Review: Lots of good, some not so much.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 3, 2013
Edited much later.  Why?  Because even with the few flaws I've listed below, this story has stayed with me.  The characters, the plot, the new universe, all still hang out in my mind even after the story ended.  I am seriously wanting this author to write more and as soon as I hit 'save', I'm checking to see what's up on her Author's Page.Let me start with the good and very good first.Very entertaining story and I very much loved the premise.  For me, the science was great, not too much, and rather perfect for the genre of sci-fi.  The places seemed real and the only hitch I had was if the enemy could go to Earth, why not everyone else?The story moved well and fast enough that while I caught one error, passed instead of past, it didn't detract too much from the reading.I would love to see a series or at least some more information about the link between the two species that makes sex so electric.Someone mentioned not liking the insecurity over whether each wanted the other.  Considering they're two different beings, I'm ok with that and completely understand.  I actually enjoyed that part of it.The not so good...My personal pet peeve is the "You have another 'think' coming."  It's one of those phrases that's great the first time you've heard it, not so much the next five hundred.  While only used twice in the book, it's just a phrase I personally don't like.Something else is the heroine's use of English idioms when speaking to the aliens, then having to say "Never mind" when they don't understand.  Her doing so became annoying after a while and I wanted her to stop already.Even with Sandrea mentioning a lake in Australia, I didn't notice her being from there until halfway in the book when the slang became oppressive.  For me, her use of habitual colloquialisms might have been more frequent in the beginning when she was stressed versus increasing as life continued.  But that's maybe only me thinking this.  I didn't mind it so much as just found it surprising to find out in the middle that she's Australian.I was ok when learning Sandrea knew astronomy very well.  Also ok with her being a bit of a sharpshooter.  But at some point, her spunky survival skills and fighting with alien weaponry ventured into the "Mary Sue" category.  This was especially so when Eugen's brother became attracted to her.  The "Mary Sue" aspect was strong enough that I wondered what the author's name was.  Sorry, I really am bad with remembering names, but wasn't surprised to find someone named Sandra had written this.Bottom line is, despite any flaws, if this author can write another book and not make her main character a "Mary Sue", I would be THRILLED to read it.  Ms. Harris has a fantastic imagination, is a great storyteller, and I seriously hope she has many more books in her needing to be written.