Review: Splendid Sci-Fi Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 12, 2013
This was a nice blend of the Sci-Fi with the paranormal along with the romance. The blurb is what originally drew me to the book and I was not disappointed.The story opens with the High Queen of Ontariese making a personal sacrifice to do what she must for the Kingdom which is on the brink of civil war. The Queen uses her mage power to send her twin daughters through a portal hiding them in two separate places to be retrieved when they are needed. Many years later, the war continues with no chance of relief and an evil mage plots the downfall of all for his own greed for power. Tal, a mage, Trey, his brother, and Vee, Tal's mentor set out to find him and also foil the evil mage's plot that takes him to earth.Then the scene changes to present day earth where Charlotte sits in her mountain cabin contemplating her future of moving to Seattle, completing the Bar exam, and getting a job with a nice law firm. That same night, an odd lightning storm changes her fate when it brings Tal dar Aune, an Ontarian, into her life.Tal is mystified as to why this earth woman, Charlotte is of interest to his enemy, but he vows to keep her safe and with him until the answers can be found. Tal and Charlotte race for their lives even as Charlotte fights to break away from him at first, but then the clues start building up and all lead to one thing- Charlotte is much more than she seems and may be the answer for all of Ontariese.The plot kept moving at a good pace even as the author deftly fit in the explanation to the Ontariese world. I love Sci-fi for its creative world-building and this story offered the interesting concept of magically gifted people and a matriarchal-style society. It was exciting during the cat and mouse chases to keep Charlotte out of danger and the slow build up of her relationship that went beyond attraction with Tal. I loved the little twists that occurred a few times to keep things from getting blase'. Tal and Charlotte were stumped a few different times when they tried to be together.But I think my favorite part of the book was Charlotte herself. At first, she seemed to be a human woman who has known heartbreak and is lonely, but her exposure to Tal and the other Ontariese along with their trouble shows she is no marshmallow. She doesn't allow them to bully her, but at the same time she's not prone to act stupidly or get whiny when her whole world changes on her. She is saddened by her losses and fearful of change, but she goes with it and that's my kind of gal. I like that she doesn't play around with Tal. She might disagree with him- actually she does disagree with him and frequently- but this doesn't make her sulk or have to much pride to meet him half-way or wish to mend things. Yes, she had gifts, but it was fun the way her human law degree was what served her almost as well.Tal is a strong male who because of his talent as a mage has a lot to learn still. He is strong on his traditions and has to be shown that it is the principles underlying the traditions that are the more important. He has had a lot of loss and sorrow in his life and he wants Charlotte, but he must learn the value of compromise and the learn that others without his talents have value before he can achieve what he most desires.So all in all, it was a fab sci-fi PNR romance and I look forward to the rest of the series. I hope to get Trey's story and more of the other characters too.