A Matter of Trust - Review, Guest Post and Giveaway

 

I am pleased to welcdome fellow 'space opera' SF writer Greta van der Rol to my blog today.

I've just read her book 'A Matter of  Trust'  and before we get to my review, here's the 'Blurb':

Will the Demon Admiral protect her from her family? Princess Amira is ready to start a new life after the death of her husband, but that doesn’t include marrying the man her father picks out for her. Pursued by his agents, she races across the galaxy in a desperate search for a safe haven.

Amid simmering tensions at the edge of the Empire, Amira renews her acquaintance with Imperial Admiral Ul-Mellor. Although his detractors call him the Demon Admiral, Amira finds him intelligent, articulate, and very attractive.

But Ul-Mellor is not human and Amira is a princess – far above Ul-Mellor’s status on his home world. He and Amira will have to overcome a gulf of cultural and class differences if they’re to turn their mutual attraction into a relationship. And what will Ul-Mellor do when faced with a choice – Amira or his hard-won commission?
 

 Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Payhip

BIO

Greta van der Rol loves writing action-packed adventures with a side salad of romance. Most of her work is space opera, but she has written paranormal and historical fiction. She lives not far from the coast in Queensland, Australia and enjoys photography and cooking when she isn’t bent over the computer. She has a degree in history and a background in building information systems, both of which go a long way toward helping her in her writing endeavours.

 Greta’s Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Google+ | Pinterest

REVIEW 

A thoroughly engaging short read.  Princess Amira is a self confident and likeable character, with no illusions about her inherited status and who is completely devoid of the airs and graces which might be expected of a Princess. Indeed, much to the annoyance of her father, she wears peasant clothes and does what she can to help the indigenous inhabitants of her planet, the Tuchaska, who form the labor force for the prince's estates and are now afflicted by a mysterious illness.

When her father arranges to marry her off to a man she detests, for socio-economic reasons, she flees from her home planet seeking refuge with the parents of her late husband.  However she is to learn that not everything is as it seems and she finds it more and more difficult to know where her true safety lies,  and who, if any,  she can really trust. 

The 'Demon Admiral ' is a compelling and unsuual hero.  A non-human species, he nevertheless shares Amira's interests and is honourable and brave - as well as extremely attractive. Despite the differences of species, race and social status, he has much in common with her and he mutual attraction is undeniable.

Greta Van Der Rohl  manages to combine enough  suspense, romance and political intrigue into ninety four pages to fill a full length novel. There are some hot, sexy love scenes and a satisfying conclusion.

and here's what Greta herself has to say:

Hi and thanks for having me. 

The heroine of my space opera novella, A Matter of Trust, is Princess Amira Hezkurin. You may want to ask if she's based on any of the other ladies in my space opera novels – Jess in Starheart, Allysha in the Iron Admiral books, or Morgan Selwood. I think I can pretty confidently say no. Jess is a slightly shady freighter captain not averse to some smuggling on the side, Allysha is a brilliant information systems engineer, and Morgan is a cyborg who is all woman.

Unlike all these women, Amira is a member of the ruling classes. She's well-educated, with a degree in xeno-archaeology (that's alien archaeology) which she earned at a university on the Empire's capital planet. While there, she mixed with the several sentient, technology-savvy alien species in that Galaxy. She also met her husband, Christoph, the very suitable son of a minor nobleman, who was also an officer in the Imperial Fleet.

But Amira's no shy violet. She learned a little martial arts, and she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. When we first meet her, living on her home planet after the death of husband, she's just come back from helping the local aliens, the Tuchaska, who are suffering from a mysterious illness. Here's an excerpt...

Amira strode across the ornate polished stone floor of her father's private sitting room and into his study. "You wanted to see me, Father?"

Prince Fedor Hezkurin looked up from the paperwork on his desk and scowled, his gaze flicking over her. "Amira, my dear, I wish you wouldn't wear those peasant clothes. They don't become you."

"They're very practical for my work with the Tuchaska." She pulled off the clasp that tied back her ponytail and shook her head, sending her hair dancing around her shoulders.

Hezkurin sighed. "That doesn't become you either. You should not be wasting your time with aliens."

Amira pulled over a chair and sat facing him. Yes, she probably did need a shower, and a change of clothes, too. Her boots had probably left a trail over her father's floor. But she wasn't going to apologize. "It was their planet before we took it over."

Who is your favourite SF heroine?

A Matter of Trust is available at all the usual outlets.

Amazon http://myBook.to/AMoT_GvdR

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-matter-of-trust-greta-van-der-rol/1119191050?ean=2940149518135&itm=1&usri=2940149518135

iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id861044048

Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/a-matter-of-trust-23

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/428266

Omnilit http://www.omnilit.com/product-amatteroftrust-1477914-153.html

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