Linnea Sinclair - An Accidental Goddess

Raheiran Special Forces captain Gillaine Davré has just woken up in some unknown space way station, wondering where the last three hundred years have gone. The last thing she remembers is her ship being attacked. Now it seems that while she was time-traveling, she was ordained a goddess…. Gillaine’s only hope of survival rests with dangerously seductive Admiral Mack Makarian, who suspects her of being a smuggler—or worse. But he can’t begin to imagine the full extent of it. For Gillaine is now Lady Kiasidira, holy icon to countless believers, including Mack—a man who inspires feelings in her that are far from saintly…feelings she knows are mutual. But when their flirtation is interrupted by a treacherous enemy from the past, Gillaine’s secret—and secret desires—could destroy them both…

Comment: Another book by author Linnea Sinclair and the last one I had in my pile by her to read. I've enjoyed her books in the past so i was quite excited to read this one as well and get back some of the feelings her writing evokes in me by allowing me to suspend belief in sci-fi romances.

In this book the main character is Gilliane Davré, a woman that has special traits, namely telepathy and healing among others, and she can overcome other mages and humans if necessary but she comes from a race that doesn't want to force others to to their biding. Of course they have enemies who wouldn't think twice about it.

The story begins when Gillie and her ship (along with the life form who can only exist as an AI in the ship) suddenly appear in a part of the galaxy they wouldn't expect. Gillie wakes up and after a while they realize they have time traveled to the future. Now, the world thinks of her race as special and godlike, including her. 

Gillie's last mission had been to kill a bunch of evil mages but things backfired and it seems 340 years have gone by. However, when Gillie is only now getting used to the idea of being at a different timeline, of sort of accepting the station's admiral is a good guy she would like to know a lot better, she feels something is wrong. 

It's not just she sees people now worship her a goddess which means it's important to hide her identity. It seems that there are some evil mages and a plot to overtake the station and eventually society in other planets is on going. Can Gillie be the heroine everyone would want her to be again?

I actually liked this story a lot, it was engaging and apart from real life issues that stopped me from dedicate more time than I could to this book I'd have finished sooner because it was addictive to read.

I just think I'd focus a little bit more on the social interactions and not as much on the evil plots. I guess I'd have preferred even more romance content and situations but despite this, I still consider the story to be very appealing.

The whole sci-fi scenario isn't difficult to grasp even if this is a reader's first take on the genre. "Rules" and events and technicalities are well presented, not too much that would confuse people but also not in a way that wouldn't let readers understand what everything is about. Of course, in the beginning, it seemed things would a certain way (I'd think the author would play more with the time travel concept) but it was quite satisfying how she decided to focus on Gillie being special enough to help save people and find a place for herself along a partner and eventually friends (my imagination for the after-HEA).

The evil guys' demise plot was well woven into things. Nothing seems certain for a long time but the author has chosen wisely in how to add information and how that would look like in a bigger picture. I won't go into details but I'm glad that things made sense together and that we didn't spend pages and pages in the evil guy's head, that is always a plus for me, it males it possible for us to focus on the heroes and their steps.

The romance was  obviously a subject I was interested in seeing how would develop. I did like how Gillie saw beyond the serious face of Admiral Mack and how lonely he felt, how much he appreciated honesty... despite the secrets she was keeping from him. I get she wanted him to see Gillie and not the embodiment of the goddess he has worshiped since he was a boy but yes, if some things had come clean between them sooner, I think it would have suited their relationship better, The heavy feelings notion happened a bit too son I'd say and even a marriage proposal! For me, this means that when everything about who Gillie is came to the surface, their reactions weren't explored as well as they could and it felt like things were rushed, I wanted more emotional scenes and dealing with everything related to Gillie's identity.

As for Mack alone, he was a dependable guy, I liked him but he could have also been more developed.

As a couple, their personalities seemed to match, then there were some handy details to link them even more but generally speaking, who they are to the world and to one another, was a path taken very quickly and even their quick falling in love could have been even more romantic. (For me at least).

