot because the book’s blurb does a dandy job of that.  Instead, I’ll focus on the author’s craft and the flow and feel of the book.

Whenever I read one of Meljean Brook’s novels, I bring my big girl panties.  She doesn’t coddle her readers. You need to keep up – the pace is quick, and she frequently leaves emotions and motivations unsaid.  The reader is often left to draw their own conclusions and to interpret why a character is doing what he/she is doing. We aren’t hammered over and over again with the why or how.  This can be refreshing but it can also be frustrating if the you aren’t tuned into the characters, or have skimmed more than a paragraph or two.

No matter the challenges, this is a very satisfying story. Brook develops a heroine in Mina who is truly heroic and very human.  The love story between Mina and the hero, Rhys, is touching because of all the challenges these two overcome.  We’re left really cheering for them when the plot resolves itself.

The secondary characters are all a lot of fun and add quite a bit of satisfying roundness to the story.  There is an oblique mention of the main characters from the first short story but lots of the secondary are major parts of this new book.  The worldbuilding is incredibly detailed but not unwieldy – just enough to make it fun.

If you’re ready for a change of pace and want to visit an alternative universe that is by turns familiar and bizarre, and want a good dose of romance and sensuality, then this is the book for you.  If you’re a Meljean fan, you really gotta read this.

Grade: A

Summary:

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power — and fear — of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

Mina can’t afford his interest, however. Horde blood runs through her veins, and despite the nanotech enhancing her body, she barely scratches out a living in London society. Becoming Rhys’s lover would destroy both her career and her family, yet the investigation prevents her from avoiding him…and the Iron Duke’s ruthless pursuit makes him difficult to resist.

But when Mina uncovers the victim’s identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans — and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

Read an excerpt here (scroll down).

Other books in the series:

It should come as no surprise to any of you that I am a fan of science-fiction.  I love it in all mediums – books, movies, television, manga, graphic novels, and good ol’ comic books.  It’s all good to me. Love Heinlein, Bradbury, LeGuin, Asimov, Herbert, Zelazny, etc.  And lately, I am finding sci-fi romances to be particularly fun.

But, no. WAIT! I’m a GIRL! That must mean I’m “ruining” sci-fi for all the Spanky and Alfalfas out there.  Let me explain… 

I ran across a post over on Karen Scott’s blog where she picks out the best quotes found on the web that week.  She was sharing a quote from a post written by author John Scalzi.  John was commenting on yet a different post written by an unmitigated jackass about how women (and gays, apparently) were ruining science-fiction.  Still with me here?

I’m not going to link to the original simpleton’s post because they don’t deserve it.  However, you can find it if you do a Google search for asswipes er, “The War on Science Fiction and Marvin Minsky”.  “War”?  Really? Hyperbole much?

Now.  I know and you know that statements like the following are merely misogynistic twaddle and deserve less than our attention.  Nevertheless, I was a bit outraged (like the sun is a bit hot) that this fool could be so misinformed (I’m guessing it’s been a while since his last blowjob):

“As we know, science fiction has inspired boys to pursue careers in science, engineering, and technology as grown men.  With women killing science fiction on television, the current generation of boys won’t have this opportunity to be inspired to work in these fields.  There is still a great deal of written science fiction that is real science fiction, so all is not lost.  However, many boys who would have gone on to make scientific discoveries and invent new technologies will not do so since they will never be inspired by science fiction as boys.”

Statements like that imply women aren’t inspired by science-fiction (news to me and my women friends who are engineers), and that women in science-fiction aren’t inspiring to others.  Guess I shouldn’t have read any of that nasty old Ursula K. LeGuin, Mary Shelley, or Anne McCaffrey.  Ruined me, apparently.  ::eyes rolling::

By the by, who else thinks this guy still lives in his mom’s basement, eating cheese from a can and drinking Mountain Dew while typing his blog posts in a bathrobe?  I agree with John Scalzi when he says that this jackass needs to…

“… STFU and take his ignorant ass back to his snug little wank hole…”

I’ll close while doing as John has suggested – just point and laugh my ever lovin’ ass off.

Gwen’s review of The Warlord’s Daughter (The Borderlands, Book 2) by Susan Grant
Sci-fi romance released by HQN 1 Feb 09

I really love a good sci-fi romance.  The last couple of months I’ve been lucky enough to read a couple of really good ones.  This is definitely one of them, so much so I’m going to have to glom all of Grant’s backlist. And I admit, I have heretofore been unwise to underestimate Grant’s books simply based on the rather, well, “lighthearted” titles.  I mean, How to Lose An Extraterrestrial In 10 Days? Seriously?  My unwarranted prejudice is understandable, right?

This is another of Grant’s books set in the same world/universe as I think all of her other sci-fi’s, allowing her to expand on the details, history, and characters.  This gives these books a very “real” feel because of the impression of visiting someplace that has real substance.  I think this all adds to the reader’s  enjoyment because you can just cut loose the disbelief and dive into the story without fear.  There won’t be some little  detail will jerk you out of the story’s “zone”.

I love when that happens.

This is the first book of this world/series I have read. Regardless, I had no trouble following it and yet I didn’t feel like there was any info-dumping.  The details are woven into the story in a very natural manner.  As a result, Daughter stands alone very well, though I am definitely going to read the related books.

From what I gather, Daughter‘s hero and heroine are royal members of what has largely been, until this book, the bad guys – the Drakken Horde (I know, cool name, innit?).  When they were early adolescents, they met eyes across a crowded room and from then on, they thought of nobody else.  In fact, the hero connived, maneuvered, and basically sold his soul to make sure he was able to claim the heroine as his wife.  It’s tremendously romantic.

I very much enjoyed the “quest” aspect of the story.  We’re brought along with the heroine, Wren, as she makes some heartbreaking discoveries about herself and her family. I frequently got teary-eyed as she struggled with yet more devastating news. There’s quite a bit in this book about prophecy fulfilling and the goddess aspects of this society, but it’s all fun and adds to the story.

There’s so much happening in the plot that it’s tough to pick out just one detail that really sells it.  I suppose that’s why it all worked so well for me.  I really felt like I was reading about something that happened.  Even the secondary characters have a full and interesting life.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a departure from the normal fare.  While it is definitely a wonderful romance, it’s got so much more – it’s got intrigue, politics, human interest, and just a rocking good sci-fi story.  Go get it.  Now.  I’ll wait here for you to comment with your own kudos.

Grade: A

Summary:

The war is finally over. But Wren’s life is in tatters. The only living offspring of the notorious Drakken Warlord, her genes could very well start a new dynasty of terror. And the Coalition can’t have that.

She alone holds the key to finding a legendary treasure. Having seen enough bloodshed, shy, petite Wren vows to destroy it before anyone, Drakken, Coalition or Earth, can get their hands on it – but she’ll need help.

The Drakken’s ruthless evil turned Aral toward the Coalition years ago. War is all he knows, until he finds passion and love in the most unlikely of women – the Warlord’s Daughter. But will trusting each other with their secrets risk not only their hearts, but their lives?

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

and Sureblood (Book 3), scheduled for Aug 2010

Liviania’s review of Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kisai
Science fiction/fantasy released by Del Rey 19 May 2009

Sybil quickly figured out that I enjoy stories that play with gender.  Many people are intrigued by what separates men and women, but I enjoy that separation even more when it’s illuminated by a blending of the characteristics.  Therefore, a story about a main character who transitions from female to male naturally seemed right up my alley.

Unfortunately, that’s one of the weakest aspects of the story.  Sorykah doesn’t become Soryk until over a hundred pages into the novel.  Then, she only stays Soryk briefly; it’s just long enough to meet a girl, become attached, have sex.  The relationship does spur on many later events in the novel, but it felt clumsy.  Until the finale, Soryk doesn’t serve much purpose other than having sex and preventing Sorykah from moving forward in her quest since he has no clue what her quest is.

Fortunately, Kirsten Imani Kasai imagined an interesting world.  Many people are born with strange deformities in this dystopia, and discriminated against.  One man, the Collector, enjoys experimenting on them and has just stolen Sorykah’s twin babies.  He’s incredibly creepy, and his servants provide the most intriguing point of views.  After all, those who work for him are the same as those he hunts.  But they do have their reasons.

I like Ice Song best when it’s being a straight ahead sci-fi adventure about a mother and her allies against the man who stole her children.  The relationship between Sidra and Soryk becomes touching after its clumsy start, so I could forgive the seeming gratuity of it.  But I find the other sex scenes in the book fairly unpalatable, as – this is something of a SPOILER – Sorykah is forced to prostitute herself in order to receive information about her children.  This interlude did explore the consequences of the setting, but I just feel like I’d be more interested in the questions it presents in a different book.  Here it slowed down the action.  It seemed to me like Kasai tried to inject some eroticism, but only made the sex disturbing instead of titillating.

Ice Song was not what I was expecting.  I mostly enjoyed it, though the parts I didn’t like I really didn’t like.  The unevenness took away from the reading experience.  I may pick up something else by Kasai in the future since this is her first novel.  Though the execution was clumsy, she had several ideas that I would love to see her explore again once she gains more experience.  I would recommend Ice Song to fans of dystopian fiction who don’t mind fantastic elements, since the worldbuilding was the strongest part of the novel.

Grade: B-

Summary
There are secrets beneath her skin.

Sorykah Minuit is a scholar, an engineer, and the sole woman aboard an ice-drilling submarine in the frozen land of the Sigue. What no one knows is that she is also a Trader: one who can switch genders suddenly, a rare corporeal deviance universally met with fascination and superstition and all too often punished by harassment or death.

Sorykah’s infant twins, Leander and Ayeda, have inherited their mother’s Trader genes. When a wealthy, reclusive madman known as the Collector abducts the babies to use in his dreadful experiments, Sorykah and her male alter-ego, Soryk, must cross icy wastes and a primeval forest to get them back. Complicating the dangerous journey is the fact that Sorykah and Soryk do not share memories: Each disorienting transformation is like awakening with a jolt from a deep and dreamless sleep.

The world through which the alternating lives of Sorykah and Soryk travel is both familiar and surreal. Environmental degradation and genetic mutation run amok; humans have been distorted into animals and animal bodies cloak a wild humanity. But it is also a world of unexpected beauty and wonder, where kindness and love endure amid the ruins. Alluring, intense, and gorgeously rendered, Ice Song is a remarkable debut by a fiercely original new writer.
Read an excerpt here.

Gwen’s review of Beyond the Rain by Jess Granger
Science-fiction romance released by Berkley Sensation 4 Aug 09

I love me a good sci-fi romance.  When they’re done well – and this one is done very well – you can totally cut loose from your normal world and be completely transported to literally a whole new world.  (Did you see what I did there?  Pun? Yes? No? Well. It amused me.) 

