I’m glad I gave this author another chance. I tried to read Stargazer, a previous book by Colby Hodge, but it didn’t work well for me. Thankfully I connected with the two lead characters in Shooting Star and enjoyed their story immensely. The author mentions that Star Trek and Star Wars were her inspiration, and I could see hints of my favorite hero – Han Solo – in this book.

Prince Rubikhan Benjamin in one in a long line of sons to the emperor of Amanor. Since his father never truly cared for any of his sons other than his heir and “the spare”, Ruben left Amanor with few regrets and one gift from his father, a special knife. He became a smuggler with his co-pilot, Shaun Phoenix, on the Shooting Star, his ship. At the same time he learns of his father’s death, he learns he is the main suspect. He also has a dream involving his younger full blood brother, Stefan. In it, Stefan is in trouble from the scourge of the galaxy, the power hungry Circe witches. The Circe are female telepaths who control minds through the use of collars.

Ruben ends up on the backwards planet Lavign in order to find his brother. When he is attacked and shot down, a remarkable woman saves him. Tess is a slave. Her life has not been easy, and since she was sold to Joah, a wine maker, she’s used every ounce of will she has to survive. Her five year old son Boone is a result of her abuse at Joah’s son’s hands. Thankfully, he was killed before he could kill her with his abuse. Joah has never hurt Boone, but he doesn’t hesitate to beat Tess if he believes she deserves it. When she finds Ruben, Joah wants to throw him back into the river to die. Tess fights for Ruben’s life and earns a beating for her efforts.

As Ruben slowly recovers, he befriends young Boone, who has a child’s fascination with starships. Tess is terrified that Boone will be crushed when “Ben” gets his ship repaired and leaves them behind. Tess also realizes that she is developing feelings for Ben that will bring her nothing but heartache.

There is something foul happening on Lavign and it will take Ruben, Tess, Shaun, and the Lilly Phoenix to rescue Stefan and discover the plan of the Circe witches. The author connects all the plot elements together and reveals a seamless explanation for apparently unrelated occurrences.

Tess made this book for me. This woman has been through hell, and the only person she has in her life is Boone. She is desperate to keep him safe and provide for him, yet continually worries that he will grow up with Joah’s attitudes toward life. A simple bath for her is a luxury. Ruben is the perfect hero for her. He is gentle, yet fights when he must. He genuinely likes Boone and is determined to show Tess that she is beautiful to him, scars or not.

My only quibble is the plot’s time span. Everything happens very quickly, and I’m always a bit skeptical of the rushed, “sleep together, fall in love, fight bad guys, happy ending” plot over a two week period. However, Tess and Ruben are a wonderful couple, so this wasn’t a major distraction for me.

Not to be overlooked in the heroism department is Ky, Boone’s huge black Newf (yes, I pictured him as an overly large Newfoundland dog). When Tess, Ruben, Boone and Ky achieved their happy ending, I cheered for them because they overcame some nasty villains to get there. (Again, it helped that I pictured Han Solo as Ruben) For those that enjoyed Stargazer you’ll probably be glad to revisit old friends, and for those that may not have enjoyed it, give this one a try; I don’t think you’ll be sorry.