Two Lips reviews gave Paradise 21 five lips!! This is the type of review that keeps me writing. Thank you, Merrylee, for taking the time to read it and for writing such a great, inspirational review for me!!!
My favorite quote, "If Paradise 21 doesn't get made into a movie, I'll eat my laptop!" Sometimes I drive by the movie theater and daydream about it being made into a movie...
Here's the whole review:
Centuries ago, with Earth left a barren waste, those chosen for their perfect DNA set out on the colony ship New Dawn, bound for Paradise 21, a habitable planet many light years away. Their descendants remain humanity's best hope for survival.
Aries will be long dead, never having seen more than the inside walls of the New Dawn, by the time the enormous ship finally reaches Paradise 21. She has been chosen by a computer to marry the detestable Lieutenant Astor Barliss. Even her job as a technical engineer has been chosen for her. She wants neither, any more than she wants to spend the rest of her life onboard the New Dawn, where she will never smell fresh air or see anything more than the vast darkness of space. Her only hope of fleeing her stifling existence is to steal an escape pod and fly it to the nearest habitable planet. Although Sahara 354 is a bleak ball of sand orbiting two blistering hot suns, it at least has a breathable atmosphere. And it offered her freedom.
Marooned five years ago by his mutinous crew, Striker has made the most of his time on Sahara 354, repairing the ancient alien craft he discovered buried beneath the sand. Descended from genetically imperfect humans who've set up housekeeping on a decaying space station called Outpost Omega, he' s determined to fly his people to Refuge, a moon much like Earth was before its demise. Enamored with the handsome pirate and his promise of green fields and blue skies, Aries is able to provide the location of the final piece of equipment they need to power up the alien ship.
But Aries is hunted by her ruthless and single-minded intended. The planet's native lizard people, not to mention the local wildlife, aren't what you'd call friendly. And then there's Striker's crew who return for him for their own nefarious purposes. When Aries discovers that her freedom may come at a price she isn't willing to pay, she will save the life of the man she loves...even at the cost of her own.
If Paradise 21 doesn't get made into a movie, I'll eat my laptop! Wait a minute; I don't have a laptop. Oh, well...who cares! With its perfect blend of fast-paced action-adventure, a sweet love story and a theme that resonates with all of us – that of freedom of choice – Paradise 21 hits on all cylinders from page one to the very end. In it, Aubrie Dionne does an amazing job of keeping the suspense and character emotions at a soaring intensity. The essential need-for-freedom vibe rolls off Aries when she finds, to her horror, that she's been paired with Barliss – a slick, calculative, and often vicious man who's out for his own gain – Aries knows she has to make a run for it. She would rather die on an inhospitable planet like Sahara 354 than spend her entire life imprisoned onboard the New Dawn with such a partner.
When her miscalculations drop her dead center into a dangerous world she's never had any experience with, she's fortunate that Striker's there to rescue her. Striker's a multi-layered and complex character, a white knight in a black cape. Hurt by a former love, Striker's hesitant to ever open his heart again, but as he works side by side with Aries to repair the alien spaceship, his desire for her takes root and begins to grow. For him, Aries is a second chance at love, while he symbolizes her fondest desire for freedom and each is the other's hope for the future.
Paradise 21 is populated with some extremely interesting supporting characters. Aries has several flashbacks to before her best friend Tria managed to escape the New Dawn only to be found dead. I have a sneaking hunch Tria just might have engineered her death to cover up her escape. There's Tiff, Striker's old love, who vacillates between her own selfish wants and what she knows to be right. There's orphaned Loot who's just coming into his own as a bright, brave young man. And then there's Barliss, who changes his dastardly ways at the end. Or does he? Paradise 21 leaves enough dangling threads for several installments to this promising new series. I for one can’t wait for the next release. In the meantime, read and enjoy this one!
Thanks again, Merrylee!!!
