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The Infinitum Government #2
Meant to Be
The Draconis are a race of unexpected power and ability, complicated by their tendency to ‘match’ with other magics capable beings. The trial to decide whether or not they should be exterminated is about to begin, and both sides have gathered some of the brightest minds in the galaxy to argue before the Star Assembly of the Infinitum Government. Everything goes awry, however, when High Chancellor Pyotr Kavalerov, staunchest supporter of the Draconis’ right to live, is assassinated …
111 pages, ebook
First published December 28, 2011
10 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
Megan Derr
284 books2,949 followersMegan is a long time resident of queer romance and keeps herself busy reading and writing it. She is often accused of fluff and nonsense. When she’s not involved in writing, she likes to cook, harass her wife and cats, or watch movies. She loves to hear from readers and can be found all over the internet.
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meganderr.com
patreon.com/meganderr
meganderr.blogspot.com
facebook.com/meganaprilderr
meganaderr@gmail.com
@meganaderr
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 12, 2016
I was very much looking forward to this book coming out. I really liked the unfinished draft of Meant to Be on Derr's livejournal, and nothing could have excited me more than to see that a finished version would be released soon. However, this book lacks... well, substance, of any kind. It feels like all of the action is going on off-scene and we never really see any of it. One scene that was in the original draft-- where Bikendi and Val were doing experiments regarding their powers and lizards-- was cut, but this scene was still referenced several times, leaving me confused. It was also an important scene, since it helped explain what exactly was going on with their powers. I came out of the new version wondering just what the heck was going on and extremely dissatisfied.
A big, important trial was going on in the first version of Meant to Be. It kept the book grounded, so that not everything was about the nebulous relationships between characters. The entire trial aspect, I suspect, will be in the third book, but that left this book bereft of plot. Basically, it begins with an exploding space ship (classic!) and ends with everyone involved getting together with someone else. However, even the getting together seems to be taking part off-screen, at least in terms of Yevi and Raoul. Yes, they kiss a few times, and then suddenly they're in love? Also, although romantic, Pyotr's decision at the end makes me lose respect for him.
Overall, this book felt very rushed and poorly put together. I will read the next one, but I am so disappointed with Meant to Be that I'm very hesitant about it. I wish that Derr had taken some more time. I prefer quality over quantity, and I was willing to wait however long she needed for this one.
A big, important trial was going on in the first version of Meant to Be. It kept the book grounded, so that not everything was about the nebulous relationships between characters. The entire trial aspect, I suspect, will be in the third book, but that left this book bereft of plot. Basically, it begins with an exploding space ship (classic!) and ends with everyone involved getting together with someone else. However, even the getting together seems to be taking part off-screen, at least in terms of Yevi and Raoul. Yes, they kiss a few times, and then suddenly they're in love? Also, although romantic, Pyotr's decision at the end makes me lose respect for him.
Overall, this book felt very rushed and poorly put together. I will read the next one, but I am so disappointed with Meant to Be that I'm very hesitant about it. I wish that Derr had taken some more time. I prefer quality over quantity, and I was willing to wait however long she needed for this one.
December 7, 2012
3 1/2 Hearts
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews
http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
This book is part of the series and must be read in order. Now usually I would give my own over-view of the book but this time I can’t as there are too many couples and stories inside this story to do it any justice.
I really liked this story but for me it wasn’t as good as the original version so I have to balance this review on just this book and not the original one that I remember. The story-line of this one follows on from Kidnapped and everyone has done the research and are bringing everything together to put before the Star Assembly for the Trial, when tragedy strikes and the star ship High Chancellor Pyotr Kavalerov is travelling on blows up. This is quite a complex story as we have views from several different people and their own stories get told within the main story.
The relationships develop at different rates and a lot of it happens off page, so even though you know that they are getting together you don’t really see it. The main story-line is brilliant as we find out who are trying to stop the trial and why they want the Draconis destroyed. The descriptions are wonderful so it pulls you into the beauty of the surroundings, the character descriptions are really good and you can picture them in your minds quite clearly, even though we don’t get to know all the characters well we do get a good sense of them and some of them you do want to get to know better.
Now as I said there are quite a few stories going on so there is a lot of action on different fronts, surprises cropping up and baddies in different situations. Some of the characters find themselves in positions they wouldn’t wish on their enemies and others find themselves bound to people they wished they weren’t. Romances in this are, well lacking really, there isn’t a lot of depth to them and they don’t have Megan Derr’s usual special touch to them, they seem to have been cut short to focus on the main story-line.