The sort of rushed HEA, lack of more society notions and interactions between more characters are things I'd have changed a bit. However, I liked how the main couple felt together, I liked the caring both had towards those who couldn't defend themselves, I liked the pace of the story for the most part and I really liked how things made sense in general. All in all, a good book by the author.

Grade: 8/10

TBR Challenge: Linnea Sinclair - Finders Keepers

Independent trader Trilby Elliot is making some not-quite-legal modifications to her starfreighter, when an unexpected visitor falls out of space. Literally. He’s crashed onto the uninhabited planet of Avanar in a crippled ’Sko fighter–the last place you’d expect to find a Zafharin military officer because the ’Sko and the Zafharin have been at war as long as Trilby can remember.
Rhis Vanur is your typically arrogant Zafharin. But to Trilby’s surprise, he doesn’t look down on her or her slapdash ship. Still, Trilby’s learned the hard way that even though she found Rhis, she can’t keep him. She’s just a low-budget jump jockey as far as men like him are concerned. She’s not falling for his offer to help…until Port Rumor reports her best friend missing and Trilby learns that the ’Sko are hunting both her and Rhis. Now they’re in it together for better, for worse–or till death blasts them to oblivion....

Comment: It's time for another TBR Challenge read and this month the theme was "kicking it old school", basically meaning a book with at least 10 years publication. As it happened with many other readers, this is always a theme I can easily choose something because there's a lot to pick from within the TBR pile and many of the books aren't that young.

My choice is a book by Linnea Sinclair, whose work I like. This book was first published in 2002 although my own copy is from 2005. In either case, it has been more than 10 years since it was originally published.

In this story we meet Trilby Elliott, an independent trader who is alone in a remote planet, doing some work on her ship, basically adding some details which could be considered illegal in some places. Completely unexpected, something happens and she rescues a man from a dangerous zone of the planet, simply to get scared she might have made a mistake when the man regains his senses and she realizes he's from the other side of the galaxy, therefore not from the same area as she is. He tries to overpower her but they soon realize if they work together, they can lave quicker and he can return to where he is needed, no harm, no foul. The problem is the closes space brings them together in ore ways than one and even the future of the galaxy might be a subject to worry about...

I liked that the author tried to include some class differences in the characters of Trilby and Rhys. Clearly, they come from two different backgrounds and are seen as different people when it comes to their importance in society. Although this didn't define who they were to one another, obviously the reader is supposed to see not only the unlikeliness of their relationship in different settings but also the even more impressive decision of their HEA at the end. Personally, this seemed quite evident to me but I still appreciated how they decided to be together anyway.

I think, though, that the way they have fallen in love feels a little too weak, consistency related, because it happened too fast in my opinion.

The plot, as it often happens with books by the author, is set in a alternative reality of a sci-fi scenario. It's quite interesting to see on the page the imagination of not only the situations related to the plot but the whole setting which comes from the authors imagination. There is so much detail, so many little features and descriptions it has to be some sort of notion which the author tried to bring to life. This is not a plot where we just assume known things, it's like a whole new world presented from scratch (loosely based on existing things if one does think about it for a while) but while still letting the reader imagining in their own way how things could possibly be. I like this aspect of the author's work a lot, even if there are some consistency mistakes or some confusing content sometimes.

This is not a perfect book, nor a perfect romance but I think it does offer that escapism feeling one often considers when reading fiction, especially something so unlike the reality around us.

The plot is complex enough and I think some things weren't as easy to grasp but since this was one of the first books by the author, she has improved a lot with time.

There are some situations which I also think weren't as appealing, namely the need to have obvious villains and caricatural figures to highlight the goodness in others but that can be seen as just a personal preference, I guess. I'd also have preferred some details to be more obvious solved but leaving it in our imagination works too...

All in all, this was a good enough book, a fascinating story, amazing details and elements, a romance interesting enough because both Rhys and Trilby's personalities were intriguing but I've read better by mrs Sinclair. I will keep reading her work anyway, though, but I wouldn't say this is the book to really make a reader fall in love with her writing style and "voice".

