Moonstruck
Borderlands Series - Book 1
(Follows Otherworldly Men Series)
By Susan Grant
HQN - June 2008
Science Fiction Romance
The war between the Coalition and Drakken Horde was at an end, yet vengeance still resided inside Admiral Brit Bandar. She secretly hoped that the treaty would crumble, for to her, the only good Horde was a dead Horde. Until recently, searching for Horde pirates with the crew under her command on The Vengeance still gave her some satisfaction. That was until she received new orders.
The Vengeance was being retired, and now Admiral Brit Bandar was given a new ship, the Unity, and a new crew consisting of Coalition, Earthlings, and, unfortunately, Horde. Being the professional that she was, Brit was determined to follow these new orders, regardless of how distasteful they were. For they were exceedingly hard to digest once Brit was informed that her second-in-command would be that dratted pirate Warleader Finnar Rorkken, with whom she had been playing cat and mouse over the years during the war.
Finn was ecstatic to learn of the new assignment. He was happy that the war was over, but he and his crew had fallen on hard times. They had little money, and sometimes were forced to choose between food and ship supplies. Finn also respected the Admiral. However, it wasn't until he met her in person and that he realized how difficult this assignment was going to be. She obviously was barely restraining her disdain of him, yet his attraction to her was instantaneous. Finn didn't think she truly wanted to know what thoughts were running through his mind.
He'd be surprised to know that they were the same that were running through hers.
Moonstruck was a thrilling read and is a great introduction into Susan Grant's new Borderlands series. It technically is set after the Otherworldly Men series, but makes references only to the climactic end of the war, which is the precedence for the new series. I fell in love with Finn. He is a hero who has fallen oh-so-in-love with his heroine. He recognizes the difficulties of their positions, and had never been in a relationship with a member of his crew before, but he cannot deny their attraction. Brit is an exceedingly emotional character who has managed to hide all of that behind a stony reserve. In fact, the Horde called her Stone-Heart. However, her tragic history and conflict over lusting for a Drakken will touch any reader.
What made this story even more enjoyable for me were the secondary characters. It is set on a ship with two crews who had recently been at war with each other, and a third crew of Earthlings who are just now learning about other worlds. Watching them interact was a blast, especially when the other crews are introduced to Rubik's Cubes.
Moonstruck has action, adventure, suspense, great characters, and soul-deep love. I impatiently await the next Borderlands book.
Kathy Andrico - KathysReviewCorner.com