I must admit that there were a few times when I sat there and went ‘what, don’t be so stupid!’ to the characters especially right near the end. If you have read the original version then you will be surprised at how much detail and scenes were cut out and how several scenes changed and sometimes not for the better, but it is still a very good book and if you haven’t read the original then you will really enjoy this one and it will be a smooth read.
So all in all it is a very good book so I recommend it to those who love science fiction, a great story-line, and lots of romances, action, danger and an ending that indicates there may be more to come.
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews
http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
This book is part of the series and must be read in order. Now usually I would give my own over-view of the book but this time I can’t as there are too many couples and stories inside this story to do it any justice.
I really liked this story but for me it wasn’t as good as the original version so I have to balance this review on just this book and not the original one that I remember. The story-line of this one follows on from Kidnapped and everyone has done the research and are bringing everything together to put before the Star Assembly for the Trial, when tragedy strikes and the star ship High Chancellor Pyotr Kavalerov is travelling on blows up. This is quite a complex story as we have views from several different people and their own stories get told within the main story.
The relationships develop at different rates and a lot of it happens off page, so even though you know that they are getting together you don’t really see it. The main story-line is brilliant as we find out who are trying to stop the trial and why they want the Draconis destroyed. The descriptions are wonderful so it pulls you into the beauty of the surroundings, the character descriptions are really good and you can picture them in your minds quite clearly, even though we don’t get to know all the characters well we do get a good sense of them and some of them you do want to get to know better.
Now as I said there are quite a few stories going on so there is a lot of action on different fronts, surprises cropping up and baddies in different situations. Some of the characters find themselves in positions they wouldn’t wish on their enemies and others find themselves bound to people they wished they weren’t. Romances in this are, well lacking really, there isn’t a lot of depth to them and they don’t have Megan Derr’s usual special touch to them, they seem to have been cut short to focus on the main story-line.
I must admit that there were a few times when I sat there and went ‘what, don’t be so stupid!’ to the characters especially right near the end. If you have read the original version then you will be surprised at how much detail and scenes were cut out and how several scenes changed and sometimes not for the better, but it is still a very good book and if you haven’t read the original then you will really enjoy this one and it will be a smooth read.
So all in all it is a very good book so I recommend it to those who love science fiction, a great story-line, and lots of romances, action, danger and an ending that indicates there may be more to come.
June 19, 2024
This second entry in the Infinitum Government has a lot of issues. It does rely on the reader being familiar with what happened in the first entry, but also the author doesn't exactly do a great job of connecting the stories. There were editing and I believe a couple continuity flaws that distracted me.
In this one, we see three different couples start relationships. High Chancellor Pyotr Kavalerov (variously described anywhere from 55 to 49 years of age) is traveling on his ship when it's bombed in mid-jump. Somehow he wakes up with the fascinating Jade caring for him on a winter planet. How did he survive that? It's never really explained. Pytor is being held by Jade in a remote cabin, while Jade comes and goes. Yet there's fascination there as the two have drawn to each other since Jade was a teenager, some, 15 years previously?
Roaul, Pyotr's bodyguard, also somehow miraculously survives the assassination attempt and wakes up in the jungle of an uncharted planet. Yevi is working for the farm that Roaul stumbles into. Turns out the farm is harvesting Soul, a drug that's so addictive it's banned by the IG. And Yevi blows his own cover to Roaul by admitting he's undercover to break up the drug trade. Despite their mutual attraction, they agree to work together to figure out what planet they're on, and get word back to civilization to be rescued/break up the ring.
And lastly, Val, a Draconis, is traveling to Zero to testify for his race's right to survive and join the IG. For some reason their magics is a threat to certain others and those other people want to commit genocide and wipe out all Draconis. There was a reference in the first book that the Draconis were a newly created race, but can't remember now who or why. Val is nervous because he's going to meet his hero, Doctor Bikendi, a famous scientist who is studying and experimenting on the magics. But upon locking eyes, the two men match, and their powers influence each other. But it's never really explained what, or how, that is. And for a great deal of time, Bikendi spends a lot of time ignoring or avoiding Val, but the reason isn't very clear.
So this should have been better but there's a lot missing or needs to be explained better.
Two stars.
