The Mammoth Book of Futuristic Romance

MacKinnon #1.5 (Her MacKinnon)

by Jamie Leigh Hansen, Jeannie Holmes, Trisha Telep (Editor)

Love Will Find A Way
19 Fantastic Future-Set Romances

The good news is, in the future there will be no shortage of romance. On space ships, on newly-colonized planets or on a barely recognizable Earth; life forms, whether human, alien or something in between, will find their way to love.

As giant corporations grasp new opportunities for profit and future armies clash, both in deep space and 'dirtside', former romantic partners try to put the past behind them and time-travelling rebels set out to romance the past.

These science fiction stories of future love and lust - by Marcella Burnard, Biana D'Arc, Jess Granger, Linnea Sinclair, C.L. Wilson and many more - are brimming with passion and humour. So, even though in space no one can hear you scream, they might just be able to hear you laugh.

Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Anthologies, Fantasy, Science Fiction Romance, Short Stories, Fiction

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Jamie Leigh Hansen is a multi-published, paranormal (and now futuristic :) ) romance author best known for dramatic, heartfelt stories with intense emotion and engaging, unforgettable characters.

Her newest series, Murder Tales, is a series of urban fantasy short stories that feature Mary, the only human ever saved and raised by the Murder, vampires and werewolves who work together to police the rogues of their world.

Currently available are The Murder King's Woman and The Murder King's Summons, with more planned.

Jamie is also currently involved with BabelFAmily, co-writing The Legacy of Marie Schlau with other writers around the world. They hope the International Literary Project to Fight Friedreich's Ataxia will raise funds for FA research.

Her series includes Betrayed and Cursed, full-length novels originally published with Tor and slated to be continued... For now, Tor also has them available as ebooks!

She loves to hear from friends and fans at JLH@JamieLeighHansen.com. Updates on her projects can be found at her website.

Visit Jamie’s website at www.JamieLeighHansen.com
Follow Jamie on twitter at www.twitter.com/JamieLHansen
Join Jamie on Faceboook at www.facebook.com/JamieLeighHansen

Reviews

[Monique Atgood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so awesome! You know that feeling you get when you have a book that just ‘sings’ and calls to you? Like the feeling you get when you have a spare hour, and a really good book? This one is it.
Flying is Faster by Jeannie Homes 4.5 Stars
Human doc on a colony planet helps a native humanoid/bird woman rescue her brother. They are stuck in the wilderness avoiding predators and love blossoms. This one has a definite ending and is a great opener. It’s a shortie, and amazingly paints a whole canon or world and history and love story in 20 pages!

Star Crossed by Cathy Clamp 4 Stars
Earth is at war. A Navigator and Pilot set out on an “Enola Gay” or “30 seconds over Tokyo” (aka “Doolittle Raid”) type raid on the home planet of the invaders. He’s a former smuggler that joined the earth rebellion, and she’s the cop that busted him. After an injury, together they redefine the concept of team and it has an ending that leaves me going — ok — where can I buy this book to see what happens next?

Naturally Beautiful by Jamie Leigh Hensen 4 Stars
Special ops hunk saves a genius doc from kidnappers. Highly imaginative, with great romantic banter, ie: while hiding out from evil captors, he calls her ‘Sweetheart’, and she insists he call her Doctor. So, he responds by calling her ‘Dr. Sweetheart’ the rest of the story. Reads like a Harlequin on steroids.

Seven Months of Forever by Linnea Sinclair
This is a long complicated love story on a military ship. I’ve read all of Sinclair’s works (great author I might add!), but without a background in her canon, I think it would be hard for a newcomer to follow. This one follows a star ship captain and an admiral from opposite sides, working together and in love.

Memories of Gravity by Patrice Sarath 3 Stars (due to prejudice of reviewer)
If I were fair, and judged this story on it’s writing skill and merits, I should give it 5 or 4.5 stars, but I hate ghost stories. Especially ghost stories masquerading as romantic sci-fi. This one is about a girl who fled an abusive home to captain a space ship. Grandpop dies. She has to come to earth to settle the affairs in person. The romance with a childhood friend was barely given a nod by the author. I’d say this one is 2% romance, 10% sci-fi, and the rest all ghost story.

