Cy'ren Rising is the name of this series about a
spacefaring race. I had not read the previous titles but
jumped straight into the action. After all, it's easy to
pick sides when a troop is attacking mercenaries holding a
bunch of slaves in a space station brothel.
Bryn, the brave woman who led her companions through the
fighting to safety, was formerly a shadow sword fighter.
She has a female partner Sabine, who was drugged to make
her amenable in the brothel. The Cy'ren people have some
physiological differences to humans, aside from their
violet-coloured skin and golden eyes, and Bryn just has to
hope that the doctors aboard the troop ship can help them.
If not, she might lose her mate - one way or another.
The captain of the ship, the formidable Captain Hawke, has more
weighty matters on her mind. A bioweapon is being developed
and Hawke's crew were searching for information
about it on the space station - freeing slaves was a bonus.
She can't make detours for anyone's convenience, and her
Lieutenant Commander Jace Harrow, who helped free the women, is
growing ever more fascinated with Sabine. If
he falls under the spell of her pheromones, who knows what
might happen?
I enjoyed the well-realised background of the military ship
and all the details were convincing, such as a hissing of
air conditioning and the wiring problems with a circuitry
panel. We could be pretty much living on that ship, there
is so much realism. Females in the Cy'ren people are
scarce so they now have fewer rights and freedoms than
before, as they are needed to preserve the race. The plucky
Sabine and Bryn want to insist that they will not be
separated, but their options may be limited.
Some vampirism is involved and partner-swapping, so the
adult romance in MORNINGSTAR may not be for everyone, but
SF fans will find a lot to like. I enjoyed this original
read by Robyn Bachar about brave, determined women and men
who have to work around gender role models, with plenty of
action and even zombies.
Desire is an addiction that could destroy them all.
Cy’ren Rising, Book 2
The second son.
Lieutenant Commander Jace Harrow is the second son of House
Morningstar—the spare, not the heir. Armored with an
arrogant mask, Jace keeps the world at arm’s length to
protect those around him from becoming targets for his
bloodthirsty brother.
The broken sword.
Lieutenant Bryn Viera was a shadow sword and a decorated
officer, dedicated to protecting her people. But for the
past five years she has lived as a slave and has the scars
to prove it. Bryn vowed to escape or die trying—until she
met Sabine.
The slave.
Born into slavery, Sabine never expected to fall in love.
Her feelings for Bryn sparked her desire for a new life, but
now Sabine is in phase, consumed by the need to mate with a
male. Her dream of freedom with Bryn is on the brink of
destruction, for to deny the phase means death.
Thrown together by the unforgiving demands of the phase,
they must unite to save Cyprena’s people from a deadly new
bioweapon—or be destroyed by the scars of their pasts.
Warning: Contains an arrogant officer with a weakness for
having his hair pulled, an insatiable empath, and a badass
warrior woman who form a male-female-female threesome
sizzling enough to melt your shields.