★★★★★ "This is my favorite sci-fi romance of all time." - Amazon War tore them apart.Heir to a galactic kingdom, Crown Prince Rom is fighting for the survival of his... This description may be from another edition of this product.
Time and space pause, bringing two people from vastly different worlds together for only moments. Air Force Lieutenant Jasmine Boswell believes she's been shot down over the Saudi Arabian Desert. Prince Romlijhian B'Kah has just witnessed his brother's plane exploding when a vision of what he believes to be an angel saves his life. For a moment, soul mates meet and recognize the profound implications, only to be wrenched away. Later each believes that their meeting was only a hallucination. Nine years later, an alien nation contacts earth to establish trade relations. A glimpse of one of the aliens on television brings instant recognition to Jas. She immediately arranges a six-month absence and smuggles onto the airbase where Rom's star craft is about to launch. Jas is divorced, her life missing something, and she longs to seek answers in the stars. Rom has been disowned from the royal family and is making his living as minor smuggler. As their worlds collide, Jas and Rom struggle with their painful pasts, their growing love and an encroaching evil that threatens to destroy the galaxy.With masterful creativity, author Susan Grant combines science fiction, romance, and nail-biting suspense in STAR KING. Her sexy hero Rom combines sensual pleasure with admiration for stretch marks, making him every woman's fantasy. Jas is a likewise wonderful heroine, with grown children, maturity and a love of adventure. Secondary characters and exotic locations becomes a source of humor and depth. For example, Grant exploits the unusual and the common with a deft touch with a three hundred pound bodyguard named Muffin and a running joke regarding beer. Indeed, the exhilarating plot keeps the pages turning, making STAR KING a keeper. Very highly recommended.
Galactically Smart and Tender
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
As a hopeless romantic about flying, I needed to check out the media buzz surrounding Susan Grant--an elite pilot (U.S. Air Force and now global 747s)who writes highly-original, exotic, and steamy adventures about aviatrix heroines.It's not just buzz. Grant is the real deal, and performs aerobatics of the heart like no other author.The pacy, passionate Star King concerns Jas, a no-nonsense USAF fighter pilot struck by a missile and forced to leave her jet the hard way by ejecting to earth. Hurt on an arrid desert, she prepares for anything but what occurs--a transcendent encounter with another wounded warrior. His name is Rom, a starfighter pilot from a distant universe. Now this golden demigod lies dying with the awful knowledge that he has just killed his brother in the skeleton of their burning ship, beaten by an enemy warlord. Painfully, Jas and Rom save each other, with a shared passion that will leave you limp. Is it real, or just the theater of Jas' delerious mind?You won't know where you are at every minute in this book, but that's a very good thing because you're in skilled hands. Abruptly, twenty years later, Jas' youthful fire has been extinguished. Now she's a dutiful mother stung by divorce who long ago gave up victory rolls in an F16 for a minivan, a surprisingly-talented artist who paints promising but only half-finished paintings. Then earth receives visitors from an advanced civilization. Among them, Rom re-appears, and Jas' real life could begin--if her golden, aristocratic ET weren't as hardened as Rick Blaine in Casablanca, by cruel fortune and a fruitless search over time and space for the mythic desert angel who once saved him.How Grant brings Jas and Rom together, and the glory is definitely in her details, can involve sly humor (e.g. in Rom's world, all the men stand when a woman enters the room and, as a lover, he admires the artistry of her stretch marks.) But she's also capable of snap-turning you from light-as-a-feather giddy to a sudden plunge into emotional despair. You will not guess the twists and turns before they unfold, but you will root mightily for this couple to survive and fulfill the promise of their long-ago stolen moment in time.This is just a wonderful novel that combines passion and writerly control in a fresh new way. I hope Rom has more family, because you can feel a series here.