Fade Away and Radiate by Michele Lang 3.5
This one is a tepid romance about a scientist widow who has lived in solitude for years. Suddenly her husband’s best friend shows up with news on her husband’s killers. The romance is very light, it’s heavy on political and social canon. I’d give it more stars if I thought the couple were romantically attracted to each other.

New Earth Twelve by Mandy M. Roth 4.75 Stars
A colony sleeper ship suffered mutiny by the captain, who prematurely woke all the girls from their sleeper pods and tried to kill them. The ship doc transferred his mind to the ship, and saved the girls. 10 years later, the girls are young women, and their ship is nearing the Goldilocks planet. The doc has spent years talking to and falling in love with one young woman, but has never touched her. The ship is waking the other colony sleepers, and soon the Doc and his now grown love can meet in the flesh. The story has an open ending, and would make a great novel.


Red Dawn by Delilah Devlin 5 Stars
The heroine is a farmer on mars. She has a delivery of a ‘mail/male (snicker) order bride’. He is a convict, and they fall for each other. It’s short and bitter, but has two people making a go of their lives and finding love. IMO: the woman acted out of character and really dumb at the end, but it still felt like a great romance so I gave it 5 stars.

Racing Hearts by Kiersten Fay 5 Stars
There’s this intergalactic race that fixates everyone in the entire galaxy. A new crew gathers to join a previous winner, and prepare for the challenge. Problem is, two of the crew each have to decide if the race is worth sharing close quarters for weeks with an ex-lover. Great snapshot story.

In the Interest of Security by Regan Black 4.75 Stars
A scientist ‘juices’ soldiers. The juice has good and bad side effects. The niece of the scientist has turned against him, and his evil plans, and has paid dearly for her honesty. She’s living in a compound with smugglers, eking out a living, while caring for her son. The hero, is the head of security of the smuggler’s compound. He gets assigned to protect the niece and child.

End of the Line by Bianca D’arc 5 +++ Stars!!!
My favorite story of the book!!!! A female scout ship pilot has her ship shot out by a battleship. She’s taken prisoner. When the enemy discovers she is female, they are stopped in their tracks. Their culture forbids harming women. If they hurt or kill women, it dishonors them beyond redemption. They are at war with the humans. So..... the captain has a dilemma of what to do with a human female. Turns out, he’s unable to attract a mate, and with one kiss, establishes, the POW, is his ‘true mate’. IMO: I loved this story - but the pilot commits treason and collusion with the enemy. This is a story I loved with my heart not my head.

OPINION: the heroine didn’t follow the “Name, Rank, Serial Number”, and engaged (literally!!) the enemy too much. (For great pilot/pow romance read Susan Grant novels.) I have to find out it this was ever turned into a ‘fish out of water’ book.

Space Cowboy bu Donna Kauffman 4.5 Stars
Lady florist witnesses hanky cop materialize in her shop. He fights off a human slaver, destroys her shop, and steals her heart. This was a great read. Very enjoyable. No sex scenes.

Tales From the Second Chance Saloon by Linnea Sinclair 4.75 Stars
An officer dies. He’s given a second chance in the afterlife to go back to a point in his life when he could have picked a different path, and chosen love and a family over his career. He goes back and finds it’s harder to re-boot his life than he originally thinks. It’s very imaginative and give the reader a good dose of a love story.

Wasteland by Jess Granger 4.5 Stars
This one is about a woman swept up in political intrigue that resulted in her illegally being banished via a porthole to a penal colony. Her punishers intended to kill her, so she lands at a portal that is in a desert. She is rescued by a long time resident, and learn to get along, and eventually love each other.

Nuns and Huns by Charlene Tiglia 3.5 Stars
A bunch of women seek genetic material from banished men. One of the man landed on earth, and we know him as Atilla the Hun. The ‘Nuns’ are scientists raised apart from men, who discover that genetic diversity is vital to the existence of their civilization. Can you image how they take the ‘genetic material’ from the man without a lab? Ha ha! I read somewhere that 20% of the people in China can trace their ancestry to Atilla the man. Wow.


