REVIEW: Moonstruck

Susan Grant
Moonstruck (Borderlands #1)
Harlequin Books
ISBN-10: 0373772599
ISBN-13: 978-0373772599
Science fiction romance
June 1, 2008

***Based on Advanced Reading Copy

***Slight spoilers – beware

I remember Ms. Grant being very excited by this book’s upcoming release last year on the PNR Yahoo group. She said something along the lines of being pleased to be able to write and put out a book like this, as in someone seeing its potential and betting on it with her (the impression I got). Her enthusiasm at the time really hooked me too, and heck, it doesn’t take much to hook me with her books. She’s got a long, positive track record of pleasing the h-e-double-hockey-sticks out of me with her past titles. When an author keeps hitting these home runs for a reader, we can get expectant that this is going to at least keep up on the same level with subsequent releases. We’re readers. We can’t help it. Moonstruck though, well, it…Blew. Me. Away. So now I’ve learned another exciting factor of romance reading – when a long-time favorite still has the ability to improve and thrill me to new heights. I was in fact moonstruck in the sense it has in this book: totally in love with everything about it.

The Short of It – Synopsis Time

Admiral Britasha Bandar (Brit for short) isn’t thrilled with the turn of events. She’s not ready to give up the ghosts and despair that drove her to become one of the most successful women in the Coalition. However, the Coaltion is no more thanks to their Goddess queen Kiera, but rather the Triad, a conglomerate of Coalition, Earthling and Drakken soldiers. Brit’s been chosen to command the symbolic accord amongst all of them aboard the new ship, Unity. For a woman that believes the only good Drakken is a dead one, it’ll be a challenge to say the least. And when she meets her new second-in-command, her emotional barriers will be stretched to the limit.

Warleader Finnar Rorkken of the former Drakken Horde is grateful in the extreme for the opportunity that comes his way. To serve aboard the Unity, even if under one of his biggest rivals, means a better life for him and his ragtag crew. But can the former Scourge of the Borderlands assimilate successfully into such a foreign culture? Brit certainly has her doubts, but Finn is determined to prove his and his crew’s worth, indeed the worth of the Drakken people as a whole. The beautiful woman is an incentive too like no other. As they tumble into a raging attraction, they’ll have to deal with terrorists that threaten the new Triad efforts, Brit’s past horrors that cripple her emotionally and Finn’s struggle to find himself in the face of a new culture.

The Genesis

For those not aware, Moonstruck already has a history. It’s a spin off of Grant’s Otherworldly Men series, another great set of books. This previous series is basically the building blocks of Moonstruck, however, I’d say it’s safe to read it without having read these previous three:

• Your Planet or Mine
• My Favorite Earthing
• How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 Days

BUT, know that Moonstruck has roots, especially if you find you like it too. These books might appease your crack reading addiction. Loved them.

There is a great background check in this book’s first chapter that gives a quick yet thorough insight into the other books and how the Coaltion and Drakken Horde have gotten to their current point.

Worldbuilding 101 or Advanced Course?

Grant’s scifi visuals are always easy for me to grasp. We’re not talking too deep into the molecular buildup of biparticle substreams here. The world building is just enough that it enhances the scifi aspect without overpowering the romantic elements. That spells perfectamundo to me! But actually, the world building is really stepped up quite a bit if we consider the previous series, which takes place for the most part on Earth. And no that we can’t have great scifi happenings right here on Old Terra, it’s just that final frontier, Space Herself, holds such a delectable appeal – if the author knows what they’re doing. And Ms. Grant does.

And again, there’s no need for complicated descrips here. One of my faves was the name for one of Brit’s ships, the Vengeance. Not only does this tell us a lot about Brit herself, but the name implies this was one serious mother effer of a ship too. Then there’s the he Holy Keep of the Goddess, also called the Ring. “Ring” is such a simple word, but I can easily picture a space station from this one four letter word. I believe Grant has implemented some classic scifi descriptions with Moonstruck, and managed to weave them in seamlessly and clearly in such a way as to further the plot and characters all the more. Great background material going on here.

Brit’s Vengeance

Britasha. Brit. The Admiral. This is one balls-to-the-wall, don’t fuck with me woman. Men fear her. BIG men fear her. Oh, they talk the big boy talk about her behind closed channels, but they could never match her in any way let alone overpower her. She put the Coalition on the map and became a heroic symbol for their people. She probably could eat Drakkens for breakfast and digest them too. But that might be a bit extreme. Ya get the drift though.

