Linnea Sinclair got me hooked on romantic sci-fi with her last Bantam Dell release, FINDERS KEEPERS. Now, with GABRIEL'S GHOST, she's outdone herself once again, perfectly balancing the love story of her two main characters with her vivid descriptions of world-building that you're not soon to forget.

Pilot Chasidah Bergren was the one-time darling of the Imperial Sixth Fleet, a woman who could take the interstellar patrol ship she commanded in and out of places that no one else would ever dare. She's a strong woman with an independent nature, and her rough childhood had shown her that the only person she could truly depend on was herself. Now, though, it's going to take a lot more than luck and good piloting skills to save her from the situation she's in. Accused of a crime she didn't commit, Chas has been court-martialed, found guilty, and sent to the prison planet of Moabar to serve her sentence. Not only is she an innocent woman forced to interact with hardened criminals, the harsh climate of the planet alone is almost enough to kill her-if the guards don't do it first. And as if things weren't already bad enough, one moment of danger turns into Chas killing a guard in self-defense-and suddenly she is guilty of a crime, with nowhere to run to or hide.

Who should show up just when she needs him except for Gabriel "Sully" Sullivan, a ghost from Chas's past that she'd never thought to see again. Actually, all indications pointed to Sully being dead, but the legendary mercenary, smuggler, and all around baddie is alive and well-and intent on rescuing Chas from the dangers of Moabar. Rescue her? Sully? Sure, he'd been known to show up at the strangest times, but it's pretty darn weird for him to arrive on the prison planet just when she needs him the most-and Sully knows it. Sully, though, has his own agenda, mainly getting Chas off of Moabar and coercing her to agree to help him with his plans-without her finding out the secret he's been hiding for years.

As sparks fly, like they always have, between these two head-strong individuals, they must avoid the guards of Moabar who set chase, the Imperial Sixth Fleet officers who set Chas up for her fall from grace, and the people behind the breeding jukors, the deadly creatures that Sully is on a mission to destroy. As their feelings go from deep-seated aversion to warm-hearted attraction, Chas and Sully must stay alive long enough to clear Chas's good name and reputation, and for Sully to complete his mission.

Ms. Sinclair does a perfect job of blending sci-fi, technology, world-building, and romance in GABRIEL'S GHOST. For all lovers of science fiction romance, this book is not one to be missed. If you're like me, when you're finished you'll be eagerly anticipating her next release, AN ACCIDENTAL GODDESS.

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Even though this book started out slow, I truly enjoyed the story.

Captain Chasidah Bergren is one strong, caring, tough, beautiful woman of the future. When the book opens she is stranded on a "jail" planet and she runs into a man from her past. A man that is not who he seems. As the story progresses she is hurled through space, meets characters that can only exist in the future and saves her ex-husband.

I will give this story 4 start and I am going to start "Shades of Dark" the second book in this series. I can't wait to see what happens next.

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Futuristic/ Sci-Fi romance by Linnea Sinclair, and first of a series. Captain Chasidah Bergren has been unjustly set-up, court-martialed and dumped on a prison planet. Then she's rescued by the mercenary pirate Gabriel Sullivan, with whom she's had several run-ins throughout her career. Sully needs Chaz, to fight a terrible wrong, and corruption within the government. But Sully wants her for more than that reason. Chaz agrees to help, if it means getting out of prison. The plot is strong, the action is non-stop with great twists and turns. Our Heroes fight a lot of prejudice along the way. I enjoyed the story but it left alot of unanswered questions. This book differs from others by this author that I've read, in that it's told completely from the point of view of Chaz. In other novels by this author, we get an inner glimpse of the Hero's motivations, thoughts and feelings. IMO, this book would be better if the author had stuck to that formula. Still, a real page-turner, and I'm looking for the second in series. Worth a credit.

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I'm not a Star Trek fan and don't particularly like interspace novels. However, Sully had me from the beginning. He had attitude and wanted things his way (like all alpha heroes). He razzed Chasidah (Chaz) like a little boy pulling pigtails. Sully follows Chaz to the prison world in order to rescue her though he claims it's for other reasons. I knew he was in love immediately but like a typical male, he was close-mouthed about his real feelings. It was clear that he had a thing for Chaz and I couldn't wait to see how he would eventually bring her around.

I loved the progression of the romance between Chaz and Sully. Chaz had issues with Sully's psychic abilities and didn't just fall in line like most heroines. She took her time until she fully trusted him and of course, then he dropped a bomb on her. Sully leaked his psychic abilities one by one so as not to overwhelm Chaz and totally freak her out.

I also liked Chaz's acceptance of Ren, a blue-haired, six-fingered alien. Chaz's faith that Sully wouldn't be best friends with a "dangerous animal" was refreshing. I liked Ren immediately too and would love to see a romance involving him, though as a secondary character, as I think the sex scenes might be a little out there. You know six fingers and all....

I am definitely going to read more in this series but there is some question as too whether this is book 1 or book 2 in the series. I'll have to find out if Finders Keepers is actually the start of the series. Oh well, off to investigate.

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I am a sci-fi and romance fan. For me, this book delivered in both genres. Chaz and Sully are characters that never stop developing and with each new facet revealed I am more and more pleased. I read this book when it was first published by the author under the name Megan Sybil Baker, and have since been very pleased to see her adopt a pen name (so I bought a new copy) and expand the series. It is a keeper for my bookshelf.

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When I read Gabriel's Ghost I was mentally comparing it with Finders Keepers, and it feels like it's a later novel. The romance is more complicated in this book, less predictable. Despite that, although the writing still pulled me in, I liked Gabriel's Ghost less than Finders Keepers. The first part of the book was very interesting, but then about halfway through, the story started to lag. I felt like the relationship should be all resolved by then and I' d like to see it build from there, but it was just being dragged backward and having wrenches thrown in because Chaz Doesn't Really Know the Truth About Gabriel. She would find out something, freak out a bit, then got over it and become reasonable. But this keeps happening because Gabriel gave her the facts in little crumbs. I think the book could have been better if this didn't go on as long as it did. Plus, to add to this - the hints about Gabriel were all over the place. There were a couple of things I didn't guess that were minor, but if Chaz had figured the obvious this book would have been shorter in a good way because the story picks up towards the end and then - it ends! I had a freakout and was quite upset. THEN I found out from searching the web that there was a second book even though there is no indication on this books cover! The sequel is called Shades of Dark (apparently it was renamed from "Chasidah's Choice") and is coming out in July 2008. Phew.

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This is a marvelous book that is one of my favorites. I've reread it many times.

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