Review: Moonstruck, by Susan Grant

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Peace was for little girls
And Coalition starship admiral Brit Bandar was one tough woman. A mere intergalactic treaty could never get her to trust the Drakken Horde. There was too much bad blood between the Coalition and the Horde and, for intensely personal reasons, Brit wasn't sure that she was through spilling it! But now a peaceful accord had made Finn Rorkken, a notorious Drakken rogue, second in command on her starship, and--through some grand cosmic irony--front and center in her thoughts...and her heart.
Warleader. Pirate.
Either title sat easily on Finn's battle-hardened shoulders. Though second in command to "Stone-Heart" Bandar? That one would take some getting used to. Peace required as much sacrifice as war so he'd comply even if his reaction to the gorgeous admiral fell decidedly outside protocol. But would he end up kissing or killing her if the galaxy's tentative truce turned into all-out war?

Genre: science fiction romance

Publishing date: November 2012

Offensive content: mild violence and a few sex scenes. Totally in context and not excessively graphic, but be warned

Review: This was the last book I've read by Susan Grant and I can honestly say I've loved most of her books so far. Of all of them, however, this is the one that comes closer to Contact and worth every one of those 5 stars. And although this is clearly a science fiction romance, it is also a great suspense book, with lots of twists and turns. I must say that I had a few suspicions about who the bad guys were and...I was wrong. Which is great and just proves the author did a good job weaving the plot.

To say that admiral Brit Bandar is a tough woman is probably an understatement, but even though she comes accross as bit haughty and stiff in the beginning of the book, you can clearly see that it is just a façade and that there is a real person, with real feelings, underneath. She also has one haunting past, though you will only become aware of how haunting by the middle of the book. I really liked her character and wish sometimes I could be as confident and professional as she comes across as being. 

And Finn...is just amazing. A sexy space pirate with a bad attitude and a big heart? Where do I get one of those? I wonder if wishing upon a star would would in this case...Of the two, Finn was clearly my favorite and if he were a real person I would be his number one fan.  

Finn and Brit are mutually attracted to each other from the start but fight to keep things professional between them, until it becomes absolutely impossible to hold back. Even though the book is a lot more than just a love story, the romance between Brit and Finn is one of those that will put a smile on your face. They are they smoking hot together, there's not other way to put it!

The background for the story is interesting and carefully set up to be believable and the secondary characters add flair to the setting. Especially the side story of Hadley, Brit's assistant, and her search for the right man to have an affair with, which involves an ex-air force pilot from Earth, a former space assassin and a seemingly malfunctioning mood ring. 

The only drawback for me was that the end felt a bit rushed. Brit's kidnapping and then her return to the ship left a few questions unanswered, in my opinion. Taking into account that the book is almost 400 pages long, a couple more pages would not have made a difference anyway.

Still, if you like science fiction romance mixed with a gripping suspense story, the almost-400-pages of Moonstruck are totally worth reading!

Have a great weekend!