Customer Reviews

Ravyn's Flight (Jarved 9, Book 1)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having read Day of Fire by Kathleen Nance and The Legend of Banzai Maguire by Susan Grant, I immediately pre-ordered Shadow Chasers by Liz Maverick, Grant's finale to Dorchester's 2176 series, The Scarlet Empress, and the fifth in the series,The Power of Two by Patti O'Shea. While I ordered, I noticed I had somehow missed O'Shea's debut book Ravyn's Flight, so I had to have it. If this is a preview of her style of writing, I cannot wait to get to her book in the 2176 series. This novel is amazing. There is such great talent in the Futuristic Romance genre, Robin D. Owen, C.J. Barry, Grant, but these new voices such as Robin T. Popp and Patti O'Shea are sounding they are a force that is here to stay. I just finished Popp's Too Close To The Sun and she blew me away. After reading such a great book as that, it's harder to come on the heels and impress me as much. Yet from page one that is precisely what O'Shea's book did! It's a strong story with such great female characters, but the males are just as vividly created, formed with such insight and emotion.

The main story centers on Ravyn Vedier. She is the communication expert on a team of 20 CAT specials - they go in and investigate if a planet is uninhabitable - or so they believe. They were sent to Jarved Nine, which is strangely like Earth in terrain, air etc. The only thing keeping this planet from being labeled a prime target for human habitation is the Old City. A town built for about 20,000 to 50,000 people, perfect in every way, but no people. When Ravyn visited the Old City, she found it in pristine condition, just as if the people walked off. The intriguing riddle soon takes second place in her mind as she faces mind-bending horror. She is down in the subbasement of the CAT facility, no more than 45 minutes, and returns to find her 19 CAT mates slaughter in a gruesome fashion and grotesquely arrange in the pattern of a flower.

Damon Brody and his team of six Special Ops force are on the other side of the Jarved Nine when the distress call comes from the CAT team. They arrive, discovers the slaughter, and fear all are dead. Damon finds a terrified Ravyn covered in blood and hiding in under her bed. He sets his men to secure to building while he tries to get answers out of Ravyn. Damon makes her a cup of tea and finally gets a few shaky replies from her, immediately going on alert when Ravyn insists she did not set off the emergency distress beacon. They rush to find his men, and come upon what Damon fears. His team is slaughtered in the same fashion as the other 19, this time arranged like a lightning bolt. Grabbing what they can carry to survive, they are left on their for three weeks until a military rescue mission is launched to find them. The only place left for protection is the Old City. They have to get there before the killer stalking them runs them to ground. It's their growing to trust of the other, which makes the grueling pace bearable.

Colonel Alex Sullivan is Ravyn's stepbrother. He raised her after their parents were killed. He knows something is bad wrong on Jarved Nine and he is determined to lead a team into rescue his sister...if she is still alive. He is satisfied with the members of his team, except the communications expert. Stacey is a CAT member, like his sister; in fact, she is Ravyn's best friend. Alex sees Stacey as a liability to his team. She is non-military. His gut tells him something terrible has occurred on this distant planet and Stacey's not trained to follow orders, not trained to defend herself, so he is going to push her during the weeks long voyage to Jarved Nine, trying to see she stays alive. Stacey has been in love with Alex since she met him at Ravyn's and her graduation years before, so working under the harsh taskmaster is disturbing in more ways that one.

The secondary story of Alex and Stacey could make a novel on its own, but under the skillful talent of O'Shea, she weaves both tales into a breathtaking pace. The world of Jarved Nine is vividly created, the characters achingly real. You will care for Damon and Ravyn, and the secondary Alex and Stacey. She starts with the first couple running for their lives and the second desperately rushing to their rescue, in a breakneck pace for the reader that never lags, never fails to mesmerize.

Be warned, this is a book once you pick you won't be able to put down. I was looking forward to the Power of Two before I read Ravyn's Flight, now I desperately looking forward to it!

I'm a big fan of the hybred genre of Sci/Fi-Romance, but I'll be the first to admit that lots of the "futuristic" or "paranormal" books sold on the Romance side of the isle are so bad that it hurts to read them. That's not the case with this book. Ravyn's Flight works, and it works on both levels. It's good light action adventure SF, and good Romance. I think the secondary characters were way too calm about the strange powers of the Old City and that made the ending a little weak, but overall this book was a great read. Patti O'Shea goes next to Susan Grant on the short list of people who do SciFi-Romance the way it sould be done. I'll be looking for her next book.

