Cornucopia: Seeds of Hope One

by Lizzie Sinclaire

Samantha Gao is an elite Metro operative, dedicated to a better life for citizens of her city and fiercely protective of anyone under her care. She’s the best of the best—at least, she used to be. A devastating mission and rumors of corruption within the ranks have left her questioning everything, even herself. Now, she’s supposed to protect the very company that might be responsible for the loss of her team. She goes into the assignment ready for anything—except coming face-to-face with the past she walked away from. Working as an engineer at the Greenerhouse branch of the Cornucopia seed colony, Caleb Estes is at the forefront of reclamation efforts slowly bringing the scarred earth back to life. With humanity finally getting their act together and striving to achieve the basics again—food, clean air and water—he has resources at his disposal he never dreamed of. The work is almost enough to keep him from dreams that won’t rest. Dreams of his first love. But when Sam walks back into Caleb’s life, his dreams are replaced with stark realities about his work and his past. The answers they both seek aren’t easily won, but neither is willing to let go of hope this time around. Can they hold on to a second chance at love while fighting to secure humanity’s future? Formerly published as Temporary Duty Assignment, Cornucopia is the first in the Seeds of Hope series.

218 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 19, 2019

About the author

Lizzie Sinclaire is a Sci-Fi Galaxy award-winning author of adventures set in worlds near and far. Her poetry and fiction follow found families facing impossible choices, heroes wrangling magic and tech against mythic foes, and always and forever, ancient Things stirring at the edges of reality. When she’s not untangling plot-knots, you’ll find her making maps, gaming, or crafting fictional laws of magic with the help of a patient superhero spouse.

Reviews

[G.E. Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Science fiction often gets too caught up in the world building and imaginative tech of the world, letting its characters languish and the story become secondary. Cornucopia balances world building, characterization, and story with grace and ease, drawing the reader in and taking them along for the ride. The world feels real, plausible, and comfortable as do the characters in it. The story is compelling and a wonderful little romance wrapped in a mystery. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read.

[Cassandra Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so great to see more Solarpunk stories coming into the world! Eliza did a wonderful job balancing depicting the damage done to the environment in this alternate Earth with the efforts people were going to in order to repair the world. And that's just the backdrop to a story about love, loss, and second chances. All-in-all, it's an optimistic tale about coming back even from a few steps beyond the edge. I look forward to seeing what she does with the series! Because I really hope this is a series :)