Tags
5 stars, Book Review, Carysa Locke, cats, Christina Westcott, Erin Hayes, Libby Doyle, romance, S.J. Pajonas, scifi, series, short story, space opera
About Summon the Stars
Summon the Stars is a thrilling space opera anthology dedicated to badass heroines on action packed science fiction adventures, and the scoundrels—that is, heroes—who love them.
An Unforgiving Desert by S. J. Pajonas
When their class ship is hijacked during the final exam, and Skylar and Kalvin are marooned in the desert, they have a long way to go to make it to safety, if they don’t kill each other first. Will they make it out of the unforgiving desert in one piece? Part of the Flyght series.
Pirate Spark by Carysa Locke
Vashti has spent her entire life trying to prevent the war she foresaw in her nightmares. Having failed, she must now find an advantage for her people, or watch as it rips the galaxy, and her people, apart. Part of the Telepathic Space Pirates series.
Outer-Rim Rescue by Libby Doyle
Ex-cop Jane Mwanda is in over her head as she tries to rescue a runaway teen from a criminal gang on a dangerous planet. When a man she’d thought was her enemy offers help, they embark on perilous adventure to bring the girl safely home.
The Rogue’s Heart by Erin Hayes
Faced with a failing heart, space pirate Clementine Jones and her crew must come up with the cash to buy her a new one in a brutal, unforgiving galaxy.
Spacer’s Third Law by Christina Westcott
Stranded at an isolated space station, Bru Thorsson must hire a second licensed pilot for her salvage ship before she’s allowed to undock, but the only candidate for the job is a burned out ex-marine who is still reliving the horrors of the war and doesn’t want the job, leaving Bru one last desperate option—shanghai him. Part of The Dragon’s Bidding series.
**********************
Review of Summon the Stars
Imagine one story that combines scifi and romance and then take that times 5. Each of the 5 short stories tells a complete tale. There are no cliff hangers and no need to read the rest of the series. Though you may be introduced to a series that you now need to check out.
Erin Hayes is the only author I had not yet read, though she was on my Amazon wish list. The Rogue’s Heart starts to read as a YA, with the heroine being quite young. But Clementine is in a very mature situation. In this case the space pirates are basically corporate spies, stealing information. One case puts the pirate crew in a moral situation unlike any they have previously experience. Doing the right thing is a favorite subject for me.
Libby Doyle’s Outer Rim Rescue starts quietly enough with the heroine, Jane, hired to find a kidnapped young woman. From there, things snowball with Jane herself needing some help out of one sticky situation after another. An unexpected hero helps out and then they take a ship all over the solar system. Lots of action in this one!
Carysa Locke’s story, Pirate Spark, which takes place in her Telepathic Space Pirates series, is the only one that may suffer from lack of series knowledge. Having read only one of the series, I stumbled across several references that I was unfamiliar with which were not well-detailed. However, this did not prevent me from enjoying the story. The old woman who finds herself back in a young body has the most interesting combination of wisdom and daring.
S.J. Pajonas and Christina Wescott also contributed stories that are parts of series, though both of them stand very well on their own. In Pajonas’s An Unforgiving Desert, Skylar and Kalvin will learn that first, second and even third impressions often miss the mark. The story of survival could happen in any genre, but the scifi aspect of the desert may make you appreciate the Sahara.
Westcott’s Spacer’s Third Law was probably my favorite, but that is because I am already a fan of The Dragon’s Bidding series and because it has a sentient cat. Yes, Lilly the cat can communicate telepathically. Oh sure, the rest of the story is good too, but …. cat! Bru’s and Eric’s reluctant path to romance is also quite charming.
Space opera fans, this book is for you. Especially if you like a little romance in your scifi.
Thanks to Ms. Westcott who sent a copy of this book my way in exchange for my honest review.
**********************
Links
Add Summon the Stars to your Goodreads shelf:
Purchase Summon the Stars:
**********************
Whiskey With My Book 