Song of Saire by Leanna Renee Hieber 5 Stars
A La X-Men, children of the future are evolving paranormal abilities. Earth governments respond with fear and lock the children up in ‘camps’. Two of the original evolvers, a man and a woman love each other. Their love must never be if they are to save the children who need them to work with Earth authorities and establish the ‘camps’ into a school. Then, extermination day comes, when Earth decides to slaughter the newly developed humans. By then, the couple are elderly, and their love works to save the remnants of their kind. It’s a beautiful lyrical story full of poetry. I hate poetry, but loved this story.

The Noah by C.L. Wilson 3 Stars
Earth has experienced the ‘end’. Only a few women living in a bio-dome exist, nurturing plant life and working diligently to be a link in what they view as a chain of caretakers, until Earth is able to be repopulated. An alien crashes. Eve takes him prisoner, where he reveals he’s thousands of years old, and a Noah that is assigned to be caretaker of life on planet Earth. There are no men in the biosphere, and Eve and her sisters all are identical, so the story has a twist on ‘where they come from’. It’s nice, but I don’t care for ‘we killed Earth’ stories.

Written in Ink by Susan Sizemore 3.5 Stars
Some hippie types like to tinker with changing the past by sending agents back to key moments. A time cop-type goes back in time to make sure an assignation takes place that the future time hippies are trying stop (a la Star Trek and Capt Kirk’s gal pal who would have stopped the Nazis...). The female time cop meets up with a ‘mailman’ who helps her get to the rendevous. Love and adventure are in the air. It’s a nice concise dark story. I think the darkness is why it didn’t get more stars.

Nobody’s Present by Marcella Burnard 4 Stars
High School science teacher is .... ahem.... kidnaped by aliens who want so have sex with human females - no strings attached - just lots of rumpy pumpy fun. This one was funny. The aliens were refugees, almost all that was left of an entire world. They can’t have sex with each other, due to a biological bomb, that makes the aliens hyper -sexual, but if they ahem.... mix bodily fluids of any kind, both parties die. So... hence the need for earth women! (And men I guess?) Ha ha! It was a fun read.

Some stories might have mild harlequin type romance scenes, but most are PG. It is not an erotic book, but really good short stories for romance suspense SCI-FI junkies. Enjoy.

[Peter Brander · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is NOT science fiction. And it has nothing to do with romance.

These are stories about sex and physical attraction, and they are plain fantasy-stories with the words "planets and spaceships" instead of "castles and horses".

It's like getting a pizza when you ordered the-soup-of-the-day. Maybe it's a good pizza, maybe it's bad. You don't really know, because it sure doesn't taste like soup.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in January. Now it’s April. Yesterday I re-read one of the stories I’d liked, which reminded me of something else in the book, which I then perhaps ranted about. I thought if I can rant about something in a book three months after I read it, I should probably go to the effort of a fuller review.

This is an anthology. You know when you pick it up what that means – there will be good bits and bad bits. All you can do is hope the good outnumbers the bad, and in this case I would say it did.

The bad: There was one story in particular that really didn’t seem to belong in this anthology. It was, in essence, a ghost story. There was in effect a prologue in which our heroine travelled back to Earth from Jupiter. There was in effect an epilogue in which our heroine kissed someone. The actual story in between carried no romance or futuristicness. The prologue/epilogue felt bolted on, as if the author already had the story, got offered a slot in a futuristic romance collection, so slapped something on to cover the futuristic and romance requirements. Also, when I’m reading this sort of book, I really don’t want a completely unexpected unsettling horror which I wind up reading just as I’m about to go to sleep.

The average: There were a few stories that could have been set anywhere. This is what tends to annoy me in SFR – what you get is just a plain old romance in what happens to be an SF setting (e.g. on a spaceship). For me, that’s not enough to make it SFR, I need the SF to be an integral part of the story. I happily read SF, SF with a bit of R, SF with a huge dollop of R, but not R on its own – primarily because I find it boringly formulaic, you know you’re going to get the happy ever after, etc, etc. However, I know my complaint here is likely because I’ve come to SFR from the SF side; I know there are plenty of people who come to SFR from the R side, who don’t like it when the SF gets too intrusive (while I’m sitting here going "Too intrusive? How can it actually be at all intrusive?!")
Also, if you’re going to write SFR and make an effort to incorporate the science part, please try to know something about science. Yes, I know it’s fiction, but I like it to be vaguely feasible. Try not to describe your technology with phrases such as “nanotechnology at a microscopic level”, or every scientist reading is going to scream. Though to be fair, at least nobody in this book used a parsec as a unit of time (gaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!)

