Two novellas present differing futures. In LAND'S END by
Lauren Dane we see a country guarded against anarchy
outside garrisoned towns, with a highway linking Silver
Cliffs to Shelter City. Loyal is a guard of the shipment
of foodstuffs and other goods, and he sees Verity Coleman
on these trips along the Land's End highway, a widow who
keeps the rooming house. Self-sufficiency in areas like
food growing and solar power is very important but the
travellers also bring eagerly sought-after news.
This erotic tale puts two characters in each other's orbit
who keep having fantasies about each other and not
mentioning their desires; I wondered why one of them
couldn't say something? Verity had to marry at fourteen
but now as an adult widow she has rights and property.
Brigands prowl the highway and Loyal could find battle on
any trip. This time however he receives reports that the
brigands are massing, ready to attack the town. Maybe it's
the imminence of danger that convinces the two lonely
people to break down the barriers, and then they can't get
enough of each other. This is an adult romance which harks
back to tough pioneer days but is set forward in time.
BY THE SEA OF SAND by Megan Hart shows the planet Sheir.
Life is hard and resources meager. Giant whale creatures,
reminiscent of sandworms in 'Dune', live under the gritty
sea, and oil from their bodies helps to sustain the human
settlers. Teila keeps a lighthouse and is pressured to take
in convalescents from an ongoing war. One such, a bio-
engineered soldier, is brought to her; he is burned,
scarred and lacking memories. Even so he has barely woken
up when they are making love, which didn't ring true with
me. Teila recognises this man as her supposedly dead
husband, but if she tells him so before he remembers by
himself, it could destroy his mind and turn him into one of
the enemy.
Cue plenty of bedroom scenes as the seriously injured
warrior has not enough energy to stand up but plenty when
lying down. There are simple robots and native worlders to
flesh out the picture as Teila keeps demonstrating her love
for a man who has nightmares and remembers nothing of their
life. In THERE ALL ALONG we have two intensely atmospheric
tales of warriors and strong women, not the usual fare but
suitable for those who like to combine SF and adult
romances.
Bestselling authors Lauren Dane and Megan Hart deliver two
stories of longing, lust, and love in futuristic worlds
where love comes first—then survival...
“Land’s End”
by Lauren Dane…
The Land’s End highway is one of the most
dangerous places in the universe. The constant peril of
brigands keeps Verity Coleman stuck in Silver Cliffs,
dreaming of the open road—and of Loyal Alsbaugh, the tall
and silent highway patrolman. When her town is attacked,
Verity has a chance to win over Loyal’s muted heart. But
will his wounded past make him leave her along the road, or
can she convince him to take her along?
“By the Sea
of Sand” by Megan Hart…
Captain Kason Reed was willing to
give his life to the Sheirran Defense Forces, but now he
can’t remember anything but bits and pieces of the war. When
his sexual attraction to his caregiver, Teila, causes him to
make advances toward her, she becomes the aggressor, urging
him with her body to explore the memories of his
past—memories that all seem to draw him back to Teila…
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