Grade: 7/10

Linnea Sinclair - The Down Home Zombie Blues

In this steamy, suspenseful new novel from RITA Award-winning author Linnea Sinclair, a dangerously sexy space commander and an irresistibly earthy Florida police detective pair up to save the civilized galaxy . . . but can they save themselves from each other?
Bahia Vista homicide detective Theo Petrakos thought he'd seen it all. Then a mummified corpse and a room full of futuristic hardware sends Guardian Force commander Jorie Mikkalah into his life. Before the night's through, he's become her unofficial partner--and official prisoner--in a race to save the earth. And that's only the start of his troubles.
Jorie's mission is to stop a deadly infestation of biomechanical organisms from using Earth as its breeding ground. If she succeeds, she could save a world and win a captaincy. But she'll need Theo's help, even if their unlikely partnership does threaten to set off an intergalactic incident.
Because if she fails, she'll lose not just a planet and a promotion, but a man who's become far more important to her than she cares to admit.

Comment: I've enjoyed the sci-fi books I've read by this author previously. Like always, some were better than others, but I've come to accept I'm a fan of this author.

This book has been in the pile for months and I've scheduled it for this month at last.

This is the story of Jorie, a commander in a ship that comes to Earth to investigate what one of her undercover officers and a friend has discovered about their enemy's plans about zombies. However, things aren't good when she finds him and there's a crime scene in his house. She not only finds out he was murdered but humans have taken the case and are in possession of a special computer she needs to retrieve.

Theo Petrakos should be on vacation but he does his partner a favor and carries the computer to his house to hand in the next morning before leaving for his holidays. Jorie follows him and while trying to take the computer, a zombie attacks and Jorie reveals herself, they kill the zombie and Theo is taken to the ship. But the zombies are out there...can it be a random attack or something more?

This may sound confusing, but let it be told that the author writes sci-fi with romance and a lot of imagination. Usually her books feature space worlds and action and never set on Earth although most characters are of human genesis or descendent's and have human appearances.

Of all the books I've read, this is the first where the action happens mostly on Earth and features human interactions and situations.

I can't say it's a bad thing - it's not - but it does give a different vibe which is unlike the feel of the other books and most of all, changes from what I've come to think as the author's trademark settings.

I guess I was used to things very far from human/Earth-like.

I mean, characters have human traits and looks but aren't human and in this case many were and had to interact with those who weren't. I understand the interest in the comparison and clash but I confess I missed the different rules that happen in the other books.

I liked the main characters. Both Jorie and Theo have honor and are good people. They take their duty seriously and this is one of the things that puts them together and fighting to save humans from zombies while it would be easier to let people die and remove the zombie's threat later on.

Some things put Jorie and Theo's differences in evidence while little details bring them together. I liked things weren't easy breezy but not impossible to the point of sacrifices or permanent changes. The HEA is convincing and handy.

Theo and Jorie together are funny at times. The cultural and language differences make for some good scenes and help the romance feel better because they didn't have any way of dealing with each other unless they trusted each other way before they acted on their feelings. So, in a way, the love story was cute and believable for this setting.

Their personalities are well explored and I think any reader would appreciate the effort to know about them through their actions and thoughts and will to do the right thing.

The zombie part is imaginative although I admit sometimes I wish things were done faster. There are some plot segments I found a bit boring and hard to follow, not that the sci-fi parts were hard to imagine, but the way the author wrote made that more difficult than it had to, in my opinion. This happened randomly and not often so I think it's a matter of personal taste, other readers might not see it like that.

All in all, an imaginative book, very strong and recognizable plot points that allow the reader to enjoy but be wary of things happening. I don't think it's as engaging and alluring as other titles, not sure if it's because of the Earth environment or not, but it didn't wow me as much as one or two other titles.

Nevertheless, a good story and I'll be eager to finish the author's blacklist too.

Grade: 7/10

Linnea Sinclair - Rebels and Lovers

It's been two years since Devin Guthrie last saw Captain Makaiden Griggs. But time has done little to dampen his ardor for the beautiful take-charge pilot who used to fly yachts for his wealthy family. While Devin's soul still burns for Kaidee, she isn't the kind of woman a Guthrie is allowed to marry--especially in a time of intergalactic upheaval, with the family's political position made precarious by Devin's brother Philip, now in open revolt against the Empire. And when Devin's nineteen-year-old nephew, Trip, inexplicably goes missing after his bodyguard is murdered, this most dutiful of Guthrie sons finds every ounce of family loyalty put to the test. Only by joining forces with Kaidee can Devin complete the mission to bring Trip back alive. And only by breaking every rule can these two renegades redeem the promise of a passion they were never permitted to explore. At risk? A political empire, a personal fortune, and both their hearts and lives.

