Horizon by Tabitha Lord

Science Fiction Romance

From Goodreads:

Caeli Crys isn’t living—she’s surviving. On the run after the genocide of her empathic people, she witnesses a spaceship crash near her hidden camp. When she feels the injured pilot suffering from miles away, she can’t help but risk discovery to save his life.

Commander Derek Markham awakens stranded on an uncharted planet. His co-pilot is dead, his ship is in ruins, and he’s only alive because a beautiful young woman is healing him with her mind.

As Derek recovers, Caeli shares the horror of her past and her fear for the future. When Derek’s command ship, Horizon, sends rescue, Derek convinces Caeli to leave with him. But his world is as treacherous as hers—full of spies, interplanetary terrorist plots, and political intrigue. Soon the Horizon team is racing to defend an outlying planet from a deadly enemy, and Caeli’s unique skills may just give them the edge they need to save it.

Horizon is a very well planned with a story that takes place in two very different worlds.  Commander Derek Markham is from one and Caeli Crys is from the other.  They meet when Derek crash lands on Caeli’s planet.  This sets up a plot full of action, danger and of course some romance. 

The story requires quite a bit of backstory about both worlds.  In Caeli’s case it is done as Caeli tells her story to Derek.  It is not a short telling.  In fact when you put all of the elements together they are the size of a novella buried into the body of the story.

Derek’s backstory is much easier to tell and shows up in small areas of dialog and action.  The first half of the book is set on Caeli’s planet and the second half on Derek’s ship.  It is interesting to watch how both Derek and Caeli have to adjust to a very different life style.  This is a romance so the two are drawn together from the start.  I did like that the attraction was allowed to build and not rushed into.

This reads like the first book in the series.  There is a big problem on Caeli’s world and it is left hanging as the book ends.  I am hoping that the author is working on book two.  The world building is complete and the backstory told.  Everything is set for a lot more action and adventure for Derek and Caeli.

Wise Ink Creative Publishing released Horizon by Tabitha Lord in 2015.

I received an ARC of Horizon from Netgalley in return for an honest review.