Recent Read

The Last Warrior by Susan Grant

Why this one: I love most of Ms. Grant’s books. Love. Them. They are futuristics, a genre I adore and can’t read enough of. But I had real issues with the last book of hers I tried to read; it was a departure from her usual style. So I was a bit leery when The Last Warrior came out as to what kind of book it would be, the style I’ve loved in the past or the style I couldn’t read. But since I’ve loved her in the past, I decided to dive into the Susan Grant book pool

Steam Level: Warm, not hot, but warm. But then it’s hot enough outside anyway these days. So warm is good!

Blurb: As a decorated soldier, the young General Tao knows only one kind of honor—to his people. But when his own king betrays him, he discovers that his sacrifices, his successes, may not have been for the good of the country at all.

Fate—and his enemies—throw him together with Elsabeth, a red-haired beauty who has served as the royal tutor. Her loyalties, though, remain with her father's people, the rebellious Kurel, who worship the old ways, even harboring the forbidden arks that brought the Kurel to this planet ages ago. When a threat greater than their peoples' war looms, intent on destroying the world they both know, the fierce warrior and the sensitive scholar must unite. Together, they must fight for their planet, for their world and for their love.

My Thoughts: Well!! I am SO glad I dove back into the pool as this is the kind of Susan Grant book I adore and adore this one I did!

It has everything going for it. Let me count the ways:

1. A very intriguing world that is very well built - check
2. A great cast of secondary characters that makes me want to read more about them – check
3. An evil villain that you want to do away with yourself - check
4. A heroine that I really like and admire – check
5. A hero to die for – check

The setting for this Futuristic Sci/Fi romance is the planet (look it up). I gather the planet was colonized by the people from Earth hundreds of years ago and somehow all communication was cut off so they slowly drifted into various segments of society. There are the superstitious warrior class, known as the Tassagonians, who are exemplified by our hero General Tao. Then there are the scientific class known as the Kurel. There isn’t much mingling of these two classes as the Warrior class are very wary of the Kurel and consider all their advanced knowledge is evil magic.

The story starts out with the return of General Tao, a hero to his people for the glorious defeat of the Gorr, an animalistic group whose sole purpose is the elimination of the human inhabitants. Our heroine, Elsabeth is less than impressed though as she has a deep dislike of the Tassagoian people and in particular a hatred for their king ever since he was responsible for the senseless death of her parents. She is part of a rebellion against King Xim along with the chief of the palace guards and Tao’s best friend.

When Tao makes his triumphant return, King Xim is threatened by Tao’s popularity with the people and has him falsely arrested. Markham, his friend and chief of palace guards rescues him and hides him with Elsabeth and the ghetto town of the Kurels

That’s the basics of the story but that’s just bare bones. What I would like to say is what great characters both Elsabeth and Tao are. I wasn’t sure I would like either one at first but I LOVED them. Elsabeth has reason to be bitter but rather than wallow in it, she works to make things different and better. She could have let her hatred for the Tassagoian people take over, but she is very well able to separate her feeling for the king from the rest of the people. In fact she calls the king’s wife and sister to Tao a friend and is very fond of her. Elsbeth is smart, brave, does what she can to help but not in a stupid way and Wendy would really like her. Hint, hint. She has preconceived notions about what the Tassagoians are all about, but is willing to readjust her thinking when she sees that the role they play is valuable.

And Tao. Oh, yum, yum, yum!! What an incredible Ms. Grant has written in him. He is a hero to his people and despite this he remains remarkably humble about it all. He just wants to find a wife, using careful, well thought out methods and retire to his family vineyard. He has fought against the Gorr for many years despite still being a young man. When he is put into hiding in the district of the Korel, he is at first quite reluctant what with them practicing magic and all. But he slowly realizes what value they can be. And at first rather disgusted with their passive ways, he is impressed when they rise to the occasion when threatened. And the chemistry between Tao and Elsabeth is absolutely delicious. I just love how they slowly begin to love each other as they get to know each other and put aside their prejudices. Tao admires Elsbeth and treats her with a great deal of respect, even though he is totally hot for her.

