Victor (he only answers to “Mac”) MacNaught was planning to get married this weekend. The key word is “was.” Now that he found his fiancée in the arms of his business rival, he has no intention of going through with the wedding. While commiserating with his brother at Joe’s Pub, Mac helps save a beautiful woman from kidnappers. But you know what they say -- No good deed goes unpunished. As a result of his impulsive action, he finds himself on a space ship with the woman and her bodyguard, trying to stay out of the way of an intergalactic criminal and his minions.

Larissalyia Ashanti, the daughter of the Chief Magistrate of the Federation of Worlds (FOW) and a master trader, has been hiding out on Earth from souMalacho’s organization. Since her father ruled the mob boss guilty and had him imprisoned, those involved in the trial are dying in large numbers. This Earthman, Mac, had saved her from a sneak attack by the criminals, and because Earth was an unsanctioned planet, she had to either kill him, wipe his memory of the events, or sell him into slavery. Any one of the options seemed a rather poor way to reward the man for his help, so Larissalyia took him with her as she escaped, hoping to figure out a way to avoid the inevitable.

This is book 1 in Kreger’s A Part of Tomorrow series, which takes place in the Federation of Worlds universe. This is a good device for an interesting series, since each book seems to take place on a different planet in the FOW, offering significant variety in the stories. I like the author’s writing style, which is fairly straightforward and robust, because it moves the action of the plot along without dallying, and is colorful without being overly flowery. I really liked the characters of Mac and Larissalyia in this book, because they come alive for the reader as the story progresses. The secondary characters are also interesting -- I would like to see more stories about the Chief Magistrate and his family, just to find out what happens after this novel. The love scenes are erotic and romantic; the characters make satisfying love without getting graphic about it. I quite enjoyed this book and look forward to more in the series.

Reviewed by: Jean