"three love stories braided into romance-heavy science fiction"

Leah Barrentin is a Forestal, a well-trained soldier who follows the dictate of the leaders of the United Sentients on missions that have her traveling throughout the universe. She is sent to the planet Aransis, where technology and conflict threaten to rip the world apart. With her is Sekrys'dalar, a fellow Forester and, for the duration of the mission, her partner.

Aransis is home to both Garth Treece and Brean Mitchell, men whose strange powers have brought them to the attention of Ian van der Jhome, the man who leads the United Sentients. They meet the Forestals by coincidence, and find themselves baffled by the mystery of trained women warriors. They set out to learn about the women, never expecting to find themselves fascinated by the Forestal's unworldly talents and knowledge.

Leah and Sekrys'dalar are equally stricken by the men. The mission is their priority, but the men they encounter on the primitive (to them) planet are what capture their attention -- and their hearts.

CHERISHED INVADER is a romance-heavy futuristic novel with a lot of emphasis on the science fiction content. It features no less than three love stories braided into the story, two of which are major plot elements. The characterization is smart, and the world-building is very well done. At points Leah and Sekrys'dalar reminded this reviewer of the kick-ass female stars of Charlie's Angels, though on a different planet and with telepathy. The romance itself was believably built and very natural, though there wasn't much focus on any one relationship because so much was going on with all the characters. The story didn't suffer for its sprawl, however, as Ms. Gail expertly controls all the different characters that populate the novel, making them all sympathetic and interesting. CHERISHED INVADER was, overall, a compelling and very intricate story. It even leaves enough threads hanging loose near the end to believe that there are sequels to the story -- or so this reviewer hopes!

Reviewed by Ann Leveille
Posted May 21, 2003