The good: Notwithstanding the above, there was one story which I realised – after I’d read it – could have been set anywhere, and had an obvious plot leading to a happy-every-after which could be predicted from about the second paragraph. At the time I was reading this, I didn’t notice these things that usually annoy me. I can only think that in this case, the story/characters/writing were good enough that rather than seeming formulaic, it became something comfortably familiar and enjoyable. Basically, if I notice the formula while I’m reading your formulaic story, the story isn’t good enough; but if I don’t, then yay for the author doing a fabulous job!

The excellent: Two stories by Linnea Sinclair. One of which is Sass/Kel-Paten. These were why I bought the book - possibly have a new author or two to explore (or avoid) has been a nice added bonus.

[Caro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. Something I would definitely keep on the shelf and intend to keep an eye out for. All these stories were good. Some better than others, but all but one or two were really good. Half the stories I didn't want to end. This was a great anthology. (Which is saying something be cuz usually there are only one or two good stories in one) Besides being 'futuristic' these stories were definitely a variety. Time travel, space flight, aliens, living on other planets, cool tech gizmos, hunky men in uniforms ;), suspense, great steamy scenes, and emotions. Has it all for a one-stop sci-fi romance for any and all moods. I may make a reserved space for it on my shelf before I even find it. Made me water a little, laugh, sweat, hold my breath, and turn pages faster than the speed of light. Enjoy!!!!

[JJBMocha]

The Noah by C.L. Wilson - 4.5 stars
Seven Months of Forever by Linnea Sinclair - 5 stars
Tales from the Second Chance Saloon:Macawley’s List by Linnea Sinclair - 4.5 stars

[Kelsey DePorte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up not understanding it’s contents. The shorts were romance stories, in the sense of romantic steamy, erotic plots set in the future, but I was rather looking for stories like Modern Romance, or things about love and relationships set in the future. Think: plots like Black Mirror, Her, etc. I gave it a shot and almost finished it. I was surprised that despite all the authors being women, the book only featured heteronormative relationships and didn’t fail to repeat the same tropes and stereotypical objectification of both women and men, and last bit not least: predictable gender roles. Would not recommend unless you’re looking for fluffy futuristic erotica (that’s very heteronormative).

[Sonia189 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting set of short stories featuring futuristic worlds/concepts.
I liked two stories a lot, the ones by Bianca D'Arc and Jess Granger. Two worlds I wouldn't mind reading more about.

[Nick Turner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Does romance imply sex and violence? Some stories in this collection contain adult themes. Capsule reviews for a sample:

Flying is Faster by Jeannie Holmes - 3/5 Fun fantasy. Amazon romance. With wings. Adventure on an Earthlike alien planet. Momentarily more explicit than typical YA but tasteful if you don't find the male gaze skeevy.

Star Crossed by Cathy Clamp - 2/5 okay. Novella in five parts. Ultimate suicide mission for two. Opposites attract. Order (her) and chaos (him). Sol. Mistaken-identity theme dragged for me. Shock plot twist but the ending wasn't as dramatic as I hoped. I had mixed feelings (think Starship Troopers) about the wisdom of the mission.

Naturally Beautiful by Jamie Leigh Hansen - 2/5 by the numbers romance. Novella. In 2084, the ageing inventor of a eugenic pill and his attractive daughter are being hunted by a powerful unknown force. Two marines are all that stand between them and capture. Hot marine rescues your father and saves your ass but doesn't even call. Men!

Seven Months of Forever by Linnea Sinclair (Games of Command). 3/5. A short story from the author's series featuring familiar characters Sass and Branden. Series-virgins must brave two pages of techno-jargon to reach the narrative of love lost. A compelling teaser for the author's full-length stories in this universe. But I already did my space tour of duty with Mercedes Lackey.

Memories of Gravity by Patrice Sarath. 5/5. Elegiac ghost story. Called back to Earth from a refuge in Jupiter orbit, guilt and the difficult past must be faced.

Fade Away and Radiate by Michele Lang. 3/5. Grief-stricken Michelle is anxious when an old soldier hunts her down. Has he come to change her life... or end it? Conspiracy with spiritual elements.

