First Look: Slave--The Cat Star Chronicles by Cheryl Brooks
I thought I'd start doing these First Look and Last Word posts on books I've read.
Just started this one and I'm liking it so far. Cheryl Brooks' pitch is probably what sold me -- "I found him in a slave market on Orpheseus Prime" together with an enticing cover and back blurb. I'm three chapters in and the set up is intriguing, the writing solid (though just a touch stilted, but it works), and the world building well done. This one is very adult, with explicit language and sexual situations, but I wouldn't tag it erotica (at least so far).
Plot to Chapter 3: The female MC bids on a male slave (i.e. hunk) who she hopes to enlist in her quest to rescue her sister from a planet where all woman are enslaved by male masters. The auction doesn't go quite as she planned when the naked slave she's got her sites set on recognizes her as a female and his reaction almost blows her cover. She manages to both buy him and keep her gender concealed. Her plan is to have her new purchase pretend to be HER master in order to infiltrate the planet where her sister is being held captive so she can pull off a recon and rescue mission. Since the reader is introduced early on to what is expected of these female slaves, there is potential for some sizzling situations between "Jack" and her "master."
The only thing I'm not crazy about so far is the author's tendency to overuse exclamation points. The opening chapters also run quite long (around 28 pages) but that's not a criticism, just an observation. The pace isn't lightning quick, but there are plenty of things that kept my interest piqued and my fingers flipping pages.
I'll post a "Last Word" on this one when I'm done reading it. (Which won't be real soon with my current schedule.)
Laurie G started this discussion 1 year ago. ( )
