Captain Cyani looks forward to completing her final
assignment prior to retiring to her home planet of Azra.
Having completed the freeing of the Union soldiers she was
sent to retrieve, she risks her own safety and escape to
free a Byralen prisoner her scout leads her to. Byralens
are a mysterious race whose bodies produce a hormone that
they use to bond with their mates, but on the black market
it can be used as a powerful sexual narcotic.
Soren has been held captive for years, enduring endless
torture while his captors milk the narcotic hormones from
his body for their profit. He has been held in darkness
with no real hope of escape, always to be a slave.
When Cyani frees Soren, his sense of elation is quickly
replaced with the sickening realization that the years of
manipulation he has undergone to siphon the narcotic
hormone from his body, has caused his system to become
unbalanced. Unless he finds the woman he is to mate with,
he will die.
Cyani and Soren begin to build a bond between them while
attempting to escape. One not simply out of Cyani's honor
or out of Soren's gratitude toward his rescuer but out of
feelings the two are acquiring between them. Soren soon
realizes that Cyani may be the woman he needs to survive,
but for Cyani to turn her back on her home world, would
mean a death sentence to not only herself, but her family
as well. Would Cyani choose her own happiness and freedom
to spend her life with Soren, or would she return to her
self-imposed prison and allow Soren to die?
Jess Granger's BEYOND THE RAIN is a refreshing tale of two
strong characters, however in this story, the female is not
lead by the male like in most romance driven stories. Even
though Soren's life hinges on the choices Cyani will make,
he does not once try to force her to his will, allowing her
complete freedom in her choices. This is a very nice
change when most speculative fantasy romances have the ever
so dominate males forcing the women to their mindsets.
I also enjoyed the world building around the story. Ms.
Granger's universe was very clear, whether it is the dark
underside of Azra, or the beautiful open plains of Makko,
she paints the worlds clearly. I look forward to the next
book in this series.
In a universe torn apart by civil war, a warrior and a slave
must fight for their lives and a love that may destroy them
both. After five years behind enemy lines, Captain Cyani has
to complete one final mission before she can return to
Azra—a planet ruled by a sisterhood of celibate warriors.
Along the way she finds a prisoner, chained and beaten—but
radiating feral power and an unbroken spirit. For years
Soren has endured torture as his captors leeched his very
essence, a unique hormone then sold as a sexual narcotic in
the shadow trade. Now he has been freed from slavery by a
beautiful warrior woman with radiant blue eyes. After years
in bondage, Soren’s hormones are so unbalanced that he will
die if he does not mate with a woman. Can Cyani be the woman
he needs to survive, or will this forbidden bond destroy them?
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