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.