Your Planet or Mine? (Hqn Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

Nine year old Jana Jaspers believes the softly glowing boy she finds stuck in her tree is magical and so names him Peter. Likening him to a genie, she firmly believes he'll grant her three wishes; that he kisses her, cures her of her muteness, and when they grow older, eventually marry. With the first, he appears to cure the second after Jana discovers she now has the gift of the gab but it is another twenty three years before he proposes.

Accompanying his father on his trip to Earth to assess Earth's suitability for Coalition use (i.e. invasion), Cavin Far Star falls so in love with a silent girl full of life and love for her planet that it shapes his entire life. Enlisting and working his way through the ranks of the Coalition army in order to know immediately when Earth reaches the top of the acquisition list, his new rank of Prime-major makes him a potential consort for the Queen of the Galaxy herself. Unfortunately his views against the Coalition acquiring inhabited planets becomes somewhat known and he finds himself the target of assassination. Planning to save Jana and her planet, he finds himself attacked by a REEF; a bioengineered, computer enhanced assassin. Injured and running out of time, he has to convince Jana he really is an alien intent on saving her world. The only problem appears to be convincing Jana of the truth; the lively girl he remembers so clearly now an active political figure with a very public image to preserve.

This is a great light hearted romp with plenty of action, humour and romance. Jana is now a Senator, she and her political family (think the Kennedy's) under almost constant public scrutiny. With someone out to discredit both her and her whole family, Jana knows that as the likelihood of someone believing her claims of an imminent alien invasion is bleak, it appears only she and Cavin can stop a galactic takeover and save the Earth. Their plan; find Area 51 and get a classified UFO up and running whilst trying to escape the REEF and discover the person behind Jana's adverse publicity campaign.

Senator Jana Jasper is having a bad week with false accusations piling up against her famous political family and an ex-fiance determined to drag her down wih him. But when she stops at a supermarket for some much needed comfort food, Jana is accosted by a seemingly crazy, slightly familiar guy ranting about an alien invasion. The crazy guy is Cavin Far Star, and he isn't crazy at all. He really is an alien soldier who met Jana when they were kids and has come to protect her (and her planet) from the invading alien force, that is if she'll let him.

I should start by saying not only have I not read anything by Susan Grant before, I'm also not a massive fan of alien books, and only read this as part of a reading challenge. From the description I was expecting a light romance with hints of science fiction, and that's pretty much what I got. The plot is pretty basic, and very close to becoming unbelievable - the soldier who has worked his way up to the top of his military throws it all away for a girl he met once as a kid? That's stretching it a bit for me.

The characters are okay, but not really fascinating. I really liked Cavin and REEF (the assasin chasing him across the galaxy) and found them to be really enjoyable to read. Jana was okay, but I found her to be a bit dull. Jana's grandfather is probably the most developed supporting character, which makes him interesting enough to keep the readers attention, but most of the other characters seem two-dimensional.

Scattered throughout the book are references to The Terminator which are fun at first but gradually become annoying. I'm a big fan of the movie, so I may have enjoyed the references more than most but they started to grate my nerves after a while. The other focus of the book is politics which isn't that interesting to begin with, but when the focus is almost exclusively on the side effects of negative press on politicians it gets to be dull fast. If the book had been more focused on the alien invasion and Cavin's life, rather than Jana's, I definitely would have enjoyed it more.

All in all this is an okay light read that's good for passing an afternoon.

Plot: 7/10
Characters: 7/10
Ending: 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Cover: 6/10

Overall: 36/50

People sadly do judge books by covers and often they like to "brand" authors. I hear that buzz word pushed about in writing circles all the time now, and author must brand themselves to be a hit. Well, being one who likes the off the beaten path, I think of branding as stereotyping. Hey, didn't George Reeve supposedly kill himself because he was stereotyped as Superman? In Hollywood stereotyping kills acting careers. So I fear "branding" in Romance writing can box readers into expecting `the same' from a writer. Everyone gripes when a writer does formula. Yet when a savvy author, such as Grant, changes channels, they run headlong into a wall of "this isn't like her other books. Well, duh? It's call being fresh, original, daring to go where no man...hum...woman has gone before! I say BRAVA!!! Grant has shown she can think outside of her brand X box, and give you a whole new Grant, and I think this only showcases the range of her talent. BRAVA!!

The Coalition Space Force has earth slotted for acquisition. Cavin, a high ranking military officer with CSF comes to warn Jana of the takeover, which causes the lass problems. Jana comes from a prominent California family and is now a State Senator. Such people just don't go around nattering to Aliens! Only, Jana's "relationship" with this particular `Man Who Fell to Earth' goes back to when she was nine and rescued Cavin who had gotten stuck in a tree outside her bedroom window. Jana was mute until Cavin kissed her as a thank you for the rescue. Now over 20 years later, Cavin is returning the favour of rescue by cluing up Jana about Earth's pending fate.

As you can imagine this `Mindy' isn't too happy `Mork' has arrived bearing "you are doomed" news. She has troubles aplenty without this! Someone has made her and her family a target of a smear campaign aimed at seeing Jana removed from office.

I see "reality check" people putting this down. Hey, this is FUN. This is a lighter side of Grant's talent we have not seen before, proving she is not a one trick pony. I for one applaud her taking a new venue for her prose and thoroughly enjoy the charming read. It's sharp, it's engaging, it's fast paced. Grant delivers on all levels!