This is a riveting story with very real and believable characters. There are a few places where I chuckled over Tao and his ‘duck out of water’ stay with the Korel. I’ve tried tightening up on my 5 out of 5 grades as at times going back I barely remember a book I gave a five too, but not so in this case. This is one I will remember and most certainly read again.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Recent ReRead

Once a Pirate by Susan Grant

Why this one: As you can tell, this is a reread. And as to why - it called to me. Really! It did. It was on the bed right out in plain sight in the computer room and I saw it every time I was in the room. I don't know how it got there - must have traveled up from 'the Library' late one night while I was sleeping. Every time I saw it, it whispered a little louder until I could no longer deny it's call.

Steam Level: Oh yea.

Blurb:
Once A Pirate
Andrew Spencer sailed the seas seeking revenge, and there were very few merchants' treasures that he hadn't given a jolly rogering. But on this particular voyage, he found his task harder than usual. As a brown-eyed beauty was hoisted from the waves, he found his pirate's soul plundered from without and a fiery need conjured up from within.

Forever Her Man
The freak storm that caused her plane to go down in the Atlantic sent fighter pilot Carly Callahan's life spinning out of control as well. Pulled from the freezing ocean, she found herself in the hot embrace of an Adonis. But his eyes were cold and hard, and the man's burning lips swore she was someone else before he claimed her as his own. Carly knew she had one chance to go home, but there was so much to see and feel here-and the best was yet to come.

My Thoughts: You say you can't buy a book by it's cover. Well, I'm shallow and I'll often buy a book if it has a good cover. But the opposite shouldn't hold true. Despite it's horrid man titty, wind blowing hair, this is one heck of a good read. I'd read a couple of Ms. Grant's later books and quite enjoyed them so I ordered this one.

As well as ignoring the cover, you might be best to kind of ignore the back cover blurb too. I mean seriously - " jolly rogering", "a brown-eyed beauty was hoisted from the waves", "his pirate's soul plundered from without and a fiery need conjured up from within". Shudder. Whoever wrote this should have been demoted.

Instead, this is a wonderful story with a great hero (and a nice ordinary name) and an equally great heroine.

I first blogged about this book in 2006 and I'm happy to say I enjoyed it just as much in 2010 as I did in 2006

What I read on my summer vacation - Part 2

See - I told you I was busy reading. These are the other 2 books I read while on my summer vacation at the cottage.

How to Loose and Extraterrestrial in 10 days by Susan Grant

Why This One: Susan Grant is an autobuy author for me - has been for ages

Steam Level: Oh this one is nice and steamy

Author Website Blurb:

Question: Where's the best place to hide an interstellar fugitive? Answer: Suburbia

His internal computers are offline, his former employers want him dead and the Men in Black are after him. Without his cyberpowers, Reef is as weak as a lowly Earthling. He's tried to kill every human he's met--so why on Earth would they help him?

Evie Holloway needs a bodyguard! Her fledgling chocolate business is mistaken as a money-laundering scheme for the mob and the bullets have started flying. But does the suburban soccer mom really want to shelter the alien hit man who almost offed her future brother-in-law?

She is desperate, and Reef is incredibly sexy. "Ten Days," she tells him--but it turns out that ten days just might be long enough to spark a love that's truly out of this world.

My Thoughts: As I said, Ms. Grant has been an autobuy author for a while now and I have her entire back list except for her anthologies. This is the third book in a series. Number one is Your Planet or Mine. Number two is My Favourite Earthling.

I hate to be less than positive about this book - I really do - but it's not really my favourite. There's no question it has a lot going for it. I adored Reef. He was stolen from his family on a rather primitive planet and had his memory wiped and turned into a ruthless, souless part cyborg assassin. When he is cut off from his internal computers, he is like a lost soul who has to start almost all over again. And he suffers great stress as he slowly recovers his humanity. And being as he has been a cyborg assassin for most of his his life, he's one of those yummy virgin heroes so many of us like.

So Reef gets a BIG thumbs up, 5 star marks from me in hero material. The not so good part comes in the form of the heroine. I found Evie to be a bit on the whiny, indecisive TSTL side . Her family is high up in government circles but she has always shunned this aspect of the family, deciding instead to try and live a normal life. She's a divorced woman with the proverbial jerk of an ex. Try as I might, I couldn't really relate to her issues or really warm up to her. I couldn't help thinking Reef deserved someone with more backbone then Evie who was willing to give up her dreams for rather wishy washy reasons.