In this one, we see three different couples start relationships. High Chancellor Pyotr Kavalerov (variously described anywhere from 55 to 49 years of age) is traveling on his ship when it's bombed in mid-jump. Somehow he wakes up with the fascinating Jade caring for him on a winter planet. How did he survive that? It's never really explained. Pytor is being held by Jade in a remote cabin, while Jade comes and goes. Yet there's fascination there as the two have drawn to each other since Jade was a teenager, some, 15 years previously?
Roaul, Pyotr's bodyguard, also somehow miraculously survives the assassination attempt and wakes up in the jungle of an uncharted planet. Yevi is working for the farm that Roaul stumbles into. Turns out the farm is harvesting Soul, a drug that's so addictive it's banned by the IG. And Yevi blows his own cover to Roaul by admitting he's undercover to break up the drug trade. Despite their mutual attraction, they agree to work together to figure out what planet they're on, and get word back to civilization to be rescued/break up the ring.
And lastly, Val, a Draconis, is traveling to Zero to testify for his race's right to survive and join the IG. For some reason their magics is a threat to certain others and those other people want to commit genocide and wipe out all Draconis. There was a reference in the first book that the Draconis were a newly created race, but can't remember now who or why. Val is nervous because he's going to meet his hero, Doctor Bikendi, a famous scientist who is studying and experimenting on the magics. But upon locking eyes, the two men match, and their powers influence each other. But it's never really explained what, or how, that is. And for a great deal of time, Bikendi spends a lot of time ignoring or avoiding Val, but the reason isn't very clear.
So this should have been better but there's a lot missing or needs to be explained better.
Two stars.
January 18, 2014
There was plenty I liked here, especially the plotting which Derr does very well, but the whole thing felt incomplete. The division between three couples did not work well: Raoul and Yevi's story seemed to be missing a few chapters. More seriously, I found Valendel and Bikendi to be totally unsympathetic--Val especially approaches dangerously close to my definition of a drip. Jade was my favorite character from book one, and possibly my favorite character in Megan Derr, so I was over the moon that he would actually get a bigger role here. What came wasn't bad, but it never lived up to its potential either.
Bottom line: if you liked the first book, this is totally worth reading, and I was impressed by the way Derr resolved the mysteries set up in part 1. But the book and the series had the potential to be truly great, which in the end served to exacerbate my feelings of disappointment.
Bottom line: if you liked the first book, this is totally worth reading, and I was impressed by the way Derr resolved the mysteries set up in part 1. But the book and the series had the potential to be truly great, which in the end served to exacerbate my feelings of disappointment.
December 16, 2013
This book was far superior to the first and I can tell its more polished, has a strong storyline and less bogged down with details. There are three interwoven storylines, three different couples and we get interludes with each for a few minutes at a time before moving on to the next. I liked the romance, I loved Pyotr and Jade, and I like that the author didn’t try to tame Jade and make him a ‘nice guy’. I really have yet to read anything by this author that I haven’t liked. Guaranteed bang for your buck!
April 1, 2017
Megan Derr . . . in space! What's not to love?
August 11, 2012
Loved it!!! <3
June 2, 2020
The Draconis are a race of unexpected power and ability, complicated by their tendency to ‘match’ with other magics capable beings. The trial to decide whether or not they should be exterminated is about to begin, and both sides have gathered some of the brightest minds in the galaxy to argue before the Star Assembly of the Infinitum Government. Everything goes awry, however, when High Chancellor Pyotr Kavalerov, staunchest supporter of the Draconis’ right to live, is assassinated
Heather's Notes
This short story needed to be longer. You had 3 couples all doing different things, so you never got to really know any of them. The ending was a HFN for all the couples, but you also could see all the problems they would need to overcome to continue as a couple. There is only a short story left in the series, so maybe the author just wanted everything wrapped up, but it was kind of disappointing overall.
Heather's Notes
This short story needed to be longer. You had 3 couples all doing different things, so you never got to really know any of them. The ending was a HFN for all the couples, but you also could see all the problems they would need to overcome to continue as a couple. There is only a short story left in the series, so maybe the author just wanted everything wrapped up, but it was kind of disappointing overall.
July 15, 2018
Not the ending that I was expecting
I always find it interesting when a character who is despicable in one book can become someone you empathize with in a later book; especially when they don't change. Jade was just as selfish, ruthless, and conniving in this book as he ever was before, and yet, he suddenly became ok when viewing him through the lens of Pyotr's eyes.
Again, the politics and the plot twists in this book were fun to read, and the various adventures were delightful.
