Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Their love will either inspire change in the world or tear it apart.

Former starship captain Jason Kim and his lover, Ferran, are starting a life together on Ferran's native planet. The Perel matriarchs reluctantly allowed their marriage in the hopes of securing better diplomatic relations with humanity, even though the decision ignites anger from traditionalists. Ferran's family accepts Jason and the love the two men have found, but other influential families are less accommodating and much less willing to welcome an outsider to their isolated, subterranean world. Some of their enemies are willing to go as far as eliminating Jason permanently. Tensions are quickly building toward a breaking point that might push Perelan into a bloody civil war.

If Jason and Ferran have any hope of surviving the coming conflict, they'll have to rely on their devotion to each other more than ever before. But that won't be easy when a figure from Jason's past reappears to make them question everything.

First edition of Changing Worlds (1-2) published by Dreamspinner Press, October 2016.

Book Review

‘Changing Worlds’ contains all the elements that make up one of my favorite kinds of science fiction novel: one that I can dive into and discover an entirely new world, a human society that has moved on from where we are today, and an alien species with a civilization and rules all of its own. Add the fact that both main characters fall deeply in love even knowing that their love will not be accepted by the alien society, and the scene is set for an adventure full of discoveries, conflict, and hope for a happy ending no matter how hopeless it seems.

Jason is a starship captain of Korean descent, devoted to his job, and unwilling to enter another relationship since his last one ended in a bad breakup about a year before the story starts. But once he gets to know Ferran, who is a passenger on his combined freight/passenger ship, Jason begins to open up and falls in love before he can stop himself. He knows Ferran has to go back to his planet to enter an arranged marriage, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Only some creative maneuvering on the part of Ferran, his matriarch, and the human ambassador to Perel makes it possible for the two men to have a chance at living together.

The second part is much longer and utterly fascinating. It focuses on Jason moving to Perel, the xenophobia they both face, and how they deal with the various obstacles that keep popping up. The alien culture is run by matriarchs and political maneuvering for power is the order of the day. Some council members are more in favor of change than others, and the sheer existence of Jason and Ferran’s marriage has consequences very few people would have predicted. I was glued to the pages from beginning to end.

If you like stories that show how a very different society works, if two men who meet by coincidence but stay together because they fall in love – never mind what everyone else thinks, and if you’re looking for a read full of suspense, mystery, adventure, cross-cultural issues, and political shenanigans on all levels, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It is heartbreakingly emotional, fascinating in the way it looks at an alien culture, and I definitely won’t forget it anytime soon.

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 223 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	23-November-2020
Price	$2.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Worlds-1-2-Cari-Z-ebook/dp/B08P3VBKGB