Knight Protector (Star Kingdom, #5.5) by Lindsay Buroker – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Lindsay Buroker, romance, scifi, scifi romance

About Knight Protector by Lindsay Buroker

An arranged marriage she can’t escape.
A sexy bodyguard who will protect her at all cost.
A forbidden love she can’t give in to…

As one of the sultan’s fourteen daughters, and a successful businesswoman who puts money in the family’s coffers, Princess Nalini thought she would escape an arranged marriage.

She thought wrong.

Her father insists that an alliance with the savage and ambitious Star Kingdom is the only way to avoid a war at home.  As if that weren’t bad enough, her father believes the betrothal may make her a target and is assigning her a bodyguard.

But her new protector—Tristan—is not the brute she expected. He has a quick wit, a sexy smile, and even sexier things under the smile.

Unfortunately, Nalini can’t let herself fall in love with Tristan, not when she’s soon to be betrothed to another man.

As Tristan grew up on the streets, his father a convict and his mother a drug addict, all he ever wanted was to become one of the Star Kingdom’s elite knights, something that very few commoners ever achieve. After Tristan labors for years as a squire, the king is ready to appoint him a knight… if he accomplishes one simple task. He must infiltrate the sultan’s palace, gain the trust of Princess Nalini, and make sure she doesn’t run away from her marriage with Prince Jorg.

There’s just one problem.

Nalini isn’t the spoiled rich brat he expected—she spends her days working as hard as he does—and he soon develops feelings for her.  Can he stand back while a man who doesn’t deserve her claims her for his wife?

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Review of Knight Protector

This story, set in the Star Kingdom universe, is a stand alone scifi romance from a favorite author, Lindsay Buroker.

If you have read any of the Star Kingdom books, you will recognize this corner of the galaxy.  But the rest of the story is totally on it’s own.  Princess Nalini, real estate developer, is the only daughter of the Sultan who isn’t sponging off of the family wealth.  Likewise, almost-Knight Tristan work his own way through life.

When Tristan ends up as Nalini’s bodyguard, Nalini is not happy.  She already has a bodyguard.  But after meeting Tristan, she decides he is not that bad.  He’s a good guy – handsome, brave, smart.  But she is supposed to be marrying Prince Jorg, so maybe it is best if they just remain Princess and bodyguard.

Naturally, it will not be that easy.  Kidnapping attempts, betrayals, weeks in a space ship, and the not-so-desirable Prince Jorg combine to thwart Nalini’s best intentions.  You see where this is going.  In truth, it was pretty predictable.  Neverthless, I truly enjoyed this book.  Ms. Buroker always tells such a fun story!

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Mission: Nutcracker (Inspector Davidson, #2) by Cecilia Dominic – Review

Tags

4.5 stars, Book Review, Cecilia Dominic, holiday, paranormal, romance, scifi romance, Steampunk, The Nutcracker

About Mission: Nutcracker by Cecilia Dominic

She dreams of joining the scientific elite. He’s desperate to save his business and his sister. Together, they may hold the turnkey to adventure…

Terminus, 1871. Fiona Telfair won’t give up her gears and gadgets for the ball and chain of mar-riage. But her future as a tinkerer comes under attack when nutcracker automatons raid the trade hall masquerade party and kidnap her fellow inventors. With her brilliant engineer father among those taken, Fiona’s only hope of rescuing him lies with the captivating rail baron who rescued her from the fray.

Devon Meriweather can only keep his train empire on track if he marries into an influential family. And he also needs the connections to make sure his chronically ill sibling can marry well. So no matter how engaging and beautiful the firmly working-class Fiona may be, he knows she’ll only ever be a partner in solving crimes.

As they work closely hunting for clues to the strange aether-powered apparatus and magical mice, the intrepid duo can’t deny their budding feelings. But neither can afford a distracting courtship with the growing threat of the nutcrackers and their deadly chompers.

Can Fiona and Devon expose the menacing mastermind behind the machines and make their passion run like clockwork?

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Review of Mission: Nutcracker

As a fan of Cecilia Dominic’s steampunk novels, I dived right into Mission: Nutcracker. The opening chapter at the Tinkerer’s Ball, where we first see Fiona and Devon attempting an awkward conversation, also introduces the life-sized creepy nutcrackers abducting the attendees at the ball. The tone was set: weird, sweet, frightening, promising and fantastical.

Fiona’s inability to talk to Devon is something I could have related to as a young woman. Only when she speaks of something that she has a lot of familiarity with, does Fiona open up. This baffles Devon, who, despite his ambition, would like to get to know the young, working class tinkerer. Or tinkeress? This couple qualifies a ‘cute’ because of the communication stumbling block.

Circumstance will force them together and give them things to talk about – missing tinkerers, nutcrackers, plots, danger. Henry Davidson and his eclectic crew are thrown into the mix when it becomes apparent the kidnappings are part of a much bigger threat. I love all these characters, old and new. I wondered, for a while, what part Johann Bledsoe would play. Lets just say, the duet of Fiona and Johann played a critical part in thwarting the evil intentions of the bad guys.

There were some elements that were totally unexpected in terms of what I consider to be steampunk, tending more toward fantasy. I had a hard time accepting that it fit in the steampunk setting.  However, in the past, the author has borrowed from history and myth to present some fantastical/paranormal elements. By the end, I was on board with it, plus it added to the embracing of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s original The Nutcracker and the Mouse King story. With some roles slightly changed.

The ever-growing cast of characters gives me a bit of concern. On the one hand, I enjoy getting to visit old friends. On the other hand, sometimes, there are just so many people that I want to keep track of and the limit has been reached. Going forward, I would love to see the story revolving around a subset of these endearing characters.

BTW – the very young looking characters on the book cover would not normally attract me to the book.  Just to let you know that the book does not have the YA vibe that the cover implies.  So, you know, don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

Mission: Nutcracker is not particularly festive. While it does take place around Christmas, it really is creepy, detracting from the holiday spirit. But the theme reminds us of a beloved favorite holiday tale. So why not take a break from the holiday madness to read this book. On the other hand, Mission: Nutcracker can also be described as Holiday Madness!

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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Alien Redeemed (Zyrgin Warriors, #7) by Marie Dry – Review

Tags

4 stars, alien world, aliens, Book Review, human interaction with aliens, Marie Dry, romance, scifi, scifi romance, spaceships

About Alien Redeemed by Marie Dry

On a harsh alien planet, in a faraway galaxy, Sarah, a gentle human woman, is determined to start a new life, far away from the hardship she endured on Earth and the pitying glances of her friends.

Once on Zyrgin, Sarah finds that, instead of being the empress and helpmeet at the side of the Zyrgin leader, she is merely his breeder. She is trapped in a gilded cage, not allowed to go out and interact with the other women on the planet, until she’s proven her loyalty to the empire by birthing Zaar’s child. After her traumatic experiences in the raider camps, and the resultant PTSD, Sarah doubts she could ever make love to her Zyrgin warrior.

Zaar assures her he has a superior plan to cure her of her problem. But is he able to reach through all the barriers Sarah has erected against true intimacy?

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Review of Alien Redeemed

Sarah has gone through some terrible things in her past and, although Zaar is of the opinion that the people who wronged her deserve the worst, he is at a loss as to how to “fix” her.  Zaar thinks he is able to fix everything.  He is THE Zyrgin after all. Hmmph! 🙂

Sarah and Zaar have so much to learn about each other.  My favorite part about the Zyrgin Warriors series is where the Zyrgin warrior and the human woman must overcome vast cultural differences.  Sometimes it is frustrating, sometimes it is funny.  It is always entertaining.

Zaar says things like “walk a step behind me, you are my breeder, I am the ruler of all the know galaxies and soon to be ruler of the unknown galaxies.”

Sarah responds with, “no, call me parena (empress)”, and an eye roll.

It takes a bit to get them speaking the same language.

And then something terrible (danger) comes between Zaar and Sarah.  Of course, there must be some peril to overcome – and a way for Zaar to prove that he is the ruler of all the know galaxies and soon to be ruler of the unknown galaxies.  I love his arrogance, whether it is deserved or he is merely exaggerating his skills.

Between the escape from peril and the end of the book, Sarah was overly sentimental.  Yes, it was probably in character for her, but it made the ending drag a bit.

The Zyrgin Warriors series is such a fun series.  I recommend it for anyone that enjoys Scifi Romance with heart and humor.  Alien Redeemed is great addition to that series!

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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