Comment: This is the last story in the Dock Five universe, created by Linnea Sinclair. I've had this book to read for some months and decided to read it before buying more books by the author.

This is the story of David, he's the youngest brother of Phillip, the hero from the previous installment.

David is the youngest son but his life is about to be as well used for the family name as everyone else's has been. However, David's oldest nephew is seen leaving his room and his bodyguard is found dead after. The mystery about who did it and why amounts to an adventure for David, the butler, the nephew and the woman David never forgot despite knowing she was forbidden, for she was married. But now it's a run against time to understand who wants to hurt the Guthrie family and why.

Overall, I can't say this was a bad book, because it filled all the expected spaces in terms of romance, storytelling, writing style, goals and HEA. I just found this book to be less exciting than the others and the romance, despite there and despite the HEA, wasn't as powerfully exploited or heartfelt for me.

My biggest issue was the development and conclusion of the romance. Although I enjoyed the angst and the dilemmas David faced over his feelings for Kaidee, someone who worked for his family and who was married, I still wasn't totally convinced over the end of the story for them. The beginning of their meeting again, situation and finances apart, was very promising because we had two characters with different experiences in life and I wanted to see them finding common ground. David has had a crush on Kaidee since she was an employee and his honor stopped from saying anything, both due to professional and personal reasons. Of course i expected him to want to be with her and close to her in the adventure thy saw themselves in.

Kaidee, however, apparently didn't feel the same in those past years, although we know she respected and admired him, as a person. Throughout the novel, we see their feelings change and grow but honestly I wasn't convinced Kaidee was actually falling in love, it always seemed that things were almost like retribution from her. I know she says differently in the book, but it was the feeling I always had.

This sort of shaped my idea of them as a couple so I never bought their love relationship too deeply. Then the HEA comes in the end of the book and once again, it felt flat. I wish the author had taken he time to build up something bigger about their lives, even more so if this was the final book. Hints and possibilities didn't seem enough.

There are good parts too, mainly plot related, but I do confess the resolution felt a bit rushed and with too much drama...authors do like to take their worlds to the edge.

The best thing, as always, is the world building, the imagination and creativity we can see in every page, because we can picture the world and how things must be to work the way she describes here.

I think the writing style, plot details and world building seem as effortlessly done as anything despite the reality surely be the opposite.

This conclusion to the series was a good enough effort, but I couldn't help thinking it could have been so much better. There are many plot related issues, Kaidee's experiences, David's mind and thought processes, the mystery, the situations which show up the character's potential, many things to bring this to life. But, for me, what should have been the best, wasn't. Fr that I feel this wasn't as wonderful as it could be, despite the good and fascinating writing.

Grade: 6/10

Linnea Sinclair - Hope's Folly

Admiral Philip Guthrie is in an unprecedented position: on the wrong end of the law, leading a ragtag band of rebels against the oppressive Imperial forces. Or would be if he can get his command ship-the derelict cruiser called Hope's Folly-functioning. 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.
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, once she learns the truth about her father's death? Or will her passion for revenge put not only their hearts but their lives at risk? It's an impossible mission: 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.

Comment: I'm aware many people loved this book, in particular people I know. I liked the author's books so far and despite the last book's end being a bit of a lesson on how to see a HEA not end up as perfectly as that, I was curious enough to keep reading stories about this series and which way things would go.

This is Phillip's story, he's been a recurrent character in the series and has now his chance to play a more important role.
Phillip comes from a very rich family and at 45 he's disappointed the Fleet has reached the point where things are. Phillip feels his duty is to bring peace to the galaxy again and the way he sees things, his plan is to become a rebel admiral. He takes command of the Hope's Folly but one thing after the other keeps delaying the ship's functionality and Phillip, along with his crew must solve things before the Imperial Fleet destroys the ship.
But hen there is Rya Bennton, she's the daughter of one of his friends, now deceased because of the war within the galaxy. But Phillips's reaction to Rya isn't that of an uncle and despite the sixteen years between them it's hard to avoid Rya or what she makes him feel...

