Sweet starfire Book

3 stars and 1 ½ stars for two stories.

3 stars for SWEET STARFIRE.

STORY BRIEF:
In the future humans have evolved into two types. Harmonics are intuitive, telepathic and more intelligent. They do scientific research. They meditate and seek harmony with others. Sex is secondary to them. Wolves are like humans of today. They can be smart. They like sex. (These wolves are not shifters, it's a label.)

Cidra's parents are Harmonics, but she does not have Harmonic abilities. She wants to search for an artifact that she believes will make her more Harmonic. Teague is a Wolf who has an interplanetary shipping business with one small spaceship. Cidra asks him to take her to other planets for her search. She has no money and wants to be a crew member. He reluctantly agrees to take her on one trip.

Some bad guys want to steal Teague's cargo.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Nice, pleasant romantic suspense. Ok but nothing really special. Cidra and Teague are neat characters. They're both smart, capable, brave, resourceful, and other good things. They are attacked by various bad guys and dangerous jungle creatures. Most of the conflicts are dealing with those. After they fall for each other there is a separation (part of the romance formula) which was reasonable. I wasn't wowed with the story, but it kept my interest. The sex scenes were nice - mildly done.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 330 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 4. Setting: a future time on other planets. Copyright: 1986. Genre: sci-fi romantic suspense.

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1 ½ stars for CRYSTAL FLAME.

Dull and boring. I wanted it to be over. I should have stopped reading, but I kept going for the purpose of writing a review, and hoping, maybe, something would be good later. It got a little better during the last part, but not enough. The characters didn't intrigue me. The conversations didn't interest me. The plot was based on a potentially interesting idea, but it was not developed well. I felt no chemistry between the couple. I wasn't drawn to Ridge, the hero. I was bored during the first two sex scenes. Other sex scenes happened, but nothing special. Other readers may like this, but it just didn't work for me.

STORY BRIEF:
Kalena's parents were killed. Her aunt Olara brainwashed and raised Kalena to assassinate the man responsible, Quintel. Kalena wants certain freedoms and mistakenly believes she will have them after she kills Quintel. To get close to Quintel, Kalena must do a temporary marriage to Ridge who works for Quintel. These temporary marriages are common. The sellers of magic sand will only sell to the "wives" of traders. So Ridge marries her in order to take her on a buying trip. They are not in love. They have sex. They are influenced by traditions which say: Husbands must protect wives and give orders to wives. Wives must serve hot tea to their husbands in bed in the mornings. She likes doing that.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 344 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 7. Setting: a time when people rode animals for transportation and used swords. A place called Zantalia, similar to earth. Copyright: 1986. Genre: medieval fantasy romance.