I don't know if the other issues I have will make any sense or not - probably not. But when I read SciFi or Futuristic romance, I prefer to have them take place in other worlds or galaxies. There is this whole Rah, Rah, isn't Earth great tone to a number of the stories that take place here and to be honest, when compared to some of the planets and worlds in this genre, Earth isn't that great a place. Because Earth is involved, it's harder to enjoy the escapism that is this genre and taking world politics into consideration, this is one fucked up planet. If I were an alien world, looking down at all the crap that goes on, I'd steer far away and look for a better, less screwed up place to visit. I find the whole patriotism thing for Earth annoying.

Does that make sense to anyone? *sigh* probably not.

All that makes this one a hard one to grade. The writing is good. The hero is EXCELLENT. The heroine isn't so good. And I had problems with the setting and the whole nationalism thing.

Grade: I'll give this one a 3.5 out of 5.

Killer Charms by Marianne Stillings

Why this one: I adored the previous two in the series

Steam Level: Nice and hot!

Author Website Blurb:

If he could really see the future, he’d know that Andie Darling always gets her man.

Logan Sinclair is nothing but a fraud - or at least that’s what Inspector Andie Darling, undercover detective on the streets of San Francisco, is determined to prove. Sure, the sexy Scotsman may claim to be clairvoyant, but Andie’s never believed in second sight (or love at first sight, for that matter). So why does his sweet talk turn her into a lovestruck fool?

Getting the goods on the elusive con man would get Andie out of boring Vice and into Homicide, yet all she can think about is getting into Logan’s arms. But juggling her job and her heart leaves her with little time to protect herself from a killer hot on her heels, or deal with the hypnotic dreams she’s been having of a time long past.

Logan would love to help Andie solve both mysteries, but charm and clairvoyance might not be enough to save her now . . .

My Thoughts: This is the third book and is Andie's story. She is the sister of the heroes in Arousing Suspicions and Satisfaction. While I enjoyed it, I didn't find it quite as charming and quirky as I did the first two books. Neither the hero or heroine seemed to come quite as alive as those in the previous books. When Andie was put on the case, there didn't seem to be any real good reason for going after Logan. And without a believable premise to start with, there was something just a tad off about the whole book. Later on in the story she allows herself to be blackmailed and rather than going to her brothers to help her, she goes along with the blackmailer. I never have sympathy with characters who allow this to happen so I found that a bit bothersome.

And Logan seemed to be rather underdeveloped as a hero. I know that it was done purposely because he had secrets that he needed to keep. But that kept us from really knowing him as a character. And the trademark funny moments that Ms. Stillings has in her books weren't as apparent in this one. I think I've mentioned that I read her first book and while it had a lot of potential, it didn't really work for me. When I read Arousing Suspicions and Satisfaction she seemed to have reached that potential I saw. Sadly, for me, Killer Charms is a slight step back. Despite that though, I do look forward to her next book and hope she's back on top again.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Revisiting an old post - The Futuristic - My Genre du Jour

Having just enjoyed Susan Grant's latest book, Moonstruck and looking forward to Linnea Sinclair's latest book coming out soon, and also with so many new bloggers in blogland, I went back into the vault for this post. This is one I did way back when in 2005. Hopefully I can get it to post now in 2008. It's funny how a few years can change things. I don't know if it's me being optimistic, but Futuristics seem to be making a bit of a comeback lately with a new name for the genre SciFi Romance. I still love them just as much today as I did back in 2005. And one other thing has changed since I first posted this - I know how to add pictures now!

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I read a good one recently and I can feel a futuristic reading marathon coming on. I know this genre isn’t for everyone but it’s one of my favourites. I’ve read them for years but I seemed to have gotten away from them for a while. After thoroughly enjoying the book I read, the fire is back again. Before I start blogging about the futuristic books I’ve read recently and/or are planning to read, I thought I’d explain why I like them so much and what I find appealing about them.
To do a well written futuristic, I find the author has to have a limitless imagination. There’s a specialty channel here in Canada with the catchy phrase – Space – the Imagination Station. I think that applies to futuristic books too. With a historical the boundaries are already set. There’s the ton with all the rules and regulations, the seasons, the country homes and parties; the dukes, the earls, the marquis etc. etc. etc.. What the author does is follow the parameters already set up. She/he adds their interpretation, storyline and characters within the outline already done in history. The same goes for medievals and westerns. Since it’s already happened, there is no need to create something different or unique. With romantic suspense and contemporaries, the same holds true. But with futuristics, the sky is the limit (so to speak).
The author can have a setting on earth in the not too distant future with still recognizable events or places such as the In Death books or Susan Grant’s The Star King, The Star Prince and The Star Princess. Or they can take place in a world completely unrecognizable such as Robin Owen’s world.
If we are far into the future the ruling empire can be evil such as the Coalition in Justine Davis Lord of the Storm and Skypirate or looking out for the greater good such as futuristic world in Angela Knight’s Jane’s Warlord (I wish we had seen more of it than we did. Hopefully for the futuristic lovers she will revisit it someday)