I’m a teensy bit sad we didn’t get to see her at the height of her career during the war. From what we hear, and I can well believe it after reading the book, this was one serious and focused hand of the Coalition! Ruthless I tell ya! But maybe that’s the mainstream scifi reader in me talking. I’m not sure if we’re quite ready yet to have our romance heroines quite so cold and detached.

But then, as readers will see, Brit had good reasons indeed for her thorough annihilation of her enemies. And ding! ding! That’s where we get our first cookie as readers – the setup of the conflict, and man is it painful and emotional to read. Was for me anyway. I cried. And Grant already had me w/this story before that, but my gosh did the tears get wrung out of me. I like that, to become that emotionally engaged. But it’s not overplayed and it’s not gratuitous. Brit begins her new journey as captain of a Drakken, Coalition, and Earthling ship very conflicted. Her initial reaction is to ostracize the Drakken crew members, and it’s understandable that this is natural to her.

From here on out though, Brit does some serious developing and the part Finn plays in that was sooo damn romantic I don’t see how I’ll be able to stop thinking about this couple! I absolutely loved Brit. She has the perfect combination of grit, generosity and hero. And that’s just it, and may be one of the more unique elements here: she was both a hero and a heroine. Don’t get me wrong, not so much that she overpowers Finn or comes off mannish, but rather she takes on some gigantic proportions in this book. She is one of her people’s saviors. Sounds like hero material to me, in the sense that we look at a lot of classic male heroes. Way to go, Brit.

Finn’s Identity

Finn Rorkken. First off – awesome name and it just seemed to fit him so well. This guy was another lick-o-luscious one for me. Pure, hawt temptation on a spaceship. If I could take one thing on my initial trip to space, I’d take Finn. And some Godiva. Heehee, oh the times we could have with that chocolate.

But I digress.

Finn’s not just man candy on a page; he’s strong, adorably loyal and whistle worthy in his pursuit of Brit. He’s been promoted to Warleader within the Coalition a few years prior to his new appointment aboard the Unity w/Brit, and he’s determined to make a place for himself and his crew with this opportunity. There’s point numero uno: He takes care of his own and is serious about their well being. I loved that he went out of his way to take care of a fifty-some-odd ragtag bunch of Drakken miscreants and misfits.

Point numero dos in his favor: Finn never does one single underhanded thing in his pursuit of Brit. The man just never had to, he was up front with her from the first. I just loved the open honesty from him, nothing to hide. Just a whole lot of “come and getcha some”. Oh yeeeeaaahhh.

Point numero tres: His personal struggle. It was very interesting to reading a man learning to adapt and change to a new situation for once. So often it seems as if it’s just the females who are conceding something. Finn’s dilemma is how to be the underdog, the people that lost the war, yet still find a place for himself in what is still by and large a Coalition pact. And he does it admirably and soon no longer deserves the title of underdog or loser or anything to do with that nature. He’s a strong leader, a passionate lover and that genuine caring for others comes through in pretty much every action he takes. And yet, he struggles to find who he really is. How much to give up before the person he grew into is no more? This is where Brit’s eventual acceptance is a kind of healing for him, as he is for her.

It’s Good to Be Secondary

Not only is there stellar main character development going on here, but there’s a great secondary plot and character set too. Hadley, Brit’s personal assistant, and Bolivarr, one of Finn’s crew. We take a few side trips with these two, but believe me, they are integral to the story and it’s not just meandering for the sake of developing some other characters. These are characters that add to the story without overpowering. Amazing, that latter part when you see how involved they really are. I am sincerely rooting for more from this pair.

ETA: Word from Ms. Grant is that we WILL be seeing more of Bolivarr and Hadley in the next book, again as secondary characters. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! Serious slice of awesome.

To Be Continued

I used to love to see those words tacked onto the end of a Star Trek episode. And I am one hundred percent excited to know that this is the first in another series, I’m hoping at least two more books. The next will be available in spring of 209, titled The Warlord’s Daughter. No info other than that on it ATM, but I suspect the heroine will be the daughter of some notorious Drakken leader.

Pssst! You can view a special Borderlands website too that Grant’s been working on. I’m looking forward to seeing how it progresses! Stay tuned to it for updates on the series, least that’s what I hope we’ll be seeing there.

Rating: Five Scoops, as if there was evah any doubt.