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Take Star Wars, add a little Romeo and Juliet, and turn up the thermostat almost to the boiling point, and you’ll begin to approach Lord of the Storm. I go back and re-read this one anytime I want to ward off the chill of winter.
The story takes place in a futuristic world in which an intergalactic Coalition rules with an iron fist over all of the planets and inhabitants. Shaylah Graymist is a fighter pilot for the Coalition, albeit a slightly reluctant one, who loves to fly but disapproves of the Coalition’s brutal tactics for subduing unwilling populations. As a reward for her heroism, she is given a slave named Wolf, who wears a gold collar, indicating that he can be programmed by a controller to perform sexually for his master. In this society, Shaylah is considered a prude because she believes in the “old fashioned” idea of bonding, or mating for life, and decries the sexual slave practices of her friends. She refuses to use the controller to force Wolf to make love to her. Instead, she and Wolf develop a strange friendship and she discovers that he is one of the last survivors of a paradise named Trios. While Wolf is drawn to Shaylah, he can never forget that he is a slave and that his world and family have been destroyed by the forces that she allies herself with.
Shaylah is called back to battle, and Wolf, no longer willing to accept his fate as a slave, becomes uncontrollable, and is sold to a penal colony. Shaylah has to rescue him, and then they set off together to see what is left of his home planet.
What woman could resist her own love slave who also happens to be a fallen warrior? They don’t make heroes any hunkier than Wolf. He has to learn to trust that the attraction he feels for Shaylah is real, not a product of her using the controller to influence his emotions and behavior. Shaylah is a fabulous heroine as well, as she finds redemption for her actions as a Coalition pilot by performing a daring act of bravery to save Trios. Together the two create so many sparks that it’s a wonder the book doesn’t set itself on fire while you’re reading it.
Justine Davis has created a believable futuristic world that completes the experience. The inhabitants of the different planets are just distinct enough to be interesting, but with enough human characteristics to be familiar. I wanted to read more about this world, and fortunately Justine Davis wrote a sequel.
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
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I bought this because of the 99 cent sale and now I’m completely hooked and bought the entire rest of the series. This is a great SF book by a new-to-me author, and I always need more SF!