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"A Mere Formality"
by
Ilona Andrews
It is part of the Koslov Universe series and is a science fiction in a PDF edition that was published by the author and has 46 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Must Love Hellhounds, Dark and Stormy Knights, Angels of Darkness, Hexed, Fate's Edge, Hex Appeal, An Apple for the Creature, "Magic Gifts", Gunmetal Magic, Innkeeper Chronicles, Steel's Edge, Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, Magic Bleeds, Magic Slays, Magic Rises, Magic Bleeds, Burn For Me, Night Shift, Magic Shifts, Magic Binds, White Hot, Wildfire, Iron and Magic, Magic Triumphs, "Gerard Demille and Helen Meet", "Diamond Fire", "Sweep with Me", Clean Sweep, Sweep in Peace, "A Mere Formality", Blood Heir, "The King of Fire", Sapphire Flames, "A Misunderstanding", Emerald Blaze, "The Cool Aunt", One Fell Sweep, Sweep of the Blade, "Silent Blade", Fated Blades, On the Edge, Bayou Moon, "George and Jack in School", Sweep of the Heart , Magic Tides, Small Magics, "The Wilson Building", "Conlan’s Birthday Text", "Dabwaha", "Don't Fight with Fate", “A Bit More of Roman”, “Getting Distracted”, "Sgt Munoz Had to Go", Ruby Fever, "Regina", Magic Tides, "The King of Fire", Magic Claims, "Sandra", "No Heroes", "Purpose", "I Will Explain Everything"
A short story in the Koslov Universe and in the Smut Files science fiction series. The couple focus is on Deirdre Lebed and the new Lord Nagrad.
My Take
Talk about a twisty tale. It just goes to show that one’s society needs to be well rounded to survive.
The lengths to which a man will go to save his people is scary. And callous! Sure I get that they need money and have to get around their cultural requirements, but geez. I sure don’t blame Dierdre for feeling like a cow up for auction — we definitely know this through third person protagonist point-of-view. Then Nagrad’s comment about a foreign wife having no recourse. Ugh.
What’s creepier is that her bosses are okay with this!
We get a bit of background on Deirdre’s universe and its technology, but it seems that porn is universal.
I thought Deirdre handled the porn aspect of the contract pretty well, both times. It must’ve been a shocker when Nagrad first threw down that magazine. Yay for Deirdre turning the tables on him, lol.
I’m’a gonna hafta read this series, if only to find out what happens.
The Story
The leader of the fierce Reigh people expires during an intergalactic summit, putting 30 million colonists’ lives and livelihoods in jeopardy.
When the new heir to the Reigh throne, Lord Nagrad, demands restitution, the phrase “‘a life for a life” turns the intergalactic calamity into an arranged marriage contract between Lord Nagrad and sharply intelligent diplomatic analyst Deirdre Lebed . . . and the negotiation of terms becomes anything but formal!
The Characters
Deirdre Lebed is a cultural attachée.
Sir Robert Sergei Sarvini, Ambassador of the Second Intergalactic Empire to the Branches of Reigh. Fatima Lee is Robert’s aide-de-camp. Michel Rashvili is an adjutant. Nina Carrest is an escort. Timur Gonzales is the chief of Security. Johanna Bray.
Jason, the Duke of Rodkill, is Robert’s mentor and a veritable legend in the annals of the Diplomatic Corps.
Lord Nagrad leads the Reigh, a mercenary corps that cannot fight for money. He lives/lived in Nagrad Keep. Sureks were among the first to settle on some of the Reigh worlds pre-Second Empire.
The Vunta are a species with furry paws. Black moss is an incurable disease. Sean Kozlov was a survey captain thirty years ago.
The Cover and Title
The cover is the deep, deep black and purple of outer space with a blue planet in the upper left corner. A gray space station drifts near the planet’s bottom. In the center is a pair of gold wedding rings entwined. At the top left is the author’s name in a gradient of pale to darker gold. An info blurb is to the right of the space station in a black-outlined pale blue. At the bottom right is the title in the same pale-to-darker gold.
The title is “A Mere Formality” intended to help the Reigh survive.