I always find it interesting when a character who is despicable in one book can become someone you empathize with in a later book; especially when they don't change. Jade was just as selfish, ruthless, and conniving in this book as he ever was before, and yet, he suddenly became ok when viewing him through the lens of Pyotr's eyes.
Again, the politics and the plot twists in this book were fun to read, and the various adventures were delightful.
March 11, 2018
love the world the author built. interesting seeing Jade as anything other than vile. Definitely should be read after book 1.
January 7, 2019
Was surprised so much was squeezed in. Three couples, a multitude of problems in a sci-fi theme. Favourite pairing was Pyotr.
July 4, 2024
I wanted to like this series, and I had to force myself to finish it. It wasn’t until more recently I’ve gotten comfortable with DNF’ing a book and I wish I had for this series.
February 26, 2012
solid 2nd book in the series---futuristic/sci-fi, awesome descriptions of the characters and scenery!
RATING: 4.5 OUT OF 5 HEARTS
THIS BOOK IS A FUTURISTIC, SCI-FI, NOVEL INVOLVING THE CONTINUING TALE OF THE DRACONIS AND THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS INVOLVED IN THEIR 'RIGHT TO LIFE', THEIR CONTINUANCE, LIVING, ETC. TOLD FROM ALTERNATING POINTS OF VIEW, IT FEATURES SEVERAL CHARACTERS AND THEIR POSITIONS IN THIS GOVENMENT, INCLUDING VALENDRI (DRACONI-BORN WITHOUT ANY POWERS), DR. BIKENDI (A POWERFUL GENETIC RESEARCH SCIENTIST DEFENDING THE CONI'S RIGHT TO EXIST), HIGH CHANCELLOR PYOTR KAVALEROV, RAUOL THE HIGH CHANCELLOR'S BODYGUARD, JADE (FROM THE FIRST NOVEL KIDNAPPED), AND YEVI (HIDING PRINCE OF VRILL).
ON THE EVE OF THE DRACONI TRIALS, THE HIGH CHANCELLOR IS ASSASSINATED, OR SO IT SEEMED. BEFORE THIS, PYOTR ARRANGED FOR BOTH VALENDRI ('VAL') AND DR. BIKENDI (BIKENDI) TO MATCH (UNBEKNOWNST TO EITHER OF THEM), THUS ALIGNING A DRACONI WITH A POWERFUL SCIENTIST OF Telve and Kemperast BACKGROUND. THE STORY GOES ON IN 3 TANGENTS---THE STORY OF VAL & BIKENDI, THE STORY OF PYOTR & JADE, AND THE STORY OF RAOUL & YEVI. EACH TANGENT WAS IMPORTANT, IN THAT IT EXPLAINED WHO ATTEMPTED THE ASSASSINATION AND WHY, THE REASON EACH CHARACTER'S PLANET THEY 'SUDDENLY' FOUND THEMSELVES ON WAS IMPORTANT, AND WENT INTO DEPTH ABOUT THE DRACONI RACE, TELVE RACE, VRILL RACE.
BECAUSE I READ THIS BOOK BEFORE KIDNAPPED (THE INFINITUM GOVERNMENT #1), I ADMIT I WAS LOST FOR ABOUT 1/3 OF THIS BOOK, SO I RE-READ THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS ABOUT 4 TIMES IN ORDER TO GET EVERYONE STRAIGHT. FOR 108 PAGES, MS. DERR WENT INTO A GREAT DEAL OF DEPTH REGARDING THE DIFFERENT RACES, THE BEAUTY (OR HORROR) OF THE PLANETS & FOLIAGE, AND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ALL THE MEN INVOLVED, BOTH INTERNALLY AND INTERDIMENSIONALLY. BETWEEN PYOTR & JADE, THERE WAS A LOT OF FLASHBACK ABOUT JADE'S PAST, WHICH HELPED EXPLAIN IN PART WHY HE WAS, IN ESSENCE, A HEARTLESS SADISTIC ASSASSIN. PYOTR'S FEELINGS FOR JADE WERE PRETTY EVIDENT WHEN THEY RECONNECT IN THIS NOVEL, BUT JADE WAS A VERY COMPLEX CHARACTER, AND HIS FEELINGS MORE SO, BUT THE ENDING BETWEEN THE TWO DOES GIVE ONE HOPE (EVEN THOUGH IT'S A HFN). BETWEEN VAL & BIKENDI, THERE WAS A MATCHNG WHICH WENT BEYOND ASSISTANT AND TEACHER/SCIENTIST, AND THROUGHOUT THE BOOK THE TRIALS THEY WENT THOUGH, SEPARATELY AND TOGETHER, TO BECOME A PAIR ON ALL LEVELS, WERE MY FAVOURITE PARTS OF THE BOOK. BETWEEN RAOUL & YEVI THERE WAS SUCH A NEED FOR SURVIVAL & A SENSE OF DUTY TO THEIR PLANETS & THEIR PEOPLE, THEIR LOVE STORY WASN'T MUCH WORDS OR INTENSE FEELINGS BUT DEEDS & THE UNSPOKEN SACRIFICE EACH MAKE FOR THE OTHER, KNOWING THAT THEIR SACRIFICE WAS FOR THE GOOD OF THE MASSES, LAYING ASIDE THEIR OWN PERSONAL FEELINGS.
IN A SENSE, THIS BOOK WAS ABOUT SACRIFICE---VAL SACRIFICED A FUTURE WITH BIKENDI IN ORDER TO GIVE BIKENDI A FUTURE AMONG PEOPLE WITHOUT FEAR, PYOTR SACRIFICED HIS POSITION OF POWER FOR JADE, KNOWING THAT WHILE HE REMAINED IN POWER, HE & JADE WOULD NEVER HAVE A FUTURE TOGETHER, AND RAOUL SACRIFICED HIS LOVE OF YEVI, KNOWING THAT HIS POSITION BEHIND THE HIGH CHANCELLOR CAME FIRST, AND YEVI NEEDED TO RETURN AS KING OF HIS PEOPLE WITHOUT PERSONAL TIES. OF COURSE, WHETHER OR NOT THESE SACRIFICES WERE NECESSARY, OR IF THE SACRIFICE WAS WORTH IT, IS IN THE NOVEL.
THERE WAS SO MUCH DETAIL, I REALLY WISH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LONGER. SINCE THE BOOK WAS TO FEATURE THE TRIALS, BUT THE TRIALS WERE PUT INDEFINITELY ON HOLD BECAUSE OF THE ASSASSINATION, AND NEVER RETURNED TO, PUZZLED ME A BIT, BUT MAYBE THAT MEANS THERE'S A SEQUEL?? THE DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VAL & BIKENDI I TRULY LOVED, BECAUSE MS. DERR HAS A WAY OF DESCRIBING SCENES THAT TEASE & TANTALIZE WITHOUT BECOMING TOO SEXUAL, OBVIOUS, OR OVERT. YOU KEEP READING, WONDERING HOW THINGS WILL CULMINATE, WILL THINGS EXPLODE, IMPLODE, OR JUST NATURALLY EVOLVE WITH A SWEETNESS THAT WAS FULFILLING AND NOT SICKENING? I ALSO LOVED THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL (EG. THE SCENERY, THE CHARACTER'S PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL FORMS, ETC), WHICH GROUNDED ME IN THE BOOK. THE OTHER RELATIONSHIPS WERE ACTION-PACKED, ANGST-DRIVEN AT TIMES, AND THAT HAD A GREAT APPEAL AS WELL.
IF YOU ENJOY SCI-FI WITH GREAT DETAIL ABOUT OTHER PLANETS & RACES, YET STILL ENJOY LOVE STORIES NOT INVOLVING DETAILED SEX SCENES AMOGST THE CHARACTERS, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU.
(FOR HEARTS ON FIRE REVIEWS, I'M TAME ANNA)
RATING: 4.5 OUT OF 5 HEARTS
THIS BOOK IS A FUTURISTIC, SCI-FI, NOVEL INVOLVING THE CONTINUING TALE OF THE DRACONIS AND THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS INVOLVED IN THEIR 'RIGHT TO LIFE', THEIR CONTINUANCE, LIVING, ETC. TOLD FROM ALTERNATING POINTS OF VIEW, IT FEATURES SEVERAL CHARACTERS AND THEIR POSITIONS IN THIS GOVENMENT, INCLUDING VALENDRI (DRACONI-BORN WITHOUT ANY POWERS), DR. BIKENDI (A POWERFUL GENETIC RESEARCH SCIENTIST DEFENDING THE CONI'S RIGHT TO EXIST), HIGH CHANCELLOR PYOTR KAVALEROV, RAUOL THE HIGH CHANCELLOR'S BODYGUARD, JADE (FROM THE FIRST NOVEL KIDNAPPED), AND YEVI (HIDING PRINCE OF VRILL).
ON THE EVE OF THE DRACONI TRIALS, THE HIGH CHANCELLOR IS ASSASSINATED, OR SO IT SEEMED. BEFORE THIS, PYOTR ARRANGED FOR BOTH VALENDRI ('VAL') AND DR. BIKENDI (BIKENDI) TO MATCH (UNBEKNOWNST TO EITHER OF THEM), THUS ALIGNING A DRACONI WITH A POWERFUL SCIENTIST OF Telve and Kemperast BACKGROUND. THE STORY GOES ON IN 3 TANGENTS---THE STORY OF VAL & BIKENDI, THE STORY OF PYOTR & JADE, AND THE STORY OF RAOUL & YEVI. EACH TANGENT WAS IMPORTANT, IN THAT IT EXPLAINED WHO ATTEMPTED THE ASSASSINATION AND WHY, THE REASON EACH CHARACTER'S PLANET THEY 'SUDDENLY' FOUND THEMSELVES ON WAS IMPORTANT, AND WENT INTO DEPTH ABOUT THE DRACONI RACE, TELVE RACE, VRILL RACE.
BECAUSE I READ THIS BOOK BEFORE KIDNAPPED (THE INFINITUM GOVERNMENT #1), I ADMIT I WAS LOST FOR ABOUT 1/3 OF THIS BOOK, SO I RE-READ THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS ABOUT 4 TIMES IN ORDER TO GET EVERYONE STRAIGHT. FOR 108 PAGES, MS. DERR WENT INTO A GREAT DEAL OF DEPTH REGARDING THE DIFFERENT RACES, THE BEAUTY (OR HORROR) OF THE PLANETS & FOLIAGE, AND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ALL THE MEN INVOLVED, BOTH INTERNALLY AND INTERDIMENSIONALLY. BETWEEN PYOTR & JADE, THERE WAS A LOT OF FLASHBACK ABOUT JADE'S PAST, WHICH HELPED EXPLAIN IN PART WHY HE WAS, IN ESSENCE, A HEARTLESS SADISTIC ASSASSIN. PYOTR'S FEELINGS FOR JADE WERE PRETTY EVIDENT WHEN THEY RECONNECT IN THIS NOVEL, BUT JADE WAS A VERY COMPLEX CHARACTER, AND HIS FEELINGS MORE SO, BUT THE ENDING BETWEEN THE TWO DOES GIVE ONE HOPE (EVEN THOUGH IT'S A HFN). BETWEEN VAL & BIKENDI, THERE WAS A MATCHNG WHICH WENT BEYOND ASSISTANT AND TEACHER/SCIENTIST, AND THROUGHOUT THE BOOK THE TRIALS THEY WENT THOUGH, SEPARATELY AND TOGETHER, TO BECOME A PAIR ON ALL LEVELS, WERE MY FAVOURITE PARTS OF THE BOOK. BETWEEN RAOUL & YEVI THERE WAS SUCH A NEED FOR SURVIVAL & A SENSE OF DUTY TO THEIR PLANETS & THEIR PEOPLE, THEIR LOVE STORY WASN'T MUCH WORDS OR INTENSE FEELINGS BUT DEEDS & THE UNSPOKEN SACRIFICE EACH MAKE FOR THE OTHER, KNOWING THAT THEIR SACRIFICE WAS FOR THE GOOD OF THE MASSES, LAYING ASIDE THEIR OWN PERSONAL FEELINGS.
IN A SENSE, THIS BOOK WAS ABOUT SACRIFICE---VAL SACRIFICED A FUTURE WITH BIKENDI IN ORDER TO GIVE BIKENDI A FUTURE AMONG PEOPLE WITHOUT FEAR, PYOTR SACRIFICED HIS POSITION OF POWER FOR JADE, KNOWING THAT WHILE HE REMAINED IN POWER, HE & JADE WOULD NEVER HAVE A FUTURE TOGETHER, AND RAOUL SACRIFICED HIS LOVE OF YEVI, KNOWING THAT HIS POSITION BEHIND THE HIGH CHANCELLOR CAME FIRST, AND YEVI NEEDED TO RETURN AS KING OF HIS PEOPLE WITHOUT PERSONAL TIES. OF COURSE, WHETHER OR NOT THESE SACRIFICES WERE NECESSARY, OR IF THE SACRIFICE WAS WORTH IT, IS IN THE NOVEL.
