BOOKS ‘n COZY SPOTS BOOK REVIEWS – Shifter Planet by D. B. Reynolds

BOOKS ‘n COZY SPOTS BOOK REVIEWS – Shifter Planet by D. B. Reynolds

     
~ 3.5 Stars ~
Review of SHIFTER PLANET, by D. B. Reynolds

Paranormal Romance / Space Opera / Futuristic / Shifter

-purchased on Amazon.com

Reviewed by Jaycee ~ for Books ‘N Cozy Spots Book Reviews, www.Talon-ps.com

Specialist Amanda Sumner is one of the first to make contact on the Earth-like planet Harp and discovers she’s the only Earthling, who can hear the trees sing in the strange forest. Determined to remain and learn more of the planet’s secrets, Amanda sets out to become part of the elite Guild there…

But there is a secret involving some Guild members–one that could get her killed.

Shifter Rhodry de Mendoza wants the Earthlings off his planet before they destroy it—even if that means denying what he feels for the fierce and lovely Amanda. The pair is thrown together in what becomes a fight for their lives. And they might just lose everything–including each other–in their battle for the right to live in peace.

True to form, Ms. Reynolds has created another very vivid world that blends the familiar and human with the imaginary and pseudo-human in an appealing read. Complete with space-based humans of Earth origin, meeting a heretofore lost world of once-humans who engineered their own survival in a genetically altered state, there is a wealth of possibility in the story setting. The heroine is typically Reynolds’ kick-a$$, and both a physical and intellectual equal of the hunter-males. Following a contentious beginning for the Hero-Heroine, circumstances ultimately dictate that they work together to save each other, outwit the pervasive bad guys, and secure the future well-being of their world. And the story line for that matter…

I loved Amanda. She was a character of innate inner strength, made no excuses and accepted no impediment – – self imposed or otherwise – – to her personal goals. She prepared herself for eventualities that put her at a disadvantage, and overcame in her own way. She accepted her unexplained affinity to the new planet and embraced it, ultimately proving that she belonged. Albeit, the hard way.

Rhodry was a likeable if curmudgeonly sort and was, along with his kinsmen, very appealing as good-to-be-bad guys go. However, and this is probably not a fair assessment, he was no “Raphael”, for those who have read Ms. Reynolds’ alter-series. As a reader I found I did not connect with Rhodry in the same way – with the same intensity – I did Raphael, and consequently, I did not feel the depth of relationship between he and Amanda I might have wished to experience.

Some fun if largely incidental secondary characters to this story wait in the wings and while the baddest of the bad guys were dispatched to oblivion, still others linger, and between them, offer potential future story lines.

A great deal of set-up for the brave new world went into this book. It was indeed a captivating setting and easy to visualize during the read. But it was almost so at the expense of the characters who inhabit the world. With the exception of Amanda, they lacked the same dimension, and as such did not contribute to the scope the story, in its entirety, might have otherwise had.

Don’t misunderstand; this is a compelling world that is now firmly established, and I believe there are some extremely worthy character-driven stories waiting in the wings. I look forward to more blending of worlds.

SHIFTER PLANET also received the following ratings:

ROMANCE FACTOR ~ 3 Hearts ~

HEAT FACTOR ~ 2 Flames ~

TWIST FACTOR ~ a long, difficult “road back”… ~

BONUS FACTOR ~ A very strong, very equal Heroine ~