Judith‘s review of A Touch of Lilly by Nina Pierce.
Ex-Chicago detective Lilly D’Angelo is part of a secret alien race living on Earth. With a gentle caress she can elevate the sexual energy of any male. Apprehending criminals lost in an erotic fugue is almost too easy–until she uses her gift on the wrong alien. Kidnapped and shipped into deep space, Lilly barely escapes with her life. Now she travels the galaxy alone, working as a bounty hunter and hoping to find a soul mate unaffected by her touch.
Agent Dallas Sawyer works for QAL–deep space’s version of the FBI. After a disastrous mission that left a president murdered, his team member executed and Dallas near death, he is determined to take down the assassin targeting government officials. When a sexy human female gets between him and his goal, Dallas and his alien partner find themselves on the receiving end of some wild sex and a proposition that may very well blow up in their faces.
Because in deep space, true love can happen with just a touch.
Lilly D’Angelo was a beautiful, seemingly human woman, living in deep space during the 25th century, working as a bounty hunter. But she had one skill that put her in a different category: she could put any male in a sexual fog with a touch. And she always got her man–sufficiently to collect the bounty on them. That is, until she met Dallas Sawyer who seemed unaffected by her unusual energy and who was instantly attracted to her. He assumed she was a “working girl” because that’s what she wanted to look like as she was trolling the bar in search for her current bounty. (Lilly allowed him to think that as they shared a “quickie” in the street behind the bar.)Lilly knew what she was doing–she had worked in some of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods, keeping to herself, keeping her unusual ability under wraps in the hope that she could have a “normal” life. Until she made the wrong person mad, and she found herself on a space ship with a full load of prisoners, with a life sentence to the sex slave colonies. She knew she would never survive. Her escape meant that she could not return to Earth, but she still had her abilities and her cop training and experience. Lilly didn’t know that she and Agent Sawyer were after the same person.
This novel is filled with action and alien life forms, set in a world that is strange even for Star Trek fans. Dallas Sawyer is partnered with a very strong alien called a Ka’al, one with whom he has formed almost a brother bond. Their initial encounter with Lilly is violent and they hold her as a suspect in the failure of their mission to arrest the assassin they seek. Ultimately, they learn that Lilly is on the same side they are and their relationship ripens into something far different that what it was when they began.
This is an erotic love story set in the universe of the future. It is about terror and hate, prejudice and murder, and lots of other stuff that make up a good action story. But at the core is the relationship between Dallas and his law enforcement partner as they focus on Lilly, learn more about her, begin to break down the animosity that existed initially between the three. It is not a story that is easy to figure out–lots of clues but no easy answers. The reader must persevere and read to the end. But, I think, in this case it is worth it. All the characters are very strong–Dallas and his partner are classic Alpha-males; Lilly is a strong and determined female who has come close to dying and who has found the inner resources she needed to survive. Yet she seeks love and nurture, someone to bring some softness into her hard life. She can be as hard as nails, and she can stand up to any amount of mistreatment. Yet she is, at her very center, the true female who wants and needs the companionship of a soul-mate.
This is really a very interesting love story and in some ways it wanders all over the place emotionally. Sometimes that really bothers me, but not so here. I found that the initial animosity projected by Dallas and his partner toward Lilly to be consistent with the storyline and the action. There’s hot loving here, but it doesn’t take over the story. And the ending is a surprise.
If you are a Deep Space Nine or a Star Trek kind of reader, you will find this story to your liking. It is not overlong but of sufficient length to tell the story. I liked Lilly a lot, and for all his gruff ways, Dallas sounded like a really good guy. When all is said and done, this is a very nice read. I give this novella a rating of 3.75 out of 5.
This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.
You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.
Thanks so much for taking time to review “A Touch of Lilly”. I fell in love with these three as I wrote this book. I’m so glad you enjoyed the story.