MOONSTRUCK by Susan Grant

I don’t know how you all will react, but, frankly, reading MOONSTRUCK scared the ba-jeebers outta me. I mean, what if I was a wet-eared ensign newly assigned to the Unity with Admiral Bandar and War Leader Rorkkan as my commanding officers and I knew everything you’ll know about these two when you read this novel? Captain Janeway and John Wayne, they ain’t. If you’re looking for a fluffy romance, this won’t be your cup of tea. However, if you’re looking for a tale of Intimate Adventure and the salvation and healing of true love, you’ll have MOONSTRUCK stuck to your nose until you’re finished reading.
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Admiral Brit Bandar is a battle-hardened starship commander and the war is over. She’s suffered a lot and carries around a massive open wound on her heart – the death of her husband and all the men she’s slept with trying to bury the pain since. Now, she’s been assigned to command a diplomatic ship, the Unity, and a former enemy is to be her First Officer. All at once, Rorkkan’s got the face of the enemy Horde and her dead husband too. Brit is not a happy camper. Meanwhile, Rorkkan can hardly think straight around her because the brain in his skull has been out-gunned by the other one.
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So off they go into the Wild Black Yonder on the Unity and Rorkkan senses right away that Brit wants the mission to fail. Well, she loathes his kind, so that’s no surprise. What throws him off is having sensed something else in her regard for him, something she keeps under tight reign. We know it’s that he resembles her dead husband and the creepiness coupled with attraction that brings, but he doesn’t.
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At this point, I’d be screaming, “We’re all gonna die!”
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I mean, how the heck are these two going to work together as command officers? Besides being former enemies, they’re both just incredibly screwed up. You all probably know I like that.
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I started feeling sorry for Brit, because I sensed a well-hidden humiliation in her. What I mean to say is she had true love once upon a time and the dignity and beauty that brings. It was viciously taken from her. She buried the pain with sex, just as many bury pain with drugs or alcohol. However, she’s not an addict. She still feels the pain. This is a good thing. It seems to me, in Real Life, when people don’t deal with the pain, they bury it until they go numb. Once that happens, they become *incapable of comprehending true love* when it finally finds them again. {I know it’s not impossible for someone at that point to recover, but I’ve personally never seen it.} Brit isn’t to that point. She still feels the pain. She is *not beyond redemption.* I’m not sure if that’s what the author intended, but that’s how I interpreted it based on my own observations of humanity.
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There’s a secondary romance between a Lieutenant Hadley and an Earthling. At first, I thought this was extraneous and I just hoped Hadley wasn’t stupid. I thought, “Geez, Hadley, he’s a jackass. Make him reform and prove his worth first.” But, then, I found out Hadley idolizes Brit and then she accidentally-on-purpose discovers a momento from Brit's past which indicates an even deeper pain. Ut-oh. A dearly loved husband wasn’t the only thing Brit lost.
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Okay, the stage is set. The characters are established. Time to up the ante.
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The first goes up when Brit decides to use Rorrkan the same way she used all the men before him but after her dead husband. Only, it backfires big time, because it’s not just a roll in the hay. There’s love somewhere in there too. Now, she’s really a freaking mess.
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I’d be sayin, “Yep, we’re dead. We’re all dead. Might as well fly this ship right into a super-nova.”
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Because, of course, the commanding officers of the Unity have to deal with commanding the Unity while their heads are still reeling with their personal issues. Oh, dear. Healing is scary and painful because the grief must be faced head-on. Sure, Brit’s courageous in battle, but the heart can be a much more frightening place.
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Although this novel is a Science Fiction Romance, I really didn’t get into the romancey part of it. Weird, huh? It’s because Rorrkan isn’t the kind of guy I ever would have gone for. If Rorrkan was real and I was single and he offered to buy me a café’ moche with a double shot of crème de mint, I’d say, “Um, thanks, no. But, hey! My boss is sitting over there all by herself and I happen to know she’s verrrry thirsty.” Wink. “Go get ‘er, Tiger.” For me, the story was all about Brit.
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In fact, about a month ago Jacqueline Lichtenberg, whom I admire and respect immensely, reviewed MOONSTRUCK and I totally didn’t get the same impression. I didn’t see Brit as having a greater sexual appetite than the average woman. I know Brit thinks she does, but I didn’t buy it. Up until Rorrkan, sex simply meant something different to her than it does to a woman in a loving, monogamous relationship. From my point of view, Brit’s relationship with Rorrkan was inevitable. The wound on her heart had never healed and had never been buried because, sub-consciously, she still clung to *Hope.* The fact that a relationship with Rorrkan was ‘forbidden’ in Brit’s mind made it necessary. It wasn’t a case of the Forbidden being attractive because it is forbidden and it wasn’t a case of being attracted to someone despite that person being Forbidden. Rorrkan represented the pain in Brit’s heart and she instinctively knew that. She embraced the pain and she won.
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MOONSTRUCK has enough dimensions to keep everyone happy. For those who are totally into it, you’ll have to read it at least twice to get the full impact.
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Way to go, Susan.
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The Heat Level of this novel is Highly Sensual, but appropriate to the story and consistent with the characters.
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MOONSTRUCK hits the shelves May 25th, but you can pre-order it now. Here's Susan's website to learn more- http://susangrant.com/