Series: ALDEBARIAN ALLIANCE series
Author: Dianne Duvall
Format: Kindle Edition, 506 pages
Published: January 19th 2021
ISBN: ASIN: B08MQNZD8G
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: Amazon
Rating: 5 out of 5 Wine Glasses
🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷
New York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall brings readers the second stand-alone novel in a thrilling new sci-fi romance series full of action, humor, and happily-ever-afters.
Eliana's life has never been what one might term ordinary. At least, it hasn't been for a very long time. As a powerful Immortal Guardian, she spends her nights hunting and slaying psychotic vampires that most of humanity doesn't even realize exist. Then an opportunity arises that instantly makes her extraordinary existence seem downright boring. The leader of the Immortal Guardians asks her to guard a group of mortals who are embarking upon a voyage across the galaxy to the planet Lasara. How could she possibly say no?
In no time at all, Eliana is hurtling through space on board a Lasaran battleship and getting to know not one but two alien races. It's the most exciting adventure of her long life... until the ship is unexpectedly attacked. Amid the chaos and destruction that follow, she valiantly helps everyone she can before an explosion renders her unconscious. When Eliana awakens, she finds herself alone, floating in space, clad only in a spacesuit, with no ship in sight. Alone--that is--except for the warm, deep voice that carries over the comm in her helmet.
Commander Dagon and the crew of the Segonian battleship Ranasura respond to a distress call from their Lasaran allies and join a massive Alliance-wide search-and-rescue mission. He quickly achieves communication with a lone Earthling female and races toward her. Every time they speak, his fascination with her grows and he becomes more desperate to reach her before her oxygen supply runs out. Her strength, bravery, and humor entice him, even more so when she defies all odds and they meet in person.
As he and Eliana embark upon a quest to find her missing friends, a bond swiftly grows between them that deepens with every laugh and smile and tender touch they share. But they are not the only ones searching for Earthling survivors. When Eliana herself becomes the hunted and their enemies begin to close in, can the two of them fight their way to victory, or will their enemies take everything?
Linda's Thoughts:
I am not exaggerating when I tell you that The Segonian by Dianne Duvall was my most anticipated book for the last nine months. After inhaling The Segonian’s sneak preview which was included at the end of the previous book, The Lasaran, - because I didn’t want that story to end - I have not been able to forget about Eliana and her terrifying predicament. Realistically, I knew Eliana had to survive or there wouldn’t be much of a romantic story for Dianne to tell in The Segonian. Thankfully, reality held true and The Segonian did not disappoint. The story picks up right where The Lasaran left us.
The Segonian is the second installment in Dianne’s Aldebarian Alliance series which is a spin-off series from her Immortal Guardians’ series. This series goes out on its own as it takes readers into deep space where we discover new worlds, alien civilizations and encounter deadly perils. Some characters are shared between the two series, including Eliana, our fearless heroine in this tale. That said, you can read The Segonian as a stand-alone without any difficulty.
A bit of background first: In The Lasaran, Seth tasked Eliana with keeping the female gifted ones safe as they travelled to the Lasarans’ home world of Lasara to begin a new life. However, their ship was attacked by Gathendiens, enemies of the Lasarans and the Alliance, and Eliana rushed the female gifted ones to escape pods which were jettisoned and scattered about the galaxy. The Alliance has mounted a search effort to locate the missing Earth women.
After ensuring that all her charges were safely ensconced in their escape pods, Eliana was knocked unconscious as the ship’s shield began to fail while attempting to assist more of the ship’s inhabitants to pods. Someone from the ship managed to stuff her into a space suit before the ship exploded.
Sometime later, Eliana awakes to the sound of a male voice searching for survivors. Her survival odds are not in her favor as she is injured, her spacesuit has only twenty-six Earth hours of oxygen left and the nearest ship is an Earth month away. The crew of the Segonian battleship has been educated about Earth’s inhabitants and they foster no hope that the brave Earthwoman will still be alive when they finally reach her. As Eliana requests, they keep the communication line open and check in with her occasionally. They are amazed that she continues to hang in there.
Eliana previously appeared in The Lasaran (Aldebarian Alliance) and in Broken Dawn (Immortal Guardians). She’s a kick-ass Immortal Guardian with a big heart. She’s intelligent, confident, resilient, resourceful and fierce as can be. Her phenomenal sense of humor provides comic relief even in the darkest of times.
Dagon Strostaav is the strong, silent and imperturbable Commander of the Ranasura, the Segonian battleship. He’s a loner and has worked hard for a long time to rise to his current position. Dagon’s crew enjoy and appreciate that Eliana reveals a softer side of their stoic, solitary commander. My heart melted when I learned that as Dagon settled down to sleep, he was secretly listening to the lullaby Eliana sang as she was floating in space.
Dagon’s respect and support of Eliana show that he’s a treasure. Their slow-burn romance is spiced with flirty banter that I couldn’t get enough of. Plus, I want every one of the nifty gadgets that Eliana wants too!
Following please find a few favorite excerpts from The Segonian:
“Dagon?”
“Yes, Eliana.”
“Don’t forget me.”
“There is little chance of that,” he murmured just before darkness claimed her.”
---
“Everything within him went still. “Segonian courtship rituals?” he repeated softly. “Why would you wish to know more about that?”
She sighed. “Because I couldn’t find anything about it in your informational databases, and I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.” Reaching up, she rested her small hands on his stubbled cheeks, then rose onto her toes and drew him down for a kiss.
His heart stuttered to a halt, then began to slam against his ribs. The first gentle brush of her lips hit him like an electrical current. His breath caught. Hers did, too. She drew back a fraction to stare up at him with wide eyes that acquired an amber glow.
Then Dagon slid his arms around her and locked her against him. Dipping his head, he claimed her lips with greater urgency, letting her feel the heat that had been flaying him inside ever since she had walked onto his bridge, fully recovered from her wounds, and drawn him into a hug.”
---
“Helmets up,” Dagon commanded.
Every man present donned a helmet then touched the side of it. A clear window slid down in front, forming a bubble that covered their faces. Hisses sounded as the visors locked with the rest of the helmet.
Dagon met Eliana’s gaze. “You, too. We know the Gathendiens aren’t going to execute a fair trade. We don’t know why they changed their tactics, but they are still hunting you.” He touched her back. “I don’t want you to be harmed by tengonis or any other gasses they may hurl at us.”
“Okay,” she replied somberly. “But I don’t think any gas they hurl at me could be more noxious than Maarev’s after he eats mamitwa.”
The men all laughed.”
The Segonian is a highly entertaining, sexy and oftentimes humorous stellar science fiction romantic adventure. It’s a well-written gem with awesome characters and features edge-of-your-seat suspense and action-packed battles. Diane paints each scene with a life-like touch. I was hooked before it began and there was no way that I could put it down until the end. It’s definitely a keeper as I’ve already re-read it – once was not enough.
The Aldebarian Alliance series has an overall ARC which involves a serious threat to all worlds, including Earth. In addition, none of the jettisoned Earth women have been recovered as of yet and each escape pod has only two months of life support. Time is running out for Eliana’s charges. I can’t wait for the next chapter in the Aldebarian Alliance!
Great review from Linda. x
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