At first glance of Ylva’s catalog of genre and authors, I of course went straight (perhaps that’s not the best word in this case) for the sci-fi. I set my sights on The Crown and the Lily by Roslyn Sinclair, which also leapt forward in my list for its age-gap and “ice queen” tropes. Which really is just the full package, if I’m being honest. It’s post year 3545, according to the protag’s none-too-clever use of her birthday and initials in a password (you’d think in such an advanced year we’d have evolved beyond poor security password choices, so I found humor in this irony–well played) and the space station for the story’s setting is carefully laid out with imaginative and realistic sci-fi verbiage that many nerds like myself have come to know and love such as sickbay, airlock, etc. I especially loved the way Ariana’s living quarters are arranged and described, because who wouldn’t want wooded gardens with large and imposing oak trees just outside of their living room. Life is peaceful and predictable for Her Ladyship, young Ariana Geiker, and when her Lord father gifts her with an unusual present in the form of tall, muscled, life-long pirate slave with no apparent name of her own, just a set of piercing eyes and a bad temper to boot… her little green-leafed world gets thrown into disarray. While I seemed to wrap my head around the plotline’s eventual twist concerning this mysterious character rather early on, it made the overall story no less enjoyable from beginning to end. I’m almost positive that this was sort of the point, as the author had carefully laid breadcrumbs and hints for the reader concerning this character, aptly named Assistant, and the fact that she was written with about as much subtlety as a flying brick–which I loved about her. With what I’m fairly certain had humble beginnings as a MirAndy fanfiction paired with delightful wordplay and banter that had me laugh out loud more than a few times, Ari and Assistant fight their attraction to one another as long as they can… until they just can’t. I found that I very much resonate with a main character who is so deeply introverted and at peace in her own little undisturbed atmosphere that any outside interaction with other humans can best be described as clumsy, laborious, or just downright disappointing. I also felt that hollow, empty feeling when Ari had finally resolved to accept this outside interruption as a part of her daily life just to have it ripped away again as if it were never there, leaving a hole big enough to dock a warp-capable space freighter in. I bonded to this character quickly because solitude and routine are the bread and butter of a true introvert, so I had no difficulty establishing a connection with the emotional upset that took place during the events of this story. I look forward to reading more of Sinclair’s offerings, knowing that if someone can make me cry over a praying mantis, an insect of all things, that anything else they have written I will thoroughly enjoy as well. -S.C. (Review originally published on http://www.fleetoffandoms.com)