Jess Granger has penned a really wonderful novel with Beyond the Rain.  I’m very much hoping it’s the first of many novels set in this world and that we get a similar stellar (heh) level of writing in the subsequent entries.

The start of Beyond has our heroine, Cyani, on the edge of exhaustion and ennui.  She’s tired of the warrior biz and ready to hang up her spurs, retiring to a dull life in the temple. Cyani suffers from PTSD and reminds me of an otherworldly version of a female Iraqi War veteran – seen and suffered too much at the hands of both enemy and friend to be comfortable with either, and is ready to just pretend none of it happened by holing up in a small job doing everyday things.

Of course, as any of us who has ever tried to do that knows, it never works out the way we thought it would.

Instead, Cyani meets and falls for our hero, Soren.  Soren is a nice being who, because of biology and what happened to him in his enslavement, has to bind with a mate or die.  Through the course of their time together, he binds with Cyani but doesn’t tell her.  He’s willing, on many occasions, to let himself die rather than take away her choice to stay with him.  He knows she’s honorable and selfless and that she may stay with him just to keep him alive.  However, Soren wants Cyani to choose him.

Soren is and uber-hot and sexy hero that isn’t overly alpha.  He’s a very down to earth (so to speak) and cares about those weaker than him.  And, even though he recognizes Cyani is very strong and capable, he cares about her in a way she never thinks to care about herself.

This book is stacked to the brim with interesting moments and very rich details about Cyani and Soren’s world.  You are immersed in it but never feel like you’re drowning.  Granger does an admirable job of keeping the alien-ness recognizable.  She has created a world that uses mostly common terms and reactions.  Sure it’s alien, sure it’s futuristic and sci-fi, but it feels more like “Serenity” or “Firefly” than “Star Trek,” if you know what I mean.  The reader can recognize large portions of the author’s undoubtedly futuristic world.  It’s a flawless little piece of world-building that Granger has done here.

The emotional development between Cyani and Soren is believable and very touching.  You see Cyani come to realize she deserves to care about someone and she deserves to be loved in return.  You see her move from being afraid to live to actually living.  It’s a lovely tale and made me really want more by the end.  And thanks to the oh-so-tantalizing epilogue, it looks like we may get more.  Soon??  Please??

The action is very fun to read and story arc is logical and complete.  We’re never left with a “wtf” feeling – even when the details stretch a reader’s ability to suspend disbelief.  I very much enjoyed the pace of the book and the author’s style.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a rich sci-fi romance set in an interesting, recognizable world.   I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Grade: A

Summary:
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In a universe torn apart by civil war, a warrior and a slave must fight for their freedom, for their lives, and for a love that may destroy them both…
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After five years behind enemy lines, Captain Cyani is ready to retire to her homeworld of Azra as one of the Elite – the celibate warrior sisterhood that rules the planet. But first she must complete one final mission to rescue her fellow Union soldiers. The last thing she expects to find is a prisoner, chained and beaten – but radiating feral power and an unbroken spirit…
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Soren is a Byralen, an enigmatic people who possess a unique hormone that they use to bond with their mates – and that is sold as a sexual narcotic in the shadow trade. For years, he has endured torture at the hands of his captors as they leeched his very essence. The last thing he expects is to be freed from slavery by a beautiful warrior woman with radiant blue eyes.
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Driven by her rigid sense of honor, Cyani frees Soren even though her life hinges upon the success of her mission. But after so many years in bondage, his hormones are so unbalanced that he will die if he does not bond with a woman. Can the lovely but distant warrior be the woman he needs to survive, or will the forbidden bond destroy them?
.
Read an excerpt here (scroll down).

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+

Read more reviews by following the series’ tag.

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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Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Sandy M’s review of Menagerie by Lara Santiago
Erotic Sci-Fi Romance released by Siren 23 Jul 08

My biggest beef [Ed.: heh] with erotic romance most of the time is the gratuitous sex and no storyline to be found (I do have my moments when I don’t mind reading über-horniness), and there’s a lot of those out there. This book comes close to that, and while the story itself is not thought-provoking, it is full of imagination, at least giving the reader an okay “reason” for all that sex.  And for good measure it’s sci-fi, in essence, asking you to suspend disbelief for a while longer, just enough to get in that much more going on between the sheets.

Valerie is sucked up into an alien spaceship by mistake, a side effect of its inhabitants passing so close to earth when accessing a wormhole to take them home. Earthmen cannot survive in their world without sex at least every thirty days. The more the better for the men. So because the ratio is five to one in favor of men, each earthwoman must service five men to help keep them alive during the three years it takes for the ship to return near enough to Earth to return everyone within seconds of where and what they doing when they were abducted.

So before she enters the mob of men looking for a woman for his “team,” she meets Hauser and he gives her the lowdown on how the choosing will work.  They agree she’ll pick him, assuring her she’ll like the other four men she’ll soon meet. Johnny, Fraiser, Mark, and Dominick each have their own merits, of course, their own way of making love.

Valerie begins the time of her life until it’s Dominick’s turn.  He’s a huge biker-type guy and he scares her, but he’s also the one that makes her feel the most in bed and out of it. There are strict rules the aliens have laid down, but both Valerie and Nick are rule-breakers.  The number one rule is not to play favorites among the men, but her feelings begin to grow for Nick, much to her surprise, and she wants to spend her free time with him and only him, while still servicing the others, whom she also loves but just in a different way.

While this book is by no means a keeper, it amused me enough on the premise alone that I kept reading.  I have to admit that I did like the relationship between Dominick and Valerie from the beginning.  I was disappointed here and there in the dialogue and there were a few little inconsistencies in Valerie’s past, and her feelings and actions in what she’s doing in the present. I was curious how the author was going to end it all due to a certain theme that ran throughout the book, but she pulled it off it credibly enough.  In fact, I rather enjoyed that ending when they were all back on Earth after their adventurous journey.

I almost wish she’d gone with a romantic suspense with Dominick and Valerie as the hero and heroine.  They definitely could have pulled it off.

Grade: C-

Summary:

What’s a girl to do with five hot guys who need her for their sexual survival? Create a weekly schedule.

Accidentally transported to an alien spaceship, Valerie Thornhill inadvertently volunteers to be a virtual sex slave for five men.

A shortage of females and her blatant curiosity aboard the alien vessel conspire and set fate in motion. The fact that the five are sexy and attractive is helpful when she learns the term of service is three years.

Forbidden to show favoritism within her unusual household for the duration of the long trip, Valerie still can’t help falling in love with the most intriguing one of her male harem. The fact that she is apprehensive about his demeanor and overall size only heightens her desire for him.

When the aliens discover Valerie’s indiscretion, the ultimate price for her desire may jeopardize the return trip to Earth for all of them.

Read an excerpt.

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.

Other books in the series:

Limecello’s review of Undercover by Lauren Dane
Erotic sci-fi romance published by Berkley on 2 Dec 08

Undercover put Lauren Dane on the bestseller’s list, and for good reason. I’ve really enjoyed Ms. Dane’s writing, and think that each of her works that I’ve read is better than the last. Make sure you have a lot of time when reading this book, because you won’t want to put it down.

I liked  the world Ms. Dane created with Undercover. I’m not really into sci-fi or futuristic books, but I enjoyed this one despite that fact. (Yes that does make Undercover impressive, doesn’t it?) The description of each ‘Verse (Universe), the communication systems, military, etc. were all done extremely well. I could picture everything clearly in my head. The setting was intricate, but not confusing. I never had to stop and re-read (or read again) sections to make sure I understood everything. I also love how different each ‘Verse was. The setting gives the story layering and depth, but doesn’t steal the reader’s focus from the characters, or plot.

Sera is a great heroine. She’s a tough soldier, but has a wealth and depth of emotion as well. She’s an extremely good person, and admirable. All her qualities make the romance and relationship believable. Many of Sera’s characteristics are understated, and I like that Ms. Dane has you discover Sera for yourself throughout the book, rather than throwing it in your face what you’re supposed to think about her. What also makes Sera special is her vulnerability, and how very genuine she is. She has moments of uncertainty, but overcomes every challenge she meets.

Brandt and Ash are fantastic characters. They’re so very similar, yet at the same time, foils of one another. Both Ash and Brandt are extreme alphas, rich, aristocratic, and officers in the military. Enough said, right? They’re both intelligent, sexy, and able. Yet gentle, and open with Sera. In fact, they push the emotional connection and relationship first. It’s nice to have heroes who are so in touch with their feelings. Yet it doesn’t make them soft, or sappy.

Yes, this book is an erotic romance, it has some elements of BDSM, and is a ménage à trois. While the relationship seems extremely complicated, it isn’t ludicrous. Ms. Dane gives the dynamics of the triangle the attention it deserves, and makes it believable. I really appreciated how carefully crafted every aspect of Undercover was. And yes, it’s hot. Very hot – which only makes the book that much better.

One thing I noticed while reading was some of the dialogue. At times (when Sera spoke), I found the cadence of her speech odd. It didn’t exactly fit with the previous flow of conversation. It felt a little bit like the speech was used as an explanation, or plot device, more than following the previous speech pattern and rhythms. It’s hard to convey, and wasn’t commonplace, it just happened enough for me to notice it.

I recommend this book to those who like sci-fi, erotic romance, and Ms. Dane’s writing. I enjoyed this book a lot, and had to pace myself to draw out the reading experience. I know Ms. Dane is writing another book set in the same universe, and I can’t wait for that. In fact, I can’t wait to get my greedy little hands on any of Ms. Dane’s upcoming works. While waiting, I plan on reading Undercover again.

Grade: A-

Summary:

A sexy debut exploring an erotic future universe of passion, danger, and deceit…

On the battleground or in the bedroom, one woman and two men fight for dominance in a bold, new, and excitingly different direction in erotica…

As a lieutenant of the Federation military, Sera Ayers is accustomed to giving orders, not taking them. Now she must obey the one man she can’t stand—and can’t stop thinking about.

With the enemy Imperialists gaining ground, a covert team is assembled by Ash Walker. Ten years before, Sera had lovingly submitted to Ash’s dominance in the bedroom. But when he was forced into a political marriage, she refused to play mistress. His marriage now over, Ash wants Sera on his team—and back in his bed.

The third team member, Brandt Pela, has an elegance to match Ash’s savage sexuality. And when their undercover plan requires Sera to pose as Brandt’s lover, it ignites a passion among the three of them more dangerous than their mission.

Read an excerpt.

Shannon C.’s review of Conflict of Honors by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Science fiction released by Del Rey May 88, re-release by Ace 30 Dec 08

Every once in a while, I like to revisit my teenaged reading self. This is probably the only part of my teenaged self that doesn’t perpetually irritate me, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, in my teens, I read lots of science fiction and fantasy of the pretty girl has unusual powers, grows up, saves the world, rides a dragon and finds romance with a sensitive man that doesn’t exist in real life type. Reading Conflict of Honors, I was brought back to those stories, although Conflict of Honors has a surprisingly adult feel to it, all things considered. [Ed.: Mouse over the cover to see the original release cover.]

