Kristie J’s review of Shifter Planet by D.B. Reynolds
Scifi Romance published by Entangled: Select Otherworld 26 Oct 15

There are many things that influence me when trying a new book.  Good price, good recs from fellow readers, a genre I enjoy, an interesting sounding premise, and sometimes I get real shallow and just think the cover is hot.  With this book it was a combo of a genre I enjoy (Sci-Fi) and a hot cover.

Taking both those into consideration, it was almost a given I’d try it.  Add in a good price and I was sold.

This is mostly a sci-fi romance with some paranormal thrown in.  Amanda Sumner has grown up and lived most of her life on spaceships.  She longs to find just the right planet and settle down and call it home.  When the exploratory spaceshSip (think the Enterprise) she works on circles the planet Harp, she just KNOWS this is the planet she’s been longing for.  As the ship gets closer, she can ‘hear’ the trees calling to her.  Harp is a long-lost colony of Earth.  Centuries ago, Earth sent out a number of explorers and Harp was one of the settlements.  Because it’s a very small planet, it’s almost been forgotten about and that’s just fine with the people of Harp.  They have their secrets they don’t want getting out…

One of the people who most want the people from Earth leaving them in peace is Rhodry de Mendoza, a clan chieftain.  And he has his reasons.  When the visitors manage to break some basic rules of his planet, they are tossed off the planet, leaving only a skeleton crew behind, one of them being Amanda.  Amanda takes to her life on Harp and it isn’t long before she decides she wants to become a member of the Guild, an elite company of men who guard the people.

While there are no rules stating a woman, and a non-Harp resident, can’t join the Guild, they make it very clear they don’t want Amanda joining them and think nothing of trying to sabotage her efforts.  It’s an extremely difficult and strenuous test she has to pass.

Strangely enough, though, one of the few people who think Amanda deserves a shot is Rhodry de Mendoza.  He’s been keeping his distance from Amanda, because, even though he doesn’t think she should have been allowed to stay on Harp, he’s still very attracted to her, no matter how much he doesn’t want to be.

He nearly becomes her ally, though he has his own issues to deal with.  Politically he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.  He has no interest in moving up the political ladder, yet he has a number of enemies who think he must.

The day finally arrives for Amanda’s trial.  She’s dropped off far away from the city and must work her way back through hostile terrain.  But the deck has been unfairly stacked and the odds against her are very slim.

At the same time Rhodry’s enemies have decided this is the time to put their evil plan into action and set out to severely injure him and leave him to die.

Now while Rhodry and his clan have some very special talents, they are shifters and were designed that way many, many years ago to better protect the people of Harp against hostile critters, Rhodry has been left in such terrible shape he needs Amanda to help save his life.

I’ve gone into much more detail about the outline of the story than I usually do, but that’s because it’s quite a complex story and has quite a bit of world building and any less would have readers of this review going, “Huh???”

So what works?  Amanda.  She is one kick-ass heroine.  She doesn’t take shit from anyone and makes all the bully-boys who try to defeat her look foolish.  I don’t understand her reasoning in wanting so bad to get into the Guild that she’s willing to accept all kinds of obstacles, but I admired her for trying.  And I love the fact that the heroine rescues the hero.  That’s way cool.

Rhodry isn’t quite the stand-out character that Amanda is, but then he’s the one who needs the rescuing.  He has developing feelings for her but suppresses them for much of the book.

The romance suffered for a good deal of more than the first half of the book, but the world build up made up for it.  And it did pick up steam in the later stages.  But it’s not a romancy story at all. The ending seemed to me like it was left somewhat open for more and continuing adventures with these two.  I hope so, ‘cause I would read it.

I would say if you read and enjoy Linea Sinclair’s books, which I do, then you will equally enjoy this book.

Grade: B

Summary:

Specialist Amanda Sumner is one of the first to make contact on the Earth-like planet Harp and discovers she’s the only Earthling, who can hear the trees sing in the strange forest. Determined to remain and learn more of the planet’s secrets, Amanda sets out to become part of the elite Guild there…

But there is a secret involving some Guild members–one that could get her killed.

Shifter Rhodry de Mendoza wants the Earthlings off his planet before they destroy it—even if that means denying what he feels for the fierce and lovely Amanda. The pair is thrown together in what becomes a fight for their lives. And they might just lose everything–including each other–in their battle for the right to live in peace.

Read an excerpt.