Pay the Piper, Hathe, #2

SCI-FI:  Earth has ruled Hathe for five years but at the Zenith, the Resistance turns the tables and now the captors have become the captives. Hatred for Major Hamon Radcliff, head of the Terran security forces, and for his Hathian wife, Marthe an Castre, run rampant. Wanting Hamon’s death is self-explanatory, but the vitriol directed at Marthe is unfathomable. As a covert spy in the thick of the Resistance, she is seen as a traitor for marrying the enemy instead of the hero she truly is. The war may be over for Hathe, but the repercussions for the two enemies who had the audacity to fall in love will dog them for years. With so much against them and a child on the way, how will they ever find peace?

Don’t be fooled by the Sci-Fi aspects of this brilliantly woven loyalty-torn tale - love, honor and planetary pride are so ingrained in these two diametrically opposed protagonists that it threatens the personal peace they find in each other’s arms. The nuts and bolts of this love story are the difficulties of finding love in war and keeping it afterwards. The hurdles continually thrown into the path of Hamon and Marthe’s relationship seem impossible to surmount and yet their strength and willingness to keep trying is ingrained on every page. Left in no doubt of the struggles, the love, and the forces pushing them together and yet apart, one begins to wonder if there is anywhere in the galaxy they can be safe and happy. A few rushed sections are the only cons. Superbly done!

Carol Conley