Title: Spark in the Stars
Author: Foster Bridget Cassidy
Genre: Paranormal SciFi Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: MM/Gay
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages: 195
Reviewer: Sherry Perkins, Paranormal Romance Guild
About The Book
A case of mistaken identity could lead to love for an aloof starship captain and a brilliant if underappreciated mechanic from the sticks—if they can survive the dangerous mission assigned to them.
Ginnovi Oshwald just needs someone to give him a chance. He can keep anything running, despite the “spark” his body produces that sometimes wreaks havoc with electronics. Gin gets his chance when Captain Lian Hartford comes to Tallahassee in search of a mechanic. The trouble is, he’s looking for Gin’s sister. But since he only has a name to go by, Gin tells a little white lie. What could go wrong?
Lian loves his ship and his work as a diplomat but has difficulty connecting with others—only partly because of his mixed human and alien heritage. Something about the eccentric mechanic intrigues him, though, and their easy friendship could become more… if they live long enough to broker peace between humanity and a hostile race while pacifying a crew that thinks Gin belongs in prison.
The Review
“Gin hummed as he gazed up at the series of wires. The Bethany’s engines were a complex mess of connectors. Much like the human body. Those wires let energy flow out to the ship, like arteries. The others were veins, bringing dark matter from the holding tanks and into the engines. Simple and effective. Still Gin marveled at the beauty.”—Spark in the Stars
Ginnovi “Gin” Oshwald and his sister, Temina are mechanics on Earth. Temina, or Tem, is known as the better mechanic. Not only that but she is headstrong and a little domineering—as big sisters can sometimes be. Because of it, Gin lives in the shadow of his sister. He wants nothing more than to prove his worth and show his independence.
One day, a captain from a starship comes to town, in need of a replacement mechanic. He’s looking for Tem but finds Gin instead. Gin pretends to be his sister. It’s easy to do especially since the captain has no idea who he is and because Gin and Tem look enough alike they could have been twins. And Gin doesn’t see anything wrong with the ruse since he’ll only be gone a week or two. Or so he thinks.
But it won’t only be a few weeks because Gin has signed on—fraudulently—for a two-year stint aboard a diplomatic ship headed to broker peace between a world on the brink of civil war. Complicating matters is that Gin is a spark. He has the ability to channel electricity (kind of handy for a mechanic), which is a result of his mixed alien DNA, something he really knew nothing about. He knows even less about how to control his nascent spark.
The captain, Lian Hartford, is able to help Gin with that. Then things get complicated as Gin’s fraudulent enlistment becomes apparent as do the captain’s feelings for Gin.
“Spark in the Stars” is one of several books Foster Bridget Cassidy has written. Her books are as varied as the magical (“Breaking His Spell”), the alien (this book) and even surfers in danger (“Pipelines in Paradise”). I found I liked the books she wrote in first person best. It started well except the relationship between Gin and Lian was a bit artificial. Perhaps if the book had been longer, the relationship would have seemed less forced. Or if the relationship between the captain and Gin, his subordinate, was expanded, I would have connected more closely with the characters and their plight. But “Spark in the Stars” was an easy read.
The Reviewer
Sherry Perkins has worked as a licensed practical nurse for more than thirty-five years and has experience in psychiatric/addictions nursing, nursing-care coordination, and risk management. She earned a BS in health sciences from Campbell University and has spoken at public health functions on topics such as addiction prevention and treatment, prevention of teenage opioid deaths, and connecting patients who are resistant to treatment with appropriate services.
A mother of four, Perkins lives with extended family on the Delmarva Peninsula, where she enjoys collecting shells and sea glass; reading and writing mysteries, science fiction, and fantasy; doing organic gardening; and following the Dave Matthews Band around the East Coast …..
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This article was originally posted on Queer SF