THERE WAS SO MUCH DETAIL, I REALLY WISH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LONGER. SINCE THE BOOK WAS TO FEATURE THE TRIALS, BUT THE TRIALS WERE PUT INDEFINITELY ON HOLD BECAUSE OF THE ASSASSINATION, AND NEVER RETURNED TO, PUZZLED ME A BIT, BUT MAYBE THAT MEANS THERE'S A SEQUEL?? THE DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VAL & BIKENDI I TRULY LOVED, BECAUSE MS. DERR HAS A WAY OF DESCRIBING SCENES THAT TEASE & TANTALIZE WITHOUT BECOMING TOO SEXUAL, OBVIOUS, OR OVERT. YOU KEEP READING, WONDERING HOW THINGS WILL CULMINATE, WILL THINGS EXPLODE, IMPLODE, OR JUST NATURALLY EVOLVE WITH A SWEETNESS THAT WAS FULFILLING AND NOT SICKENING? I ALSO LOVED THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL (EG. THE SCENERY, THE CHARACTER'S PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL FORMS, ETC), WHICH GROUNDED ME IN THE BOOK. THE OTHER RELATIONSHIPS WERE ACTION-PACKED, ANGST-DRIVEN AT TIMES, AND THAT HAD A GREAT APPEAL AS WELL.
IF YOU ENJOY SCI-FI WITH GREAT DETAIL ABOUT OTHER PLANETS & RACES, YET STILL ENJOY LOVE STORIES NOT INVOLVING DETAILED SEX SCENES AMOGST THE CHARACTERS, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU.
(FOR HEARTS ON FIRE REVIEWS, I'M TAME ANNA)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2012
4.5/5 stars
I actually think I might prefer this book to the first. I still love the world-building, and marvel at the little details that make it seem so plausible in a sci-fi way. I blame being a linguistics major on being so entertained by the universal translator.
And the one thing that held me back from giving 5 stars to Kidnapped, that I felt I didn't get to know any one of the characters well enough, wasn't an issue for me in this book. It was still ensemble, but I felt that this book was more character-driven than the first.
Megan Derr never ceases to amaze me.
I actually think I might prefer this book to the first. I still love the world-building, and marvel at the little details that make it seem so plausible in a sci-fi way. I blame being a linguistics major on being so entertained by the universal translator.
And the one thing that held me back from giving 5 stars to Kidnapped, that I felt I didn't get to know any one of the characters well enough, wasn't an issue for me in this book. It was still ensemble, but I felt that this book was more character-driven than the first.
Megan Derr never ceases to amaze me.
January 6, 2012
Maybe I should have read part 1 again first to get to know the persona again. Think it would have given me more reading pleasure. Now I was figuring who was who for a part of the book.
In a way a good thing too because I didn't remember till much later in the book how much I disliked Jade in the first book.
It says 4 stars but it is more a 3,5 for me. Wonder what book 3 will bring..
In a way a good thing too because I didn't remember till much later in the book how much I disliked Jade in the first book.
It says 4 stars but it is more a 3,5 for me. Wonder what book 3 will bring..
January 2, 2014
Overall, I enjoyed this story. I would have liked to have read more about Val and Bikendi, though. And the relationship between Pyotr and Jade, I just don't get it. But, to each his own, I guess. lol These are definitely books where I need to use sticky notes in order to keep track of all of the characters.
January 16, 2012
I actually liked this book better than the first. It seemed more coherent, even if there was too many couples to connect with anyone completely. I would like to see their stories expanded and Draconis issue settled.
January 11, 2012
I was glad Jade and Pyotr got their happy ending, too. Sure Jade wasn't my favorite person, but heck good HEA is good ending. Dr. Bikend was so funny and his behavior toward Val comical and logical. I liked this second pair better.
January 4, 2015
Too many mistakes in this book. In the first book Jade and Cyan aren't twins... temperast in first and kemperast in the sequel.....Piotr wasn't such a bastard : he seems to have had a complete change of personality ... Is it the same person who wrote this book?
February 11, 2012
incomplete story ...
July 16, 2015
This had a surprise ending, and I think I liked it more for that.
May 24, 2013
I love this series.
December 20, 2013
Rating: 3.5 stars
July 23, 2015
The characters and story were pretty good, but the romances were not very romantic.
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