The plot of this novel goes like this. Girl gets exiled from her home world, falls in with the crew of a bad ship, including a psycho lesbian. She eventually escapes and winds up on a good ship, captained by our hero, who has a vendetta against the owner of the bad ship. The girl begins to heal from the horrible things that happen to her, and eventually falls in love. Things move swiftly, and I was never bored, nor was I stuck on too many scientific terms. There was the right amount of adventure and diplomacy to keep me interested, and no extraneous space battles and high-tech futuristic weapons descriptions.

To be honest, Priscilla Mendoza, our heroine, is a bit of a Mary Sue. She is pretty and special, and doesn’t seem to have very many character flaws, and people are drawn to her in order to cure her various issues. But despite all that, she worked for me, although I wasn’t really clear on exactly why it was that she was exiled in the first place.

Shan, our hero, on the other hand… Oh, Shan. How much do I love him? I am a sucker for characters who are smart, and who spend the book actually demonstrating superior intelligence. Shan comes off as a bit of a nattering fool, which seems to be what he goes for, but beyond his genial, talkative facade is a man with a quick mind and a big heart. Though there was no actual sex between Shan and Priscilla, they definitely had chemistry, and I believed the relationship.

The other secondary characters are well-drawn, as is the setting. This is one of the earliest books in the authors’ Liaden Universe series. It’s clear that they’ve thought a lot about their world-building, and I am left wondering about the Liadens themselves, and wanting to explore their culture, which is quite fascinating.

This book gets an automatic A from me because of the fact that I stayed up way too late finishing it. Even though it is not the first book chronologically, nor is it the first published, it was easy to follow and was a good starting point for me. Ace is reprinting this book in December, and I think it’s definitely something to order if you like science fiction. I am so glad that whoever it was who pointed this series out to me did so, and I intend to read the other books as soon as I can.

Grade: A

Summary:
Betrayed and abandoned by her shipmates, Priscilla Delacroix is left to fend for herself on a distant planet and joins forces with starship captain Shan yos’Galen to seek revenge on the sinister crew and to confront the demons of Priscilla’s past, in the third novel of the Liaden Universe. Reprint.

No excerpt available.

Shannon C.’s review of Memory (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Science fiction released by Baen 1 Oct 96

Lois McMaster Bujold has made her way onto my list of favorite authors of all time. I have yet to read a book she’s written that I haven’t loved, and I tend to space her books apart so that I won’t run out. Such has been the case with her Miles Vorkosigan series, which has been highly recommended to me by lots of people, and which I in turn highly recommend. Recently, I felt the need for a Miles fix, and I’m so glad I got one, as this book was no exception.

Miles Vorkosigan is a remarkable man. An attempted assassination that failed resulted in his mother being poisoned, which in turn resulted in Miles being born dwarfish, with brittle bones. This isn’t a good thing on Barrayar, his home planet, where deformed children were generally euthanized at birth. So Miles has had a lot to work through, and he’s done so quite remarkably, becoming one of the most trusted members of Barrayar’s Imperial Security agency, and commanding a fleet of space mercenaries that unofficially does things to benefit the empire.

However, all of that is taken away from him when the seizures that have been the result of miles’ stay in a cryochamber during Mirror Dance end up endangering someone’s life on a rescue mission. He is discharged from his Imperial Security duties, and finds himself at loose ends, unsure what he should do with himself. Then trouble arrives right on Barrayar, and Miles has to step up once again to figure out what’s going on.

It’s probably obvious that I love Miles to distraction. As someone with a disability myself, watching Miles overcome all of his is inspirational. Miles wants so much out of life, and watching him try to figure out why this is and what he gets to do about it now that he’s getting too old to go gallivanting around the galaxy is wonderful. Plus, there are moments of sly humor, as he struggles to figure out what to do with the fact that he’s a bachelor on his own in his parents’ house for the first time. This is a quieter story than some of the other Miles books, which allows time for the reader to breathe and reflect, and I like that.

The other characters are great, too. It was nice to get more of a glimpse at Simon Ilyan, the head of Imp-Sec, and Miles’s Aunt Alys was delightful. We even get to watch Barrayar’s Emperor Gregor have his own shot at romance, which causes its own kind of chaos. And I’m eager to read the next book in the series, in which we actually get to meet Miles’ future Lady Vorkosigan.

As I said, the plot is a bit less frenetic than the previous installments of the series. It’s more of a conventional mystery, but it’s the best kind because I couldn’t figure it out ahead of time. If I have any quibbles with this plot, it would be that things do seem to drop into Miles’s lap a lot more frequently than I think is altogether realistic. But Miles goes through a lot of bad things so a few minor coincidences don’t detract all that much.

Fans of character-driven science fiction really owe it to themselves to find this series and read it. Start with Shards of Honor and Barrayar and then meet Miles in The Warrior’s Apprentice. I think you could pick this book up and figure out what was going on, but for a deeper insight into the characters, starting at the beginning is helpful.

Grade: A-

Summary:

Dying is easy. Coming back to life is hard. At least that’s what Miles Vorkosigan thinks and he should know, having done both once already. That was when he last visited the planet of Jackson’s Whole, while rescuing his brother. Thanks to quick thinking on the part of his staff, and incredible artistry on the part of the specialist who revived him, his first death won’t be his last. But his next one might be, a realization he finds profoundly unsettling. Even after he returns to military duty, his late death seems to be having a greater effect than he’s willing to admit. Unfortunately, his weakness reveals itself to the world at large at just the wrong time and in just the wrong way, and Miles is summoned home to face Barrayaran security chief Simon Illyan. But when things begin to go subtly wrong in Imperial Security itself, “Who shall guard the guardians?” becomes a more-than-rhetorical question with a potentially lethal answer. Things look bad, but they are far worse than Miles imagines, as he discovers his worst nightmares about Simon Illyan don’t compare to Illyan’s worst nightmares–or are they memories?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series, in reading order (where possible, the latest mass market paperback release is linked):

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.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

C2‘s review of The Englor Affair (Sci-Regency Series, Book 2) by J.L. Langley
Gay Erotic Sci-Fi Romance eBook released by Samhain Publishing 11 Nov 08 (print release Fall 2009)

The Englor Affair picks up just after the end of My Fair Captain, J.L. Langley’s first story in her Sci-Fi Regency series.  The blurb makes it sound like his brother is still missing but that isn’t true.  He was rescued in the first book.  Most of the major world-building and the Admiral’s decision to return to Englor to see what he can discover about the kidnapping plot is found in MFC, too. 

To catch new readers up to speed: This series is set in the far future.  The planets Regelence and Englor both have societies based on the English Regency period.  This gives the books a familiar feel for Historical Regency readers – we see members of the aristocracy going to balls and the opera and discussing matters in Parliament.  At the same time, there are elements familiar to sci-fi readers – starships, computers of all sorts (including AI butlers!), fragger guns and more.  While some might think the two genres wouldn’t play well together, Ms. Langley makes everything fit together in a surprisingly seamless way.

Regelence society is patriarchal – so patriarchal that male-male relationships are the norm for the aristocracy.  This not the case for Englorian society.  Englor is a more literal interpretation of England’s Regency era.  Homosexuality is frowned upon and, at the beginning of The Englor Affair, there are rumblings of having it declared punishable by death.  Awkward if you’re the Crown Prince and gay… just ask Simon.

As we begin, Prince Payton of Regelence has been asked by his new brother-in-law, Nate, an Intergalactic Navy Admiral, to hack into an Englorian computer system.  They are trying to find out why Payton’s brother, Aiden, and Nate’s son were kidnapped by an Englorian spy.  To carry out his mission, Payton is disguised as a member of Nate’s starship crew.

After arriving on Englor, Payton continues his attempts to decipher coded messages and break into the Englor Marines computer system.  At the same time, he tries to find out all he can about Simon Hollister, a colonel in the Englor Marines and heir to the Englorian throne.  Simon may have a connection to the coded messages.  One evening, during a visit to the base gym, Payton meets an extremely handsome redhead (guess who).  Even after he learns the identity of his redhead, Payton ignores Nate’s earlier warnings to stay away from Simon.

While trying to unravel mystery behind Aiden’s kidnapping and its connection to Englor, Simon and Payton also must deal with Englorian society’s view of same-sex relationships and how it affects them and their future – especially after they are caught in a compromising situation.  After Simon learns that Payton is really a Regelen prince, it becomes clear that the only option is marriage.  One does not compromise a prince and just walk away like nothing happened, after all.

Since things were accelerated a bit, Simon and Payton must figure out the dynamics of their relationship at the same time they are trying to solve the mystery.  Payton is quite young (19!) and still trying to establish his independence, especially since in Regelence young men are chaperoned until age 25 or marriage, whichever comes first.  Simon is older and, as a Englorian Marine and royal heir, used to being in command.  It isn’t surprising that they clash a bit.

It was a good decision by Ms. Langley to not show Englorians magically accepting the relationship between Simon and Payton, since that would have rung false in a Regency-based society.  However, she didn’t dwell on the negative view and showed several other same-sex couples stepping forward in support so it isn’t difficult to see changes and, hopefully, a larger acceptance coming along as the series continues.

If you like Regencies, sci-fi, and M/M stories, give this series a try.  I do recommend starting with the first book since it sets up some major plot points (and it’s just really good, too).  For those who have never read M/M and are interested, I say this is a good series to start with.  The Regency-like setting allows for familiar elements and I enjoy the notion that the young men of Regelence are protected and guarded just like their female Earth-bound Regency era counterparts (and we all know how things usually turn out for those young ladies).  For those who have been anxiously awaiting this sequel, you won’t be disappointed.

Grade: A-

Summary:

In hiding who he was, Payton found himself…and the man he would grow to love.

After his brother is kidnapped, Prince Payton Townsend masquerades as an Admiral’s assistant in order to track the culprits through the tangled mysteries of the planet Englor. He finds way more than he bargained for in the form of Marine Colonel Simon Hollister.

Simon is no ordinary soldier. He’s heir to Englor and his life is mapped out for him: throne, bride, and eventually an heir. He never expected a dalliance with Payton to blossom into love, or that the organization that taught him to lead would threaten that love—and their lives.

Danger and intrigue abound as they learn more about their shared enemy, and about each other. What they learn could help them rise above to an enduring love—or pull them apart.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series:

Shannon C.’s review of Taken Unaware by Summer Devon
Futuristic romance eBook released by Samhain Publishing 7 Oct 08

I like aliens-come-to-Earth stories. I think it’s interesting to speculate about what people would actually do if that happened, and what changes would take place. In Summer Devon’s latest, she explores these themes in a story that starts out really well but wraps up a bit too neatly. 

