Ames‘ guest review of Outcast (Cat Star Chronicles Series, Book 4) by Cheryl Brooks
Bonnie Neurath, a homesteader on the newly colonized planet of Terra Minor, is in desperate need of help. Her boyfriend abandoned her with a farm, some really nasty livestock, and a baby on the way. Lynx is a Zetithian who spent ten years as a slave to a harem full of women. Now a free man, he’s already forgotten more about pleasing women than most men ever learn, but his experiences have also turned him into an impotent woman-hater. Neither is looking for love, but when circumstances bring them together, danger and hot romance ensue.
Outcast is the 4th book in Cheryl Brooks’ Cat Star Chronicles and I have to say, it is the best one so far.
It begins with Lynx, a young Zetithian being sold as a slave. He is taken to a harem where is the only male – he is a slave to slaves. And Zetithian males are creatures unlike any other in the universe, their potent snard (semen) giving women orgasm after orgasm, which the women in the harem discover very quickly. And so Lynx’s new life begins, being constantly hounded by 50 women for sex all the time, and when not providing mind-blowing orgasms, he’s being treated like dirt on the bottom of someone’s shoe. He has to fend for himself, stealing scraps whenever he can. It takes 10 years, but the women of that harem finally break him. He cannot stand the sound of women’s laughter or their incessant chatter. He eventually is sold when he no longer pleases the harem and he’s soon working in a mine. Granted his freedom after 5 years of mining, Lynx decides to stay on and save money so he can own his own home one day. This dream takes him to Terra Minor, a newly colonized planet with lots of land.
Bonnie Neurath is a homesteader on Terra Minor. She’s also pregnant and abandoned. Her boyfriend, Sylor, stole all their money and took off for parts unknown. Bonnie is left to fend for herself when she asks the local magistrate to send any help her way.
Lynx lands in Terra Minor with absolutely no money and no prospects, until he gets hired on at Bonnie’s farm. Which is the last thing he wanted to do was to work for a woman. And he let’s Bonnie know that he doesn’t like women and he only wants to do the work and be left alone. And Bonnie is hurt by his attitude, but she cedes to his wishes but meanwhile, she’s drawn to him and keeps trying to reach out to him.
Ok, I have to admit, my summary doesn’t sound like much – but my goodness Outcast is one heck of a read! It’s all because of Lynx. He’s been treated like crap for 10 years, laughed at, starved, and that kind of treatment leaves scars – deep, emotional scars. It got so bad for Lynx that he became impotent because he couldn’t stand women anymore. That’s why he was sold to work in the mines. And what truly broke my heart is the fact that in the 10 years Lynx was in that harem, none of the ladies became pregnant by him – and when he’d help them deliver, time and again he would hope for one baby to resemble him in some small way and it never happened. He even overheard the women whispering that they didn’t want to have his baby. So after 10 years, he thinks there’s something wrong with him, on one level because they don’t want to have his baby, and on another level by the fact that he appears to be sterile.
So when Lynx finally ends up at Bonnie’s farm, he’s in hell. Having to end up working for a woman after all he’s been through? And eventually, despite his gruff demeanor, Bonnie becomes attracted to him and Lynx can smell her desire, which torments him. At first he is repulsed, for he cannot stand the smell of a woman’s desire. But eventually, after Bonnie keeps getting through the cracks in his armor, he begins to despair when her desire doesn’t ignite his own. So he keeps Bonnie at a distance, because he can never be with her.
Having read the three previous Cat Star books, I know how sexual the Zetithians are, so I understand the depth of Lynx’s torment. He cannot be all who he can be, corny as that sounds.
And that’s why I enjoyed Outcast. It hit me on an emotional level that the other books never did. We also get to see Jack and Cat (from the first book) and Tisana and Leo (from the second). It was good to see where those two couples again, and Jack is still her awesome, quirky self.
That’s also why Outcast works for me so well – the heroine. Chery Brooks heroines are strong, smart women. And Bonnie fits right in there with the others Cheryl has created. Her boyfriend abandons her on a strange planet with some pretty vicious lifestock and she’s pregnant to boot. Rather than despair, she carries on, planning for the future and her knowing but not afraid of how much harder things are going to be when the baby arrives. And when Lynx joins her and he’s presents such an offputting display, Bonnie is smart enough to delve deeper into his mystery. She doesn’t take Lynx at face value and a weaker would have given up a long time ago. Bonnie is definitely not weak.
Outcast gets a 4.25 out of 5 from me. The best in the series yet!
This book is available from Sourcebooks Casablanca. You can buy it here.
Other books in the series:
I am totally unfamiliar with this series. Hmm…now I must add to my list. My list is already too long! *sigh* I don’t care. Must have MOAR books. 😀
I bought Slave at my UBS and skimmed through it. It’s very funny. Looking forward to reading all of it.
C2-We’re all enablers here. LOL
Lorraine – It is funny. The others aren’t as funny. Like Outcast is more emotional. There is some humor, but not like Slave. 😛
I already have rogue but not the others, when i was at my UBS yesterday i picked up Slave, interesting and funny so far.
Ooh, thanks for the review–adding this to my TBB!