New Earth 12 by Mandy M. Roth. 3/5 B-movie thrills. Humans and aliens in a last gasp arc ship. In space. After human settlers found war, plague, and extinction is it twelfth time lucky?

Red Dawn by Delilah Devlin. 1/5 Pilgrim pornography. If you thought pages of cock was beyond the bounds of good taste, the genocide subtheme - a crude grasp for significance - is the nadir. On Mars.

Racing Hearts by Kiersten Fay. 4/5. Prya quits her job to join the crew of a fast ship for a galactic space race, little knowing that her past will catch up with her.

In The Interests of Security by Regan Black. 5/5. Genetic experiments on soldiers to create a super soldier. But when side-effects are discovered and the research is banned what will be the legacy for the next generation?

Tales from the Second Chance Saloon: Macawley's List by Linnea Sinclair. 3/5. After admitting the truth about his heart too late, Captain Macawley has an extraordinary meeting with Fate-like figures (joyous author/reader inserts) who offer him a second chance to tell the woman he loves how he feels by going back in time to the day when the chance passed away. Naturally, there are amusing complications. Readable even if you haven't read the series.

Wasteland by Jess Granger. 4/5. Disturbing and disarming escapism. A sheltered rich girl is held captive by a wild boy. At first diffident, she comes to appreciate the simple life. A case of Stockholm Syndrome? Eventually she has a chance to return to civilisation and pursue her ambitions, but she must choose between taking revenge on her family, or making a life in the woods with her wild man.

Song of Saire by Leanna Renee Hieber. 5/5. Million-to-one shots happen nine times out of ten in fantastic fiction and, mostly, readers give writers license to wow. But this story of the improbable emergence of a new strand of humanity with extraordinary abilities is extreme. Readers may experience considerable anxiety - separated by government fiat and light years of space - how can the star-crossed protagonists possibly be reunited? But having chosen an incredible premise the author plots a thrilling path to the most unlikely conclusion.

The Noah by C. L. Wilson. 3/5 Depressing post-apocalyptic clone salvation fantasy. In the future, there are no good men left. Males fight. Males rape. Males make war. At Homebase only girls are cloned.
A mysterious spaceship crash lands. There is something strange about the occupant. The Old Testament theme put me off. I liked the writing but the romantic ending is dismal.

Written in Ink by Susan Sizemore. 4/5. Is the writing taking The Holocaust in vain? I read on assuming an for evil narrator/protagonist. In this story the protagonist is a time traveller. Will she choose to stay in the grungy post-apocalyptic past and make things better, or return to a comfortable life as an elite in the future?

Nobody's Present by Marcella Burnard. 5/5. Sparkling and disturbing abduction drama. Minor gripe: one or two jargon terms go unexplained. Funny typo.

There are short author bios at the end.

[Treece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mammoth Book of This, and Mammoth Book of That. Am I a Mammoth Book of This and That Addict? Possibly. I'm the first to admit, I do enjoy my anthologies. And what the heck, this combined two of my favs: romance and sci-fi futuristic themes.

I'm not going to apologize for not discussing or mentioning any stories I didn't like. Suffice it to say, if it is not on this list, it wasn't worth mentioning or skimming through. I didn't read them either. Okay, there were some I did read but just shrugged away. The ones I am going to mention stood out enough for me to overview.

The stories I really liked are in this order:

1. End of the Line by Bianca D'Arc
This was in the middle of the anthology, and I had almost given up hope. Some of the stories following this list preceded this one but this was by far my favorite. The characters had a nobility that was grand and I loved the connection. It was a story of tragedy and redemption and boy did it work for me.

2. Red Dawn by Delilah Devlin
I really like the idea of new colonies on Mars, the Moon or wherever but to write a love-story about the new frontier with NO the Enterprise or womanizing Kirk works perfectly, too.

3. New Earth Twelve by Mandy M. Roth
This story had so many cool messages about humanity and the best and worst of what makes us...well us. And somehow, women will be the salvation. Or is it the love we hold within us? Who knows but the love these characters found transcended time, space, age, and a species. Ha!

4. Racing Hearts by Kiersten Fay
This was a bit space opera and so darn cute that you gotta read it for how over the top it was. Not bad writing either. A sweet ole HEA that works in future.

5. In the Interest of Security by Regan Black
Bioengineering super soldiers, and a mother on the run with her kid. Hmmm, sound familiar? Ok, so there were no cyborgs but still. Not bad and enough action and romance to catch you up.

6. Nuns and Huns by Charlene Teglia
This was sweet and humorous and a little edgy. I really liked the concept and it was overall fun. A good what if?

7. The Noah by C.L. Wilson
The biblical meets sci-fi and all those cool stories that make the earth just a big lab and we are failed experiments who screwed it all up. Until love makes it right again. This was a smart and creative story about a lot of nifty things.

8. Nobody's Present by Marcella Burnard
It is always nice to read a story about an ultra smart scientist gal who saves the world. The only ish is that she got kinda Mary Sue-ish at the end and I was so not feeling it at all. But it wasn't a dry effort until it started going yadda yadda yadda look how smart I am but sexy. * Sigh*

Not bad or complete waste of time since I read this on the metra to and from work. A great way to wind down. I don't know how they decide what and who goes into these books but it does help me appreciate authors I have by passed or missed. I think I will check out Bianca D'Arc's futuristic romance. She left a lasting impression, so this book did some good.

Now, back to the Mammoth Book Addiction. They just keep cranking them out and thank goodness the library indulges.

[Melindeeloo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clipped this list from somewhere else, will check it later. I just wanted to add a few thoughts as I work my way through this one... I recognized a fair number of these authors from my PNR and UF reading - though I actually cut my reading 'teeth' on scifi short stories, oh about an eon ago when I was young and the world was new:) There were actually a fair number of these stories that felt a bit heftier than shorts normally do and a fair number that I enjoyed for that reason. Here's just a bit about the ones that stood out, since I didn't blurb as I went like I normally do.

Flying is Faster by Jeannie Holmes - A human colonist goes to the aid of a feathered friend - I might have liked this better if it had come later in the book, it was okay, and even though I am a sucker for wings in a romance, the relationship sort of came out of nowhere, since the short didn't set up the pair's history enough for me.

Star Crossed by Cathy Clamp - A navigator teams up with a legendary pilot to save the Earth

Naturally Beautiful by Jamie Leigh Hansen - I liked this one a lot action packed and nicely paced with just the promise of a HEA.

Memories of Gravity by Patrice Sarath - She escaped to space but now returns home to face the ghosts of the past she left behind

Fade Away and Radiate by Michele Lang

New Earth Twelve by Mandy M. Roth

Red Dawn by Delilah Devlin

Racing Hearts by Kiersten Fay

In the Interest of Security by Regan Black

End of the Line by Bianca D'Arc

Space Cowboy by Donna Kauffman


Seven Months of Forever by Linnea Sinclair (Games of Command)
Tales from the Second Chance Saloon: McCawley's List by Linnea Sinclair
I've heard of Linnea Sinclair, buy never read her books - I am guessing that fans will appreciate what feels like little snippets from her worlds - especially the second one which looks to give a pairing that 'might not have been' a second chance.

Wasteland by Jess Granger

Nuns and Huns by Charlene Teglia

Song of Saire by Leanna Renee Hieber

The Noah by C. L. Wilson

Written in Ink by Susan Sizemore

Nobody's Present by Marcella Burnard

[KelticKat · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. Flying is Faster
by Jeannie Holmes
Rating: 3

