Star's Storm & Jo's Journey by S.E. Smith

By: Unknown on Saturday, May 07, 2016

Title:  Star's Storm
Series:  Lords of Kassis #2
Author:  S.E. Smith
Publication Date:  January 27/13
Length:  281pgs
Genre:  SciFi Romance
Shelf:  own
My Rating: ★★★★★
Book Links: Goodreads – Amazon(US) – Amazon(CA) - B&N - Kobo - Indigo - Google Play – Smashwords

Back Cover Blurb:

Star Strauss has always been a fighter. From the time she was born prematurely to her life on the road as a circus performer. She has never let her small stature keep her from achieving her dreams. She is one of the best aerial performers in the world. Her love of being up high and flying free has helped her overcome the challenges she faces when she is on the ground. Only her circus family, her sister, and her best friend have ever really understood her need for freedom. Her life changes when she finds herself on a distant world where every creature seems to tower over her.

Jazin Ja Kel Coradon is the third son of the ruling House of Kassis. He is known not only for his skills as a fierce warrior but for his knowledge of communication, security, and weapons systems. This knowledge has increased the effectiveness of the Kassis defenses protecting their world from attack from a new group of rebels who threaten their very existence. He will fight until his last breath to protect his people.

His life changes when he meets a tiny creature who is unlike anything he has ever seen. She is tiny, delicate, and beautiful. The problem is she is also the strongest, most stubborn female he has ever met. She refuses to do what he tells her, she defies him at every turn, and doesn’t seem to understand that all he wants to do is protect her. If he could just get her to stay in the nice safe bubble he has created for her, his life would be so much simpler!

Star had enough of people back home trying to put her in a glass box, she wasn’t about to let anyone on an alien world try to put her in one! When the man she loves is kidnapped, she will do what she does best. She will use her skills as a performer to rescue him from the men determined to extract the information they need to bring down the Kassis defense system before they kill him.

Sometimes being small has its advantages. The enemy never expects a pint-size female to have the strength of a warrior and a stubborn warrior is about to find out he has a partner who can stand tall with him in the face of danger.

My Review:

Vivid action sequences increased the intensity and really brought forward the suspense of the story. The story was fast paced from cover to cover with new plot twists around every corner. But the novel was so much more than simply blowing things up. Emotions and real life are prominent throughout. World building is also fundamentally built into the story. I enjoyed the way that the religion of Kassis and the mythology behind it was developed. The extra insight into the world and how it works made it all the more real to me.

Star is such a little spitfire. She is such a vibrant character who definitely shines as she shows her true worth and mettle. I loved getting to know her. Seeing Jazin’s thoughts and emotions really gave me insight as to how Kassisan males think and the culture at large. The multifaceted development of his character had me falling in love with him from the first time he stuck his foot in his mouth. The romance between these two was intensely sensual. I love how they both had to work at the relationship, that it wasn’t always easy, yet it was always rewarding.

Smith has once again created a story that I couldn’t put down set in a world I don’t simply want to read about, but want to move to. This was an unforgettable story about so much more than simple romance.

Title:  Jo's Journey
Series:  Lords of Kassis #3
Author:  S.E. Smith
Publication Date:  September 12/13
Length:  291pgs
Genre:  SciFi Romance
Shelf:  own
My Rating: ★★★★★
Book Links: Goodreads – Amazon(US) – Amazon(CA) - B&N - Kobo - Indigo - Google Play – Smashwords

Back Cover Blurb:

Jo Strauss was committed to two things in her life – her family and her life as an acrobat/high-wire performer. She takes both very serious. Her life was orderly, in control, and she was finally settling down in one place so she could spend more time with her parents instead of moving all over the world every few weeks. To celebrate her and younger sister, Star’s, one year anniversary away from the circus they had grown up with, she and Star were meeting River Knight, their childhood friend and sister of the heart, for a vacation in the mountains in North Carolina.

Everything goes as planned until she and her sisters are kidnapped. Now, she finds herself transported to another world. Aliens, warships, battles, and a certain male were not in the carefully detailed plans she had mapped out for her life.

Manota Ja Kel Coradon is the second son of the ruling House of Kassis. He is known as the dark brother, a reputation that he lives up to. He has fought hard to protect his family and the people of Kassis, sometimes sacrificing parts of his soul to do so. His knowledge, skills, and development of weaponry are legendary. His skill as a warrior bring shivers of fear to his opponents who know he never gives mercy to any who stand in his way.

Manota is in total control of his world until one slender, feisty alien female crashes through the shields he has placed around his heart. She is fearless, determined and stubborn. She absolutely refuses to cower before him, no matter how much he growls! He is determined to protect her and claim her as his own but there is one little problem – she will not agree to accept his claim unless he returns for her parents.

Now, he has even bigger problems – that come in all different shapes, sizes, and species! The return trip is fraught with enough dangers but Jo and Star’s parents aren’t the only ones coming back to Kassis - so is the circus family who had gathered to help look for their missing family members.

Traitors, pirates, and Mimes are just the tip of the iceberg of trouble gliding through warp speed to his home world. Manota is about to learn that the prophesy that was foretold centuries before is true. His mate is just as much of a warrior as he is and she comes with backup when an old enemy attacks!

My Review:

I love the way that the beginning of this novel is written. The main characters are involved in their current predicaments and they flash back to previous events to give context and an in-depth backstory. It’s a fantastic feeling. But Smith doesn’t stop there. Suspense, romance, and comic moments all vie for centre stage as we travel the galaxy with this unlikely crew of characters. Vibrant descriptions are woven throughout the intensely captivating plot to create an epic whole that I couldn’t put down.

Manota may just be my favourite of the brothers in this series. His overreactions were priceless. At the same time, his strength and past made him so easy to fall in love with. I also loved seeing Jo come into her own, showing her inner strength as she battles to save those she cares for. The surrounding characters were also a lot of fun. I had a blast with all of them.

This novel was absolutely hilarious at times and frightfully suspenseful at others. It was a fantastic addition to Smith’s fantastic collection. But let me tell you, I’ll never look at sword swallowing the same way again.