Beloved Enemy by Hywela Lyn – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, Hywela Lyn, scifi, scifi romance

Review by K. J. VanHouten

Review of Beloved Enemy

Beloved Enemy starts with a crash – literally as Cat Sinclair, our heroine, crashes her escape ferry onto an unknown planet. It doesn’t get any better when she exits her damaged craft and hears blaster fire. At least they aren’t firing at her though. A bit hesitantly, and at a distance, she joins the fire on the side of 3 unknown humans facing a larger group of unknown foes – who may or may not be unfriendly planet inhabitants. Her rationalization is that she needs these people to help her get off the planet. As the fight nears its end, two of the humans are able to make an escape, leaving the third man to continue the fight, although he also succumbs in the end. When the firing finally stops, Cat creeps forward to see if he’s alive. Of course she discovers he’s the one man in the galaxy that she’s been searching for, the man responsible for the death of her half-sister. Kerry Marchant regains consciousness at find a beautiful redhead standing over him. At first he’s confused, as she bears a strong resemblance to the woman he loved, the woman who died protecting him. But once he shakes off his first reaction, he noticed the differences.

And this is how Cat and Kerry find themselves stranded together. Kerry’s companions had returned to their ship in orbit, planning to get medical help before returning to the planet surface to pick up Kerry. Unfortunately, something is interfering with communications and Kerry can’t call his crew for help. Cat’s crashed ship is beyond repair. Kerry does not know who Cat is, and Cat doesn’t make her desire to see him dead known, as she’s hoping she can use him to get off the planet first. There is definite tension as the two settle in for the first night, wary of each other but recognizing they need to work together.

Beloved Enemy continues as a rather fun plot of two strangers – enemies actually, if only Kerry knew why Cat was so distrustful of him – who find themselves helping each other survive a number of life-threatening incidents, including a booby trap, aggressive indigenous lifeforms, and capture by Cat’s former lover, an officer of the governing Union that is on a ruthless path of expansion across the galaxy. For another twist, this officer is aided by a woman from Kerry’s past, a woman he thought dead, who he discovers is Cat’s supposedly dead half-sister. Seeing her sister alive throws Cat into a whirlwind of confusion and she discovers she isn’t the beloved sister she thought she was trying to avenge. Adding to the confusion is a growing attraction and reluctant trust she is developing toward Kerry. Beloved becomes enemies, enemies become beloved. Nice, fun, satisfying story.

And then the book takes an unexpected turn involving a superior race of beings, inexplicable teleportations around the planet as well as on and off Kerry’s ship in orbit, and a trial for humanity’s future. (Which, along with some wild realistic hallunciations gave me a flashback to Star Trek: The Next Generation when Q puts the crew on trial as representatives of humanity. As a Trekkie/Trekker myself, I have no problem with Star Trek connections in stories, lol.) Cat and Kerry find themselves as pawns in a larger game, trying to make sense of what is happening, bearing the responsibility of humanity’s future, and struggling to overcome their own reasons for not wanted to give in to the feelings they are developing for each other.

Turns out Beloved Enemy is book 3 of The Destiny Trilogy. I’m not sure how it fits into the series – if it’s continuous or not. It was fine to read as a standalone, but there were definitely references to people and situations that I wondered if I’d have gotten deeper meaning from if I’d read volumes 1 and 2. (At one point I did stop and get book 1 on audio, but I was distracted by the narrator and realized that I wasn’t really hearing the story, was totally lost about a third into the audiobook, at which point I stopped.) Beloved Enemy is definitely a fun read, and it’s a good bet that I’ll end up getting books 1 and 2 to read soon.

Note: The author provided an e-copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

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The Book of the Unwinding (Witches of New Orleans #2) by J.D. Horn

Tags

4 stars, family, horror, J.D. Horn, magic, New Orleans, paranomal, series, voodoo, witches

About The Book of the Unwinding

The struggle for power continues in the sequel to The King of Bones and Ashes from Wall Street Journal bestselling author J.D. Horn.

With their magic diminishing, warring factions of New Orleans witches desperately search for the Book of the Unwinding—a legendary grimoire, hidden by spells, that holds the key to unimaginable powers. As a ruthless struggle erupts in a maelstrom of malevolent magic, psychic Nathalie Boudreau finds her destiny intertwined with that of an exiled witch.

Her name is Alice Marin, a vulnerable young woman trapped in a realm of illusion. Only Nathalie can free her, but first she must come to understand and master her own extraordinary abilities.

