It was inevitable that my recent immersion in the Star Wars Extended Universe/Legends media would lead me to Michael Stackpole's "X-Wing" series. Given the interconnected nature of the works, the references to events from it in Timothy Zahn's Hand of Thrawn duology left me wanting to read the characters and events mentioned. And the first book, Rogue Squadron was enjoyable enough as an inaugural volume that introduced some appealing characters while laying the groundwork for future volumes.

By contrast, Wedge's Gamble is something of a ominous letdown. With the New Republic preparing to take the strategically important planet of Coruscant, the pilots of Rogue Squadron are infiltrated onto it as part of an intelligence-gathering mission. This was the first warning sign for me, for while I get the need to keep the story focused on the main characters, the need for pilots to serve as covert operatives seemed more than a stretch. Yet this was a minor complain when set against the plan hatched by Ysanne Isard, the former head of Imperial Intelligence and the main antagonist of the series. Her scheme to spread a virus designed to sicken and kill missions of non-humans was far too mustache-twirling for my taste. For a series known for its complex and nuanced villains, having one engaged in such an overly-complicated effort to commit genocide while sowing political discord over medical supplies is something of a letdown. Though I'm hoping that the later volumes move past this, the fact that the fourth one is entitled The Bacta War suggests that the rest of Stackpole's series are going to be grounded in it, which is why I'm having trouble finding the motivation to pick up the next book in it.

Pursuing the Bear (Shifter Wars Series,...

Bria was in a tent at Deep Creek National Park. Bria had a gun at her waist but it was more for mental security than anything. Coming back to Deep Creek is the biggest mistake of Bria's life.If Bria failed her career would be over she would be the laughing stock of the college and her peers. If she didn’t discover what she came for she had to discover something. Even worse her parents would be devastated if she made no impact on the academia. It seemed like all her parents cared about. Bria couldn’t take any more of her parents disdain and disappointment . Dr Robert Dane had been Bria’s boyfriend until he stole her research and published as his own. Then a man came upon bria’s campsite He was looking for dead wood that he repurposed into furniture. He said he name was Derek Poole and he was also an off duty ranger. For some reason Derek felt familiar to Bria. she couldn’t let him or anyone interfere with her work as she had too much invested. Bria was a ursinologist which was someone who studies bears. This park ranger was hot and Bria was attracted to him but she came here to work. Derek was a planner and took things slowly that ways he had time to make decisions based on logic and details and not pure emotion. The Cave Of whispers had to be protected as Derek and all the bear shifters knew. Yet Derek was compelled to be near Bria and he was definitely attracted to Bria.  Most any other campers wouldn’t have gotten more than a warning or maybe a ticket .  Bria knew bear shifters existed she had seen a man and his child shift once when Bria was a child right here in this park. Derek figures out Bria is his mate. There is a war coming from the mountain lions as the lions wanted the bear territory for their own and wanted to claim it through war.

I liked this story. It was annoying though to keep being reminded that Bria must do something spectacular as she thought maybe then her parents would love her. I felt the ending was a little rushed also. But i did like Bria and Derek as a couple. I did like the struggle between  Derek and his bear that isn’t usually shown that much in shifter stories. I liked the characters a lot as well as the ins and outs of this story and I recommend.

Hi everyone!

To celebrate the upcoming release of The Fall of Arcadia novella, I'm running a promo for The Prophecy of Arcadia, the first book in the Arcadian Wars series.

To get your copy, click the link: http://amzn.to/19p86vb

Here is a sneak peek:

“Knock, knock,” I said before opening Sam’s bedroom door. No point in waiting for permission I wouldn’t get. I closed the door behind me.

“What do you want?” she asked without looking in my direction. She was lying on her bed pretending to read a book.

Her white hair was fanned out on the pillow, and wherever the light touched it, it shone like silver. Her entire room was all white with black accents here and there. She looked like she was part of the décor lying like that, white hair against black pillow.

“I just came here to let you know that I’ll be picking Alexia up at the airport with you.” I casually leaned against the closed door and put my hands in my pockets.

“Whatever. I don’t care.” She didn’t even glance in my direction. It pained me to see her so distant. It also infuriated me.

I hadn’t been lying when I’d told Alexia that I missed having Sam as my friend. Every time I looked at her, I felt a pang in my heart. But I could not explain my behavior after her ‘accident’ in Arcadia, because I didn’t know why I felt the way that I did. None of us had any recollection of the events of that week. I just wasn’t able to look at her after that without feeling deep anguish. I had known then that if I let Sam get close to me, she would see it written all over my face. So I had avoided her instead. With time the anguish feeling had passed, but by then it had been too late. She wouldn’t talk to me anymore.

“Stop pretending I’m invisible, Sam!” I exclaimed as I propelled forward, forgetting my casual stance.

The conversation with Alexia had made me edgy. I walked toward the middle of the room, getting closer to Sam so I could have a clear look at her face. Even though I could tell she was trying to be stoic, I wanted to see if there was any sign that she still cared.

She closed the book she was pretending to read and sat up on her bed, looking at me like I was a nuisance. “You know I don’t want to talk to you. Why do you insist?”

She stood up suddenly, throwing her book on the bed with such force that it bounced and landed on the floor. My gaze followed the book’s trajectory and stayed on it for a few seconds as I tried to control my rampant emotions. Sam’s question hurt, and it subdued my anger a little. I took a deep breath and found her face again.

“Do you even have to ask? How many times do I have to say I’m sorry for what I did to you seven years ago?” My voice came out strained. I was sure she had noticed, but her angry posture didn’t change.

“Just tell me what really happened then. Just tell me, Matt.” She used my nickname — something she only did when she forgot she was supposed to be mad at me. Her voice had a pleading tone to it now, and it gave me hope. I looked into her eyes and saw all the hurt there. I wanted to tell her, I truly did, but I just didn’t know what to tell her.