Star-Crossed

Rating:
Summary: What the reviewers are saying
Review: "STAR-CROSSED is an involving read from page one... a complex and involving plot, sympathetic and beleaguered characters, and well-crafted world-building.... (A)n accomplished, involving, and challenging contribution to the world of futuristic romance."-- Katriena Knights for Escape to Romance "Marilynn Byerly has written a fast paced, action filled, sensuous love story." 5 Moons! -- MaryKay Moore for Mystic Visions **
"STAR-CROSSED is a tense and exciting science fiction story with engaging characters, a tender romance and some intriguing world-building thrown into the mix.... (It) grabbed my attention from the first page and refused to let go until I had finished it.... This is definitely one of the best books I've read recently." 5 Stars! -- Karen McCullough for Scribe's World **
"Ms. Byerly writes with verve and intelligence as she stretches the tension tighter and tighter, piles action on top of action, and creates multi-dimensional characters. " Very Highly Recommended --Patricia White for "Midwest Review" and "Millennium SF & F"
**
"If you're looking for a tender, heart-felt romance; If you're looking for a fascinating futuristic - this is the book for you. STAR-CROSSED has got it all, and more. Author Marilynn Byerly will keep you flipping pages right to the end in your urge to discover whether the girl does indeed get the guy and whether the good guys defeat the bad guys once and for all.

Ms. Byerly is a wonderful writer, as capable of portraying a tender moment as a brutal encounter, a lingering love scene or a compelling battle, and making the reader feel and believe every word. I loved every minute of Star Crossed!" -- Norah-Jean Perkin for Word Museum **
"Marilynn Byerly can wring emotion out of words the way most people wring water out of a sponge. Something so simple as a change of subject in a conversation reduced me to tears, the tip of an unseen iceberg of conflicts and desires that resonated to heroic archetypes.

The characters are all realistically drawn, and the world building is a masterpiece of pragmatic cynicism wed to hopeful optimism.... This book is well worth the read." -- Jennifer Dunne, SF Romance
**
"I read the book in one day because I couldn't put it down."--Crystal Forkan, "Romance & Beyond"

**
"Full of action and adventure, this was a fantastic read, which I highly recommend." --Kathy Boswell, "Romantic Times"
**
"Star-Crossed is an incredible romance set in a descriptive futuristic society. ... From the space battle on the first page, I was immediately swept into the time and place of the story, and I wasn't released until the last word." Very highly recommended! -- Sally G. Laturi, for Ivy Quill Reviews
**
"A riveting novel.  The characters... original and engaging.  Star-Crossed captures the readers attention and holds it through the story.  ... An all around great read."" --Anita Jo Stafford, Paranormal Romance Reviews

Rating:
Summary: What the reviewers are saying
Review: "STAR-CROSSED is an involving read from page one... a complex and involving plot, sympathetic and beleaguered characters, and well-crafted world-building.... (A)n accomplished, involving, and challenging contribution to the world of futuristic romance."-- Katriena Knights for Escape to Romance "Marilynn Byerly has written a fast paced, action filled, sensuous love story." 5 Moons! -- MaryKay Moore for Mystic Visions **
"STAR-CROSSED is a tense and exciting science fiction story with engaging characters, a tender romance and some intriguing world-building thrown into the mix.... (It) grabbed my attention from the first page and refused to let go until I had finished it.... This is definitely one of the best books I've read recently." 5 Stars!-- Karen McCullough for Scribe's World **
"Ms. Byerly writes with verve and intelligence as she stretches the tension tighter and tighter, piles action on top of action, and creates multi-dimensional characters. " Very Highly Recommended--Patricia White for "Midwest Review" and "Millennium SF & F"
**
"If you're looking for a tender, heart-felt romance; If you're looking for a fascinating futuristic - this is the book for you. STAR-CROSSED has got it all, and more. Author Marilynn Byerly will keep you flipping pages right to the end in your urge to discover whether the girl does indeed get the guy and whether the good guys defeat the bad guys once and for all.

Ms. Byerly is a wonderful writer, as capable of portraying a tender moment as a brutal encounter, a lingering love scene or a compelling battle, and making the reader feel and believe every word. I loved every minute of Star Crossed!" -- Norah-Jean Perkin for Word Museum **
"Marilynn Byerly can wring emotion out of words the way most people wring water out of a sponge. Something so simple as a change of subject in a conversation reduced me to tears, the tip of an unseen iceberg of conflicts and desires that resonated to heroic archetypes.

