ENEMY WITHIN by Marcella Burnard

Berkley Sensation

November 2^nd, 2010

Science Fiction/Futuristic Romance

978-0-425-23685-7

Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher

 

After being in an alien prison, Captain Alexandria ‘Ari’ Rose has nothing. No career. Forced to go finish a degree she has no desire to finish and frankly, she wonders why she even bothered to survive at all. There is nothing left for her or the life she once had. But when her father’s ship is attacked and taken by pirates, well Ari finds herself a prisoner once more. This time by sexy pirate leader Cullin, who is determined to find every secret Ari has or may have hidden for Cullin is determined to get to the truth regardless of his growing feelings for the woman he is falling for.

I got to say this is one wild ride from start to finish. Debut author Marcella Burnard delivers one rollicking space ride from start to finish and I have to admit I loved Ari a lot. She was a character I really liked. She is a kick butt heroine with pockets of vulnerabilities that made me want to hug her tight. She is one woman that you just can’t help but root for through the course of the book. The hero on the other hand took a bit to warm up to. He took a bit of time to fall in love with and I enjoyed the scenes between him and Ari a lot. Especially when he would mis-step with Ari but he always showed his willingness to make up for it. That showed a human side that appealed to me because face it, no one is perfect and I like my heroes to be a bit flawed when I read.

ENEMY WITHIN introduces readers to a world where aliens and humans are the norm and I found Ms. Burnard to be one talented writer. Her world building, even though at times a bit predictable, didn’t overwhelm you with information dump. The story built itself at a nice even pace and kept me intrigued till the very end. I really enjoyed the way this author built up the story between Ari, Cullin and the secrets between them and around them. The author does a wonderful job in keeping the reader engaged and flipping the pages. I know I couldn’t put it down, not even to get some food at times. It was that aspect of the story that hooked me early and kept me eager for more. I am eager to see what this author does in this new world she created and can’t wait to check out the other books in the series.

If you enjoy a high octane space story that will take you beyond the stars then I highly recommend ENEMY WITHIN. I do suggest making sure you are fed and have nothing else planned for the day/evening because you won’t want to put this one down.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement.