Unearthed [Mass Market Paperback]

C. J. Barry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 2003

Life on Earth was just getting interesting for Tess MacKenzie. She’d postponed her singing career to support the family business and after eight long years, she finally earned her chance to shine. Her band was hot, her songs were rocking and Tess was on her way to becoming a star.

Things were definitely looking up.

That is until Cohl Travers, alien extraordinaire, swoops out of the night sky and snatches her off her planet. When he says he desperately needs her voice for a dangerous cosmic mission and the fate of two planets hangs on her song, she figures one of them is in for some serious therapy. Tess soon finds herself up to her neck in smelly bad guys, a robot with a superiority complex, an ancient Amulet that could end her singing career permanently, and a man who can burn her from the inside out.

Cohl Travers thought he was free and clear of his destiny to become the next ruler of his planet. But when the warring Trakas abduct his father and hold him hostage for the Amulet, Cohl is dragged back to a fate he does not want with a woman he cannot ignore.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Charming and terrifically sexy...un-putdownable fun!" -- Susan Grant, Bestselling Author of Contact

"Irresistible! UNEARTHED is a sheer delight; a debut novel sure to launch a stellar career." -- Maggie Shayne, NY Times Best-selling Author of EMBRACE THE TWILIGHT

"This is one author I will be keeping my eye on for more of these fabulous reads!" -- The Best Reviews

About the Author

C. J. Barry, an earthbound wife and mother of two, lives with her family and cat in a small town in Upstate New York. While her imagination ranges far into the universe to conjure wondrous worlds and miraculous gadgets, she is foremost a storyteller whose tales chart the infinitely fascinating workings of very human emotions and relationships.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Love Spell (March 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0505525402
• ISBN-13: 978-0505525406
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

C.J. grew up reading science fiction novels, comic books, and her brother's Cracked magazines. In high school, a creative writing teacher told her she should be a writer, but she decided to go to college instead. In college, a writing professor told her she should be a writer, but she decided to be a computer programmer instead. A husband, a cat and two kids later, an adult education teacher told her she should be a writer. She finally gave in, and after selling the first novel she ever wrote, decided that all those teachers were right. Nine novels later, she continues to bring her unique blend of high adventure and sizzling romance to her novels.

C.J has won numerous awards for her novels, and is a member of the Romance Writers of America.

By day, she works as a web developer. By night, she dreams up adventures and pens the books she was destined to write.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic futuristic romance!, June 6, 2003

By 

Catherine Spangler (Richardson, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unearthed (Mass Market Paperback)

UNEARTHED is a wonderful futuristic romance from a great new author. Being a writer of futuristic romances myself, Im delighted to see more authors in the genre, especially when theyre as talented as Ms. Barry is. UNEARTHED is packed with action and adventure, steamy sensuality, and pure fun, yet Ms. Barry manages to delve into the deeper emotions of her characters. Tess McKenzie is a spunky earth woman who is kidnapped and spirited away to distant planets, all because her voice is the perfect match as a key to free up a magical amulet. Cohl Travers, the man who abducts her, is sinfully handsome and sexy, but also a man of honor and duty. Together, Tess and Cohl blaze a trail across the stars, battling the evil Traka-Sous and Traka-Nors, in a race to save Cohls father and his home planet. Laced with wondrous adventures, intriguing new worlds, and beautiful love scenes, UNEARTHED is UNforgettable. Buy it now, read and savor it, then put it on your keeper shelf so you can read it again and again.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding romance, outsanding Sci-Fi, July 2, 2003

By 

Deborah MacGillivray "Author," (US & UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unearthed (Mass Market Paperback)

Life is moving along rather bumpily for Tess Mackenzie. She does not have very high hopes. Plans for a singing career is heading in the right direction, she has her Darth-Vader in fur tomcat to love, her car is still running - barely - and she just was paid. Then Mr. Ugly-Mugger steps in her path demanding her money, and suddenly, life spins out of control. Fortunately, just as things are starting to get distressing, Tess is rescued. He is tall - very tall - dark and handsome. Oh, boy is he handsome! He is everything a woman could dream about - only one draw back: he is alien and he just kidnapped her! Tess knew with her luck there HAD to be something wrong with him!

Now hurtling through space, Tess awakens to a new sense of reality. Aliens DO exist - great they are Hunks in Space instead of ET or the Worm Men from Men in Black. Still, Tess is not too thrilled with the adventure. She has a cat to feed and a career on the edge of taking off, and while sexy space aliens bring to mind all sorts of questions, she would just as soon be returned to terra asap!

Cohl Travers, the sexy alien in question, has no intention of doing as Tess asks. He explains he abducted her for a reason - to save his father's life. He is a seeker, a finder of lost treasures (sort an Indiana Jones in space!). On a planet near to his, two brothers rule and war for control. One faction asked Cohl to find an amulet famed to bring peace and power to a ruler. He refused, so they kidnapped his father and are holding him hostage until Cohl delivers the lost treasure. Only, finding the amulet is just half the problem. He must have a singer with a precise pitch and quality of voice to sing a song to release the amulet from where it is magically held. And Tess is that singer, the only one in the whole universe with the perfect voice.

Grudgingly, Tess finally agrees to help with fetching the amulet, but without Cohl telling her how dangerous the trek could be or that if she fails to sing the song precisely it will result in her death. Oh, well, leave it to a male to neglect 'small details' such as your life hanging by the thread. Nice to know some things do not change even though you are flying through space. However, Tess soon comes to realize the biggest threat is to her heart!

Tess is so charming, so 'down to earth'. She does not want much, just to get back to her cat and her singing career, but she cannot stop herself from being drawn to Cohl. Budding hopes of a romance are nearly dashed when she learns Cohl is a runaway prince from the planet near the warring one. But the heart does not listen. Cohl regrets he is forcing Tess to help, but has little choice with his father's life in the balance. But kidnapping Tess brings a lot of complications. The opposition has found out he is going for the amulet and will do anything to stop him, including kidnapping and killing Tess. Worse, he is feeling really guilty for taking Tess from her life. And despite growing attraction, an attraction he fears is love, he will not stop until his father is freed, risking his life and Tess' in the quest.

Tess' and Cohl's adventure is so charming, so steamy, one of those that linger in the mind and heart long after the book has been put down. Ms. Barry shows a brilliance for humour and timing, an uncanny ability to add that touch to a tense situation without it slipping over into farce. She creates strong characters that leap off the page and takes your hand, pulling you into a super adventure, fraught with space aliens, personal robots with an attitude, tense battles, and a quest that rivals the search for the Holy Grail.

Barry, a first time author, shows control, a strong voice and the magical ability to conjure marvelous characters. She 'sees' her alien worlds so she is able to make the readers see them, experience them as well. Unearthed is first class romance, but it is also first class SCI-FI.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME!!, June 5, 2003

By 

T. Johnson (CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unearthed (Mass Market Paperback)

I read UNEARTHED in one day, and loved everything about it. The story is fast-paced with lots of action, romance, and plot to keep the reader interested and looking for more. What I look for in a sci-fi is realism: I want to believe that the story could take place (with a little imagination), and that I could actually go to the worlds presented. I felt that Ms. Barry handled the other worlds beautifully, so that I could be swept away by the depth of the characters and the well-developed plot.

I can't wait for her next book to come out!