A Favorite of 2015: Inherit the Stars

Recommend by: Riley

Last February, before I joined the Smart Girls Love SciFi Romance team, at the blog Spacefreighters Lounge, I won a copy of each of the three parts of the book Inherit the Stars by Laurie A. Green. Yay for me, as it turned out to be one of the best books I read in 2015. Then I wrote a review and posted it to a couple of places. Inherit the Stars is one of those books I’d like to recommend to everyone, so I decided to dust off those comments I made at those other sites and bring them to Smart Girls.

Inherit the Stars is a keeper for my favorites shelf. I loved it! Every chapter contains heart-racing action or sweet, heartrending romance. Or both. From the first chapter to the last page, I was enthralled.

The entire story was told from the point of view of the hero, Sair. While this perspective is not unique, since romances generally include both heroine and hero points of view, it is unusual. It is also refreshing. As a reader, I heard the internal dialog of nobody but Sair. I had only to follow his actions and see what he was seeing. There was no conflict in my mind about who I should like and who I should agree with. I liked it!

Sair is on the run, having escaped life as an Ithian slave. He finds refuge on the prototype ship Specter. First Mate Zjel takes an immediate and violent dislike to Sair, but Captain Drea Mennelsohn has the opposite reaction.

Sair does not know what to make of the good captain. One minute she is business-like and cold. The next minute she is friendly and warm. This back and forth between the two personalities had me doing some speculating. Sair was speculating also. Eventually, Drea’s true self is revealed. I was expecting it, yet I was totally shocked! I love surprises!

Before that reveal though, the reader gets to know another character. That is Specter. Yes, the ship. When a non-sentient takes a major role in a book, it has to be pretty special. When an Ithian Hammerhead destroyer confronts Captain Drea, she gets to unleash Specter’s awesome defensive gear. The commander of the Hammerhead also happens to be Sair’s enemy, so things are going to get complicated.

Eventually, Sair’s astonishing past comes to light. A past that leads to wonderful complications. And the relationship between Sair and Drea becomes more intense and more complicated. You will meet more of the Mennelsohn family. The Mennelsohn family has a plan for the future and it is a really big plan!

Slowly but surely, Zjel’s less antagonistic side sneaks out. She is my favorite character and also has some interesting history. I love how Zjel always shows up when she is needed. Will there be more of her story in the future? I’d like that.

The end of Inherit the Stars is awesome. Complicated story lines come together in an exciting finish. Sacrifices must be made by Sair and Drea to make the galaxy a better place. The chance that they will reform civilization while losing each other is great and heartbreaking. I don’t mind telling you that I had tears blurring my view of my e-reader. Several times.

I devoured this book to get to the end. And then I sighed. You know how it is when you finish a book that had become a part of you. Inherit the Stars is amazing!

The serialized version this book is available, if you think you might want to dip your toe in for $0.99. But I recommended you go straight for the full story. Unless you really like cliffhangers!

Also recommended is Farewell Andromeda which is set in the Inherited Stars universe, but at a different time. Farewell Andromeda is a short story set on a space station. This story has a strong heroine, a handsome hero, romance, passion, plenty of emotion and is a nice prelude to Inherit the Stars.

If you like these books, you will be pleased to know that this year, Ms. Green will be releasing The Outer Planets, another book set in the Inherited Stars series. Personally, I can’t wait!

Laurie A. Green’s Website

Spacefreighters Lounge

Inherit the Stars on Goodreads

Farewell Andromeda on Goodreads

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