Started good and strong...but I was invested in the main characters and the expanded backstop went on too much. I lost interest.

This is a really poor Science Fiction opera.
I found the characters to be one dimensional and the story one of the worst I have read.
Personally I would leave this well alone.

A book about space, two people coming from different planets falling in love and empathic people who can heal other with their minds. Seems like a lot of fun!

And it was. I loved the first part when Caeli meets Derek and she tells him her story. The change between present and flash back was well done and easy to follow. I loved learning more about Caeli's past.

I only gave 3 stars to this book though because the second part was less interesting. I could not really follow what was happening between the different people and why it was happening. I'm not sure if it was not well explained or if I was losing interest, but I did not particularly enjoy the second part.

I liked the ending and how it makes you want to know what is going to happen next. But unfortunately, I’m not that excited about learning more. I love the world created by the author, all the different planets, how their societies work etc. but in my opinion, it lacks something to keep my interest.

Great characters and great idea behind this book!

Much too juvenile for my taste. I started but could not finish. The author needs more polish and sophistication.

http://www.mysterysuspensereviews.com/horizon-tabitha-lord-review/

This sci fi has a different plot, strong intrigue and romance. My rating 4.25.

Caeli is a healer and a sensitive empath. She is one of the few remaining of her gifted people after a split off race on her planet attacked and destroyed her community. They took the children to be brainwashed and a handful of survivors to use for their skills and as a cover-up to the truth. Caeli had begun to settle in working with the Doctor and hospital staff at the new community. She was asked to join an underground rebellion group who are seeking a way to overthrow the vicious leader who destroyed her own society and frightens many of this community.

Caeli is distressed when the brutal dictator, Marcus, pulls her in to read the mind of a suspected rebel … or watch as he is tortured, then killed. She cannot reveal her friends so she must go on the run so her skills cannot be used again. While hiding out in her secluded cave, she sees a spaceship crash and senses the injuries and distress of the occupants. She is able to rescue Derek, Commander of the attacked ship. She heals him and they develop a bond as they dodge her enemy and wait for his force to rescue him. Although her people never thought to leave their planet., Caeli agrees it will be safest to go with Derek for the time being. That is until Derek’s new mission seeks Caeli’s special skills in order to act quickly to prevent a terrorist attack.

Caeli has to adjust her mind to using her skills for other than healing and without permission of the subject. But she recognizes the cost of failing to give aid when she can. Now she is part of Derek’s special undercover team having to cope with monstrous, evil men while trying to save lives.

From the very beginning I like Caeli’s helper and ‘survivor’ personality. She goes through terrible trauma but, with the help of others, is able to rise and use her skills for good wherever she finds herself. She does not let revenge take over but wisely bides her time trying to find another solution.

The author fills in Caeli’s backstory with alternating chapters as she shares her history with Derek. Derek is a likeable character and the interaction between the two is handled nicely. There is clearly a connection that moves them closer but details are ‘kept behind doors’. The story moves at a good pace and kept me interested. My only disappointment is the few foul words that the author scattered in the story as though she felt they were needed. In my opinion, they were not needed and were disruptive – especially since the random entries were from a female character. Other than that, I enjoyed the book. There are a few questions left open such as Caeli's reaction to reading the mind of the enemy and what is happening back on her planet. I look forward to the next book, Infinity (review to post June 20).

I received this through NetGalley for an iRead Book Tours review.

I expected Star Trek, but in the first half of the book got a planet-bound tale of two societies struggling with each other, genocide, rebellion and a slow burning romance. The second half of the book was more of what I had expected, but I had lost interest by that point. The plot did not hold any great surprises and was pretty predictable.

I was fairly bored and did a good amount of skimming towards the end.

Too much romance and not enough sci-fi for me. Violence and sex happened mostly in the off, nothing was (too) graphic. Trigger warning for a rape scene, not graphic and with fade-out. Without that I would have pegged this as Young Adult, if the characters had been a bit younger.

The characters were formulaic. The story lacked suspense. The world building was adequate.

Maybe it would have been better to make two books out of this, with each of the two distinct storylines more deeply explored, one about Caeli and her rebellion on planet and the other about Derek and his Star Trekking off-planet and on another world.

The epilogue is a not very surprising cliffhanger and sets the scene for the next book.

I had a small problem with the moral ambiguity of the two main characters. Caeli had some pretty strong standpoints in the first half of the book regarding the use of her empathy, that she quite easily threw over board in the second half. The reasoning for it did not convince me. Derek does something later in the novel that did not work for me either.

I doubt I would get the second book in this series or recommend it to someone else.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

Caeli Crys is one of the few survivors of the Novali people. The Novali have special gifts; Caeli happens to be an empath as well as having the ability to heal people. Because of their gifts, many of the Novali were killed by the other people on her planet, the Amathi. Caeli escaped the Amathi and has been living on her own in the woods. That is-until she connects with the mind of Derek. Derek's spacecraft has been hit and is crashing near Caeli's camp. Caeli arrives at the crash site in time to help heal Derek, but not his partner, Tommy. After several days of helping Derek heal, Caeli and Derek connect on a deeper level. Caeli shares her history and her people's trouble with the Amathi. When Derek's command ship, the Horizon, sends a rescue team, she is granted asylum aboard the ship. However, the Horizon soon learns of another planet under attack and Derek's team is sent on a mission there. Derek knows that Caeli's gifts would be helpful on the mission, but fears putting her in danger again.

This is a fast-paced science-fiction romance that had me hooked from the moment Caeli connected with Derek's mind. I was very interested in Caeli's people and their powers. The story of Caeil's planet, Almagest, that she shared with Derek really drew me in. Through this backstory, I really got to know Caeli's character; I knew how deeply she cared for people and her true strength, with or without her gifts. I really think this could have almost been a story by itself. I am also really interested in how the planet fared after Caeli left, especially with the resistance that was rising. I do appreciate the parallels on Caeli's planet to what is happening in some parts of the world right now. Caeli sums it up best in the quote: "No, but I can't ignore the situation in front of me. My people did that. They chose not to see, not to act, and it cost us everything." Hopefully, this will be explored in the next book! While it was no surprise to me that Derek and Caeli formed a romantic relationship after being connected through their minds; however, for me this happened a little too quickly. Once on Horizon, the pace quickened. I was glad Caeli found her place so quickly as a physician and was valued among the crew. When Derek learns of the threat on the planet Tharsis, I knew Caeli would be involved. The situation was very similar to what happened on her home planet. This section of the book moved quickly and was filled with suspense. At the end of the book I am still left with some questions about Caeli's planet and how humans came to populate all of these other planets. Maybe book two, Infinity will answer these!

This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.

I received this free from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
Wonderful start to a new series. Action, interesting plot, well-developed character and great world-building all add up to an exciting story that grabs from the beginning and doesn't let go.