2. Star Crossed
by Cathy Clamp
Rating: 2.5 stars

3. Naturally Beautiful
by Jaime Leigh Hansen
Rating: 4 stars

4. Seven Months of Forever
by Linnea Sinclair
Rating: 3.5 stars

5. Memories of Gravity
by Patrice Sarath
Rating: 3 stars

6. Fade Away and Radiate
by Michele Lang
Rating: 3.5 Stars

7. New Earth Twelve
by Mandy M. Roth
Rating: 4 stars

8. Red Dawn
by Delilah Devlin
Rating: 4 Stars

9. Racing Hearts
by Kiersten Fay
Rating: 3.5 stars

10. In the Interest of Security
by Regan Black
Rating: 3 stars

11. End of the Line
by Bianca D'Arc
Rating: 3.5 stars

12. Space Cowboy
by Donna Kauffman
Rating:3

13. Tales from the Second Chance Saloon: Macawley's List
by Linnea Sinclair
Rating: 3 stars

14. Wasteland
by Jess Granger
Rating: 3 stars

15. Nuns and Huns
by Charlene Teglia
Rating: 3 stars

16. Song of Saire
by Leanna Renee Hieber
Rating: 3 stars

17. The Noah
by C.L. Wilson
Rating: 2.5 stars

18. Written in Ink
by Susan Sizemore
Rating:2.5 stars

19. Nobody's Present
by Marcella Burnard
Rating: 3.5 Stars

[Misti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology was actually pretty decent. I enjoyed more than I thought I would and found few authors whose books I would now try, which is all I was hoping for.

I decided to read this because of the 2 stories from Linnea Sinclair. Seven Months of Forever is a little episode taking place after Games of Command. I couldn't resist a little more of Lady Sass and the Tin Soldier and it was probably my favorite.

The stories I liked (and would try other things written by the author) are:
Space Cowboys by Donna Kauffman
Wasteland by Jess Granger
Written in Ink by Susan Sizemore
In the Interest of Security by Regan Black

The ones I thought were good:
Naturally Beautiful by Jamie Leigh Hansen
Star Crossed by Cathy Clamp
New Earth Twelve by Mandy M. Roth
Tales from the Second Chance Salon: Macawly's List by Linnea Sinclair

[Willa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Linnea Sinclair's two stories were the clear highlights of this compilation of futuristic romance. Several others were good, but there were also a few that, based on the quality of the writing and editing, should not have been included. I'm glad I got it for Linnea's stories, but it's a mixed bag.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is full of short sci-fi / romance stories. Some are good, some are not that great, but there are a couple in here that have stayed with me long after I finished reading, especially Space Cowboy by Donna Kaufman.

[Kei · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. FLYING IS FASTER by Jeannie Holmes
★★

2. STAR CROSSED by Cathy Clamp*
★★★★

3. NATURALLY BEAUTIFUL by Jaime Leigh Hansen
★★★

4. SEVEN MONTHS OF FOREVER by Linnea Sinclair*
★★★★★

5. MEMORIES OF GRAVITY by Patrice Sarath
★★★

6. FADE AWAY AND RADIATE by Michele Lang
★★
(DNF. Couldn't stomach something about the writing.)

7. NEW EARTH TWELVE by Mandy M. Roth*
★★★★
(I'd like to meet Oliver.)

8. RED DAWN by Delilah Devlin
★★★
(Something very realistic about world setting, but very unrealistic about human setting.)

9. RACING HEARTS by Kiersten Fay*
★★★
(Background setting seemed interesting, but faded behind some kind of immature relationship drama...)

10. IN THE INTEREST OF SECURITY by Regan Black
(-)
DNF. Something about the theme and tone of prologue turned me away.

11. END OF THE LINE by Bianca D'Arc*
★★★★

12. SPACE COWBOY by Donna Kauffman
★★★★

13. TALES FROM THE SECOND CHANCE SALOON: MACAWLEY'S LIST by Linnea Sinclair*
★★★★★

14. WASTELAND by Jess Granger
★★★

15. NUNS AND HUNS by Charlene Teglia
★★★

16. SONG OF SAIRE by Leanna Renee Hieber
★★★★★

17. THE NOAH by C.L. Wilson
★★★

18. WRITTEN IN INK by Susan Sizemore*
★★★★

19. NOBODY'S PRESENT by Marcella Burnard
★★
(Character setting that might be interesting, but creepy sex disease/kidnappery.)


*-would like to continue reading more of.

[Christina Hannan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another romance anthology by Trisha Telep that I absolutely enjoyed. I liked how varied the stories were. Some hiked up the tension and revelled in the drama while others quite simply enjoyed exploring a relationship between two characters in a far off world. This was another highly enjoyed anthology where I was always looking forward to reading more.

[Elaysee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would probably be a great read for someone else. I don't have much luck with SF romance, and I hoped to find a new author or two, but I also don't gravitate toward alphas. Add in a few fated mates and this wasn't for me. If your ears perked up over either of those, it might be a good fit for you.

