Liaden Universe Constellation IV by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller

This is a series I love.  Sharon and Steve write of a future world where danger hides and life is dangerous but love lives there anyway.  Most of these stories compliment the ones written before by giving you more insight and detail by explaining the past or present.

Baen and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published June 4th.

My favorite is the cook who shares his food with needy children and lives with a beautiful security guard.  She goes off on mission and he awaits her return.  When he finds a nearby bakery, she offers to team up with him.  He does some baking for there and gets 70% of the sale and access to cheaper baking supplies.  All is well until the rest of the team comes back without his lover.  They aren't sure she's dead, they just lost her in battle.  He assumes the worst and quits baking to grieve.  The kids he was training continue to bake but they can't do what he can.  When he goes to a meeting he doesn't want to attend, he finds his lover there.  She's recovering from injuries but he's so glad to have her home again.  You know he'll be back to baking soon.

Most stories are upbeat although there is one sad one in the bunch.

With four novelettes, two novellas, and two short stories, there's much to like in this collection.  These stories stand alone so if you're new to the series, I'm sure you'll still enjoy them if you're a sci fi/fantasy fan.

Carousel Sun by Sharon Lee

Kate Archer is back in town, running the carousel and being Guardian of the land.  Things were going south before her arrival; now she's here and trying to put things straight again.  Both her grandmother and mother are ill and are trying to recover from the past trials.  She's hoping things will settle down, but Joe Nemeier is still alive and living close and running drugs.  Maybe the cops will catch him; not likely.

Baen Books and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review.  It was published in February so you can grab a copy now.  I missed the window of opportunity to read the ebook, so I ordered myself a copy.  I'm fond of Sharon Lee's writing and this book met my expectations.  My copy is going in my personal library.

Kate hears the land and its' feelings.  She sees beings humans don't.  And she can slide sideways to check out the type of magic being used.  That sounds like a handy talent, doesn't it?

There are a few similarities here to the faerie world.  There are ways to phrase things so you don't get trapped or owe things you don't want to.  There are actions you can't take without offense.  Keeping all that straight, watching over care for the land and fighting monsters definitely keeps you busy.  Some of the best parts of the story were instigated by the humans.  They might not have magic, but they do have friendship. I also liked the light easy romance that Kate has going with Borgan, the sea guardian.  He's attracted to her, too, but they have different magics and they have to be careful how they handle it.

I really enjoyed this book and will be watching for the next in the series.  After all, Joe is still alive and dealing drugs...