**** And she does have another one coming out in this series!! I just noticed this the other day and I was one happy camper! In fact I ordered it and since it's out in July, 2008 I don't have to long a wait.****

The author can create regular type heroes and heroines or the unusual such as Kathleen Morgan’s Heart’s Lair or Christine Spangler’s Shadow Fires (*note: this is one I haven’t read – just the reviews). The hero’s can be a ruler, an escaped convict, a bounty hunter or a pirate or any other creation of the author’s imagination. There’s also a wide variation for the heroine too; princess, convict, healer or empath (although if the heroine is either of the last two, the author may face the wrath of Mrs. Giggles – she’s tough on them healers (grin).
Another issue that doesn’t necessarily have to be dealt with in futuristics is unwanted pregnancies or STD’s. Since they take place in the future is seems almost a given that this is no longer a problem. Science and advanced medical treatment will have taken care of this. While I applaud authors who deal with this issue in contemporaries, wouldn’t it be nice to know that in the future it’s something we won’t have to worry about? And honestly, in RL instead of RW, there would be a whole lot of heroes in historicals running around with syphilis and a whole lot of heroines who were inconveniently pregnant
It seemed for a while like futuristics were on their way out. I’ve read that Justine Davis had a third book in mind for her journey into the futuristic but was told not to bother, that it wouldn’t sell. I’m sure there were other authors who were told the same thing. And at the time they probably wouldn’t have. But one of the things I most admire about Love Spell which I believe is a division of Leisure Publishing is they never gave up. They published them in 1995 and they are still publishing them today. I hope they and other publishers continue and that readers who are loving paranormals discover that futuristics can be just as good and different a read. Berkley is also publishing some good ones these days.
So if you’ve never tried one before, try that final frontier, explore strange new worlds, seek out new adventures, go where you the reader has ne're gone before.
There are some crappy ones out there I know – same as crappy historicals, medievals and every other genre, but there is also some very very good ones.

For anyone interested here are a just a few of my favourite favourites.

Banner’s Bonus by Carole Ann Lee (1995): I loved this book. One of my all time favourite furturistics, it was the only one I’ve ever been able to find by this author. This will be the first in line for a reread. There were some secondary characters who would have been great with their own books but alas – whatever happened to the author and/or sequels is a mystery





Lord of the Storm and Skypirate by Justine Davis: I wish more had been written. She did a wonderful job with these. And yes, I know. *sigh* They are Very Bad Covers.









Knighthawk by Kristen Kyle: After reading a few other books by this author and loving them and seeing she had a futuristic I knew this was one I had to have. It took me a while to track one down and I finally ordered it from Amazon but it was well worth the effort.








Heart’s Lair by Kathleen Morgan: This one was thinking on it now, was ahead of it’s time. The hero is part man, part lion. I found it a very interesting book.
There was a prequel to this one, but I didn't like it nearly as much.







Kinsman's Oath: Sadly, very sadly, she quit writing Futuristics after this one. I hope some day she goes back to them

I’m really looking forward to finding some new ones.

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And luckily, over the years I have found new books and new authors. I've discovered Linnea Sinclair. Susan Grant still continues to impress. Patricia Waddell wrote a nice book that I quite enjoyed. And of course I'm still as deeply in love with the In Death books as I was in 2005.

Recent Reads

If you haven’t seen me around quite as much lately, it’s because I’ve been on a great reading binge lately. And boy am I happy that I have been. I haven’t read this many books so quickly in a long time! Giving up TV has proved to be very beneficial to the reader in me.

Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson

Why this one: I’ve read all her other books and some I love, some not so much, some I didn’t like at all – but except for one – Daisy’s Back in Town. That one was a hot button for me – heroine has secret baby but decides not to tell the daddy. See Jane Score is one of my all time favourite books so I’m always going to at least give her a try.