This book follows the action sequences after the second book in this Dock Five series which was Shades of Dark. Now we see Phillip trying to have the command of a new ship and the difficulties of having an honest and trustworthy crew.

I guess one can say this book features two important subjects. Phillip and Rya's relationship and Philip's attempts to fight the Imperial forces.
As for the latter, the action scenes are very particular and detailed, which adds drama and seriousness to the plot, the whole story. But in reality I couldn't seem to go past the idea nothing really happens in this book in terms of action. The plot is how to bring the ship to work and to uncover a spy's actions to bring the ship's personal to prison or to to capture. I also have to give the deserved congratulations to the author because she managed to add enough credibility and emotion to the story that the fact things are pretty much static isn't almost unaware to the reader.
Still, I was entertained enough to read the story quite fast and there was always a will to carry on, to keep reading. Although I couldn't avoid the fact things were always the same, I still liked the ship's details, the little things about the ship's workings and how everyone there acted.

Now, the characters.
Phillip is an honorable person and has always done everything to his power to be respected and to work honestly. He's feeling the Fleet has done a disservice to everyone who always honored its name and goals. He plans to help restore the Fleet's honor any way he can and that means at the moment to fight against those in power. His moral and values are the key stones to his character. I liked how honest he was and how he defended the right things. He's a very likable character and in this book we see a softer side to him too, something we figured might exist but wasn't ever exploited in the other books where he was.
Of course there's his feelings about the age difference to Rya. I thought this would be a stronger point of content, or maybe the reason for a more dramatic story line but in fact Phillip seemed to act with a wise knowledge of his own honesty. He knew he was attracted and he knew he should leave her alone but he even knew more that she was important to him.
I appreciate his honest feelings although this subject could have been dealt with a different POV, I don't mean it should be more angsty or anything, but perhaps with a different take...

Then there's Rya. She obviously doesn't care about the age difference and she always liked Phillip since a child when he was with her late father. But I didn't like Rya that much, and I think some aspects of her personality and fears weren't addressed the best way. She has some self esteem issues, not about her work or her value as a person, but about her image, her take on personal relationships. All things to consider because everyone's different and worthy and flawed at their own merits, value and worth. But I thought things were talked about too subtly and with too much easiness. Like the possibilities were more intense than th resolution.
Then there was her take on sexual connections before Phillip and her developing love for him. I get it, but I don't really appreciate characters who act their fears and whatever issues through several sexual encounters without meaning and just for fun. This made me not like her as much as I think many other readers do, but as always, it's a matter of personal preference.

All in all, a good enough book, I was motivated to read and even despite the things I didn't like as much, I was still captivated by the book and the writing to want to read more in the future.
Grade: 7/10

TBR Challenge: Linnea Sinclair - Shades of Dark

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.

Comment: For this month, the challenges' theme is series catch up. I have tons of these so to pick one wouldn't be hard. When I was fixing the challenge page my eyes went to one of my shelves and the first boo part of a series I saw was this one, so this was pretty much my reason to pick sci fi romance, just a random look.
Linnea Sinclair writes sci fi romances of course, and this book is the second in her Dock Five series. So far the series has 4 books, I have no idea if more are to come, but obviously I'm late on this one, so another good - secondary though - reason to read this for the challenge.

This book follows the things that happened in the first book, Gabriel's Ghost. In that book, Gabriel rescued Chaz from prison and asked her help to destroy a common enemy, while they dealt with possibilities in their relationship and consequently, fell in love. Gabriel, or Sully, had a secret he shared with Chaz and she not only didn't push him away, she welcomed him and proved she loved him; it was a romantic story indeed.
Now, their mission goes on but things get more complicated when other people's ideas get in the way, especially people they trust at first. Help isn't always welcome when it comes to hidden agendas neither Sully nor Chaz know about and perhaps when they do it's already too late to solve things...

