Review: Beyond the Rain by Jess Granger

Published Date: August 4h, 2009
Finished Date: November 2nd, 2011
Publishers:  Berkley Trade
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Series: Realms Beyond #1
My Rating: 3/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
In a universe torn apart by civil war, a warrior and a slave must fight for their lives and a love that may destroy them both.

After five years behind enemy lines, Captain Cyani has to complete one final mission before she can return to Azra-a planet ruled by a sisterhood of celibate warriors. Along the way she finds a prisoner, chained and beaten-but radiating feral power and an unbroken spirit.

For years Soren has endured torture as his captors leeched his very essence, a unique hormone then sold as a sexual narcotic in the shadow trade. Now he has been freed from slavery by a beautiful warrior woman with radiant blue eyes.

After years in bondage, Soren's hormones are so unbalanced that he will die if he does not mate with a woman. Can Cyani be the woman he needs to survive, or will this forbidden bond destroy them?

My Review

The thing about Sci-fi is, once you've read one of them, you've probably already read them all. Not to say that I don't like them, it's just that it gets old. But Granger is a fantastic author, for that I do commend her.

I've actually took 5 months to read this book. I got bored in the middle portion and chucked it aside for 4.5 months, so I can't give an accurate synopsis, and I think the one above pretty much summarises the whole thing. Cyani's an Elite officer for the cold, established planet of Azra, and she is on a mission on this other planet. Over there, her scout (Vicca, the mini fox - or something else that's small) and her discovered a tortured and chained Byralen. The Elite was formed to uphold justice, and being a true blue Elite, she frees him and tries to sneak him off the planet.

Byralens are a race who cannot survive long without their mates - something to do with their hormones and stuff? I don't know, it wasn't explained, but it seemed like a sort of sexual stimulation that they'd die without. Lol. Anyway, so Cyani's secret mission? To get Soren, said captured Byralen, back to his home planet fast for him to find a mate. Or somewhere along those lines. All I can remember is that she has to get him home, fast, but he doesn't have a mate at home yet, so I don't know why Cyani's gotta rush him home. Along the way multiple problems arise; For one, the current matriach of Azra wants Soren for her own psychotic reason, so she has to steer clear of the Elites (problem 1). Two, there's the problem of transport, no ship = trapped on some godforsaken planet. Three, Cyani's starting to fall for Soren, but when she gets Soren back, her mission's complete and she has to return to Azra. It's her duty, but can she leave Soren for good when the time comes for them to say goodbye?

Lol, ok, that was pretty obvious, but oh well. I'm not a big fan of the ferrying by space ships from planet to planet. I don't know why, but the setting just doesn't appeal to me. And the challenges faced by the protagonists are not what I'd consider original, so I gave it a meager 3 stars(or licks as my icons say). But, I did enjoy the ending and the constant action and a sorta suspense hanging around in the periphery. Just when I thought it will be a happy ending already, something happens and I would be so shocked and curious I'd tear thru the pages to read what happens. And I was already at the last few pages!

I loved the whole cast. Cyani, who was brave, sweet, and just so lovable; Soren who was protective and so romantic. Even Cyani's brother who appeared around the three-quarters mark. He is such an enigma, in a good way. He is super smart, super badass, and super infuriating! He could fight better than anyone, he could be so sarcastic (and witty), but he does care about Cyani's welfare and happiness. I know he's going to find his happiness in the next book, BEYOND THE SHADOWS, because I'm reading this series/duology backwards. Haha, the second book's synopsis appealed more, so I went ahead with it first.

But anyway, the entire cast in BEYOND THE RAIN was superb, and I rooted for them all the way. The plot was cool, but as I've said, is still a very typical sci-fi one. So if you're a fan of Sci-fi-plus-a-little-heartwrenching-romance (lol, I realised that "little" and "heartwrenching" are contradictory, but really, Granger only focused on the romance at the end, but it was very well done, and very, very heartwarming), you might want to try this one out.

My Rating

Review: Beyond the Shadows by Jess Granger

Published Date: May 4th, 2010
Finished Date: June 10th, 2011
Publishers: Berkeley Trade
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Series: Realms Beyond

Blurb from Goodreads: Commander Yara must return home quickly and claim the Azralen throne to prevent war, but the only ship available belongs to the rebel Cyn, an Earthlen trader with no regard for authority- especially hers. Manipulating Yara onto his ship, Cyn has to keep her from Azra long enough to ignite the revolution. But when he awakens a vibrant and feeling woman beneath that icy exterior, he gets more than he bargained for: love. ---------------------------------------------------------------------

My Review: In a world where the female population ruled,

Yara was all set and ready to ascend the throne. Cyn has gathered and amassed an entire nation ready to rebel against the Grand Sister, the Matriach, and the Elite.

When Cyn "kidnaps" Yara, she was forced to see the ugly side of her beloved Azra; Being sold to the flesh traders and all that. And when it was time to choose sides, she chose him, and conveniently for the greater good of Azra.

Yara's journey towards the great realization that not every part of Azra was ruled as justly and orderly as she was taught in Training was fraught with a lot of doubts, but there was the humor bits that leveled the seriousness. All those snark comments from the cold Yara was funny in a serious way, haha, if that even makes sense. She is a good fighter, and she lives up to her regal bloodline of Yarine the Just(if i remember her name correctly..which i dont think i did..oh well). But under all that, she is rather naive and soft(in a good way), which made her rely on Cyn a lot in the outside world(universe in this case) and ultimately falling in love with him in the end.

Cyn is a headstrong, INCREDIBLY witty, protective, selfless, heartwarming, loving, brainy man. He is awesome. He leads the rebellion like a true leader, he talks like a charmer, he loves so swoon-worthy-ly, and yeah the list goes on.

The Grand Sister(or the Grand Bitch, as Cyn calls her), was plenty wicked. I mean, this is one of those books where they portray the real ugliness of the baddies of humankind with less reservations. And her ending was WOO! COOL! READ THAT PART!! She had more than what..20 knives thrown into her!

The ending was kind of weird..but still very satisfactory. It ended without the war that seemed so inevitable. The final fight was wicked, i totally loved it. It lasted long enough for my violent side to be sated enough:)

Overall: The fighting bits were vivid, suspenseful and i totally fell in love with both of them when they fought. The lovey dovey part wasn't overly mushy and excessive.

.:THIS IS A BOOK TOTALLY WORTH READING:.

My Rating: