The Mother Element (Glass and Iron,#2) by Monica Enderle Pierce – Review

Tags

5 stars x 2, aliens on earth, Book Review, earth invasion, genetic engineering, Monica Enderle Pierce, romance, scifi, scifi romance, series, space travel, spaceships

 

About The Mother Element

He would destroy the universe to keep her safe. She would become death to protect him.

Terran medic Rachel Pryne was designed by the Ohnenrai to destroy their pursuing foe before all life in the known galaxy and beyond falls prey to its aggression.

Ohnenrai leader Ehtishem Mahle was tasked with deploying Rachel into their deadly enemy’s path. Falling in love with her wasn’t part of the plan, but now he desperately needs a way to wield this weapon without ending her life.

The only possible solution to galactic extinction lies with Rachel and Ehtishem, but all they want is to survive and be together. Everyone else can go straight to hell.

 

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Review of The Mother Element

Warning: If you have not read Girl Under Glass, there may be spoilers for you.  Also, if you have not read it, turn around, go back and read it first.  You will be happy you did.

The Mother Element is the complex conclusion to the story that began in Girl Under Glass with Rachel Pryne escaping her earthly existence in a community where she was shunned, hassled and threatened with having her child taken away.  To escape, Rachel and daughter Pearl followed Ehtishem, the alien Ohnenrai soldier she healed.  She did not trust him, but he was her best option.  He became her savior without knowing that she was fated to be the savior of his people.  That is a very short synopsis of book 1.

Book 2 is the very tangled, multi-layered saga of Rachel and Ehtishem.  There is the romance, fraught with family issues (Ehtishem’s mother), cultural differences, and political pressure.  Also, the Ohnenrai people are in a fight for their existence.  At first I thought this was just another one of those stories about an alien race dying out and it is, but it is also so much more.

The Ohnenrai believe they have a solution.  It is the solution that is throwing the Ohnenrai into political unpheaval.  It is the solution that pits son against mother.  It is the solution that brings Rachel and Ehtishem together.  It is the solution that will require many to make the ultimate sacrifice.

I loved this spectacular Scifi Romance.  It had me constantly trying to work out so many aspects of the plot and of course, the ultimate ending.  Rachel is a strong yet vulnerable woman who seems to be in an impossible situation.  Ehtishem, once he has bonded with Rachel, is also in an impossible situation.   The romance between Rachel and Ehtishem is the glue that holds the entire plot together.  It inspires motivation, generates emotion, encourages action and gives us a reason to cheer.

The book is liberally sprinkled with Ohnenrai words and phrases.  Considerable thought went into creating this language.  While they are typically explained once, there were so many words, that remembering the meaning became problematic.  While the book does provide a supplement chapter of Ohnenrai phrases, it is difficult to use in the e-book form.  Suggestion to the author.  Either use fewer alien words, or add the list of words and phrases to your website.  Then a person could print it off for reference while reading.  Linquists will have no problem with the Ohnenrai language.

The Mother Element is one of my favorites of all the books I read in 2019.  If you are new to the series, be sure to start with Girl Under Glass and quickly follow it up with this winning SciFi Romance!

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The Shape of Romance

Tags

C.L. Wilson, Diana Palmer, fantasy, Grace Draven, historical, Isis Sousa, Juliet Marillier, Louisa Gallie, Meljean Brook, paranormal, Pauline Baird Jones, romance, scifi, Sharon Lynn Fisher, Sloane Killion, Sorchia DuBois, Steampunk, Susanna Kearsley, Tiffany Roberts

Scrolling through my Facebook feed, I found a link to an article called: Adult Romance: 10 Books that Broke the Cliché Mold.

Often I see these types of articles and I think, okay, but if I made my own list, it wouldn’t look at all like this one. So, I did. Make my own list.  (Note: red highlighted titles and book covers are purchase links.)

First of all, I agree with the Talk nerdy to Me bloggers on their choice of Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson. The entire Tairen Soul series is fantasy wrapped around romance mixed with magic and war and hope and so many emotions. I. Loved. This Series!

The nerdy bloggers also picked a few others I have read: Kresley Cole, Maya Banks and Christine Feehan. I agree, that in their time they may have been mold-breaking.  There are many other books that I would put higher on the list today. I admit, my romance memory may be a bit short. I fondly remember the last book I read much more than the book I read and adored 10 years ago. 10 years ago, I was reading J.R. Ward and Lara Adrian, but you will note that none of their books make today’s list.

So here are my choices (in no particular order):

1. Blackthorn & Grim series by Juliet Marillier. This is a fantasy series with a romance deeply imbedded in the story. So deep that you don’t always know that it is there, but when it happens you are absolutely swept away. Read all three books to fall in love with this romance.

2. The Kraken King by Meljean Brook . Any book in Brook’s Iron Seas series is fantastic, but as far as romance goes, the relationship drives and is intimately intertwined with the non-romantic aspects of the story. I listened to the audiobook and found I had to invent reasons to drive or go for a walk so that I could listen more. I think that means I could not put it down!

3 & 4 & 5. Master of Crows, Entreat Me, and Wraith Kings series by Grace Draven.  Well, just about anything on her bibliography.  The mentioned books feature unlikely duos who are brought together by fortune. At first they may seem to be opposites: young/old, rich/poor, magical/mundane, human/non-human, bossy/stubborn. Oh wait. That last pair may not truly be opposites. The protagonists are not young and beautiful/handsome.  There is no love at first sight, which is my least favorite device anyway. In other words, affection, trust and love are things that are labored over and duly won, often with a healthy sense of humor.

NOTE: I love Ms. Draven’s stories and the cover artwork so much that I purchased prints of two of the book covers. They hang on the wall in my office.  Today’s banner (above) is from the beautiful cover of Eidolon (Wraith Kings, #2), by Isis Sousa.

Top: Radiance by Isis Sousa.  Bottom: Beyond Neith (Master of Crows cover) by Louisa Gallie, Night’s Plutonion Shore by Sloane Killion.  The last one is not book cover, but fits in with the Crows cover.

6. Zoraida Grey series by Sorchia DuBois.  First, who is Zoraida going to end up with? And when that is decided, are they truly on the same side? Attraction, smattraction. Put these characters through some serious peril and maybe, the truth will out. I’m waiting on the next installment to find out…..

7 & 8. The Winter Sea and The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley.  Originally published in 2008, The Winter Sea was the first significant dual timeline novel I read. I embraced this storytelling mode. I mean, why wouldn’t I? I got two stories for the price of one. The slowly evolving timelines led to shock and surprise and tears. Dealing with ancestral memory in The Winter Sea, and psychometry in The Firebird, the paranormal elements enhance both timelines.

9. Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher. Relationships with ghosts are not unusual in fiction. But Fisher takes ghost stories to a whole new planet and redefines the species. The human/ghost relationship becomes so much more than a love story. Oops, no more. No spoilers…

10. The Morcai Battalion by Diana Palmer – this series starts out very strong and ends a little fizzly on the 5th book. But the first book is so worth it! It may seem like just another human/alien romance, but at the time it was published, it stood quietly out there on its own. It was originally published in 1980 under the name of Susan Kyle. At the time, scifi romance, as a genre, was unheard of. In its reissue, the story comments on war, race relations, bigotry, sexism and tolerance.

11. Dustwalker by Tiffany Roberts.  My favorite Tiffany Roberts book! Subtle and loud, gritty and soft, this post-apocalyptic story of romance and survival for a human and a ‘bot is epic. The human/robot relationship is such a challenge to get right. It’s been done many times, but Roberts gives this theme teeth by creating human and ‘bot characters with a past, a present, and hope for the future.

12. Steamrolled by Pauline Baird Jones.  Geeks have gone from being ignored to being popular in recent years. I think we have Big Bang Theory to thank for that, at least in part. I love geeks in my romance books! Few people can write geeks as well as Pauline Baird Jones. In Steamrolled, Robert Clementine is super intelligent and unceasingly curious. Robert and his nanites are like a superhero geek team when it comes to getting out of tight places. But not good with women. Emily Babcock – she who does not ever ask a question, who thinks Robert Oh My Darling Clementyne is a little dangerous and a lot geeky. She’s a geek too. The cutest couple in all of steampunk fictiondom.

Reviewing my list, I think my choices do not just break the cliché mold. They give a sparkly new form to the shape of romance!

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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