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Hope's Folly (Dock Five Book 3) by [Linnea Sinclair]

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Linnea Sinclair

Hope's Folly (Dock Five Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Linnea Sinclair (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 206 ratings

Book 3 of 4: Dock Five Universe

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Enter a world where Polite, Professional, and Prepared to Kill is more than a motto…

Admiral Philip Guthrie is alive and kicking—despite an Imperial kill-order with his name on it. Now he’s leading a rebel alliance against the oppressive Imperial forces. Or he would, if he could get his command ship—the derelict cruiser, Hope’s Folly—functioning. If lack of crew and supplies isn’t trouble enough, his assigned bodyguard turns out to be former Imperial assassin Rya Bennton—the daughter of his best friend and first commanding officer. A man whose death is on Philip’s conscience.

Rya Bennton has been in love with Philip Guthrie since she was a girl. But can her childhood fantasies survive an encounter with the hardened rebel leader who is now her commanding officer? Or will her determination to destroy the Empire put not only their mission, but their hearts and lives in jeopardy?

It's an impossible mission on a derelict ship called HOPE'S FOLLY. A man who feels he can't love. A woman who believes she's unlovable. And an enemy who will stop at nothing to crush them both.

Book 3 of 4

Dock Five Universe
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April 6, 2018
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Winner of the prestigious national book award, the RITA, science fiction romance author Linnea Sinclair has become a name synonymous for high-action, emotionally intense, character-driven novels. Reviewers note that Sinclair’s novels “have the wow-factor in spades,” earning her accolades from both the science fiction and romance communities. A former news reporter and retired private detective, Sinclair resides in Naples, Florida with her husband, Robert Bernadino, and their two thoroughly spoiled cats. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

“When it comes to futuristic romance, it doesn’t get better than Sinclair!” —Romantic Times
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

IMEPRIAL SECURITY BULLETIN 71984-X5Y: Encryption Level Aldan 1/Top Secret
Immediate Action Required:

Previous reports of the death of former Imperial Admiral Philip Guthrie in Baris sector appear to be in error per new information from one of our operatives in deep cover in the Alliance. Guthrie's capture and/or termination now top priority for all Baris and Calth sector operatives. The Farosians must not be allowed access to Guthrie. The so-called rebel "Alliance" must not be allowed to benefit from this traitor's expertise or financial resources. All restrictions on civilian casualties lifted as per Command Prime. Failure is not an option. This bulletin self-destructs in thirty seconds.

Alliance Admiral Philip Guthrie leaned his forearms on the back of the black padded chair and—heart sinking—studied the silvery image slowly revolving through the holovid suspended above the ready room's table. He hoped—prayed—he was wrong, but he knew he wasn't. It took all his training not to let emotions of any kind show on his face.

But, damn, the ship was an ugly, ungainly 850-ton beast, with her billiard-ball bridge and dual bulging cylindrical drive nacelles aft—as bad as he remembered when he'd served aboard her twenty years ago under the command of Captain Cory Bennton. Bennton had been the Alric Stockwell's only saving grace. The Stockwell was the last of the Imperial Fleet's Stryker-class heavy cruisers, finally decommissioned—if memory served him—about six years past, though Bennton had moved on to better ships long before that.

And now that ungainly 850-ton beast of a ship was to be Philip's.

"What do you think?" Jodey Bralford, the Krista Nowicki's stocky dark-haired captain, leaned back in his chair at the head of the long table and, chin slightly raised, looked expectantly at Philip. Acquiring the Stockwell was the first—some could say desperate—shot at building a workable fleet. But one lone Maven-class 500-ton cruiser, four P-class patrol ships, two fifty-ton Ratch fighters, and two well-armed luxury yachts did not a defense make for the newly formed Alliance of Independent Republics.

But the Stockwell?

Bad luck is better than no luck at all, sounded in Philip's mind. He bit back a snort of self-derision. Beggars—rebels, in this case—can't be choosers, he reminded that sarcastic part of himself that, lately, he had trouble keeping in check. And had ever since the Imperial Fleet was gutted by one megalomaniac fanatic named Darius Tage, the former first barrister to the ineffectual Emperor Prewitt III. Now, with Prew's mental and emotional collapse, Tage was the self-proclaimed god of all he could get his greedy fingers on.

And executioner of all those who stood in his way—including some of Philip's best captains. He pushed that anger and heartache away and concentrated on the problem—and solution—slowly spinning in front of him in the column of pale-blue light.