I liked Leah, our plucky heroine. She has predictable reactions when she spots Gabriel, a half-Dar who has joined the infiltration of Leah’s hometown. at first, the two mistrust each other, but gradually, hormones kick in and they find themselves dealing with some intense lust. But not all of the Dar arrivals are good people, and not all of them have humanity’s best interests at heart, so Leah and Gabriel must journey to find allies who will believe them about the aliens and fix things.

The first half of the story was entertaining. It was a little bit campy, but I liked both Leah and Gabriel, and I loved the chemistry between them. But then Devon throws in a plot twist that I thought wrapped things up a little too neatly. A paranormal woo-wioo element is also present that irritated me, and after the characters wstarted relying on this element a lot, they started to lose me.

I do think this is a fun story, with a couple of nice characters and a pleasant romance. The cheesy campiness of the setting was well-done, and this stands alone quite well, though I think Ms. Devon could write more in this universe easily. I hope her next effort keeps the pace going throughout the book instead of petering out at the end. I know I’ll definitely be reading other things she’s written, though.

Grade: C+

Summary:

Resisting alien invaders is easy. Protecting her heart is another story…

Leah’s plans for the weekend didn’t include dealing with an alien invasion in her kitchen. But there’s something about the wary, vulnerable, refugee half-breed Gabriel that compels her to hide him when the authorities come knocking on her door.

Gabriel has good reason to be suspicious of both humans and his own kind alike. He’s a halfling—half human, half Dar—the product of a breeding program undertaken for one purpose. To use the offspring’s inbred powers to influence humans on a deeply emotional level. So deep, they won’t know until too late that the Dar have gained more than a toehold on Earth.

Raised in subhuman conditions, all Gabriel knows of life is how to endure it. Then Leah opens his eyes to a life richer than any he’s ever known. Suddenly he’s not so sure he wants to be a pawn in the Dar’s non-violent, but no less insidious, plans.

Leah and Gabriel go on the run to seek help from the government, only to discover the invasion’s tentacles have gotten there ahead of them. In the final confrontation, the bond Leah and Gabriel have forged may be more than an emotional haven. It could save her world.

Warning: contains explicit sex, alien encounters.

Read an excerpt.

LauraD’s review of Wanderlust (The Jax Series, Book 2) by Ann Aguirre
Science fiction released by Ace 26 Aug 08

Ann Aguirre debuted with Grimspace; the sci-fi page turner about a rag-tag group of space adventurers being chased by both sides of the law. Wanderlust continues the story of Sirantha Jax and her friends, immediately after the events of Grimspace have concluded. Once again, it’s a story that grabs you right off the bat.

Jax has been a “jumper” her whole career-she has a special genetic makeup that allows her, in close concert with a pilot, to navigate ships through space at faster than the speed of light. It’s all she’s ever known, and it’s provided her with a good life-but due to events in the previous book, that life is over. Jax has no job, no money, no prospects, no where to live. When she is asked to become an ambassador to another planet, she has little choice but to say yes. However, she smartly stipulates that her travel companions must be the crew from her ship, including her lover, the captain March. She will also be accompanied by Vel, who once hunted her as a bounty and then saved her life; their destination is Vel’s home planet. Along her way, she will face many enemies, both close and distant.

Jax is a very complex character. She is lonely down to her soul, and can’t quite believe that it’s worth risking the pain of loss when you let people in. She and March have formed a relationship, but it’s written with a lot of angst and second guessing on Jax’s part. In addition to her financial issues and the loss of her career, the author has also thrown another problem Jax’s way-she is sick and getting sicker all the time, and has no idea of what is making her ill.

One of the many things I loved about this book is how tightly written the main characters are, and there is some great dialogue. Ship’s mechanic Dina serves as Jax’s verbal sparring partner, Vel is there for discussions of philosophy and politics, March is emotion and work. Then there is Jael, a new shipmate who is something of an enigma to all of them.

In Aguirre’s world, humans have to deal with multiple species that see us as just a snack on the food chain. The Morgut and the Teras are two vile and terrifying examples, and both are featured prominently in Wanderlust. The Teras in particular affect the team; while visiting the planet Lachion, Jax and company get involved in a war that takes them deep underground to escape the flying Teras. They become separated by both space and ideals, and it’s this war that may split up the crew for good. Questions of love, debt, and honor come into play; but no character’s courage is ever in doubt.

It is not necessary to have read Grimspace before reading Wanderlust, but doing so will give you a much better understanding of not just the characters, but their experiences. March, in particular, is a much richer character for having read both books; I think each title on it’s own only shows one side of him. It also helps to know the back story on Lachion, but again isn’t necessary.

I am enjoying the way that Ann Aguirre is building her world slowly, layer by layer. The introduction of new characters like Jael, who feels like he will be a big player in the series, and Hit who provides such necessary comic relief, are done seamlessly. Then there is Constance-I have a feeling Constance is going to be my favorite character, she is genius.

Wanderlust is a great book, and I am greatly looking forward to seeing where Jax, March, and the rest of the crew end up next.

Grade: A

Summary:

Sirantha Jax doesn’t take chances…she jumps at them…

Sirantha Jax is a “Jumper,” a woman who possesses the unique genetic makeup needed to navigate faster than light ships through grimspace. Jax has worked for the Farwan Corporation her entire career. But now the word’s out that the Corp deliberately crashed a passenger ship, and their stranglehold on intergalactic commerce has crumbled-which means that Jax is out of a job.

She’s also broke, due to being declared dead a little prematurely. So when the government asks her to head up a vital diplomatic mission, Jax takes it. Her mandate: journey to the planet Ithiss-Tor and convince them to join the Conglomerate.

But Jax’s payday is light years away. First, she’ll have to contend with Syndicate criminals, a stormy relationship with her pilot, man-eating aliens, and her own grimspace-weakened body. She’ll be lucky just to make it to Ithiss-Tor alive…

Read an excerpt here (scroll down).

Other books in the series:

Shannon C.’s review of Wanderlust (The Jax Series, Book 2) by Ann Aguirre
Science fiction released 26 Aug 08 by Ace

In Grimspace, Ann Aguirre introduced the reader to Sirantha Jax, messed-up space jumper extraordinaire, and March, her pilot-turned-lover. Readers seemed to be of two minds about that book — some of them loved it, as I did — and some found Jax to be too abrasive. I have a feeling that polarizing effect will continue for readers in Wanderlust, particularly since it veers more into straight SF territory than Grimspace did. The romance is still present, but it takes a back seat to Jax’s continued emotional development. I think this is a good thing, and I can’t wait to see what else Ms. Aguirre has in store for Jax in this series.

Jax has to deal with a lot in the book, as she is given an offer she can’t refuse to serve as an ambassador for the Conglomeration, which is trying to strengthen its position in the galaxy after the collapse of the corporation Jax worked for in the previous book. Unfortunately, there are people who don’t want Jax to succeed, believing that her tendency to fuck things up royally will weaken the Conglomeration’s already tenuous position. Plus, Jax seems to be suffering from some sort of illness, and thus, things are a little strained between herself and March.

This series reminds me of nothing so much as the TV show “Firefly”. We have the crew of disparate misfits who seem to attract trouble wherever they go who spend a lot of time wittily bantering back and forth. In this book we get a few new editions to the crew, from Jael, a mercenary with secrets of his own who will probably polarize readers as well, to Hit, about whom we know very little. March, Vel, Dina and Doc still play crucial parts in the story, and we learn more about Jax’s family.

Where the book doesn’t quite work for me is that Jax really does have the worst timing in the history of ever. And when other characters take pains to point this out, it ceases to be funny and starts to feel a bit like authorial intrusion.

I did like the SF aspects of the story, which were detailed enough to keep even me satisfied but didn’t overwhelm the story with too much technical jargon. And I finished the book with a keen anticipation for the next book, because Jax can only get more awesome from here.

Grade: B+

Read other reviews and information behind the Jax Series tag.

Summary:

Sirantha Jax doesn’t take chances…she jumps at them…
Sirantha Jax is a “Jumper,” a woman who possesses the unique genetic makeup needed to navigate faster than light ships through grimspace. Jax has worked for the Farwan Corporation her entire career. But now the word’s out that the Corp deliberately crashed a passenger ship, and their stranglehold on intergalactic commerce has crumbled—which means that Jax is out of a job.

She’s also broke, due to being declared dead a little prematurely. So when the government asks her to head up a vital diplomatic mission, Jax takes it. Her mandate: journey to the planet Ithiss-Tor and convince them to join the Conglomerate.

But Jax’s payday is light years away. First, she’ll have to contend with Syndicate criminals, a stormy relationship with her pilot, man-eating aliens, and her own grimspace-weakened body. She’ll be lucky just to make it to Ithiss-Tor alive…

Read an excerpt here (scroll down).

Other books in the series:

Gwen’s review of Dark Light (Ghost Hunters, Book 5) by Jayne Castle
Sci-fi romance released by Jove 26 Aug 08

I’ve read three of the Ghost Hunters books now – this one, Silver Master (#4), and Ghost Hunter (#3). I’d have to say that my opinion of all three is consistent – good, slightly above average reads in the sci-fi romance sub-genre. I like them quite a bit better than I do the Arcane Society books, but considering how much I don’t like those, that may not be a compliment.

In this entry, Dark Light, we get a very entertaining read. There’s a well-developed heroine in Sierra and an interesting alpha hero in Fontana. The secondary characters, with the exception of the dust bunnies (you have to read it to understand), are a bit of non-entities, but that’s been the case in all of the Ghost Hunters books. The villains are suitably evil, if a bit predictable.

The plot’s tension is provided very early by a rather unbelievable, and hasty, marriage between hero and heroine. This is all toward their attempt to find out who is pushing drugs on retired Ghost Hunters on the streets of Crystal City (not Crystal City, Texas). There’s lots of fun action and suspense while they go about their investigation. Houses burn down, people die. New alien tools/weapons are discovered. It’s all very fraught with tension.

I didn’t think Dark Light had the emotional content I found in Silver Master (not reviewed): DL had a good love affair, it lacked the passion of SM. But it’s still a very entertaining sci-fi romance read with logical and complete story arcs, good dialog, and good action. Great for a quick weekend read.

Grade: C+

Summary:

From Amazon.com: Tabloid reporter Sierra McIntyre wants a scoop when she interviews Ghost Hunter Guild boss John Fontana about the disappearances of retired, homeless hunters. She doesn’t want to trust the physically and psychically powerful man, but her intuition-and her dust bunny companion-give her the green light. To uncover the conspiracy within his own organization, Fontana proposes…marriage. And though it’s purely a business arrangement, there’s nothing pure about the attraction that sizzles between them.