The characters are all realistically drawn, and the world building is a masterpiece of pragmatic cynicism wed to hopeful optimism.... This book is well worth the read." -- Jennifer Dunne, SF Romance
**
"I read the book in one day because I couldn't put it down."--Crystal Forkan, "Romance & Beyond"

**
"Full of action and adventure, this was a fantastic read, which I highly recommend." --Kathy Boswell, "Romantic Times"
**
"Star-Crossed is an incredible romance set in a descriptive futuristic society. ... From the space battle on the first page, I was immediately swept into the time and place of the story, and I wasn't released until the last word." Very highly recommended! -- Sally G. Laturi, for Ivy Quill Reviews
**
"A riveting novel.  The characters... original and engaging.  Star-Crossed captures the readers attention and holds it through the story.  ... An all around great read."" --Anita Jo Stafford, Paranormal Romance Reviews

Rating:
Summary: Timeless Tales 4 stars review
Review: by Chere

Kellen Votrain, exo-biologist, is taking his best friend, Tristan Mallory, astro-physicist, to a conference away from Earth. As the two of them are talking and having a beer, they get attacked by a ship they know they won't be able to outrun or outgun.

When Tristan wakes up, he finds himself in a hospital room. He has been badly wounded and the doctors don't even think that he will live. If he does manage to survive, he will end up being a paraplegic.

Mara d'Jorel, astro-physicist on Arden, somehow managed to win a lottery and can have a man live with her for the period of one year. Her friend, Patta, is trying to talk her into doing just that. Mara doesn't believe in the harem system, or the lottery. Her mother didn't believe in it either. Mara has been planning on going the sperm donor route. Mara's mother died not all that long ago. She was a famous scientist on Arden and made an important scientific discovery that made a lot of money for Arden, thereby allowing Mara to live the life of luxury. She has her own home, a live-in housekeeper, a collie, a cat and a rab-cat, an indigenous species to Arden. Arden was hit with a plague many years ago. This plague tended to kill men and boys. When Arden requested Earth's help, they were turned down and quarantined. Ever since that time, Arden turned it's back on everything to do with Earth.

Patta finally convinces Mara to go through the available males in the lottery. Patta notices a man with green eyes, very unusual on Arden. The man has an Earth name. Mara finally finds a name that is familiar to her. It is the name of a fellow astro-physicist, Tristan Mallory. Mara notices that he is in the hospital. Mara goes to the hospital and gets in Tristan's room just as he is waking up. The nurse tells them both that Kellen died in the crash. Mara starts visiting Tristan on a daily basis and brings him little gifts. She has never been around men before and is totally innocent. Tristan doesn't act anything like what she has been led to expect from a man. In order to help his recovery, she decides not to tell Tristan anything about the way that men are treated on Arden.

Kellen ends up being taken to the head of Internal Security of Arden, Cadaran d'Hasta. She has decided to take possession of him in order to train him to become a bed slave. Cadaran hates men and only uses them for the pleasure they can bring her. She tries to break Kellen, but can't. She decides to go for drugs to control him and injects him with Lotus, a nasty little sex drug. Kellen's life has become hell. Cadaran repeatedly beats and abuses him.

Mara has been working behind the scenes to try and get possession of Tristan. She finally manages to accomplish it and Tristan is released from the hospital. She brings him home and he ends up being fitted with a bracelet, which will not allow him to go anywhere but in the bedroom and garden. He won't even be able to go to the kitchen if he wants to. Now, he begins to realize the circumstances that men live under on Arden. Mara has tried to shield him from this, but can't anymore. Tristan continues to improve under Mara's loving care. He eventually regains the use of his legs. Mara and Tristan are very attracted to each other, but don't act on it.

Eventually, Mara and Tristan come to the realization that they will have to escape Arden. Will they be able to get away from Arden and take Kellen with them? Will Cadaran realize what is going on and stop them? Why are so many men being kidnapped in this one area of space and who is behind it?

This science fiction story is action-packed, from the very first page to the last one. This story is also filled with emotions, as Mara realizes that the beautiful planet that she loves dearly is not perfect, and when Mara eventually gives in to her feelings for Tristan. It also shows the depravity that can occur in the idle rich as we travel along with Kellen, first with Cadaran and then a woman even worse than Cadaran. The condition that Kellen is in when they finally manage to escape is enough to make one cry. He definitely has no desire to be touched at all and flinches when anyone does touch him. And the lengths that Cadaran goes to in order to maintain her power is unbelievable. The characters in this story are all very well-rounded, right down to Floppy, the rab-cat that Mara rescued and raised. The worlds are all very believable, right down to the E men. This is definitely a story that is worth the time to read it.

Rating:
Summary: Timeless Tales 4 stars review
Review: by Chere

Kellen Votrain, exo-biologist, is taking his best friend, Tristan Mallory, astro-physicist, to a conference away from Earth. As the two of them are talking and having a beer, they get attacked by a ship they know they won't be able to outrun or outgun.

When Tristan wakes up, he finds himself in a hospital room. He has been badly wounded and the doctors don't even think that he will live. If he does manage to survive, he will end up being a paraplegic.