"How in hell did you find her?" That question could be interpreted in any number of ways. Jodey was a good friend and Philip hated to sound less than appreciative, but, damn. The Stockwell?

"I'd like to impress you with my incisive detective work and infallible contacts, but the truth is we raided her about ten months ago out at the C-D. She was heading out-system from Port January."

The Calth-Dafir border had been an issue for the Imperial Fleet for over a decade, ever since supporters of Sheldon Blaine—Tage's rival for the position as god of the Empire—declared Tos Faros in Dafir as their base of operations. And ten months ago, Jodey and Philip were still part of the Imperial Fleet. Then, Blaine and his Farosian followers were their only serious problem.

"I knew immediately what she was," Jodey continued, pointing to the ship's image between them. "It made no sense for a Stryker-class cruiser to be operating under a passenger-transport registration. Cargo, sure. But not passenger. Obviously, her docs were bogus. She was running arms for the Farosians. They'd acquired her through a series of illegal trades after her original decommission, so we seized her. She was sold about four months later to a Umoran citrus exporter who, with all the problems in Grover's City, was willing to let her go last week for a good price."

"You paid money for her?" The words were out before Philip could stop them. He quickly raised his hand, halting whatever was about to come out of Jodey's mouth in protestation. "Sorry. I didn't mean it quite like it sounded." Like hell I didn't. "It's just that other than what we've been able to raise from donations"—much of which had come from his investments—"the Alliance isn't exactly awash in spare funds at the moment." At least, not until he could access the rest of his accounts. He was a Guthrie, and he'd be damned if the likes of Tage was going to keep him from retrieving what was rightfully his by hard work and inheritance.

Of course, retrieving the balance of those funds might give Tage a hint that former Imperial Fleet Admiral Philip Guthrie was alive and kicking. And active in trying to take down the old Empire.

But moving assets untraceably was a minor problem, according to a man named Gabriel Sullivan, who had not only faked his own death rather successfully a few years ago but who was also an accomplished mercenary, renowned pirate, heir to his own exorbitant fortune—and a powerful telepathic-energy-wielding half human, half demon. Who was currently married to Captain Chaz Bergren, Philip's ex-wife. There was a lot to be said for family.

"A good price," Jodey repeated. He tugged up the sleeves of his gray uniform shirt before reaching for the mug of coffee in front of him. "All the Alliance had to do was to pay three months' back dockage fees to the Kirro dockmaster, clearing the export company of the debt. We still have a good chunk left over."

Philip did a quick tally. Thousands, then, not millions. And low thousands at that. That was an incredibly good deal. "That's it?" he asked, not without suspicion, as Jodey sipped his coffee.

Jodey put the mug back on the table and shrugged. "We also had to agree to keep her name."

"What does a fruit shipper care about Alric Stockwell?" Stockwell had been some minor senator from some equally minor district. Philip didn't even remember what sector. Baris? Aldan?

"Nothing. She's not the Stockwell. She's Hope's Folly."

What in hell's fat ass kind of name was that? "You're asking me to lead the Alliance battle group with a flagship called Hope's Folly? Bralford, tell me you're not serious."

Jodey leaned his forearms against the table's dull-gray top, his dark brows lowering, his demeanor suddenly somber. "Four months ago, twenty-three innocent people died in Grover's City when Tage released a cargo hold full of jukors at the spaceport. Three children were among the dead. And

I know you know all this."

Philip could still see the gruesome images on the news vids. It was the incident that had thrown Prew over the edge, collapsing what little control the emperor had left. It put Tage in charge of the Empire. That had all but gotten Philip killed in an ambush by Tage's private squad of Imperial Security assassins at Raft Thirty at the A-B. He'd risked his life to warn the rest of his captains and his officers. In the case of Cory Bennton, his former CO and longtime friend, and Captain Gemma Junot, he'd been too late.

"Go on."

"A mother and two small children were killed in the first wave. Then, hours later, another mother and her child who'd been in hiding came out, thinking things were safe. The little girl was four, five years old, I think. She was Pavyer's—the grove owner's—only child. Her name was Hope."

Philip shut his eyes briefly, his heart clenching even though he had no children of his own. But he had three brothers and roomfuls of nieces and nephews, as holiday dinners at his parents' lavish estate proved. Being ripped to shreds by a jukor's powerful jaws was not a death anyone wanted for their child.

