I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
The Storm That is Sterling
by
Lisa Renee Jones
romance, science fiction in Paperback edition that was published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on November 1, 2011 and has 338 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Secrets Exposed, Being Me
Second in the Zodius romantic science-fiction series based in Las Vegas.
My Take
On the whole, there’s a touch of Pettersson’s Signs of the Zodiac and a dollop of Feehan’s Ghostwalker in The Storm That is Sterling with some great tension and nice drama. I suspect that if Jones deepened it and provided more lead-up to it, it could be better. That said, towards the end, I was racing through it dying to find out if the Renegades can take Dorian? Does Madame turn on the Renegades or Tad? If Becca does Lifebond to Sterling, would the blood exchange cure her??
Only time will tell…
Jones does need to work on her drama and tension. It was all just a little too easy. Becca believes Sterling too fast, especially after her earlier distrust. What’s with Sterling’s sudden need to see Becca’s neck…there was no lead up to this. Almost like a bullet point that got tucked in before Jones forgot it. At first Becca is telling us she has these fantasies and now, all of a sudden, she’s a good girl. Then, I do gotta wonder just how bad Sterling’s eyesight is when he’s got Becca’s legs spread, she’s not wearing underwear, and he can’t tell how wet she is?
Whoa, whiplash. The confrontation in the casino at the end was too easy, too quick. And why was Dorian running around on his own?? As valuable and essential as he is to his father’s plans, it doesn’t make sense…unless…there are plans within plans… There was that bullet point effect again when a suddenly-transformed Tad stepped up next to Adam a little too quickly. At the end, when they were moving Becca’s stuff, that was too quick. That whole scene read like an epilogue…and then the epilogue showed up.
Quibbles: No one ever explained why Damion didn’t answer Sterling when he was first picking up Becca at the start of the story. At one point, Becca claims Sterling killed Milton when it was the young Dorian giving him a pill at the lab. Why is Tad thinking about himself as a separate individual? I would have thought that “throw her to the lions” would make more sense with “wolves” considering Adam’s preferences.
Good Bits: I love that phrase, “like the best science project in the world”. It’s so Becca! I especially liked the research angle for Becca approaching sex with Sterling; it would have been nice if this had been a more consistent approach from the beginning. Nice. Unique.
Dang, that was pretty suggestive, having Becca say “like there might not be a tomorrow” when it’s very unlikely she will have a tomorrow. I liked that real-world reference to fortune cookies with Becca’s “in bed” reference to having to be careful. Too funny.
The Story
There’s a new drug in Las Vegas, and it is deadly. Once hooked, you can never, ever stop taking it. The Renegades know that the Zodius leader, Adam Rain, is the source for it, and they are desperately searching for both the distributors and the source. They also need to find out how to get its users through the withdrawal…alive.
Still, Sterling balks at picking up the only scientist left in the world with a chance of finding an antidote until he finds out her identity. Damn. Becca. Rebecca Burns still makes his heart beat fast.
The Characters
Rebecca “Becca” Burns is an old wanna-be, high school girlfriend of Sterling’s. Yup, he dumped her before their first date. Of course, he had a good excuse, Special Ops made him do it. Seems ol’ Sterling Jeter picked up more than dad’s genes…got his computer hacking skills too!
The Zodius Project is…
…an off-the-books military experiment creating GTECH super soldiers some of whom have powers unique to the individual; it was run by General Powell…Cassandra’s father. The experiment backfired in, oh, so many ways into two groups: the Renegades and Zodius.
The Renegades take…
…the moral high ground placing an emphasis on each soldier’s individual moral compass and are loosely partnered with the U.S. Army and led by Caleb Rain, Adam’s twin. Sterling, Damion, and Michael are Super Soldiers while Dr. Kelly Peterson is the chief of staff as well as their lead scientist. Cassandra Powell is a psychologist, Michael’s Lifebond mate, and Gen. Powell’s daughter.
Zodius is…
…a rebel group led by Adam rain, Caleb’s twin wants to rule the world and use humans as slaves. Tad Bensen is Adam’s second-in-command while Dorian is Adam’s 6-month-old son — yeah, don’t let his size fool ya — and a very valuable commodity. Iceman is the distributor for Adam’s little drug operation while Sabrina Walker, alias Madame, is a cocktail waitress at Magnolia Resort as well as an ICE dealer, and Iceman’s lover.
Marcus Lyons is head of security for three separate casinos including the Magnolia Resort in Las Vegas, a hotel-casino and has a loose sort of partnership with Sterling whom he knows as a bounty hunter teetering on the edge of that law-and-order line.
Eddie is Sterling’s plainclothes police informant while Lt. Riker is the ICE Task Force leader for the regular Army.
The Title
The title and the initial paragraph belong together. I love how that paragraph swirls Sterling into our awareness. Unfortunately, the only storming Sterling does in the story is getting pissy with Damion and Michael.