A Five Star Read from Susan Grant
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
I was up until 1:30am Christmas Eve, not wrapping presents but finishing The Star King. Susan Grant's first book, Once A Pirate is a delightful frolic in the sun; this story touches the depths of human emotion.The Star King starts with a bang, literally, as Jasmine Hamilton fights to keep her F-16 fighter plane in the air. Shot down by friendly fire over the hot Iraqi desert, she has an out of body experience that leaves her awash with unexplainable emotion. Rom B'kah's otherworldly perspective of the unusual woman with dark hair is one of meeting his destiny. He is in the midst of a battle of galactic proportions with life-threatening injuries and has just witnessed his brother's death. Her presence both encourages and dooms him, he survives because of her but the physical ramifications of lingering too long in a hostile environment make him an outcast from his family.Susan's interpretation of an alien arrival into earth's politics is refreshing--for example no one automatically speaks our languages. And this story is above all a ROMANCE. She doesn't bog us down with boring technical data about how things work or lengthly descriptions of weird life forms with antenna eyes and suction cup fingers. Readers will find The Star King a very satisfying read with plenty of adventure, excitement and soul-searing love. I highly recommend The Star King and believe readers of any genre of romantic fiction will be enchanted.
SciFi Romance at its best
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
THE STAR KING Susan Grant Lovespell/Perfect Heroes December 2000THE STAR KING by Susan Grant is a marvelous peek into one view of what the not so distant future could hold. Space travel, optimism and above all, romance!On Earth, Lieutenant Jasmine Boswell is a fighter pilot struggling for her life after being mistakenly shot down by friendly fire. On Balkanor, Romlijhian (Rom) B'kah, has also been shot down and is dying of radiation poisoning. These two meet in a vision that helps sustain them until help appears. Twenty years later, even tho she has been divorced and has grown children, Jasmine is still haunted by the vision she believes is a dream. Rom is also haunted, but believes the vision is reality and hunts for Jasmine through the universe.Rom, is a trader. After being cast off by his family years before during the war that almost cost his life, he has wondered through the universe trading goods, helping those less fortunate and looking for Jasimine. When he lands on Earth, Jasmine sees him on televison as part of the trading delegation. She doesn't understand why he would be in her dream or why she is compelled to see him again; but she dons her old uniform and infiltrates the Air Force base that houses the space ships and stows away on Rom's ship. Jasmine and Rom have quite a time adjusting to each other's customs and way of life. Trust does not come easily even tho they are physically drawn to each other. Rom's old adversary reappears and Jasmine does everything she can to help Rom eliminate this threat to his planet.THE STAR KING is advertised as an `aviation romance'. It is a science fiction romance. When aliens land on earth with trading ventures in mind, to me, that is science fiction. The main focus is, of course, romance. The true life mating between two adults destined to be together Science fiction romance is a new venue for Susan Grant. Her previous book ONCE A PIRATE was an attention riveting time travel. Both genres were done very well, but since my personal preference is for romantic science fiction, I only hope she will continue to write science fiction romance, especially focusing on the mature characters that appeal so greatly in this story. THE STAR KING will attract science fiction readers of Anne McCaffery and Andre Norton since it is a natural bridge for romance readers who like fiction, futuristics, or science fiction. The sequel THE STAR PRINCE is eagerly awaited. Reviewed by Vicki Patterson
A beautifully written, emotionally heartwarming love story
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
I have never read science fiction, always believing that they had little or no romance or interaction between the characters. Not so with THE STAR KING. This book captivated me as no book has done in a long time. It flowed beautifully. I lived and breathed this story, visited every planet, saw every color, and experienced every emotion. I felt the passion between Rom and Jas and I fell totally, completely,and unabashedly in love with Rom. I hated to see this story end, and look forward to the sequel. The writing is crisp, dialogue easy to understand, the humor is wonderful, and it's filled with sexual tension! The story is fast paced, yet the technology doesn't get in the way of the romance. When the action and adventure culminated in a wonderfully emotional and very surprising ending, I had goose bumps all over from it! Don't let your reluctance to read a science fiction book keep you from experiencing this beautifully written and emotionally heartwarming love story. This is a must read for all lovers of romance and science fiction alike!
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