Steam Level: Nice and warm, the kettle could have boiled a little bit more though

Author Web site blurb: Adele Harris has never had a problem finding a man it’s finding a good man that’s damn near impossible

Adele Harris has dated them all-geeks, nerds, liars, losers. Egomaniacs, nymphomaniacs, and just plain maniacs. She's been set up and stood up, and now she's had it up to here with the jerks of the world. It’s enough to make a girl give up dating forever. If only she could find a guy that made her heart flutter like her first love, Zach, the college quarterback who swept her off her feet senior year... before dumping her to marry someone else. Okay, so he wasn't perfect. But when Adele heads back to Cedar Creek, Texas, for a family emergency, she discovers that her hometown heartthrob is still as sexy as ever and now he’s single.

It could be the end of Adele's streak. After all, forgiving Zach for breaking her heart years ago and learning to trust him again will take everything she's got, but Adele can handle anything... anything but another bad date.

My Thoughts: I’ve said before that while I love a good hero, it’s the heroine that can make or break a book for me. Cough – The Defiant Hero by Suzanne Brockman – Cough. This one is the opposite of that one that came out while I was coughing. I really did not like Zach, but the book wasn’t broken because I did like Adele. First off, Zach. He came across to me as real jerk. I did not like him – at all. First off, he broke Adele’s heart years earlier when he just dropped her to go on and marry his previous girlfriend when she became pregnant. He acted like it was such a noble thing for him to do – then proceeded to cheat on her. Real swell guy he was. Mind you his first wife, Devon, wasn’t all that great. She got pregnant on purpose.

Then, later in the book, when he finally says he feels bad about hurting Adele those many years ago, he does the “but” thing and says he would do the same thing again. What a prince. I also didn’t like him because he just struck me as being real stuck on himself – god’s gift to women – that kind of attitude. Adele was the only woman who didn’t drop dead at his feet and he really didn’t like that. He also pretty much ignored his daughter for years so he could do his own thing and screw other woman. Excuse me – he married her mother because he was the father – and then made a real rotten one for years.

On the other hand, Adele really worked for me. She gave up her own life – reluctantly – to come back and help her sister and niece out when they needed her. She wasn’t the best aunt – she felt. She wasn’t all motherish and I liked that about her. She was anxious and looking forward to getting back to her own like, which I felt was pretty realistic. She floundered and she had moments of resenting the sacrifice she made. I found that to be believable too.

Another thing that kind of had me scratching my head was the inclusion of the first wife. For the life of me, I couldn’t really figure out why that was in there at all. On top of that – having said one thing, I couldn’t help but notice the rather large almost double spaced font in this book. While it made it easier to read, it almost seemed like it was done just to make a certain page count. I could be wrong though.

Overall, it’s kind of hard to grade this one. The ‘hero’ was a jerk, but the heroine was great. And it was very readable. I finished it in a day and a half and even though I didn’t like Zach, it was no hardship to read. I’d give it a better grade but really, even though it’s the heroine that makes or breaks the book, still it helps a lot if you can like the hero, and I didn’t in this one. Hopefully I will like her next hero, because I will read her next book.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Thumbs Up

Kiss of Crimson by Lara Adrian

Why this one: I read her first book, Kiss of Midnight and really enjoyed it. I went out and bought all the other ones so far in the series. Plus it’s not too bad a cover to take to work.

Steam Level: Although there weren’t a lot of love scenes, the ones that were in the book were smokin’

Blurb from Author Web Site: He comes to her more dead than alive, a towering black-clad stranger riddled with bullets and rapidly losing blood. As she struggles to save him, veterinarian Tess Culver is unaware that the man calling hims

elf Dante is no man at all, but one of the Breed, vampire warriors engaged in a desperate battle. In a single erotically charged moment Tess is plunged into his world--a shifting, shadowed place where bands of Rogue vampires stalk the night, cutting a swath of terror.

Haunted by visions of a dark future, Dante lives and fights like there is no tomorrow. Tess is a complication he does not need--but now, with his brethren under attack, he must shield Tess from a growing threat that includes Dante himself. For with one reckless, irresistible kiss, she has become an inextricable part of his underworld realm . . . and his touch awakens her to hidden gifts, desires, and hungers she never knew she possessed. Bonded by blood, Dante and Tess must work together to thwart deadly enemies, even as they discover a passion that transcends the boundaries of life itself . . . .

My Thoughts: I don’t know how I avoided it – becoming addicted to JR Wards BDB series. I’ve read the first two so far and while I really enjoyed them, especially Rhage’s story, somehow I haven’t become what Katie calls a BDB crack addict. Now the Midnight Breed series are almost a different story. I may be one of a very few, but I actually am enjoying this series more. I find the world building better, the heroines much stronger, the villains not nearly as obnoxious and thank the stars – no silly Scribe Virgin.

Dante is the kind of hero who wants no entanglements. His prophetic mother predicted a bad ending for him and he’s almost just putting in time until his number is up. He is badly injured in a fight with some Rogues – the bad guys

in this series, vampires who have succumbed to blood lust and gone over to the dark side. He stumbles into the veterinary clinic of the heroine, Tess, and in a weakened state, drinks her blood, only to discover much to his horror that she is a blood mate – a rare kind of human female that can mate with and give birth to one of the Breed heroes. He is more than dismayed because this creates a bond between them that can only be broken by death and he wants nothing to do with having a mate.

I really liked this book; I thought both Dante and Tess were great characters. Tess was a fairly strong character, much more so than the heroines in the BDB books I think. As I said there weren’t that many sex scenes, but th

e sexual tension between the two was very good. I mentioned in my previous post on Kiss of Midnight, that I kind of like the idea that these vampires are actually from another planet that ended up on earth a long time ago.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

Bigger Thumbs Up

Moonstruck by Susan Grant

Why this one: I’ve loved Susan Grant’s books for years and she’s an autobuy author for me.

Steam Level: Had to blow on my fingers, they were pretty crispy

Blurb from author’s website:

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?

My Thoughts: It’s books like this one that make me glad I read Sci Fi Romance!!! If Katie and I had had our favourite books of 2008 after I read this one – this is one I’d be saying is on my list for sure and I’d be URGING Kate to read. In fact – Kate – READ THIS BOOK!! READ IT I SAY. I know you love Linnea Sinclair so you and everyone else who love Ms. Sinclair's books should enjoy this one!

Wowzers this book is good! Brit Bandar is one of the strongest heroines I’ve read! Think Captain Janeaway from Star Trek Voyager and you get kind of a feel for Brit. She is an admiral and the captain of a ship. She is tough when she has to be, but is still loved by her crew. She suffered a great tragedy earlier in her life and rose from the ashes to become a tremendous success. She is admired by her friends and feared by her enemies. She is unapologetic in her sexuality, though she is discreet. She is tough, but fair and doesn’t make hasty decisions she will regret later. She has zoomed right up to the top and become one of my favourite heroines.

To give a bit of the storyline, she has been the captain of her own space ship and been a very successful commander in the ongoing war between the coalition and the Horde, their enemies for years. But peace has been declared and she is given command of a much bigger ship. But much to her dismay, her second in command is Finn Rorrken, a former War Leader of the Horde. Brit hates the Horde and with good reason and is not a happy camper that she must accept Finn and his crew. But, she reluctantly agrees to take them on and as I said, she is fair in her dealings with them.

Finn Rorrken is a great hero. Although he has suffered greatly himself, he is more than willing to let bygones be bygones and has actually long held great admiration for Brit, though he’s never met her. He is grateful to be given such a great opportunity and fully sees that the truce is a good thing. The Coalition has always had a higher standard of living than the Horde. Once he meets and slowly gets to know the woman behind the mask, he is totally and completely smitten with
her. I love when that happens with the hero. Despite being despised by many of the crew because of the bitterness left behind due to the war between the two races, he slowly earns their respect with his leadership qualities. Even though he is second to Brit, he is not bothered by it at all. In fact his previous admiration for grows into a deep love although Brit is most reluctant. Theirs is a great love story.

And I have to mention too, how multi-dimensional the secondary characters are, in particular her assistant Hadley Keyren, a young woman who a total fangirl of Brit and Bolivvar, one of Finn’s crew. Theirs is a tender secondary story I enjoyed very much.

I’ve loved many of Ms. Grant’s books and Moonstruck is one of the best! This is the first in a new series and if the rest are as good as the first, we are in for a real treat! And if you don't want to take just my word for it *g*, Jayne at DA really enjoyed this one too.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Biggest Thumbs Up

So - that's three good books I really enjoyed. I'm on a roll I tell you - and I like it!

All three get my seal of approval