From author’s site: Reporter Sierra McIntyre’s stories on Crystal City’s ghost hunters-and their mysterious guild-have earned her tabloid a bit of respect. And they’ve allowed her to clothe her dust bunny companion Elvis in rock-and-roll style. It helps that she has mega-rez intuition to fall back on…

Especially when she interviews Ghost Hunter Guild Boss John Fontana about the disappearances of retired, homeless hunters. She doesn’t want to trust the physically and psychically powerful man, but her senses-and Elvis-give her the green light. To uncover the conspiracy within his own organization, Fontana proposes…marriage. And though it’s purely a business arrangement, there is nothing pure about the attraction that sizzles between them…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Shannon C.’s review of Callahan’s Legacy by Spider Robinson
Science fiction novel released by Tor 15 Sep 97

One of the reasons that I started reviewing correlates directly with something Spider Robinson said in the first of his Callahan’s books: “Shared joy is increased, shared pain is lessened.” I know there’s nothing that makes me feel better than knowing that someone loved a book as much as I did. And even if nobody else read a book I hated, I at least feel better after I’ve written my thoughts on the book.

This is why, when I finished the seventh book in the Callahan’s Series, I chose to talk about it here, even though it’s not a romance, and it’s in the middle of a series, so I don’t expect a huge overlap in readership. (Not that the non-romance thing has ever stopped me before.) The book left me feeling so angry that I figured I might as well talk about it here.

The Callahan’s books are basically about this out of the way bar in New York which seems to attract a diverse clientele, from talking dogs to cyborg aliens to benign vampires to, well, science fiction fanboys who are anviliscious self-inserts for the author. The first few books of the series are wonderful, especially the first one. Then it became obvious that Mr. Robinson was basically writing to his fans, and the books stopped being fun.

In this latest installment, well, it’s a typical evening down at the bar. Some interesting characters walk in, including a guy named Buck Rogers who has some serious money to burn (literally), a man who cannot feel pain, and a woman who is ugly enough to stop a clock. Then, of course, the bar denizens are required to save the world. Again. If you are sensing a somewhat weary, been-there-done-that tone from the writing of this paragraph, it’s because it’s intentional. All Callahan’s books start out this way. It’s usually charming, except when it’s not. And in this case it’s not more often than it is.

The major problem that I had with this installment in the Callihan universe aside from the fact that the formula’s getting a bit stale is that Spider Robinson’s politics and mine do not mesh. Normally, I can ignore that. I just hate being preached to, and this book was sooo freaking preachy. Not only that, but there was a whole section where the characters talk about how it’s really OK that a thirteen-year-old boy experimented sexually with his stepfather if the kid initiated it. Uh, no. No, it’s not. I could write an entire blog post about why I find this idea so incredibly repellent, but this is really not an appropriate forum.

I did enjoy Spider Robinson’s humor, and I liked seeing old characters, but, ugh, I simply couldn’t get past the OMGWTFBBQ factor of that whole child sexuality thing. As I said, the first three Callahan’s books are wonderful, and you can even read up to the fifth book and still get a good experience, but I won’t be finding out what else happens to the Callahan’s gang.

Grade: D+

Summary:
It’s more than twenty years since Spider Robinson revealed the existence of Callahan’s bar, and the original bar is gone. Mike Callahan is gone, too, but not forgotten. His spirit lives on in the new bar, called Mary’s Place, named for his daughter.

On this particular morning, Jake Stonebender, proprietor of Mary’s Place, wakes up and crawls out of bed, not realizing how big a mistake he’s made. It’s going to be one of those days. It’s not that his lovely wife, Zoey Berkowitz, is nine and a half months pregnant. Maybe it’s the early morning knock on the door and the incredibly ugly person who greets Jake and startles him so badly that he spills Zoey’s urine sample – all over the misshapen mistake of nature standing in front of him. That’s when he realizes that this is going to be a day of reckoning.

After this inauspicious start, the day takes a turn for the worse when a huge storm rips the roof off the bar – and moments later drops another, better roof on it. Then the guy with the suitcase full of hundred-dollar bills arrives and starts making them into paper airplanes that he cheerfully launches toward the fireplace.

That’s when Mary Callahan and her husband, Mickey Finn, show up, unconscious, appearing literally out of nowhere. And they have bad news. They’ve come to warn the barfolk that a three-eyed, three-toed, three-everythinged purple monster – the nastiest, most vile servant of the Beast – is going to descend on them within mere hours. The fate of life on Earth will depend on the collective karma of the bar when they confront this all-powerful monster.

Through laughter and tears, with puns powerful enough to melt Formica, the most famous bar in all of spacetime is going to rock this night… but will the Earth survive?

No excerpt was available.

Shannon C.’s review of Warrior (Time Hunters, Book 1) by Angela Knight
Sci-Fi romance released by Berkley 1 Jul 08

Angela Knight is one of those authors everyone recommends when suggesting erotic romance authors, but I’ve never read any of her books. And even though I made fun of the blurb when it came up for review over at Duckie Central, Gwen’s review made me eager to read it when Sybil sent me a copy.

The book didn’t work for me as well as it did for Gwen. It wasn’t that I had a hard time keeping up, not having read Jane’s Warlord. My major stumbling block was the fact that some of the sci-fi aspects of the world were more cheesy than anything else. (Warfems? Seriously? Why not just call them female warlords?) But once I accepted all the cheese, I enjoyed this book.

Jessica Kelly, the twenty-first century artist heroine, is remarkably resilient considering what she’s been through, snatched out of her time and place and brought to the future. I liked that she was assertive without being feisty, and while she will not make my top ten list of romance heroines, she did kick ass in her own way.

Galar Arvid, our temporal enforcer, was the kind of hero that a lot of readers seem to like but which leaves me cold. He is totally alpha, totally determined to protect his woman, and he demonstrates this at times by being patronizing. I thought he really should have listened to some of the things Jessica tried to tell him long before he actually did. That said, I bought the chemistry between himself and Jess, and I believed their HEA.

The plot is interesting, too, though I wasn’t sure what Ms. Knight was going to do to resolve it. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a lot of people out to kill Jess and Galar, and I felt that the sections in their POV weren’t handled terribly well. Chapters also seemed to start and stop at random points, for no discernible reason. I also thought the book had an excess of secondary characters, some of whom are doubtless destined for sequels.

I’m not sure how to grade this. On the one hand, the plotting was uneven, and the characters weren’t memorable enough that I’ll be able to tell you much about them in a month or so, but at the time I was reading I was pretty much hooked completely, and I definitely think I’ll enjoy reading more from Ms. Knight if she finishes the series. That counts for a lot with me, hence the slightly higher grade.

Grade: B-

Summary:

In the 24th century, anyone can leap through time at will. To police the time jumpers, the Temporal Enforcement Agency has established a precinct in time. Galar Arvid is a genetically altered warlord and agent who’s been sent back to 2008 to save a pretty Atlanta artist from a Xeran time traveler who intends to kill her for profit. What Galar doesn’t count on is the powerful desire Jessica Kelly ignites in him. But could a romance between them work? A three-hundred-year chasm separates them and, even if they dart through time, there’s still a maniacal killer on their tails.

Read an excerpt here

Shannon C.’s review of Dust by Elizabeth Bear
Science fiction novel released by Spectra 26 Dec 07

Sybil asked the duckies if any of us had read Elizabeth Bear a few weeks ago, and I decided that I should dig out the one Bear book I had TBR. Apparently, Ms. Bear has won all kinds of awards, and I know she is hyped all over the place. But that doesn’t always mean much.

Unfortunately, Dust didn’t work for me and didn’t live up to the hype. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but it’s the kind of book that I plowed through just so that I could say I finished.

It’s a bit hard to describe the plot. Our characters are floating around in a generation ship, which is a huge ship sent out to explore and colonize other planets. only the ship has been badly damaged, and it’s been orbiting some stars that are about to go supernova. The story focuses on Rien, who starts out as a servant and comes to embrace her destiny, Perceval, her half-sister and an engineer, and Jacob Dust, part of the ship’s original AI. There are lots of other characters around their periphery, but those are the main three.

What I did like was the vivid description of the setting. I will probably never get to travel through space on a massive, crumbling spaceship, but I definitely got a sense of what that would be like through the writing. The prose is also quite vivid, although too often it drifts into the purple territory.

The characters, unfortunately, don’t stand up well. I got a distinct sense of who they were, but I didn’t ever connect with any of them. Also, there’s this weird incestuous thing that several of them have going on, which was all the more squicky, at least to me, because nobody particularly thought it was a big deal. There was also a lot of intrigue going on, which can sometimes work well, but in this case confused rather than, well, intrigued. And because of that disconnect, and the author’s tendency toward a bit of pretentious literary styling, I just didn’t get the suspense.

I’m not willing to write off Ms. Bear completely. I’m going to try one of her other books first, but this one is probably safe to give a miss.

Grade: C-

Summary:
On a broken ship orbiting a doomed sun, dwellers have grown complacent with their aging metal world. But when a serving girl frees a captive noblewoman, the old order is about to change…

Ariane, Princess of the House of Rule, was known to be fiercely cold-blooded. But severing an angel’s wings on the battlefield-even after she surrendered-proved her completely without honor. Captive, the angel Perceval waits for Ariane not only to finish her off-but to devour her very memories and mind. Surely her gruesome death will cause war between the houses-exactly as Ariane desires. But Ariane’s plan may yet be opposed, for Perceval recognizes the young servant charged with her care at once.

Rien is the lost child: her sister. Soon, they will escape, hoping to stop the impending war and save both their houses. But it is a perilous journey through the crumbling hulk of a dying ship, and they do not pass unnoticed. Because at the hub of their turning world waits Jacob Dust, all that remains of God, following the vapor wisp of the angel. And he knows they will meet very soon.

Read an excerpt here

Devon’s review of Compromised by Nathalie Gray
Futuristic erotic romance eBook released by Red Sage 1 May 08

When will I ever learn to pay more attention to detail? I enjoy a good futuristic/Sci-Fi romance now and then, and Nathalie Gray’s books looked like they would fit the bill. I was intrigued by the descriptions of kick ass heroines, and harsh futuristic settings. So when Compromised came up for review, I jumped on it. When I opened it up to read, I was dismayed to see that it was a novella. Novellas tend not to work for me, especially erotic romance ones. But it sounded good, and I like reunited lovers stories, so I pressed on.

Compromised is the story of Jojo DaSilva, a soldier whose latest mission is to rescue an undercover operative from the clutches of some very nasty aliens. The operation goes horribly awry, and Jojo is faced with a tough decision: abort the mission and leave the prisoner behind, or go against orders and get him out. When she finds out that the prisoner is her ex-lover Mathias Horsen, the decision is made for her.

