Nightchaser

Bouchet (the Kingmaker Chronicles series) artfully weaves romance through this delightful space opera comedy-drama. Tess Bailey is running from her past, her family, and the galactic Overseer’s Dark Watch army. Okay, she stole an entire laboratory, but she did so to help those in need. When she and her crew are stranded, Tess must do everything she can to protect the people she loves. If only Shade Ganavan, the rakishly handsome mechanic and space rogue who offers to fix her ship, weren’t so tempting... or hiding secrets of his own. Bouchet’s storytelling is a bit over the top, describing feelings so intensely that it’s difficult for the emotional stakes to escalate. However, the characters are fun and likable, humor abounds, and the sex scenes are searing as well as sentimental. Bouchet, clearly planning on a series, ends the story on a cliff-hanger, and readers will be eager to know what happens to Tess and her friends. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Jan.)