Starheart [Kindle Edition]

Greta van der Rol (Author)

Book Description

From the author of the popular Iron Admiral series and Morgan’s Choice comes another rousing SciFi adventure to get your pulse pounding and your blood boiling (with that little dollop of romance):


She's lost her husband, her best friend is missing. What else has she got to lose?

Slightly shady freighter captain, Jess Sondijk, thought she had her life under control until Admiral Hudson's Confederacy battle cruiser stops her ship to search for contraband. His questions reopen matters she had thought resolved. What if her husband's death on his way back from Tabora wasn't accidental? Jess decides to investigate, while keeping Hudson at arms' length.

While he's attracted to the lovely Jess, Hudson is also concerned about what might be happening on Tabora and how that may involve the Confederacy's enemies.

Jess and Hudson's interests collide in more ways than one. But while Jess is more than willing to put her life on the line to protect what's hers, Hudson must balance the risk of inter-species war at worst and the end of his career at best, in a deadly game of political intrigue, murder and greed. At the end of the day, how much is he willing to lose for the woman he has come to love?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Greta van der Rol wishes she was born a thousand years or so in the future, where space ships zip around the Galaxy and people have adventures on exotic worlds. Well, if you can’t be there, why not write about it? And slap in a healthy dollop of romance, too? After many years in the computer industry, Greta now writes full time. Her first published book, 'To Die a Dry Death', is historical fiction based on the true story of the wreck of the Dutch merchant ship Batavia off the desolate coast of Western Australia in 1629. There may some more historical fiction in the future but for now, Greta is working on more fast and furious space romps, because they're fun. She lives in sub-tropical Queensland, Australia, near the beach. When she isn’t writing she enjoys cooking and photography. Visit her website at http://gretavanderrol.com

Product Details

• File Size: 568 KB
• Print Length: 286 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: PubRight (February 18, 2012)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007B1W37O
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #348,764 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hop aboard for a deep space good time! March 9, 2012

By Toby Neal

Format:Kindle Edition

Starheart's got everything I need for a good time: a strong, sexy, vulnerable female protagonist in the form of the alluring and stressed out, multitasking Jess; a tall take charge and handsome admiral, conflicted about her and her shady doings; a mystery, an adventure, and a believable warp drive.
If this is your first Greta Van Der Rol novel, this is a great place to start. Fire up your neutrinos and get ready for the kind of diversion that sucks you into a parallel universe you won't want to see end.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars On a 'Van der' Roll February 21, 2012

By fred h limberg

Format:Kindle Edition

The author continues to impress with a new book in a very successful and satisfying series. Romance? Starships? Difficult (to say the VERY least) relationships? Ms. Van Der Rol is a mistress (master?) in her genre and a fine, fine writer. Miss not this one, as Yoda might say!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner from Greta van der Rol March 21, 2012

By Amanda Blair

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been a big fan of this author since I read her Iron Admiral series. I don't think this book is as good as that series but wonderful nevertheless. For anyone who may be wondering, it takes place in the same universe as the Iron Admiral series and technically, takes place prior to the start of that series. This books still stands alone very easily.

I loved Jess. She is a strong, sexy, kickass heroine who still has her vulnerable side. At first, I did not like the hero, Admiral Hudson. On their first date, he seems to essentially interrogate Jess about the death of her husband (not exactly sexy date conversation) and I didn't feel the chemistry. I also spent the first quarter of the book thinking that he is kind of a womanizing, arrogant tool. I eventually warmed up to him but I never fell in love with him. He definitely isn't one of my favorite heroes but I was still rooting for Jess to have a happily ever after with him.

The story is interesting and the universe is well thought out. Overall, it was a very enjoyable reading experience.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Starheart March 17, 2012

By abshepherd

Format:Kindle Edition

I rate this 4 and a half stars but since no half stars are available here I've rounded it up. Really enjoyed this sci-fi, action, adventure story. Loved the character of Jess and the entire plot line.

If you'd like to read more of my review please check out my blog - A.B. Shepherd's Reinvented Reader.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable and light read October 27, 2012

By JBJ

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed Starheart. It was light and entertaining with a feel good ending. I liked the intrigue and guessing the shady connections. Jess and Hudson, the main characters, are true to themselves as possible - the romance angle seems believable. There was enough detail about the other characters so they didn't seem just like fluff. There are a couple of overdone sex scenes but not the focus of the book. My own sidebar - wish I had a couple of those stones!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable September 2, 2012

By Mara

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The action is great, the story well-told even when it follows several characters simultaneously. A sound premise for smuggling and slavery, and a pretty good romance, although it took a while for that to gel - there didn't seem to be much chemistry between them until well into the relationship.

It's also interesting to read a non-American author.
American romance writers generally are very politically correct and prefer euphemisms to the correct words - the villains "hurt" people when they actually "kill" them; characters don't "die", they "pass" (and the "over" is also usually left off, so one wonders what they pass, maybe a test?).
This Australian author cheerfully ignores euphemisms and shows the regrettable but realistic side of humanity in homophobia and xenophobia (the "ptorix" cleverly become "toe-rags"; or maybe it was vice-versa during the writing).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A new space opera fan July 13, 2012

By Wordfrenzy

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is my first space opera, sci fi and I went into it a little sceptically. Thank you Greta!! The world you created had me fascinated and so impressed at all the details which made it so believable. And I loved the hard edge of the hero. It worked for me that he was always so tasky and focused - I found that sexy! Jess, the heroine was feisty, intelligent and, above all, a mother ready to scratch the eyes/heart out of anyone who came between herself and her daughter. This might have been my first of Greta's books but it won't be the last.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Space Opera! April 12, 2012

By Pauline Baird Jones

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a very fun space opera, science fiction romance. The writing is crisp and smooth, the book well edited, the characters well crafted and believable, and the romance was very fun. I really liked how the action ramped up slowly and then it just kicked into high, yanking me into a satisfying ending to both the story and the romance. A fun read!

More About the Author

Greta van der Rol loves writing action-packed adventures with a side salad of romance. Most of her work is space opera, but she has written paranormal and historical fiction.

She lives not far from the coast in Queensland, Australia and enjoys photography and cooking when she isn't bent over the computer. She has a degree in history and a background in building information systems, both of which go a long way toward helping her in her writing endeavours.