Proxima Five by Missouri Vaun
While the romance is okay in this story, I was more interested in the dystopian world created by Vaun for this story. In fact the romance could have been even less prominent and this story would have been just as good.
It is the standard sci-fi story where the earth is dying and humanity must flee the planet to preserve itself. Leah is the sole survivor of her ship of scientists that was heading to a new planet along with nine other ships. Her ship has crash landed in the middle of the desert. Where she is captured before her ship’s systems can come back online and let her know if she has indeed landed on the correct planet or some other planet in a different system. And where are the rest of the colonists?
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She is of course saved by Keegan before she can be sold into slavery and a romance ensues. Leah soon learns she is on the correct planet, just 300 years too late. Society has not gone as planned for the colony. They struggle for survival and must fight for everything. Women are sold/used like slaves. Being a romance all things work out in the end. The ladies are victorious over the misogynous regime. I, for one, would be interested in having Vaun revisit this planet many years in the future to see how the clans are faring with their new leader and new ideals.
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Book Description from Bold Stroke Books
Geologist Dr. Leah Warren wakes after extended cryogenic hibernation to discover she’s crash-landed on a foreign planet. The sole survivor of her crew, she struggles to piece together what went wrong. Leah ventures from the ship in search of signs of life only to be captured by desert raiders.
Keegan, a clan warrior, discovers Leah, weak and barely alive. Her kindness and affection for Leah seem in direct conflict with her tough and emotionally remote façade, and Leah’s attraction for the reserved warrior grows. Unfortunately, Tiago, the clan’s volatile chieftain, is a tyrant who wants Leah for himself. Keegan will have to relinquish Leah or challenge Tiago. Will love give Keegan the strength to defeat him?
Cover Artist: Melody Pond (Not a bad cover. Did not care for it too much at first, but since the story mostly takes place in a desert it works.)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.
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