"A heartwarming science fiction thriller"
Just as traitors inside the Coalition has been responsible
for the kidnapping of the goddess queen, Keira, one closest
to the Drakken Warlord had been responsible for his fall.
Battlelord Aral Mawndarr had allowed the ship carrying the
Queen's consort, Prince Jared Jasper of Earth, to breach the
Warlord's flotilla. Together the royal pair had ended the
Warlord's reign of terror, by ending his life, and a
centuries old war in a near bloodless coup as Draaken
believers had finally stood up to be counted. This left Aral only two further pieces of business to attend
to, the arrest and execution of his father Karbon Mawndarr,
and the rescue of the Warlord's secret daughter, Awrenkka.
Wren had been neglected by her father much as her people had
been. Once, barely in her teens, he had seen fit to summon
her to his presence only to parade her before the most
powerful men in the Empire, a prize to be dangled and won by
the man who garnered her father's favor. Poor Wren was
hardly a prize except in the power a marriage to her would
bestow on her unwanted mate. Denied the medical care even
the lowest born in the Coalition took as a birthright, shy
Wren was undersized and wore thick glasses that barely
compensated for her poor eyesight. The room had been filled
with cruel and powerful men like her father, except for one,
a boy whose eyes had reflected the same loneliness and
suffering she'd felt in her own heart, until, afraid of his
father's scrutiny he'd hardened his expression. She's never
forgotten the boy nor he her. Karbon Mawndarr had been an even worse father than the
Warlord he worshipped. Aral would have preferred to have
been neglected compared to the daily beatings he'd suffered
in his father's effort to subjugate his spirit. He had never
succumbed but had followed his father's career path,
becoming a Battlelord, currying the Warlord's favor until
he'd become a favorite, until the man he had been granted
the man's daughter's hand in marriage. He had fallen for the
Wren at first sight recognizing a kindred spirit. Suddenly
afraid he had quickly hidden his feelings, knowing that his
father would have vied for her hand if only to deny his
son's happiness. As a favored Draaken warrior, Aral had been
working covertly as a Coalition spy. Now with the Warlord
dead and peace restored, he was an unsung hero. Soon his
cruel father would also be put to death for his crimes, and
he would be free. But the Coalition had one last assignment
for Aral: Find the Warlord's daughter and bring her into
custody. He would find her all right, but on his own terms. The woman he loved was not safe, not from anyone. Drakken
loyalists would be seeking her, hoping to restore the Empire
to glory through her DNA. The new Triad government would do
anything to prevent that from happening, even if that meant
executing an innocent soul for her father's crimes. A bounty
had been placed on Wren's head. The entire universe is
looking for her. Now his only duty is to find her before
anyone else did and protect her with his very life if need be. On her own after a lifetime of a sheltered existence, Wren
has been charged with a sacred mission of her own. She holds
the key, passed down by the mother she couldn't remember to
the woman who loved her like one. In her dying breath Wren's
guardian Sabra had charged her with finding Ara Ana, the
long forgotten birthplace of the goddesses, to uncover a
treasure and make the galaxy whole. Well disguised thanks to
her late guardian, Wren is evacuated from the planet along
with other Drakken refugees. Not knowing who she can trust
in the crowded refugee camp, Wren quickly becomes paranoid,
feeling that all eyes are upon her. Little does she know
that the entire universe is searching for a composite of her
genetically perfect parents, not an undersized, nearsighted,
scrap of a woman. Trader, Keir Vantos is an opportunist. Since everyone in the
galaxy is looking for a royal beauty he decides to search
for the exact opposite hoping that his intuition would land
him the lucrative bounty. Aral Mawndarr knows exactly who
he's looking for and where to find her. As luck would have
it both find her, at the same time. Unbeknownst to Aral, his father has escaped and the Triad
government could not disallow the possibility that Karbon
had been aided by his son. Now Aral was wanted as well.
Their only way off the refugee planet is on the trader's
ship. Fortunately, Wren can offer a bribe that makes the
bounty on her head look like chump change. And they're off, on a race to find Ana Ara before anyone
else does. Little do they know their biggest competition
will come from TAS Captain Hadley Keyren and the crew of the
Cloud Shadow, whose security officer just happens to be a
memory impaired, former Drakken wraith assassin by the name
of Bolivaar who could very will determine all of their fates. Of all Susan Grant's novels, this was my favorite of all. It
had everything I love in a story - romance, intrigue,
action, adventure and of course a happy ending. THE
WARLORD'S DAUGHTER took two lost and lonely children, one
neglected the other abused, and gave them strength and
character to put an entire universe to rights or die trying.
Both have the right stuff to do what needs to be done on
their own but together they are all but invincible. There
is not an abundance of steamy love scenes but IMHO they are
not necessary as the connection Ms. Grant establishes
between the pair is undeniably soul deep. For a science
fiction thrill ride that touches the heart, I highly
recommend this tale.
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted March 4, 2009
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She's the most wanted woman in the galaxy.
** A PNR Staff TOP PICK! ** The war is finally over. But Wren's life is in tatters. The only living offspring of the notorious Drakken Warlord, her genes could very well start a new dynasty of terror. And the Coalition can't have that. She alone holds the key to finding a legendary treasure. Having seen enough bloodshed, shy, petite Wren vows to destroy it before anyone, Drakken, Coalition or Earth, can get their hands on it - but she'll need help. The Drakken's ruthless evil turned Aral toward the Coalition years ago. War is all he knows, until he finds passion and love in the most unlikely of women - the Warlord's Daughter. But will trusting each other with their secrets risk not only their hearts, but their lives? Genre: Paranormal Romance, Futuristic
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