Review: Fantastic Read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 3, 2013
After ten years in service with the Protectorate, Major Eve Cartwright has seen more than enough to realize there is something not quite right there. When she prevents General Mokollik from wiping out an entire squad, just so he can then avenge the loss, she is arrested and sent before the judges to learn her sentence. When the General steps in to persuade the court that, in spite of her attitude and bad behavior, she is just the operative to take down the number one target on the Rebellion’s side, Michael Taggart. Posing as a merchant, Taggart is able to skirt the edges and has always stayed just barely legitimate, although the Protectorate will do anything to get him, including completely modify Eve’s body, turning her into a nitara, or Ankharan sex slave to be offered to him by Prince Jaru, a friend of the Protectorate. But things are not as they seem, and Eve’s loalties are no longer with the PSF that she has served for so long. She has been working with the Rebellion deep undercover, with only brief visits with the man she loves, the same Michael Taggart. When then plans of Eve and Taggart go terribly awry, can these two manage to escape with their lives? Will Eve be able to deliver the sensitive intel she worked so hard to get? Will General Mokollik get what he so richly deserves?The Offering is a hot and thrilling adveenture in space. Christine Warren has built an intriguing universe,With larger than life, smartalecky heroes and strong, sassy and totally unapologetic heroines. The fight between The Protectorate and The Rebellion, while a familiar theme, takes some interesting twists under Ms. Warren’s able guidance. There are schemes withing schemes, and at least one triple agent, working each side to perfection.When we first meet Major Eve Cartwright, she is the epitome of the dedicated soldier, ready to fight for her cause and everything the Protectorate stands for: at least that is the surface. Eve has been disillusioned for a while, and she is both smart enough and courageous enough to realize her usefulness to the Protectorate is coming to an end. When her nemesis General Mokollik proposes his ‘assignment’, she realizes it is time to move on to her new future, one with Michael Taggart and the Rebellion. I really like Eve, with her attitude and her inner dialog, and enjoyed watching as she was transformed into the sensual and subservient nitara, Evenaril, a woman totally the opposite of independent Major Eve Cartwright. Her snarky conversations with the technician making her conversion possible are laugh producing, and such fun to read.Michael Taggart is tall, dark and extremely handsome, and the perfect image for the Rebellion. He is barely legitimate as a merchant, giving him access to most ports, but is also a suspect of the Protectorate high ranking officials, who want his eliminated to demoralize the Rebellion. But Taggart is much more than a pretty boy, he is a strong and capable warrior, and he is willing to fight for what is right. I loved the attitude he assumed when he was offered the nitara that Eve was posing as, and the totally dominant persona he assumed. I liked Taggart, because he wasn’t afraid to let Eve take just as many risks as he did, giving her his loyalty as well as his love.There are some scorching hot sex scenes, as Taggart must semi-publicly accept his ‘gift’ of the nitara. I enjoyed the interplay between these two, and the communication they were able to accomplish in spite of the listeners. I absolutely did not see the twist at the end of this one, and can’t wait to read the other book in this world, The Bargaining. Do Eve and Taggart get their happy ever after out in space? I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say this much; the General does get a hot surprise, courtesy of Eve, and it was a well deserved surprise at that.This is for those who like their sex hot, with a touch of BDSM, a little bit of spanking, and a woman who discovers some hidden truths about herself along the way.Originally posted at Long and Short Reviews