Compromised was okay. My issues with it were the same issues I always have with erotic romance, particularly of the paranormal/futuristic kind. There’s just not enough length to get a strong feel for the world, the characters, and the romance, and I’m left feeling unsatisfied. Unlike the hero and heroine, who barely wait to make their escape to get to some heavy duty sexin’. The sex scenes were pretty hot and well-written, but I had to stifle a giggle when Mat pops a boner even though he’s strapped in a torture chamber. One would think it might take a moment to recover, but I guess he was real happy to see his ex.

Of the two, Jojo was the more interesting character. I think I got to know her character better, because more time was spent on her at the beginning. Mat was more of a cipher. His overriding characteristics seemed to be his Scandinavian hotness, his sexual prowess, and the fact that he’s really into Jojo. The futuristic setting was interesting at first, but then merely served as a backdrop for the sex scenes. The ending was a bit abrupt as well.

Nathalie Gray’s writing style is good. The story flowed well, and I liked her heroine. I would definitely try her again, but in a longer format, where there could be more plot and character development. If you’re looking for something short and hot, this definitely fits the bill, but if you’re interested in a stronger sci-fi element, this will probably disappoint.

Grade: C

The Summary:

Jojo Da Silva always gets her man.

She’s been an elite extraction team member long enough to know second-guessing can kill you. Get in, secure the target, then get out. Anything in the way is to be shot, blasted or destroyed. Especially those vicious Elfs, Exoskeletal Humanoid Life Forms with a mean streak that seems to grow wider in torture chambers during interrogations. No human has ever survived an Elf interrogation. Never.

Jojo knows this time she has to get her man before the Elfs discover his true identity and interrogate him. He’s been undercover on their trading station, so deep undercover that even she doesn’t know his identity. All she knows is the yellow dot on her wristband monitor that shows his location.

But when her target turns out to be her tough, daring, disappearing ex, a man as handsome as he was shrewd, one gifted with amazingly skilled hands and an even more wicked mouth, Jojo can’t seem to follow orders as usual. Abandon the compromised mission? No way! She has two hours, and Jojo won’t let Mathias die. He disappeared from her life, and she’s missed his loving ever since. She won’t let him slip away again.

Because Jojo always gets her man, and this time, it’s personal.

Read an excerpt here (scroll down)

This just in…

Lilith Saintcrow, Marjorie Liu, C.E. Murphy, and other urban fantasy/paranormal romance writers will be at the San Diego ComiCon tomorrow. Here’s who is going to be at an absolutely stupendous panel:

“…Lilith Saintcrow will be at Comicon in San Diego! She’ll be on the “Looking at Our World: Eye on the Present” panel along with Kelley Armstrong, L. A. Banks, Kate Brallier, Marjorie M. Liu, C. E. Murphy, Justine Musk, and moderator Samantha Sommersby ( Room 3). That’s a veritable who’s who of urban fantasy stars, so if you’re a fan this is a can’t miss event.”

Here’s the blurb from the ComiCon program:

Friday, July 25th, 1:00-2:00 Looking at Our World: Eye on the Present— Authors discuss how they use the supernatural in stories of contemporary society. Panelists include Kelley Armstrong (Women of the Otherworld), L. A. Banks (The Vampire Huntress Legend Series), Kate Brallier (The Boundless Deep), Marjorie M. Liu (The Iron Hunt), C. E. Murphy (The Negotiator Trilogy), Justine Musk (Lord of Bones), Lilith Saintcrow (The Dante Valentine Series), and moderator Samantha Sommersby (Forbidden: The Revolution). Room 3
Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy | Writers & Writing

Read on for more news from Saintcrow’s newsletter (thanks for letting us repeat this, Lilith). Now to find my “I (heart) Japhrimel” t-shirt…

ComiCon!
You read that right, dear Reader: I am going to be at the San Diego ComiCon next week! I’ll be doing a panel on Friday and also signing at the Mysterious Galaxy booth. Then I’ll be wandering around and causing trouble.

Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Although I don’t know how much trouble I can get into…oh, wait. It’s me we’re talking about. I’ll be lucky to engage in a margarita-fueled ramble about publishing. I’m so boring.

New Website!
Come on over to the new website and see the awesomeness! The forum still has a few hiccups and burps, but we’re getting that ironed out too. It’s been a long wait, but I think the new site’s worth it.

Serafim
At ComiCon, I’m going to have a few copies of Serafim, Issues 1 & 2. While most of them are for marketing purposes (hey, I’ve got to keep Josh alive and eating long enough to finish both Serafim, and Steelflower, and a couple other projects), if you show up dressed like a character from one of my books OR wearing an I (Heart) Japhrimel T-shirt, you just might score a free signed comic book. How awesome is that?

Strange Angels
I’m pleased and proud to announce that I’ve sold a YA trilogy, Strange Angels, to Penguin/Razorbill. (Actually, it was my agent who sold it, if we’re being honest.) It means a lot of work this summer, but I’m thrilled to the gills to be working on something so awesome.

I’m also writing the fourth installment in the Jill Kismet series. Book 2, Hunter’s Prayer, will be out on September 1.Like I said, it’s going to be a busy summer. Stay cool out there, dear Readers!

Next stop, ComiCon!

T-Shirts
Speaking of T-shirts…there’s new I (Heart) Japhrimel T-shirts, and Oh, Sekhmet sa’es! shirts, now available through CafePress. The UnSullen One is even now working on some more hush-hush supercool designs, so further bulletins as events warrant.

Consider yourself flashed…

Gwen’s review of Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross (not a traditional author’s site)
Science fiction adventure hardcover released by Ace 1 Jul 08

The author calls this book, “A space opera and late-period Heinlein tribute…” I think Robert A. Heinlein is my favorite author of all time, with my favorite book of all time being his The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.  This makes me picky when it comes to Heinlein – if someone is going to reference him, or be compared to him, I get the microscope out because that is one VERY high bar to meet, in my opinion.  Tom Clancy has said of Heinlein, “We proceed down the path marked by his ideas. He shows us where the future is.”  So, let’s see how well Stross does, shall we? 

This book alternates between brilliant and muddled.  The plot unravels very slowly and it’s not until the very last 50 or so pages that the reason we’re there becomes clear.  I don’t normally mind complex plotting, but I do like to have a signpost now and again telling me where I’m going.  I feel like Stross’s plotting was unnecessarily abstruse for much of the book and what could have been elegantly simple was often made overly complex.  We’re given indications here and there but left in the dark for much of the book.  I would have liked to have seen more “revelatory” moments earlier in the book.

In addition to the extraordinary plotting, I think the author used overly complex terms – I (me, Gwen, Queen of Vocabulary) had to drag the unabridged dictionary out TWICE while reading it.  Stross used scientific terms for simple things (e.g. at one point “otoreceptors” instead of “ears”), then he used his own terms (“pink goo” for animals and “green goo” for plants) for many things.  Add in we’re talking about a universe populated by humanoid and non-humanoid androids – some autonomous, some not – and you have a very complex, very foreign world to navigate. It’s all enough to make a casual sci-fi reader’s head hurt.

And it doesn’t get much easier the more time spent in Stross’s world.  The plotting and terminology are twisted to the end.

Despite the flaws, the heroine, Freya, is very compelling.  She’s just trying to get by with her “soul chip” in tact.  She’s an “ogress” – a humanoid sex robot in a world of androids built for volume-conscious space travel.  Her creators (mankind) died out, leaving her with no purpose and an unfashionable, obsolete body.  Her bouts of depression are completely understandable and her desire to find a place in the world is very “human” (for lack of a better word).

The secondary characters were less compelling, but that may be because the book is narrated by Freya (you know how I feel about first person in fiction – not a good thing in most cases).  In this tech-heavy book, the first person narration wasn’t horrible, and as it turns out at the very end of the book, we find there’s a reason it’s being told that way.

I understand that Stross has quite a bit of sci-fi published – I’ve probably read him at least once in my travels thru that genre, but it’s been years since I delved deeply.  I’ve read everything Heinlein ever published and, while I can say Stross has moments of brilliance, he doesn’t quite meet the RAH bar.

I can recommend this book fans of Stross, but wouldn’t recommend it to casual sci-fi readers.  At least, not without your trusty unabridged dictionary close at hand.

Grade: C+

Summary:

From the author’s site: Freya Nakamachi-47 has some major existential issues. She’s the perfect concubine, designed to please her human masters; there’s just one problem: she came off the production line a year after the human species went extinct. Whatever else she may be, she’s gloriously obsolete. But the rigid social hierarchy that has risen in the 200 years since the last human died, places beings such as Freya very near the bottom. So when she has a run-in on Venus with a murderous aristocrat, she needs passage off-world in a hurry — and can’t be too fussy about how she pays her way. If Venus was a frying pan, Mercury is the fire — and soon she’s going to be running for her life. Because the job she’s taken as a courier has drawn her to the attention of powerful and dangerous people, and they don’t just want the package she’s carrying. They want her soul …

From amazon.com:  Sometime in the twenty-third century, humanity went extinct-leaving only androids behind. Freya Nakamichi 47 is a femmebot, one of the last of her kind still functioning. With no humans left to pay for the pleasures she provides, she agrees to transport a mysterious package from Mercury to Mars. Unfortunately for Freya, she has just made herself a moving target for some very powerful, very determined humanoids who will stop at nothing to possess the contents of the package.

Read an excerpt. 

Caroline Linden‘s review of Hidden by Eve Kenin
Science fiction romance released by Shomi 1 Jul 08

Sometimes you come across a book that’s just impossible to accurately describe. Like Eve Kenin’s HIDDEN: “It’s a book set in a post-apocalyptic future, in Siberia…about a woman who was raised in a lab…and there’s a deadly plague that turns people into cannibalistic zombies…and ice pirates…and oh yeah, a rogue scientist who studies philosophy while he tries to save the world.” Screams romance, no? Think again, because this is not only a fabulous read, it’s taut, sexy adventure at its finest.

HIDDEN zooms back to the Northern Wasteland introduced in DRIVEN, the bleak frozen place Earth has become after a series of (probably nuclear) wars. It’s unforgiving and nearly lawless, with pirates and evil masterminds and rebels circling each other in a brutal struggle. Human life has both advanced and regressed, with impressive medical advances balanced against the utter social decay that has pushed large parts of humanity to the edge of survival. Just like the heroine and hero.

Tatiana has been a medical experiment most of her life, raised by computers and subjected to all sorts of procedures that leave her with some seriously enhanced physical abilities. Of course, it’s also left her with little experience of how humans behave and interact. When she finally escapes from the lab, she sets off on a quest to destroy the people who almost destroyed her, Gavin Ward and a scientist called Tolliver. Gavin Ward, she knows where to find; he’s trying to find–and dissect–her just as hard as she’s trying to avoid him. But Tolliver is a mystery, and yet the key to her desperate attempt to stop a debilitating virus, manufactured from her own genetic material, from being unleashed by Ward on his enemies. And yeah, she plans to waste Ward in the process.

