Angela Verdenius, Love's Bewitching Thief

Love's Bewitching Thief

Angela Verdenius

Wings Epress, Jun 2004, 324 pp.

ISBN: 1590887573

The Argon Marten bought the brooch for his mother's birthday, but stopped at a tavern to initially meet the seller of the jewelry. A dancer put on quite a show and somehow stole the brooch from Marten and vanished immediately afterward. More irate that she fooled him and that he has nothing for his mother, he tells the laughing at him Daameon Traders he wants the bewitching thief caught.

Lysie, a feline Felys, ran away from home and her duty of breeding the next generation of her endangered species. She sneaks onto a parked spaceship to hide from a deadly cyborg who wants her dead. However, her luck of thieving enabling her to live a little better ends when the ship is captained by Marten, who is stunned to see her. As they travel together, Marten finds he is falling in love; Lysie reciprocates, but assumes his feelings are lust as she is going into heat. However, she might believe him when he risks all, including his life, to keep her safe from the killing cyborg that wants her dead.

This reviewer is already a big fan of Angela Verdenius for her terrific outer space romantic thrillers (see LOVE'S SWEET ASSASSIN and SOUL OF A HUNTER, etc.), but LOVE'S BEWITCHING THIEF is her best futuristic to date. The action-packed storyline never slows down, yet insures that the audience believes in other worlds and other species, especially the Daameons and the Felys. The lead duet is a fine pairing with each containing different personalities, motivations, and needs, yet sharing love.

Harriet Klausner