"But folly?" he asked. "That means mistake, foolishness."

"Folly was the name of the little girl's pet. Pavyer and his wife wanted the name to be Hope and Folly, but the girl insisted on Hope's Folly. He doesn't know why and he can't ask her now."

Philip wiped one hand down his face. At forty-five and career military, he should be inured to death. But he wasn't—especially when the life taken was that of a child.

"Okay." He straightened and rolled his shoulders, catching his trademark movement only after he completed it. "Hope's Folly. Where is she?"

"Shipyards off Seth," Jodey said, naming Umoran's moon. "Basic refit is all we can do right now, given the current situation."

Which was the Empire at war with itself and Tage putting blockades on the major jumpgates in Aldan and Baris in an effort to starve the rebel movement growing beyond those points. A movement under the direction of former Dafir-One senator Mason Falkner, now provisional consul of the Alliance of Independent Republics. Tage had the Imperial Fleet—including Philip's former Galaxy-class flagship, the Morgan Loviti—edging into Calth. Which was why the Alliance's new admiral needed more than one lone cruiser.

And he got the Stockwell. Hope's Folly. The Loviti could probably take her out with half her weaponry off-line. Speaking of which . . .

"Does she have any defenses at all?" The negatives of the situation unfolded in Philip's mind. A former Fleet cruiser turned fruit hauler sitting at Seth's, likely stripped down when decommissioned. And sitting at a commercial yard, not a military one.

"Unfortunately, just the usual allowable package for any commercial vessel. No ion cannons, no torpedoes. She has laser banks, of course, and, oddly, two extremely powerful tow fields. Commercial uses, I guess, but she was decommissioned at Ferrin's before the exporter bought her, and some of her may still be there," Jodey added as Philip nodded. "First bit of good news, if you could call it that."

He could. Ferrin's, on the ass end of Baris, was a combination civilian starport and military repair facility, with strong ties to the Umoran colonies. When the empire split, Ferrin's dockmaster and inhabitants, including the captain and crew of the P-40 based there, wasted no time in allying with Consul Falkner's leadership and his Independent Admirals' Council.

Ferrin's would also have spare parts for a Stryker and, since the decommission had been in their yards, the original command data source codes for the ship. Add in data Philip had brought back from his stay on Sullivan's Boru Karn—old trader routes and long-forgotten jumpgates, already programmed in on the Nowicki—and the Alliance would have one more ship that could circumvent many of the Imperial blockades.

"You'll need to get her to Ferrin's to finish the refit," Jodey said, echoing Philip's thoughts—not unusual, considering the years they'd served together. "With luck, they'll have what you need either in original stock or from military surplus."

Luck would be nice. It was something they hadn't had in abundance lately.

Nor time. It would be at least six shipdays' travel from Seth to Ferrin's, if the C-6 jumpgate was still operational. Ten days or longer if he had to go a more circuitous route or use one of the older jumpgates the Karn's data supplied. In essentially a civilian ship, with laser banks—and his wits—as his only defense.

Luck, indeed.

Jodey seemed to hear his unspoken thoughts. "You know I'm not happy with your taking on this mission, Philip. You're the highest-ranking former Fleet officer we have on our side. If something happens to you, we'll be hard-pressed to replace you. And I'd miss the hell out of our billiards games. But you said to find you a ship. We have."

Philip pushed away from the chair, then hesitated, wincing, as his right leg lodged a formal protest. His shattered leg and hip were a memento of his recent battle out in the Five-Oh-One, not only against Tage's flunky Hayden Burke—now an Alliance prisoner—but against an enemy from within: a Stolorth Kyi-Ragkiril. A half demon, like Sullivan. But not of the human variety. And not, like Sullivan, a friend.

He glanced down quickly, grabbed the hated silver metal cane, and walked with far less than his usual grace to the ready room's large viewport. The big, wide darkness beyond looked peaceful, benign.

It was anything but. And now that the Stol Dynasty and Sheldon Blaine's Farosians were each making preliminary moves to grab parts of the Empire as their own, it would only get worse.
"Tell me about my crew," he said as he absently studied the starfield.

He heard Jodey's sigh of exasperation. "Basic command staff, you have. We're still working on the crew. There are some serious security concerns."