Although the writing in Ravyn's Flight is top notch the cover is wretched. It is overly fluffy headed "romantic bodice ripper" and completely wrong for the book. It has no connection to the characters or the plot. In fact the cover was so silly that if I had not heard a bookseller talking about the book I'd have skipped it over as one of those "Futuristic" Romances written by someone who dosen't have a clue. I think the cover is going to loose the book crossover readers from SciFi who would enjoy Ravyn's Flight. That's too bad.

If you like futuristic romance, you're going to love this book! Ravyn Verdier is alone on Jarved Nine - all her co-workers have been mysteriously and brutally murdered. A Special Ops team headed by Damon Brody arrives to assist - and the same unknown killer strikes all but Damon. Ravyn and Damon must flee before it's too late. Heading for an abandoned city, they come to realize that their only hope for survival is each other - and that only by working together will they be able to defeat this menace. This debut book ROCKS. I have never read a more completely entertaining futuristic. I recommend it highly and will be watching for Ms. O'Shea's future works with great impatience.

In her wonderfully inventive futuristic romance, Ravyn's Flight, Patty O'Shea creates compelling, complex characters, an action-packed plot and steamy romance.

Ravyn Verdier is a highly trained CAT (Colonization Assessment Team) communications expert on the earthlike planet Jarved Nine. Her whole team is murdered by a mysterious alien life form, and when a nearby Western Alliance Special Operations team comes to the rescue, they too are murdered. Only their captain, Damon Brody, and Ravyn manage to escape the slaughter. As they try to outrun the killer and head toward the planet's magical Old City, their skills, character and emotions are tested to the limit.

It is fascinating to watch the very sensual and realistic development of Ravyn and Damon's relationship. It is also fun to watch the fireworks between Ravyn's brother Alex and her best friend Stacey as the two lock horns while their team and ship race to Jarved Nine to find out what is wrong.

With excellent writing and very intriguing plot twists around Ravyn and Damon harnessing and using the energy of Jarved Nine both to develop themselves psychically and to trap the killer, Ravyn's Flight soars above similar stories. It is a complex and emotional ride to which any plot summary cannot begin to do justice. Whether you normally like futuristic romance or not, this stellar novel is well worth your time.

Oh what coward. If her brother, Alex, could see her now, he would be so ashamed. First, the whole Colonization Assessment Team was killed right under her nose, and she did nothing. Then the leader of the Spec Ops team found her under her bunk. Then all of his men were killed too. Now there are just the two of them left on Jarved Nine, and the hope of rescue is weeks away. The thoughts that pounded through Rayvn Verdier were full of self-recrimination and self-loathing. Her brother had trained her far better than any of the training that the CAT members received, and she did nothing to protect them.

She felt Very much like an unworthy burden. Yeah, she could pull her own weight, but how long before the danger returned and she crumbled into uselessness again? How long until her fear caused her to fail Captain Brody? For eight months everything was going well, but now the rest of the team is dead. The horrible nightmares won't stop, and they are draining any strength she might have possessed. It is just she and Captain Brody alone on this planet, and not only is she battered by fear, but also by this compulsive attraction to her rescuer. But then, maybe they are not totally alone. After all, there is a killer stalking them.

Damon Brody is a survivor. A highly trained member of the Alliance's elite Special Operations, he is a soldier of impeccable reputation. He has been well trained and disciplined. Through all the battles he has been in he has never faced, or been prepared for what he has found here. The distress beacon called him and his men from the far side of Jarved Nine, but they were too late. Nineteen members of the CAT project are dead, brutally murdered and mutilated. One lone female has survived. Making matters much worse, his men are gone too, murdered just like the CAT team.

Complicating matters even more, he is starting to feel a very unsettling attraction for the survivor, Rayvn. He needs to protect her, to keep them both safe and alive until help can arrive from Earth...that help may be a minimum of at least three weeks away. Three weeks, and then only if Earth heard the emergency beacon. He doesn't need any emotional entanglements now, or ever. He isn't a trustworthy person, he's made too many bad decisions in the past, and the guilt weighs heavily on his conscience. The Old City is their best bet for safety and he is determined to get them there. What he doesn't understand is this feeling, this compulsion, to get to the Old City. He doesn't understand the strange dreams either...

Welcome to the world of Patti O'Shea. Earth has been in a global struggle and has been divided into two factions, who seem to fight at the drop of a hat. The military is under funded, and has taken to space to try to find advanced technology to finally win the wars, and they use the civilian colonization teams as their cover. For those of us who enjoy futuristic romance, you will find Rayvn's Flight to be a top notch read. Patti has built a world of exceptional beauty and hidden within it an evil so monstrous that it could wipe out a whole civilization. Now she brings two people from Earth together, survivors of a massacre, who are the only hope for this beautiful planet, and each struggling with personal secrets and insecurities.

