Review of Bethany Aan's Hearts of Ishira

Title: Hearts of Ishira

Author: Bethany Aan

Genre: Science fiction/fantasy, romance, erotica

Published: September 15, 2012

Description from Amazon.com: “Arianna was always a bit of an empath, but when she wakes, broken and disoriented, on a strange planet, she is the only human able to communicate psychically with the big, sexy Thorsani warrior who rides in with his men to rescue the Earth women from their crashed space transport.

The Thorsani, humanoid but descended from sentient cats eons ago, are also marooned on this planet they have named 'Ishira'. Hunter and his brother Jace are Commander and lead physician of the Ishira colony. When the captured women tumble into their lives, the small Earthlings turn the men's world upside down. The girls bring drama and heartache, laughter and light...not to mention the first opportunity for sex in more than ten years. 

Ri, the oldest of her group, is drawn to both Hunter and Jace. Aside from being strong and capable warriors, they are also brilliant, sensitive men who delight in her abilities and her curvy form. Her power as a Reader gives her an instant, deep connection to Hunter, but Jace's playful curiosity about her species and his tendency to geek out about various things endear them both to her. 

Ri doesn't know what to do with the two beautiful, wonderful men who seem to think she's something they both want to keep. But for Ri and her ladies, their tumultuous new life takes a very interesting turn when they discover that the Thorsani way is to marry in teams of men...

The question is... who brought them to this planet, and why? And why in the world would someone be out to kill Ri?

But most important of all... Why do the insectoid Solvari mean to destroy every Thorsani in existence... and those who mate with them?”

Brief Summary: Hearts of Ishira starts off just the way I think a novel should begin. It begins with a mystery. Arianna awakens in a strange forest with no memory of how she arrived. She soon sees other women who are similarly injured and with no memory. Through a special power that Ri possesses she is able to feel the other inhabitants of the plant and knows that they only wish to help the women. Through advanced technology and the charming [ ;) ] nature of the Thorsani men the women must adjust to their new home and figure out how and why they are there.

My Review: I absolutely loved Hearts of Ishira so much in fact that I have already semi-stalked/admired the author on her blog and Facebook. This novel has everything I love: romance, science fiction/fantasy, and a mystery. Ri has become possibly my favorite heroine of all time because she is determined and strong enough to want to contribute and be productive in her new society despite her various injuries while still being feminine and warm enough to welcome the love of not one but two men. The planet of Ishira is so well described that I felt like I could accurately see everything that the characters saw. The opening scene reminded me a little of Lord of the Flies where one person takes control (Ri) and someone tries to take over. In this analogy one girl, Amy, can only be connected to Roger. Not even Jack, but Roger. The hatred and complete insanity that is Amy increased the action and mystery of the novel for me because she is so determined to bring Ri down. Some things that might be a caution or deterrent for some people is the women to men ratio and the custom of the Thorsani that results in menage and the catlike qualities of the men. Also the book is quite lengthy.

My Rating: Hearts of Ishira is definitely on my top five books of the year, possibly top ten ever. I give Hearts of Ishira a (5/5) only because my rating system prevents me from giving it a higher score. I literally stayed up until 3 am to finish this book.

I received this novel through Lovers of Paranormal on Goodreads.com 

Hearts of Ishira on Amazon
On Barnes and Noble
On Goodreads.com

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