He expected that answer. Though in many minds the Alliance was formed the day Tage disbanded the old Admirals' Council—which had governed with the emperor for centuries—in reality the Alliance of Independent Republics was officially born less than two months ago, when Falkner took formal oath in the new capital city of Nascent on Dafir-One. Dissenters from Fleet and the various planetary ground services were still coming out of the proverbial woodwork.

So were spies, opportunists, con artists, and thrill seekers.

Culling those problems took time and personnel, and Philip knew they had neither right now.
"I have five officers cleared to go with you," Jodey said. "From your Loviti, there's Lieutenant Welford."

No surprise, that. Constantine "Tin Man" Welford, about ten years Philip's junior, was a top helmsman and computer-systems wizard who hadn't hesitated to follow his admiral over to the rebel's camp. Next to Jodey, Con Welford was probably his most trusted officer. He was long overdue for a promotion—something Philip intended to rectify when the Alliance Fleet became a working reality.

"From my ship," Jodey continued, "you're getting Commander Dina Adney and Lieutenant Burnaby Mather. Mather's COMTAC."

Philip had meet Adney and Mather but didn't know either as well as he knew Welford. But a good COMTAC—communications and tactical officer—was always appreciated. And Mather's friendly, always-wanting-to-help attitude had impressed Philip over the past few weeks.

Jodey hesitated. "And Drew Sparkington said he's willing to come out of retirement if you want him."
That name got Philip's attention. "Sparks?"

"Chaz got in touch with him. You know how fond he is of her."

And Jodey still wondered if Philip was more than fond of Captain Chasidah Bergren. Philip could tell by the man's hesitation in mentioning her and the way he wouldn't directly meet Philip's gaze.

Philip and Chaz had been shipmates and friends for over ten years, married for eight, and divorced for three. He'd admired her, loved her, toyed with disliking her—but never quite could—and now . . . Now he could honestly say they were close friends, probably closer than before they married. For some reason, most people had a hard time accepting the fact that he could feel that way.

Especially Jodey, who'd been through the worst of it with him: the end of the marriage, the few blessedly rare drunken stupors Philip had indulged in, and the hard emotional armor he'd donned through Chaz's orchestrated arrest and trial—one of the first salvos in Tage's plan to discredit Fleet and the Admirals' Council, almost a year ago. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07C1BQ7QJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Linnea Sinclair (April 6, 2018)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 6, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1646 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 448 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #179,510 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,489 in Action & Adventure Romance (Books)
- #2,531 in Science Fiction Adventure
- #2,707 in Science Fiction Romance (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 206 ratings

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Linnea Sinclair

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Winner of the prestigious national book award, the RITA®, as well as the PRISM, PEARL, and SAPPHIRE, author Linnea Sinclair is a name synonymous with high-action, emotionally intense, character-driven science fiction romance novels. Reviewers note that Sinclair’s novels “have the wow-factor in spades.” Her books have claimed spots in the Locus Top Ten and received starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly. Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine consistently gives Sinclair’s books 4-1/2 stars (their highest rating). Starlog magazine calls Sinclair “one of the reigning queens of science fiction romance.” She’s the author of the exciting Dock Five Universe series that starts with Gabriel’s Ghost. Other Sinclair novels include PEARL award winners Finders Keepers, Games of Command, and Hope’s Folly (Dock Five book #3).

Sinclair, a former news reporter and private investigator, resides in Florida with her husband, Robert Bernadino, and their thoroughly spoiled cats. Readers can find her perched on the third barstool from the left in her Intergalactic Bar and Grille at www.linneasinclair.com.

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4.5 out of 5

206 global ratings

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Lorraine Phillips

Read it 2 years ago thought it was a 1 star and now I've revised....