Tristan is a rebel, hiding out in the Wastes with a dangerous mission of his own–nothing less than saving the human race. Unlike Tatiana, he’s deeply alive to emotion and empathy, and knows just how much Ward’s plague threatens humanity, even beyond just bringing death and suffering to its victims. When Tristan’s path crosses Tatiana’s, it’s intrigue at first sight for both of them. After spending her entire adolescence locked in a dungeon (oh my God! Can you imagine?!?),Tatiana feels the first pull of sexual attraction in her life, and watching her deal with it, trying to figure out how to be human and a woman, was quite moving. Inside Tatiana’s highly logical, genetically enhanced body beats a very human heart after all. And while Tristan notes her ethereal eyes, silky hair, and tight figure, it’s the almost superhuman way she dispatches two tough ice truckers twice her size that really snares his interest. Unusual girl, he thinks.

Honey, you have no idea.

Can I just say that’s possibly what I loved most about Tristan? His first thought was not how he wanted to get her into bed, it was, “Damn, that girl’s good in a fight.” Tristan’s no fool, and although Tatiana does appeal to his sex drive, the instant respect he has for her was fabulous. He feels responsible for the small band of rebels hiding out with him, and the fact that he doesn’t have to worry about Tatiana–in fact, that he can even lean on her from time to time–puts their relationship ahead of many couples’ (and not just romance novel ones). Also, although the story is weighted more toward action and adventure than most romances, the romance is pitch-perfect between these two warrior souls. When the only way out of a tight spot is a long climb up a laser-shielded elevator shaft, Tatiana is the one better equipped to do it. Tristan not only agrees to this, not only boosts her up so she can get started, he tells her the most important thing: come back to me. Nope, no sweet, tender “I love you,” but a command that nonetheless expresses perfectly how he feels without beating anyone over the head about it.

Because these two are perfect for each other just as they are. There’s no excess emotional outpouring on either side, just a realization that they each want the other at their back. For once the cover illustration is amazingly accurate. And the pacing is relentless, with no wasted scenes. This is a book that you open intending to read a few chapters, and then look up to realize you’ve read the whole thing almost without stopping to breathe. You can’t help cheering for Tristan and Tatiana as they fight what’s worst in humanity, to find–and save–what’s best.

HIDDEN is romance for the adventurous. If you lusted after Han Solo, this book is for you. If you wanted to be out fighting the dragon instead of locked in the ivory tower, this book is for you. It’s DRIVEN with an added philosophical touch, action and adventure with a jolt of red-hot romance.

Grade: Solid gold A

Summary:
Tatiana has honed her genetic gifts to perfection. She can withstand the subzero temperatures of the Northern Waste, read somebody’s mind with the briefest touch, and slice through bone with her bare hands. Which makes her one badass chick, all right. Nothing gets to her. Until she meets Tristan. Villain or ally, she can’t be sure. But one thing she does know: he has gifts too-including the ability to ramp up her heart rate to dangerous levels. But before they can start some chemistry of their own, they have to survive being trapped in an underground lab, hunted by a madman, and exposed to a plague that could destroy mankind.
Read an excerpt here

Gwen’s review of Warrior (Time Hunters, Book 1) by Angela Knight
Sci-Fi romance released by Berkley 1 Jul 08

Angela Knight writes some of the steamiest, far-out books I’ve ever read. They almost always have uber-alpha heroes and generally have strong heroines. Warrior is no exception. It has an alpha hero in spades, a heroine that rocked, and some sci-fi details that even Shannon will like.

Warrior‘s world is one we are introduced to in Knight’s Jane’s Warlord (novel) and Warfem (novella) – you can get both in Warlord. It’s the first of a new series based on the Temporal Enforcement Agency. Think Jean-Claude Van Damme’s “Timecop” (gawd that man has a fine ass) with better sex scenes. It’s a very interesting world, with the possible exception of some wacky character names that I have no clue how to pronounce (I hate that). It’s got all kinds of very cool sci-fi details that I can really see in my head, but I’m a sci-fi geek.

The heroine, Jessica, is a struggling artist who is saved from futuristic assassins by our hero, Galar (read above about wacky character names). Jessica is my kind of woman. I loved the scenes with her in them – she’s strong, practical, and doesn’t do the TSTL scene. Knight has given us a real gift with her – it seems Jessica will have a large role in future Time Hunter novels – so it will be a pleasure to read more about her.

Galar is a classic tortured alpha male. He was betrayed by a woman before – like, traitor betrayed and he had to kill her betrayed. So he’s naturally reticent to trust. Mind you, he’s not reticent to boink the heroine, just trust her. I enjoyed how Knight brought him out of that mindset and believed in his change of mind. I also liked that he was totally in charge during the action scenes – cool and in control.

I’m a sucker for time travel books. I love to read about people from the past being thrust into the future and vice versa. I think that plot device is interesting – mostly because I’d love to do it myself. You don’t get too much of a flavor of that in this book, but there’s some. It sounds like the next book in the series, Enforcer, will have quite a bit more of that and I can’t wait.

The romance was very sweet in this book and quite believable. I loved the ending. The plot developments and setting for the next book are also very good. This was a terrifically fun read with some good action, good romance, and hot sex. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a good paranormal/sci-fi romance or fans of Angela Knight. Really good summer read.

Grade: A-

Summary:

In the 24th century, anyone can leap through time at will. To police the time jumpers, the Temporal Enforcement Agency has established a precinct in time. Galar Arvid is a genetically altered warlord and agent who’s been sent back to 2008 to save a pretty Atlanta artist from a Xeran time traveler who intends to kill her for profit. What Galar doesn’t count on is the powerful desire Jessica Kelly ignites in him. But could a romance between them work? A three-hundred-year chasm separates them and, even if they dart through time, there’s still a maniacal killer on their tails.

Read an excerpt.

The next book in the series will be Dona’s story, Enforcer. No release date as yet. Here’s its blurb:

Enforcer Dona Astryr is being hunted by an escaped traitor who means to kill her. Yet Temporal Enforcement treason investigator Alex Corydon thinks she, too, is a traitor who is in on the killer’s vicious plot.

As if Dona’s life isn’t complicated enough, she’s fallen hopelessly in love with Chief Enforcer Alerio Dyami, her superior officer on the Outpost. Dyami is just as obsessed with her, but neither can act on the emotion.

Then the traitor moves against them both, stranding them back in time during the American Revolution. With their time travel armor disabled, they must fight their way to British-occupied New York City in order to find a way back to their own time.

Even as they dodge both Patriots and British forces, they’re being stalked by the traitor, who means to murder them both.

Doesn’t that sound wicked cool?

Shannon C.’s review of Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
Science fiction novel released from Spectra 1 Jul 90

There are some books you can breeze through in a matter of hours, close the book afterwards with a satisfied smile and reach for the next. Then there are the books that practically demand to be savored, with the reader moving along at whatever leisurely pace the author sets. As someone with a huge stack of books on my To Be Reviewed list, I don’t often take time to read the books that need savoring. However, as soon as I started reading Grass which was originally published in 1989, I knew I’d stumbled upon a treat, and I further knew I couldn’t just rush through it or I’d miss stuff.

Plague has spread throughout the galaxy that humans have settled, decimating the population as it goes along. The only place where it seems to be immune is the planet Grass, which is, unsurprisingly, entirely covered in various multi-colored types of grass. The officials of Sanctity, the galaxy’s huge major religion, want to know what’s so special about Grass, so they send Rodrigo Yraear and his family to Grass to discover whether the plague has spread there and what can be done about it. Rodrigo’s family is chosen because he and his wife, Marjorie, Lady Westriding, are both accomplished equestrians and they figure that will help them make friends with the somewhat insular Grassians. However, what they find on Grass is so much more than mere plague. The more she is on grass, the more Marjorie Westriding is intrigued, and the more enmeshed she becomes in something that could either save or destroy mankind.

This isn’t a very good synopsis. I haven’t even mentioned the other threads, like the story of Rillibee Chime, an acolyte of Sanctity who came to Grass against his will and gains some prominence because he is an adept climber. There’s also the story of the aristocratic Grassians known as the Bons, who engage in ritual fox hunts that are much, much more sinister than the ones back on Earth, or the Foxen, a truly bizarre alien race concerned with metaphysical matters. Of course, if I started explaining all the plot complexities, that would lead to spoilers, and this book shouldn’t be spoiled.

What really drew me to this book was the writing style. It is lush and evocative, and I got a sense of how grass could be majestic as well as frightening. The prose is also rife with literary allusions–I caught references to Moby Dick and Walt Whitman, and I’m sure there are others–and yet, for the most part, it is readable. The characters are well-drawn. Marjorie, the protagonist, is a complex woman struggling with questions of faith and duty and what her place is in the universe. She is an older woman, and somewhat introspective, and though she does get to star in some riveting action scenes, she isn’t really the kick-ass type. Nonetheless, she is sensible and charismatic, and Tepper portrays this well without Marjorie coming across as a Mary Sue. I also had to admire Marjorie for putting up with her husband, Rigo, who, far from being made a villain of the peace, is simply stubborn, passionate, and utterly misguided about what’s going on around him.

Other characters are equally well-drawn. Rillibee Chime, the reluctant Sanctity acolyte, was a particular favorite, and I equally loved his mentor, the old and wise Brother Mainoa, who gets some of the funniest lines in the book. Even the human villains are drawn with enough detail that it’s possible to feel sympathy for them even when it’s clear they’re in the wrong. And Tepper manages to make the aliens on this world–from the gentle, contemplative Foxen to the fierce, malicious Hippae–unique and, actually, alien.

The plot meanders, as I said, for the first half. However, around the second half of the book, everything picks up speed. This isn’t to say the first half was boring, because it wasn’t and I actually liked it better. By the second half of the book, though, Tepper starts to play around with some of her ideas about faith and sin and salvation, and there were a few moments when she almost lost me. And then there was the romance that develops, which left me with a lot of questions I couldn’t answer on face value. However, the book winds up with a fantastic climax and a very satisfying ending that leaves Marjorie open for new adventures and new possibilities.

Sheri Tepper is one of the major feminist science fiction writers, and as such I’ve been meaning to try one of her books for a while. I’m glad I finally did, and I highly recommend this book, especially to those people who like something a little more literate in their science fiction.

Grade: A-

Summary:

Here is a novel as original as the breathtaking, unspoiled world for which it is named, a place where all appears to be in idyllic balance.

Generations ago, humans fled to the cosmic anomaly known as Grass. Over time, they evolved a new and intricate society. But before humanity arrived another species had already claimed Grass for its own. It, too, had developed a culture…

Now, a deadly plague is spreading across the stars. No world save Grass has been left untouched. Marjorie Westriding Yrarier has been sent from Earth to discover the secret of the planet’s immunity. Amid the alien social structure and strange life-forms of Grass, Lady Westriding unravels the planet’s mysteries to find a truth so shattering it could mean the end of life itself.