Mara d'Jorel, astro-physicist on Arden, somehow managed to win a lottery and can have a man live with her for the period of one year. Her friend, Patta, is trying to talk her into doing just that. Mara doesn't believe in the harem system, or the lottery. Her mother didn't believe in it either. Mara has been planning on going the sperm donor route. Mara's mother died not all that long ago. She was a famous scientist on Arden and made an important scientific discovery that made a lot of money for Arden, thereby allowing Mara to live the life of luxury. She has her own home, a live-in housekeeper, a collie, a cat and a rab-cat, an indigenous species to Arden. Arden was hit with a plague many years ago. This plague tended to kill men and boys. When Arden requested Earth's help, they were turned down and quarantined. Ever since that time, Arden turned it's back on everything to do with Earth.

Patta finally convinces Mara to go through the available males in the lottery. Patta notices a man with green eyes, very unusual on Arden. The man has an Earth name. Mara finally finds a name that is familiar to her. It is the name of a fellow astro-physicist, Tristan Mallory. Mara notices that he is in the hospital. Mara goes to the hospital and gets in Tristan's room just as he is waking up. The nurse tells them both that Kellen died in the crash. Mara starts visiting Tristan on a daily basis and brings him little gifts. She has never been around men before and is totally innocent. Tristan doesn't act anything like what she has been led to expect from a man. In order to help his recovery, she decides not to tell Tristan anything about the way that men are treated on Arden.

Kellen ends up being taken to the head of Internal Security of Arden, Cadaran d'Hasta. She has decided to take possession of him in order to train him to become a bed slave. Cadaran hates men and only uses them for the pleasure they can bring her. She tries to break Kellen, but can't. She decides to go for drugs to control him and injects him with Lotus, a nasty little sex drug. Kellen's life has become hell. Cadaran repeatedly beats and abuses him.

Mara has been working behind the scenes to try and get possession of Tristan. She finally manages to accomplish it and Tristan is released from the hospital. She brings him home and he ends up being fitted with a bracelet, which will not allow him to go anywhere but in the bedroom and garden. He won't even be able to go to the kitchen if he wants to. Now, he begins to realize the circumstances that men live under on Arden. Mara has tried to shield him from this, but can't anymore. Tristan continues to improve under Mara's loving care. He eventually regains the use of his legs. Mara and Tristan are very attracted to each other, but don't act on it.

Eventually, Mara and Tristan come to the realization that they will have to escape Arden. Will they be able to get away from Arden and take Kellen with them? Will Cadaran realize what is going on and stop them? Why are so many men being kidnapped in this one area of space and who is behind it?

This science fiction story is action-packed, from the very first page to the last one. This story is also filled with emotions, as Mara realizes that the beautiful planet that she loves dearly is not perfect, and when Mara eventually gives in to her feelings for Tristan. It also shows the depravity that can occur in the idle rich as we travel along with Kellen, first with Cadaran and then a woman even worse than Cadaran. The condition that Kellen is in when they finally manage to escape is enough to make one cry. He definitely has no desire to be touched at all and flinches when anyone does touch him. And the lengths that Cadaran goes to in order to maintain her power is unbelievable. The characters in this story are all very well-rounded, right down to Floppy, the rab-cat that Mara rescued and raised. The worlds are all very believable, right down to the E men. This is definitely a story that is worth the time to read it.

Rating:
Summary: Hot futuristic romance
Review: I had really high expectations for this book, and wasn't let down. Marilyn Byerly does an excellent job of creating a fantasy world that is believeable and characters that you remember and want to hear more of, even the secondary ones! The world this story is set on, Arden, is controlled by women due to a mysterious plague which decimated the male population. The gravity is stronger than that of Earth, which makes both the culture and the women too strong for Earth men to overcome.

The story is strong and always moving forward. Mara, an Arden scientist must risk everything to save the Earth man she has helped heal from devastating injuries. She must fight a corrupt system to try to keep Tristan out of the harem, a system where males are kept like slaves. Tristan's best friend, Kellen, is captured by the sadistic Cardaran, the head of Arden Internal Security. Kellen difficulties highlight how lucky Tristan is to have found Mara.

The book is slightly oversized, which was distracting as I read it, and Marilynn Byerly could have used a better editor. Even still it was an emotional rollercoaster and a great read!

Rating:
Summary: Hot futuristic romance
Review: I had really high expectations for this book, and wasn't let down. Marilyn Byerly does an excellent job of creating a fantasy world that is believeable and characters that you remember and want to hear more of, even the secondary ones! The world this story is set on, Arden, is controlled by women due to a mysterious plague which decimated the male population. The gravity is stronger than that of Earth, which makes both the culture and the women too strong for Earth men to overcome.

The story is strong and always moving forward. Mara, an Arden scientist must risk everything to save the Earth man she has helped heal from devastating injuries. She must fight a corrupt system to try to keep Tristan out of the harem, a system where males are kept like slaves. Tristan's best friend, Kellen, is captured by the sadistic Cardaran, the head of Arden Internal Security. Kellen difficulties highlight how lucky Tristan is to have found Mara.

The book is slightly oversized, which was distracting as I read it, and Marilynn Byerly could have used a better editor. Even still it was an emotional rollercoaster and a great read!