[Jenny Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part of the problem here was simply personal taste: I favor slow burn romances, which is hard to pull off in a short story. Also, many of them were not very good. I wouldn’t recommend this collection, unfortunately. (And that's the sound of my sci-fi book club breathing a collective sigh of relief.)

[Sarah (missrelena) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up because it had a story by C. L. Wilson included ( which was amazing). I stayed for the entire thing because all the other stories were equally engaging and we'll written. I enjoyed all the wonderful romantic twists to these speculative fiction tales!

[Naapio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some really ecxellent short stories, some perhaps clumsily written or overly naive ones, but still offering interesting settings and ideas. And unfortunately at least 50% utter rubbish.

[jemcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some strong stories, some ok stories. Overall very enjoyable and a great way to try out new authors.

[David Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

What else can I say? I loved it. I was impressed with the character and world creation in such short space. All good and exciting stories. I recommend this book.

[Lauren]

OVERALL:

Flying is Faster by Jeannie Holmes
Star Crossed by Cathy Clamp
Naturally Beautiful by Jaime Leigh Hansen
Seven Months of Forever by Linnea Sinclair
Memories of Gravity by Patrice Sarath
Fade Away and Radiate by Michele Lang
New Earth Twelve by Mandy M. Roth
Red Dawn by Delilah Devlin
Racing Hearts by Kiersten Fay
In the Interest of Security by Regan Black
End of the Line by Bianca D'Arc
Space Cowboy by Donna Kauffman
Tales from the Second Chance Saloon: Macawley's List by Linnea Sinclair
Wasteland by Jess Granger
Nuns and Huns by Charlene Teglia
Song of Saire by Leanna Renee Hieber
The Noah by C.L. Wilson
Written in Ink by Susan Sizemore
Nobody's Present by Marcella Burnard

[Tara van Beurden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book, and another anthology of Science Fiction wars, on sale at the University book shop (don’t ask me why they had such volumes in their library!). Given I don’t get to read much at night when on holidays, I took it on an overseas trip to America, reading one or two stories a night. Overall, I enjoyed this volume. Science fiction/romance is probably my favourite genre so that helped, but most of the stories are, if not groundbreaking pieces of literature, at least entertaining stories. I can’t remember all the stories, and the only one that I can remember specifics of the plot is ‘Fade Away and Radiate’ which was totally corny, but which I enjoyed nonetheless. Basically, I read it like a Mills and Boons in space.

[Paraphrodite · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual with an anthology, you have some really good stories, some mediocre ones and some not so good ones. This is no exception.

There are some known to me authors, namely Linnea Sinclair, Cathy Clamp, Delilah Devlin, Bianca D’Arc, Donna Kauffman, C. L. Wilson and Susan Sizemore. There are also some authors that seem promising and I'll have to check out their backlists, including Jeannie Holmes, Jamie Leigh Hansen, Mandy M. Roth, Regan Black and Charlene Teglia.

Balancing it all out, I'm giving this 3.5 stars.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong collection of 19 science fiction romance stories. Usually there are only 1 or 2 stories in an anthology that I like, but this book had several memorable stories, like Michele Lang's "Fade Away and Radiate" (about letting go of guilt and letting yourself love again), Linnea Sinclair's "Macawley's List" (about second chances), and Marcella Burnard's "Nobody's Present" (with the most clever, observant, and adaptable physics teacher heroine).

[Lyndi W.]

Since there are a ton of stories here, reviewing each one would be a bit silly. I'll add a rating as I read the stories, so this review will be updated repeatedly. I won't add it to my news feed over and over, though.

Flying is Faster by Jeannie Holmes - 3 stars
Nice to see a heroine save the hero for once.

Star Crossed by Cathy Clamp - 4 stars
Loved the flying blind thing.

[Cheryl Whitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only bought this anthology to read C L Wilson, which was worth every penny.
It was good to discover some new authors, I would read between other books.
I enjoyed most of the stories, and recommend to others who like to enjoy a cross
section of stories.It great to pick up when you need something a bit different.

[Lindsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

The stories weren't given enough page space to develop. Seemed like a creative writing class could have produced the same material and not a single one of the stories made me interested in reading another one of these authors.

[Debbie White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were good and some I didn't even finish. With a multi-story book it is the luck of the draw. All in all the book was a good read to pass the time when you don't want to read a full novel.