As Rayvn and Damon struggle to survive, Rayvn's brother, Alex, is leading a rescue mission from Earth. What he finds along the way with Rayvn's best friend, Stacy, is special and when he gets to the planet, J-9 is not what he expected. Rayvn's Flight is a remarkable book that will keep you on your toes, and touch your heart. It is actually a trio of romances, two that are spawned from the current circumstances, and one from an ancient past on Jarved 9. The secret is a link hidden in the hearts of those involved, and you really must go on Rayvn's Flight

What a wonderful world Patti O'Shea has created! The colonization assessment team stationed on Jarved Nine are in trouble - something has killed all the team save for Ravyn Verdier. Special Ops soldier Damon Brody and his team arrive to help, only to run across the same menace. Damon and Ravyn are all that are left on the planet with the unknown killer. Can they work together to defeat this menace?

I am very impressed by the world building and the wonderful story. There is an intriguing story involving secondary characters Alex and Stacy that is almost as good as the primary romance.

I recommend this book very highly if you like futuristics and hot romance!

Ravyn's Flight, Patti O'Shea's debut book, is bound to satisfy ROMANCE readers who are familiar with the futuristic genre. The book is well-paced, with wonderful action and a sizzling romance.

The feel of the book is refreshingly 'now', without the usual 'medieval in space meets Star Trek' feel that dominated the futuristic-romance genre for so long. Ms. O'Shea's use of present day terms along with the special operations teams sets the story not too far in the future, and the references to earth and current earth politics give the book an extra layer.

Don't mistake this book for sci-fi! Although it is rich with detail, the main focus is the romance. I love the growing romance between Damon and Ravyn and the secondary love story is just as intriguing. Those of us who are familiar with great futuristic-romance writers like Justine Dare and Jayne Ann Krentz will love Patti O'Shea's Ravyn's Flight. It has the same powerful love story and paranormal elements.

I highly recommend this book!

This book has been out a while, but if you haven't read it, you can RUN out and get it now.

Pay no attention to the sleasy cover,(whoever designed this cover needed to read the book first) this is great stuff. I hope she will write more in this universe.

From the first page you will be caught. What a story. What a man. What a woman! What a journey of the imagination. What a writer!!!!!!!!

So many others have reviewed the plot, I'll just tell you not to start reading too late at night. I couldn't put it down. From the steamy sex to the final battle, it was great.

I loved the secondary characters, and the alien destroyer.

Not since Jayne Castle have I found a better author of futuristic romance. A great read. Don't miss it.

Even readers who don't normally go for futuristics (like me) will be completely drawn into this story from the very first page and will (also like me) be unable to put it down. Fast-paced, vivid and original, Ravyn's Flight is the very best that the genre has to offer. The elemental conflict of one couple versus an unknown killer is riveting-- I bit my fingernails to nubs during the first couple of chapters! Ms. O'Shea has a gift for narration; her characters are charming and believable; you can't help but fall in love with them. I can't believe this is her first book!

Ravyn is a communications specialist. She has been stationed along
with nineteen other CAT(Colonization Assessment Team) members,
on the uninhabited planet, Jarved Nine for eight months. Their
mission is to gather information and data about Jarved Nine for
colonization pursuits. During an evening gathering, Ravyn leaves
to adjust the communication base system, which is in the basement.
On her return, she finds all her fellow members slaughtered in ways
I will not mention.

Captain Damon Brody, is a member of the Western Alliance Spec Ops with
a crew of six men on military assignment orbiting around Jarved Nine,
when a signal for help is heard. He and his crew land to find what
they think are all the CAT members in the complex dead. Brody finds
Ravyn hidden under her bed, frightened and traumatized by what she has
witnessed.

Brody and Ravyn end up the only survivors, after all six members of the Spec
Ops, are also found murdered by this silent killer. Together, they must struggle
to outwit, and outrun this deadly killer in hopes of reaching the Old City. The
ancient remains of this civilization hold the key to their ultimate survival.
Along the way their relationship changes and grows. The sexual
tension between Brody and Ravyn is so intense, you can almost feel
the heat emanating off the pages....

There will be a point in the last chapters of this book, that the hairs on the
back of your neck will stand on end, your eyes will tear up, a sense of power
will engulf you. In that moment you will be forever touched by the power and
"love", that is.....Ravyn's Flight.....

Bravo, Patti O'Shea, Ravyn's Flight is a work of art, with words......