Annabelle Maddox had been the pilot of an Alliance battle cruiser. During the battle that freed the Arena Station and rescued the enslaved gladiators, she had saved her cruiser and the lives of its crew, while sacrificing her own future. The electronic pulses that had seared her nerve endings made it impossible for her to be around any advanced technology without suffering extreme pain. However, the Alliance looked after its own, and after declaring Annabelle one of the Champions of Terra, resettled her on the low-tech planet Avari. Once there, Annabelle is mentored by the elder Tarun Bien, who appears much younger than any “elder” should! Annabelle must figure out what her place will be on Avari, and do it before the festival of Avari Nyx, when she will be called upon to make decisions that will affect the rest of her life.

I picked this book up eagerly, since I am a big fan of science fiction romance. And I enjoy this author’s work, particularly Arena Station and Haldis Imperium, books 1 and 5 of this series, the Champions of Terra. However, I was not fully satisfied with this installment in the series. Though the author’s writing style is as smooth and interesting as ever, and the characters are just as engaging, I felt something was missing. I think that missing element is the sort of significant conflict that will motivate the characters’ actions. Instead, most of what we see is Annabelle settling in on the planet and being introduced to her new home. This is not necessarily a bad thing -- I do like reading about everyday lives on other planets, and I did enjoy reading about Annabelle and Tarun, as well as the secondary characters in the story. I think that other readers of science fiction will enjoy the ambiance of this story as I did, as well as the erotic and moving love scenes.

Reviewed by: Jean