Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Author: Susan Grant
Title: Star Hero
Series: Star Series
Disclaimer: I received a copy of Star Hero, a Star Series Novella, in exchange for a fair review. When authors send me a book, they know that I will take my time getting through it and will look at the pros and cons before rating the book. That said, I’m human and try to be impartial, but I try. As a Book Dragon, I claim responsibility for this review. May the powers of the Book Dragons be with you. For more Book Dragon info, check out my post How to Read Like a Book Dragon.
About the book: This is a novella – officially book 4.6 of the Star Series. It has a sexy Marine, a scrappy K-9 dog, and an awesome Starpilot. Both Bang-Bang, the K-9, and Lukas are orphans who found a home with the Marines. Now they’ve met Starpilot Carlynn, their world has changed. Carylnn goes missing on a mission and search and rescue is necessary. Will the Marine and his K-9 find their Starpilot?
Oh, and this isn’t the first Grant book I’ve read – let’s be honest, I’ve read the whole series and loved it. I recommend starting with Star King.
About the author: Susan Grant is a fantastic Science Fiction Romance Writer. She won the RITA award for Contact. When not writing award-winning books, she flies commercially and was an Air Force pilot.
The blurb:
A Marine serving in the galactic frontier, Lieutenant Lukas Frank has a lot in common with a street dog named Bang-Bang; they both started off as scrappy orphans fighting to survive–and beat the odds. Things change when Bang-Bang leads Lukas to starpilot Captain Carlynn Riga. The tough war hero learns what it means to surrender–his heart. Lukas’s struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, threaten to tear the three of them apart, but nothing threatens them more than when Carlynn goes missing in action. Now the rugged, emotionally scarred Marine and his K-9 partner must find Carlynn and bring her home, or risk losing everything he has finally found worth fighting for.
– Susan Grant, Star Hero
Breakdown:
The first go through, I read books for fun. Then in the second dive, I go into details. My first run through happened in one night. The deep-dive took a few days.
Pros:
You know that anytime I read a book with a dog as a main character, I’m going to love it. And he is and he’s adorable and I felt for the scrappy puppy and was happy with his story and growth. The main characters – Carlynn and Lukas are developed characters with backgrounds: Carlynn is from a huge Italian family, and Lukas is an orphan. Grant did a cool thing by echoing Lukas’s upbringing as an orphan through the eyes of Bang-Bang, his K-9 and best friend.
The line that moved me: “For the first time since he found himself alone, he fell asleep without feeling afraid to wake up.”
My favorite line from Bang-Bang’s perspective: “His Tall One had wounds, old wounds, that were on the inside, where Bang-Bang was not able to lick them. But he could protect his Lukas, a d look out for him, which he did every waking moment of every day since they first found each other.”
[I love that!]
This book tackles PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder, which impacts not only soldiers, but their loved ones as well. It’s an important topic that needs to be discussed more in fiction – and Grant does a good job of showing the effect of PTSD not only on a character, but on the character’s relationships.
When I go through a book, I process the pros in yellow, things I loved in pink, and questionable things in orange. Looking through my notes, there are tons of yellow and pinks.
As a writer, I would turn to this book to learn the elements of fast-paced romance. It’s a great example of how to create a page-turning novella.
Cons:
No books are perfect. The action scenes were effective, but I hoped for more of them – yes, this is a novella, but I was hoping for at least one more scene where they could engage the enemy. The pacing was efficient – it felt like there was one beat that needed a bit more. Oh, and I’m not giving spoilers, but I was able to guess the ending…
Overall:
My rating: 4 stars
Would I read it again? I did – I read it twice…and will read it again!
Link: Star Hero
A note to Science Fiction Romance Writers: More pets, please! You know I love them!
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