Saturday, April 21, 2012

Refugees on Urloon by Melisse Aires

Title: Refugees on Urloon
Author: Melisse Aires
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Publisher: Lyrical Press Inc
Available: $3.99 at Lyrical Press Inc
Rating: 4 stars
Rater: Pippa












Plot Summary:

Two weary refugees, two moons and a life-changing fertility festival. Watch out for a whole lot of sensuality.

Under normal circumstances, Svana, non-military maintenance crew, and Captain Liam Ringel, a highly respected military instructor, would never have crossed paths. A sudden anomaly, however, thrusts them into deep space where they are rescued by the inhabitants of an exotic and isolated waterworld, Urloon. 

With no rescue forthcoming, the refugees can choose between adapting to the sea or farming the land. Svana is saddened when her budding friendship with Liam changes due to their different choices. However, when they are invited to an alien fertility festival, the Moonfest, they are given the opportunity to create a memory that will impact and intertwine both their futures. 

WARNING: Alien fertility festival, aurora lights, dancing alien beasts, body paints and hot pheromones. M/F Sensual.

The Good:
The story doesn't waste any time throwing you into the action and there are several threads running through it to keep up the tension. It made a nice change to read a romance story where the couple are an older generation than a lot of those I've read lately, and the uncertainty between them throughout the story despite - or perhaps because of - their experiences in life made their relationship poignant. The idea of alien pheremones invoking a fertility festival and of humans adapted for aquatic life hooked me from the start. The adaptation process is especially intriguing. For 37K words, there's a lot packed into this story.

The Bad:
I felt the stories of the two main groups of antagonists in this was slightly underplayed overall. I feel the Wilders especially should have been a little more significant in their threat earlier in the story.

In Sum:
This is a sweet and sensual romance, skillfully woven into a human society adapted to an alien world. Easy to read and compelling.

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