Title: Stardancer
Author: Ariel MacArran
Genre: Sci-Fiction Romance 18 +
Published Date: October 14, 2013
Publisher: Here Be Dragons
~Synopsis~
Kinara crosses into Az-kye space seeking revenge but her act of vengeance goes horribly wrong when her ship is captured. Defeated and enslaved Kinara offers herself to Aidar, the Az- kye commander, in exchange for her crew's protection. But this warrior wants much more than just her submission, he wants her to give herself completely . . .
Hey everyone! Got a fun read for you today! This is a futuristic romance that takes place in space and on another planet! How can you resist that? ^_~
I was immediately engrossed into the story after the first chapter. The pace is great. I found myself easily reading through the book and caught up with the character and their actions. I felt each scene was well placed and well executed. No middle slumps in this read for me. I love stories like these. So well done!
I did like Kinara but there were moments where I found I didn't quite agree with her decisions or actions but I still found her relatable. She eventually redeemed herself with her actions but I'm not sure I agreed with everything she did. I do like that she stood up for herself and kept herself busy despite some of her circumstances. There were moments where I wished that she would keep standing strong but she eventually relented and did do as she was told. Maybe that's my ego being stubborn but I wanted her to fight more! Still I found her a flawed but believable protagonist.
Now Aidar, I found him funny at times but overall I feel like he was a complete softy despite his muscles and status. I admit he was a little frustrating at first expecting Kinara to know what she was supposed to do when she obviously didn't know anything about the Az-kye. I guess that adds up to the fact that the Az-kye don't exactly prize intelligence over physical strength. It's good that she learned quickly. I warmed up to him later. He says some of the sweetest lines that I can't help it.
The love scenes were quite steamy and fun. They were well placed and I enjoyed them immensely. ^_~ I'll just leave it at that but you should definitely check it out.
There are the two races the Tellarans and Az-kye. Kinara is Tellaran and Aidar is Az-kye. As you probably know they have their own languages and cultures so it was interesting seeing how the author created these two worlds. I think she did a wonderful job with the accents and word choices as well as the cultures. They are pretty distinguishable between each other. Although, I have to say that Tellarans appears to be a futuristic Human Earth world. The thing is, Tellarans have blasters (I assume laser guns) and Az-kye have swords...One would assume that Tellarans would have the advantage during a war, right? I don't know. I have been puzzled by that.
I do feel like the two races are pretty much human. Anatomically there are little distinguishable features outside their hair and skin coloring. I would have like something more to be able to tell them apart besides their ideals, language, and general appearances.
Most of the story takes place on Az-kye and I believe that the world building could have been a little stronger. It is different but it seems to be similar in base of Human historical past with slaves and different caste systems instead of the futuristic I was was thinking about. There is little mention of life on the planet outside the upper caste. There is talk about animals on Tellaran but not so much of animal or plant life on Az-kye.
I can see that it's probably not relevant to the story, and it most likely isn't, but I feel like I couldn't imagine the world to its fullest. The Az-kye is mostly taken place in a city and I imagine a planet is made up of more than that. I do like the fact that the men are the warriors and the women are the leaders. Even though I don't love politics I still found myself able to keep interested and with the pace of that element.
Overall, I enjoyed the story a lot! I'm glad I was able to get my hands on the second book for a review as well! I highly recommend it if you like fantasy.
4 out of 5 rating for me!
(An ARC was provided for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.)
About the Author
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