I was very eager when I started the book because I knew it would feature two people in love and I couldn't wait to see their relationship solid and true. One of the best things about series is to see the confirmation of everything the characters have worked for settled and strong and even hopeful.
This subject actually left a certain negative impression in my mind, though. The way the story ends isn't very clear on how things stand in reality for them. We know they are together but what happened during the book shaped them differently...I have to confess I finished the book a bit worried about them, it's almost like something was left untold, unsolved, in the air... the following books in the series will have different protagonists, so I worry about the relationship between Sully and Chaz. This left a worrying note for me...I hope it can be explained or solved in a future boo, but the way it ended wasn't good enough for my taste.

As for the plot, once more we see the author's talent with imagination and description of situations and characters not easy to portray so readers can fully understand the author's vision. I'm still amazed by how easy it seems to see what the author pictured in her own head...I guess it's a matter of talent because many authors write sci fi and honestly many are boring but m Sinclair does a great job in describing all the machines, beings and even weapons in a completely made up world. Very interesting.

Also interesting is the emotions played here. After reading the first book the idea of prejudice seemed a key stone in the plot and once more, a feeling, an emotion, sort of, seems to play a good role in this novel as well. I'm talking about expectations. 
Perhaps it was me, after all every reader sees things from their own POV so, every comment is personal and different... Well, in this story both Sully and Chaz have expectations about their relationship, and I think this was played well by the author. But then a new character showed up and created situations where everyone had their own expectations about behavior, opinions...attitudes. People are just wired to expect something, whether feelings or actions. I think in this novel expectations proved too much for some things...I think the fact Sully expected something and trusted what those expectations meant was one of the reasons things went wrong at some point. I'm not talking about him and Chaz but it got to them too. If people wouldn't have to follow expectations and the consequences of failed actions...I mean, in this case, Sully trusted someone and expected a certain result but things got really complicated and something bad happened. I don't know if those are expectations one can live with in the end... Expectations can shape out ideas and our actions but after the dust settles, can we really say it was a god thing to follow them?
Something to really think about...

In the end, a good story where one can see the writing skills and technical talents of the author. As for the content, some troubles for me there but I can' say it was bad, just too much in the air, in my opinion. Let's see the next book - when I read it - and if it's as good as people say it is.
Grade: 7/10

Linnea Sinclair - Gabriel's Ghost

After a decade of piloting 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. The mission means putting their lives on the line -- but the tensions that heat up between them may be the riskiest part of all.

Comment: This is the second book by the author that I've tried. I'm quite happy to say I enjoyed this as much but I do admit it took me some time because I started it on a Friday and Fridays are days of house cleaning (arghh -but ha!, today I managed to find time to be on line), then Saturday I had to do the ironing and Sunday I had family visiting...a really poor weekend in terms of useful reading time.

But then I've read it all practically in 2 days, which only proves time is, indeed, everything.

So, this book is apparently one of the author's best, it won a prize and everything. It's the story of Chaz, she was wrongly accused of a crime and was sent to a planet prison and had to survive by herself. In comes Sully, a guy she felt attracted one time but things never progressed further than kissing, and he helps her out of the planet. While she feels doubtful as for the reason he got her out of there, she doesn't say no and from that moment on she sees herself in the middle of many new challenges like stopping an awful breeding program, a possible love life, the need to stop seeing things as she thought and actually as they are and how to convince herself her fears aren't stronger than love.

So, this book has several things to think about, mostly about character development, specially Chaz's but also in other characters.

But first of all I have to say I liked the romance a lot because it wasn't rushed and stupid. So many romances are, so this one has points for looking well structured. The main couple, Chaz and Sully, met before and they felt attracted to each other, but then they were different people and circumstances stopped them from taking things further. But stuff happened and Chaz thought Sully was dead. Now they have new experiences and time behind them and despite their differences, the attraction is still there. I liked how they both took baby steps to a relationship...I don't think to find someone and being with him would be that easy and in this book I liked the author made the characters take their time.

Now, onto the mentioned character development...one of the things that happen  - I imagine that is, after only two books - a lot in these books is the talk about prejudice. It's sci-fi but like in everything, different races and beings and things make prejudice possible. It happens, even if not maliciously intended. It's the way you deal with it that matters. I thought Chaz felt very prejudiced towards some of the characters, namely one of them that ends up becoming her friend. I think it's quite humanely beautiful to see this in fiction, it's almost like we could see Chaz realizing she's wrong and she treated someone in a way she wouldn't like to be treated herself and despite her fears of being close to the other person, she learned things about him and started to see him differently. Wouldn't it be awesome if in real life it could be that simple? I liked this part, where I can relate to a character by liking how she dealt with her prejudice and embraced a new friendship because of that.

The book has a lot of action and good scenes. I especially liked the ones about emotions, where characters had to deal with what the others meant and their reactions afterwards. I won0t forget the scene where Chaz risks her heart by going to Sully after discovering something she thought impossible about him, it's such a tender moment, loved it.

In the end, I really liked the book not only for it's great pace and action and scenes but also for the emotional parts that seemed very well placed.

I recommend it!

Linnea Sinclair - Games of Command

The universe isn't what it used to be. With the new Alliance between the Triad and the United Coalition, Captain Tasha "Sass" Sebastian finds herself serving under her former nemesis, biocybe Admiral Branden Kel-Paten -- and doing her best to hide a deadly past. But when an injured mercenary winds up in their ship's sick bay -- and in the hands of her best friend, Dr. Eden Fynn -- Sass's efforts may be wasted.
Wanted rebel Jace Serafino has information that could expose all of Sass's secrets, tear the fragile Alliance apart -- and end Sass's career if Kel-Paten discovers them. But the biocybe has something to hide as well, something once thought impossible for his kind to possess: feelings . . . for Sass. Soon it's clear that their prisoner could bring down everything they once believed was worth dying for -- and everything they now have to live for.

Comment: I've had this book to read since October 2010. I purchased it after reading a comment by Hilcia in a now extinct forum (RIP The Phade). Then I read Hilcia's review about it and I was even more eager to try it, but oh well, most books spend years in my TBR lists...still, it's interesting how a simple comment sometimes can make you try things you wouldn't otherwise.
So, it was finally its turn and I was very anxious to try it because I've never read anything in the genre..I've read sci-fi books in the past but never with focus on the romance so I was a bit worried I might not like it, more so because of the scientific parts and the spaceships and so on. But I loved watching Star Trek Voyager on TV so many years ago, so I hoped my opinion of the book wouldn't be that bad.
I have to admit I had a little bit of difficulty to understand all the factions in the book. Alliance, Triad, Psy Serv and so many others but once it got clear the bad guys were the Psy Serv I decided to just enjoy the story instead of trying to keep up with every entity. Then the space references, the galaxies, all that scientific talk was hard at first but it's strangely easy how we start to absorb things as we read. I think part of this is due to the author's talent, she makes it normal, a common occurrence and the reader can go along without getting confused all the time...although this or that still made me frown.
Then there's the romance...ok, I get it. I mean, it's obvious why the story has got to be good to be enjoyable but the romance is awesome so I get it why the author is so popular to romance readers. I really liked the interactions between Tasha and Kel-Paten, I loved knowing about their feelings, their thoughts...I liked how they always thought the other would be unattainable but love is more surprising than anything. And yes, loved the detail of Kel-Paten's logs...it was so cute.
Also cute was Kel-Paten himself. He's my favorite character and I loved watching think about his behavior and what Tasha might be wondering and his lack of confidence only endeared him more to me. It was so sweet and beautiful to see him in love, he's really a great hero.
The story is also very intriguing and I was reading page after page with real will to find out what would happen and how could they solve the problems they were in..the villains in the book are truly disturbing. I liked how clever our heroes became and how they had to work hard to overcome their fears and be successful.
In the end, Tasha is feeling lost but I was so glad, so happy to see her smile again and have her HEA with Kel-Paten!
Oh and a small note about the furzels, very cute and they also had a key role in this, how amazing.
All in all, a great book, great story...I'll read more for sure!

What would you recommend, I know Gabriel's Ghost is liked by many people and the first of a series so I'll get that one fir sure, what about the others? Thanks in advance.