Derek…our resident eye candy, hahah! I’m kidding. Derek was a great compliment to Caeli. She is strong when he is weak as they quiet literally meet due to the crashing of his ship in which he should not have survived and could not have if it were not for her. On the flip side he becomes her strength emotionally as she has been alone for so long and then is thrust into numerous situations that are outside of her realm. He has to make the tough calls and more or less pull the trigger via his role within the Alliance and also must take the lead in their relationship.
The Drokoran (excuse me if my spelling is wrong) are a mystery yet to be solved. I appreciated a new threat being introduced as Caeli is escaping Algamest with Derek. The universe is much bigger than the world that she has known. Her abilities and the need for them are much more. Though from a reader’s standpoint you do wonder what is going on with The Resistance on Algamest you cannot help but to be swept up into the whirlwind that is Part II of this novel. It is action packed and you are absorbed in the mission just as Caeli is as a civilian being faced with such responsibility. There were just so many facets to this novel with such fleshed out characters – both leading and supporting -and it all was woven together so masterfully that you would not suspect that this was Lord’s first novel.
FIVE STARS. Easily.