Sophie
is far from impressed when she sees Kenny gambling in a casino and getting
thrown out for fighting, but it’s not as though she’s ever going to see him
again. She’s about to fly to Minerva Seven to help negotiate a peace treaty,
she doesn’t need drunken, gambling idiots in her life. But then she meets the
commander of the starship she’ll be flying on – and it’s none other than that
drunken gambling idiot. Sophie is determined to keep her distance from Kenny as
much as possible…and Kenny can only hope she succeeds.
Perhaps this isn’t the sort of confession I should be making in public, but when I was about 13, I enjoyed reading Mills & Boons. I enjoyed the contemporary romances (anything from gentle romantic to soft porn), the medical romances (as long as it didn’t get too gruesome) and the historical romances (I loved seeing how flirting has changed over time). But one thing that seemed to be missing from the series were romances set in the future.
Some might say that kind of thing is more
the province of science fiction, but if the main storyline is about two people
falling in love with each other, is that really more science fiction than
romance? A romance set in the future obviously will need to acknowledge the
fact that the characters can fly around in starships and speak to aliens, but I
don’t see how that’s different from acknowledging the fact that characters in
historical fiction ride around in carriages and choose not to speak to people
who aren’t as rich as they are.
But anyway, whether you agree with me or
not, Starstruck gave me the chance to
read a romance set in the future – and I loved it. There are aliens and starships, and there is
a bit of technobabble - which, I might add, is considerably more comprehensible
than the instructions that came with my BlackBerry (maybe I shouldn’t have
broken up with that possessive technogeek). But primarily, this is the story of
a starship commander and a diplomat who don’t exactly hit it off at their first
meeting, but grow to appreciate each other both professionally and personally
as the story progresses. Now, that sounds like a romance to me.
I’m not a major fan of science fiction. I
enjoy programmes like Star Trek and Babylon 5, but I appreciate the
characters and the storylines rather than all the space travel and fancy
gadgets. Starstruck was perfect for
me. Tamra J. Matthews mentions various points of technological interest, but
everything is clear, and she doesn’t go on about it in excruciatingly boring
detail. I can quite understand Sophie’s objections to Kenny’s gambling (I find
gambling exhilarating, but that’s exactly the reason why I don’t do it), but
Kenny won me over just as he did with the fictional Sophie. He’s not perfect and
he can be a bit stupid sometimes, but he’s
loyal, brave, hardworking, and a thoroughly nice guy as long as you’re
reasonably polite to him.
Sophie isn’t really like me because I’m the
last person you want around in a potentially delicate situation, but she’s a
great character. A lot of females in positions of power have typically male
personalities, and a common belief is that you need a ‘male’ personality in
order to survive in a high-powered job. I love the fact that although Sophie is
highly intelligent and competent (no, nothing like me), she’s a woman and you
don’t forget that. She’s polite, friendly and tactful (hmm, she really isn’t like me at all), and it’s easy to
see why she’s such a successful diplomat, but at the same time, she’s very
natural and genuine.
My friend Serena played the role of
Sophie’s friend, and Kenny’s first officer is called Tom, after a guy Serena
would like to know a bit better (and so would I, but she saw him first). They
are also good characters – they’re dynamic and fun, but they take the peace
treaty situation very seriously. They’re not in it very much, but as usual, I
loved reading about people I know.
As most of the characters aren’t human, and
assuming most of BookByYou’s clients are
human, there aren’t too many names you need to worry about when personalis
Sophie
is far from impressed when she sees Kenny gambling in a casino and getting
thrown out for fighting, but it’s not as though she’s ever going to see him
again. She’s about to fly to Minerva Seven to help negotiate a peace treaty,
she doesn’t need drunken, gambling idiots in her life. But then she meets the
commander of the starship she’ll be flying on – and it’s none other than that
drunken gambling idiot. Sophie is determined to keep her distance from Kenny as
much as possible…and Kenny can only hope she succeeds.
Perhaps this isn’t the sort of confession I
should be making in public, but when I was about 13, I enjoyed reading Mills
& Boons. Particularly when the heroine was called Sophie. I enjoyed the contemporary
romances (anything from gentle romantic to soft porn), the medical romances (as
long as it didn’t get too gruesome) and the historical romances (I loved seeing
how flirting has changed over time). But one thing that seemed to be missing
from the series were romances set in the future.
Some might say that kind of thing is more
the province of science fiction, but if the main storyline is about two people
falling in love with each other, is that really more science fiction than
romance? A romance set in the future obviously will need to acknowledge the
fact that the characters can fly around in starships and speak to aliens, but I
don’t see how that’s different from acknowledging the fact that characters in
historical fiction ride around in carriages and choose not to speak to people
who aren’t as rich as they are.
But anyway, whether you agree with me or
not, Starstruck gave me the chance to
read a romance set in the future – and I loved it. There are aliens and starships, and there is
a bit of technobabble - which, I might add, is considerably more comprehensible
than the instructions that came with my BlackBerry (maybe I shouldn’t have
broken up with that possessive technogeek). But primarily, this is the story of
a starship commander and a diplomat who don’t exactly hit it off at their first
meeting, but grow to appreciate each other both professionally and personally
as the story progresses. Now, that sounds like a romance to me.
I’m not a major fan of science fiction. I
enjoy programmes like Star Trek and Babylon 5, but I appreciate the
characters and the storylines rather than all the space travel and fancy
gadgets. Starstruck was perfect for
me. Tamra J. Matthews mentions various points of technological interest, but
everything is clear, and she doesn’t go on about it in excruciatingly boring
detail. I can quite understand Sophie’s objections to Kenny’s gambling (I find
gambling exhilarating, but that’s exactly the reason why I don’t do it), but
Kenny won me over just as he did with the fictional Sophie. He’s not perfect and
he can be a bit stupid sometimes, but he’s
loyal, brave, hardworking, and a thoroughly nice guy as long as you’re
reasonably polite to him.
Sophie isn’t really like me because I’m the
last person you want around in a potentially delicate situation, but she’s a
great character. A lot of females in positions of power have typically male
personalities, and a common belief is that you need a ‘male’ personality in
order to survive in a high-powered job. I love the fact that although Sophie is
highly intelligent and competent (no, nothing like me), she’s a woman and you
don’t forget that. She’s polite, friendly and tactful (hmm, she really isn’t like me at all), and it’s easy to
see why she’s such a successful diplomat, but at the same time, she’s very
natural and genuine.
My friend Serena played the role of
Sophie’s friend, and Kenny’s first officer is called Tom, after a guy Serena
would like to know a bit better (and so would I, but she saw him first). They
are also good characters – they’re dynamic and fun, but they take the peace
treaty situation very seriously. They’re not in it very much, but as usual, I
loved reading about people I know.
As most of the characters aren’t human, and
assuming most of BookByYou’s clients are
human, there aren’t too many names you need to worry about when personalising
this book. The prime minister, Manny Vegat, appears in the book very briefly. His
scene would be a bit confusing if you called your hero Manny, but it would be
fine for the rest of the book. There’s also an Admiral Tuttlesby.
There is also a lesbian version of Starstruck – so if you’re a lesbian, a
perverted teenage boy or a hardcore BookByYou fan like me, you might want to
check out Over the Moon.