No excerpt could be found.

Shannon C.’s review of Hidden by Eve Kenin
Science fiction romance released by Shomi 1 Jul 08

Eve Kenin’s Driven introduced us to a post-apocalyptic future in a bleak northern climate where truckers were kings of the road. In Hidden, Ms Kenin returns us to that world, and we get to see another aspect of this society. In fact, though Driven was an excellent book, I liked Hidden better.

Tatiana, the sister of Wizard from Driven, has a three-step plan. She needs to find someone named Tolliver. Then she needs to find Gavin Ward, a very literally mad scientist who has designed a plague using some of Tatiana’s genetic material. Ward also tortured Tatiana and manipulated her for years. She needs them both to be dead, because the plague they’ve created would devastate the Northern Waste. What she is not counting on is to be confronted with a settler named Tristan with compelling blue eyes, or with a group of violent, mutated reavers, or falling in love.

I really liked Tatiana. She is a kick-ass heroine who still managed to be completely vulnerable in certain places. She has her issues, and I thought that they were dealt with well. She never had any TSTL moments, and I loved her discovering a sense of compassion. Plus, she’s just fascinating. Like her siblings, she was raised pretty much by a computer, and her only emotional contact has been with the people whose thoughts she can read. She doesn’t always understand proper interaction, which can make for some pretty intense scenes.

Tristan, the unsettling settler that she meets, is an equally compelling hero. I don’t recall having run into a hero with such a profound mystical streak in a while, and I liked his strong sense of duty and honor. I did figure out his big secret quite a while before Tatiana did, and there were a few moments where I thought that his actions perpetuated a conflict where that wasn’t necessary.

I was drawn into the plot, actually staying up late at night to read the second half of the book. There were moments of chilling suspense, and Kenin does a great job with creepy atmospheric details. I would have preferred that Gavin Ward, the book’s central villain, weren’t such a complete one-note psycho, and I really hope that if Ms. Kenin continues the series she won’t keep trotting out these villains in every. single. book.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book. It’s not quite a keeper for me, but I very much enjoyed reading it, and I think anyone who enjoys science fiction and romance will definitely appreciate it. I think the experience of reading this book will be enhanced if you’ve read Driven, but I don’t think it would be too difficult to pick up and read as a standalone.

Grade: B+

Summary:
Tatiana has honed her genetic gifts to perfection. She can withstand the subzero temperatures of the Northern Waste, read somebody’s mind with the briefest touch, and slice through bone with her bare hands. Which makes her one badass chick, all right. Nothing gets to her. Until she meets Tristan. Villain or ally, she can’t be sure. But one thing she does know: he has gifts too-including the ability to ramp up her heart rate to dangerous levels. But before they can start some chemistry of their own, they have to survive being trapped in an underground lab, hunted by a madman, and exposed to a plague that could destroy mankind.
Read an excerpt here

Shannon C.’s review of Hominids: Neanderthal Parallax, Book 1 by Robert J. Sawyer
Science fiction published by Tor 1 May 02

I might never have gotten to this book if it weren’t for reading a relatively negative review of it recently. The reviewer seemed to say, at least to my mind, that Robert J. Sawyer is a bit of a weenie with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. And since I tend to like my science fiction on the weenie–the technical term is “soft”–side rather than the typical non-weenie “hard” SF, I thought that Hominids might actually be a book I could get into without having to read through millions of paragraphs worth of scientific infodumping I didn’t understand. Thankfully, my instincts were correct, and I found myself immediately drawn in by this fascinating story.

The premise here is that Ponter Boddit, a quantum physicist from a parallel universe in which Neanderthals, not our own Cro-Magnon men, evolved and became the dominant race, is doing some intense calculations via his supercomputer, when things go very, very wrong and he ends up going through a gateway into our universe. He baffles our own scientists, and ends up befriending middle-aged geneticist Mary Vaughan, the recent victim of a brutal rape, and alternately learning much about this new place he’s found and teaching his new friends about how things work on his home planet. Meanwhile, his partner, Adikor, is brought forth on charges of murder since Ponter disappeared and there is no way to contact him via the companion implant embedded in his wrist. Adikor could prove what really happened, if he could only get back into his lab, but he’s been prevented from doing so, and must struggle to prove his innocence.

Fish out of water stories are favorites of mine. This was no exception. I loved Ponter, and even though we don’t get much time in his head, I could appreciate his struggles with the fact that he is alone, that no other Neanderthals exist in our universe, and it’s unlikely he’ll get to come home. I also thought that the reactions by the rest of the world to Ponter were pretty much dead on.

I have to say that I really loved that Ponter’s society isn’t perfect either. Poor Adikor, Ponter’s colleague and partner, pretty much has a hopeless time trying to prove his innocence. See, everyone in this society has companion chips, which record what they’re doing every second of the day. People take it for granted, and Sawyer manages to make it seem like a completely normal, non-invasive thing. But the downside is that “innocent until proven guilty” is a concept that the Neanderthals simply don’t have.

Ponter’s story and Adikor’s flow together seamlessly, though it’s actually Adikor’s story that’s more interesting, plot-wise. After a while, it feels as if all Ponter, Mary, and Mary’s colleagues do is talk, and sometimes, yes, the talk does get weighed down with scientific explanations that, while they made sense, sometimes felt a little bit like Sawyer’s attempt to incorporate as much research as he could into the story.

I actually thought the romance between Ponter and Mary was cute, although their HEA at the end isn’t really guaranteed. I really loved watching them grow to respect and trust each other, and I certainly intend to read the sequel to see if that subplot ever gets resolved to my satisfaction.

The story has its flaws. It was originally serialized in Analog Magazine, and essentially just kind of copied and pasted into one novel, so periodically there will be passages that summarize everything that’s just come before. I also could have done with a bit less infodumping, and a bit more depth to some of the characters, but this is very much a readable book, and it won the Hugo Award, which is the most prominent award in science fiction. I can’t disagree with the judgment of the Hugo voters and I definitely intend to keep following Mr. Sawyer on this particular ride.
Grade: B+

Summary:

Hominids examines two unique species of people. We are one of those species; the other is the Neanderthals of a parallel world where they became the dominant intelligence. The Neanderthal civilization has reached heights of culture and science comparable to our own, but with radically different history, society and philosophy.

Ponter Boddit, a Neanderthal physicist, accidentally pierces the barrier between worlds and is transferred to our universe. Almost immediately recognized as a Neanderthal, but only much later as a scientist, he is quarantined and studied, alone and bewildered, a stranger in a strange land. But Ponter is also befriended—by a doctor and a physicist who share his questing intelligence, and especially by Canadian geneticist Mary Vaughan, a woman with whom he develops a special rapport.

Ponter’s partner, Adikor Huld, finds himself with a messy lab, a missing body, suspicious people all around and an explosive murder trial. How can he possibly prove his innocence when he has no idea what actually happened to Ponter?
You can read an excerpt here

Devon’s review of Moonstruck by Susan Grant
SciFi/Futuristic Romance released by HQN 1 Jun 08

SciFi/Futuristic Romance tends to be hit or miss for me. And lately it’s been all miss. That’s why I was I was nicely surprised by Moonstruck, the first in Susan Grant’s new Borderlands series. It is sure to be enjoyed by readers who like a bit of Space Opera, and readers who like a kick ass heroine.

Moonstruck takes place just after the end of a very long war between the Coalition and the Drakken Horde. In order to promote peace, the newly established Triad government (Coalition/Horde/the Shrine of Earth) wants to put together a new flagship with a crew made up of the three groups. Coalition Admiral Brit Bandar is assigned to helm the ship, called the Unity. Unfortunately, her second in command is Finn Rorkken, a Drakken pirate turned military officer. Brit really, really hates the Drakken. She has spent half her life trying to exterminate them. Will she be able to work with them, particularly the charming and sexy Rorkken?

I enjoyed the world set up in this book and the motley crew aboard the Unity. The three different groups were very distinct. The Coalition are the “civilized” ones, reliant on reason and technology. The Drakken Horde are chaotic, violent, desperate to survive. They’re the most interesting. Earth, a recently rediscovered backwater planet, is represented by a knucklehead called Tango, whose idea of showing Earth culture to the others revolves around Rubik’s Cubes, Disco Balls, and the DVD of “The Devil Wears Prada”. Oh well, perhaps he’ll grow up a bit.

Brit and Finn had great chemistry. Brit was a very interesting heroine-a cold military leader, motivated by pure vengeance. She had the potential to be a shrill ballbreaker, but never fulfilled it (Thank goodness). She was able to be fair and listen to others, despite her overwhelming prejudice. Her inner struggle was palpable as she fought her attraction to Finn, and she had good reason to hate his people. I felt for her. Finn was a good foil for Brit, rough around the edges, intelligent, strong.

Finn wants his people to prove themselves to the Coalition, to show they aren’t barbarians. As he falls for Brit, he starts to smooth his rough Drakken edges to fit in (and appeal to her more). This made him less interesting to me, as his character arc seemed to revolve around pleasing Brit. Brit changed over the course of the book as well, but she still seemed the same at the core. It’s unusual to read a romance where the hero kind of fades next to the heroine, rather than the other way around. This didn’t bother me as much as it might, because Finn did start off really interesting, and I was very involved in their romance by the time he got boring.

The plot was interesting, and not hard to follow. Sometimes the technology and “space jargon” (as I call it) in this type of book come off a little ridiculous and nonsensical. You know, the random oaths and words (frikken, frakken, flooping). Here, things were consistent and I was able to understand everything in the context. I was pleased by the absence of random, meaningless apostrophes as well. There was a pretty big cast of characters, but I was able to keep them all in order. I am looking forward to more more of the Unity’s adventures, and I want Bolivarr and Hadley’s book now. Moonstruck is a fun read for those who enjoy love in space.

Grade: B+

The Summary:
PEACE IS FOR LITTLE GIRLS.

And Coalition starship admiral Brit Bandar is one tough woman. A mere intergalactic treaty could never get her to trust the Drakken Horde. There was too much bad blood between the Coalition and the Horde and, for intensely personal reasons, Brit wasn’t sure that she was through spilling it! But now a peaceful accord has made Finn Rorkken, a notorious Drakken rogue, second-in command on her starship – and through some grand cosmic irony – front and center in her thoughts…and her heart.

WARLEADER. PIRATE.

Either title sat easily on Finn’s battle-hardened shoulders. Though second-in-command to “Stone-Heart” Bandar? That would take some getting used to. Peace required as much sacrifice as war, so he’d comply even if his reaction to the gorgeous admiral fell decidedly outside protocol. But would he end up kissing or killing her if the galaxy’s tentative truce turned into all out war?
Read an excerpt here