The Starlight Rite
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4.2 • 33 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Her voice is famous throughout the galaxy; her face is completely unknown.
Fleeing her monstrous husband back on puritanical Earth and the police assassins he's hired, singer Mella Archer becomes stranded on the frontier planet of Nexus. Desperate to survive, she picks the wrong target--Dain, the head of planetary security.
Dain is amused by the attempted theft, and when Mella is sentenced to serve time indentured as a bedroom slave, he buys her contract. As he introduces the repressed Earther to the pleasures of sex with a dominating warrior, he slowly comes to realize that the little thief has stolen his heart.
When the monster arrives on Nexus and has lunch with Dain, Mella is panic-stricken. Her owner must be part of the conspiracy to kill her, and it will only be a matter of time before the monster discovers that she’s still alive. She attempts to escape. She fails. Embittered by her lies and mistrust, Dain returns her to Indenture Hall to be sold again.
Now the monster has found her. And she has nowhere left to run...
The Starlite Rite surpassed each and every hope I ever had about this story. … The suspense was enough to keep me turning page after page, going to sleep long after I should have and rushing to finish the story as soon as I had a break the following morning. In short, I loved this story,
~ Fallen Angel Reviews
Customer Reviews
I wish I could have given this book five stars...
I wish I could have given this book five stars...
Why I say this is that there is a HUGE disconnect in the world-building of this story. Mella is the product of the Moral Wars that happened prior to her birth. She is a female that has been molded by the rules of the Prophet which includes lots of admonitions against anything pleasurable, including singing. She objects to everything that could have earned her a whipping by the Shepherds. Then how could she be this galactically famous singer if she had been so brainwashed? Even the tidbit about her best friend being murdered for just singing isn't enough to bridge this huge gap. The way Ms. Sinclair set up the background story just doesn't work. This dichotomy was a major roadblock to me, one bad enough to badly disturb my suspension of disbelief.
And this was quite sad. When I came across sections that were truly interesting and moving to read, I keep getting my brain slammed by her career vs her upbringing. I was crying towards the end of the book, but the final prestige could had been so much better had it not been for this horrid disconnect. Looking back, I have figured two ways I could have crossed this crevasse, making the storyline solid. I wish Ms. Sinclair did so, too.
I wished I had more exposition. I like the anthropology of the Nexans, but I wished I could visualize Dain and Mella better. I doubt I could pick either of them out in a crowd. Ditto for the other main characters in this book.
There were many things in this book I really liked. I think this book could had been better had the disconnect between Mella's upbringing and her career choice because these truly define her... but they war against each other, keeping me from fully believing Mella is who she is. Dan is believable... I just can't see his face when I close my eyes. Very disappointing.
My advice is to read this first via KU (if possible. I bought this because I have her other books) and see what you think. It is definitely worth one read. It's up to you if you want to read it again.
Ratings (out of possible 5)
Character building: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
World building: 🌎 🌎 🌎
Relationship building: 💓 💓 💓 💓 💓
Romance: 💋 💋 💋
Heat/steam: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥
Drama: 👀 👀 👀
Action: 🍿 🍿 🍿
Suspense: 💣 💣 💣
Dark: 💀💀
Triggers: Some might find the nonconsensual sex near the end vile or disturbing. Anal play but mild. Spousal abuse triggers.
POV: Multiple (2)
Ending: HEA
Length: Approximately 270 pages
Recommend: Yes but via KU first. Then judge if it's worthy of purchase.
Thank you, Liz K, a reviewer on Amazon!