Now, in a world where betrayals have become the order of the day, it will fall to two women to restore rightful balance amid terrifying chaos.

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Review of The Book of the Unwinding

The Book of the Unwinding is the second book in the series that began with the King of Bones and Ashes. You really need to have read book 1 to enjoy this latest book. Like book 1, the second book in the Witches of New Orleans series has a jammed-packed cast of characters. If you are like me, you will appreciate the character list strategically placed at the beginning of the book.

While there a lot of characters, I found few to sympathize with. For the most part, this is a plotting, scheming group of people that want nothing more than the power represented by the Book of the Unwinding.

Thank heavens for sweet Nathalie Boudreau who doesn’t know her own powers but would do anything for anyone. That trait gets her smack dab in the middle of a daring and dangerous spell to bring Alice back from the Dreaming Road. Daniel, Alice and Evangeline, who were my favorite characters from The King of Bones and Ashes, remain in good stead with me in The Book of the Unwinding, but their lives are getting very complicated. I can only hope their goodness will prevail.

There are several story lines going on, with different characters dealing with their own challenges. The characters do overlap between story lines and eventually, I suspect all the story lines will merge into some epic conclusion when the series concludes. The novel is complex and thickly layered with intrigue, horror and a constantly changing path towards the cliffhanger ending.

Yes, like book 1, this book ends in a cliffhanger, but before that point, there will be come ultra-evil wringing of hands by one or more villainous witches. Having read both of these books, I still have absolutely no idea where the tale is headed. And isn’t that what we really want in a great story?

Through NetGalley, I received a copy of this book from the publisher so that I could bring you this honest review.

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Always Her Wingman (Mars Squadron 17) by Jessica E. Subject – Review

Tags

4 stars, Jessica E. Subject, new adult, scifi romance

Review by KJ Van Houten

About Always Her Wingman

Staff Sergeant Hannah Coriveau dedicated the last five years to the Space Military Command. Heading back to Earth, she’s ready to begin civilian life and reunite with her parents and the boyfriend she left behind. The person she’ll miss most is Garish—her wingman, best friend, and the one who made her regret not being single.

Senior Airman Colin Garish wants his squadron leader. Bad. After spending so much time by her side—both in the Martian skies and on the red planet—being her friend isn’t enough. When Hannah learns of her boyfriend’s infidelity, Colin is there to comfort her.

Before Colin has the chance to confess his feelings, Hannah receives worse news from home. Her father is dying. Seeing her devastation, Colin remains the friend she desperately needs. But in her grief, she pushes him away. Will Hannah let him back in her life when they land on Earth? Or will Colin never get the chance to win her heart?

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Review of Always Her Wingman

The story opens with Staff Sergeant Hannah Coriveau and her crew of 5 on their way back to Earth from a 5-year mission with the Space Military Command on Mars. One of her crew, Senior Airman Colin Garish, is harboring a huge crush on Hannah, and the close conditions of their shuttle doesn’t allow it to be hidden. I get the impression that it wasn’t much of a secret anyway. From various conversations throughout the crew, it’s a source of entertainment for some to goad Colin about it.

The first part of the story follows the crew on the shuttle journeying to the Moon, where they undergo physical therapy to enable their return to the gravity of Earth, and then a space elevator journey to the Earth surface. The second part of the story follows Hannah and Colin after the return to Earth, as Hannah deals with unexpected tragedy and Colin stays by her side to help her.

Always Her Wingman proved to be a sweet, quick read. It was a shorter story that I expected, but it still portrays a full romance. I’d describe this story as falling into the New Adult genre, which isn’t a usual arena I read in, but it was pleasant, and I definitely recommend this story to anyone who does read New Adult fiction regularly. Some of the elements that lead me to call this New Adult push the boundaries of believability for me – I feel the characters are too young for the experience they have, for example, and as a result I had some initial difficulty relating to the characters. I also found that, despite the references to Mars, the Moon, differences in gravity, and the existence of the space elevator, it was all too easy to forget this was a scifi story. The ‘space’ elements seem to exist to colour the background, but the story could have existed without them just fine. Switch a mission to Mars to a military mission anywhere on Earth, readjustment to gravity to post-mission recovery and not a lot would have changed. The basic story of two soldiers who find first attraction and then love would be just as endearing.

There is no graphic sex, despite jokes, innuendoes, and finally the real deal behind the scenes, so I recommend this to readers that don’t want the graphics, too. Again, not my usual sort of read, but I certainly have no regrets for reading this one! An author worth following.

Note: Author provided a digital copy of Always Her Wingman in exchange for an honest review.

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