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 6, 2011

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I think time mellows one's expectations or there's a dearth of GOOD books out there, so after reading John Scalzi's Old Man's War trilogy, and Kay Kenyon's Seeds of Time, I went looking for other sci-fi books and really couldn't find any that were what I wanted, so I went to my books I've kept over the years that take up one wall of my room and found Linnea Sinclair's Accidental Goddess and then I took up her Gabriel's Ghost with the blue guy (Ren) on the cover because I have the old version of the book that's not sanitized to take out anything interesting and then came the 2nd of the trilogy and finally Hope's Folly. As soon as I opened it I remembered reading the mainly negative reviews about how it wasn't a romance, and that Sinclair had lost her ability to write interesting stories, that the book was rushed to meet a contract deadline, etc. and I was about half way through the book, mainly wanting Chaz and Sullivan back, when I put the book down and shoved it in my "keep it collection" because it was the conclusion to the trilogy and I wasn't going to get rid of it no matter how bad I thought it was. MANAGE EXPECTATIONS! That was back then. This is now. I have a whole new respect for the book in its own right. Yes, it is more military, more sci fi, less romance than "romance" category books normally have but it was a SOLID finish to the trilogy - and now there is a new book out that continues the Guthrie family storyline, which I can't wait to read. I think Philip got short shrift as everyone loved Chaz and Sullivan that they didn't want to "switch over" to Phillip and let go. I'm sorry that Linnea Sinclair took so much heat when Hope's Folly first came out for this book because from 2011, its a good book and she should be proud of it. Could it have used some editing to whittle down the redundant military scenes and kept the pacing on an even track without stalling out? Yes, but that's the EDITING/EDITOR'S fault, not the writer's. Sinclair could have written 6 chapters on space manoeuvrings of battleships and the editor should have narrowed it down to 6 pages so put the blame where its due. That there was SUCH a big deal made about the 16 year age difference when Philip was 45 and Rys was 29 should have been stated and then left behind in the first chapter. Again, editing problem, not writer and if the editing would have been better by cutting and slashing most of the writer's superfluous paragraphs and then making Sinclair do what she does best: WRITE story.

One person found this helpful

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mnix

Hope's Folly-A Joyfully Recommended Title

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 19, 2009

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Betrayed by those he trusted, Admiral Philip Guthrie is now a rebel against his own government. A government that has betrayed him and killed some of the best commanders he's ever known, using him to bait the trap. Sub-Lieutenant Rya Bennton has nothing left to lose, her father was one of the commanders who lost their life in the trap and she's determined to do whatever it takes to protect Philip from an assassin who is hiding on Hope's Folly. Rya has been in love with Philip since she was a child and Philip finds himself greatly attracted to the woman Rya has become, however he tries to remind himself constantly of the age difference. But with the universe spinning out of control and danger seemly on every side will Philip allow passion to bloom between them? If he does take a chance Rya and Philip may find that what they have is more than just passion.

I grabbed Hope's Folly as soon as it became available, I can't get enough of the world that Linnea Sinclair has created with her Gabriel's Ghost series. I couldn't wait to find out what story she created for Philip and couldn't have been more excited to get my hands on this book. Action, adventure with just the right mix of romance make Hope's Folly another book for my keeper shelf!

I discovered the book that started this series, Gabriel's Ghost a few years ago from an epublisher and was enthused to discover that Bantam had picked up the series. With three books now published, I know that I'll be watching to see what Ms. Sinclair give us next! Hope's Folly and the whole Gabriel's Ghost series are definite Recommended Reads!!

Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

One person found this helpful

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Carol A. Strickland

A difficult beginning but a very good read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 22, 2017

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I'd give this five stars but the beginning was difficult to get through, as we're bombarded with names names names of people, places and races. This is, after all, the third installment of the series. Once you manage to wade through that, the book fairly explodes with space military action as well as the sparks between the two leads.

There are a couple of head-scratching moments, and the pace rarely subsides so the reader can catch their breath, but on the whole I was very glad to meet these unique characters -- especially our gun-loving heroine. The thick military substance of the prose rang true, so very different from the SFR I usually read. It's very yang so I can't prescribe a steady diet of it, but I can recommend it as a glorious change of pace.

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M.M.

Realistic heroes (M/F) find real love in sci-fi

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 5, 2013

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It's rare for an author to be able to reveal the small vanities and frailties that make us human without making characters smaller as well. The Admiral and his "Subby" each have insecurities both personal and professional, but throughout the book they grow individually and together. This book has depth of character, intricacy of plot, quick pacing in both high action scenes and one-on-one interaction. I have actually read this novel over a dozen times through my local public library, and then purchased it for my e-book collection and have read it another two times in the three months I've had it. It's become comfort food for my brain, a reassurance that normal people doing "normal" things* can still find love with other normal people, and even overcome the occasional crisis while remaining normal. No overly muscled aliens, no telepathic vampires, not even the ragkiril Gabriel from another of her books.
* okay, maybe the rebellion can't count as normal activity, but the day to day work load/routine has a certain normalcy.

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Marshall Lord

Third in the "Dock Five " series of Sci-Fi romances

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 23, 2010

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This is the third book in the "Dock Five" series of Space Opera romances which currently consists of

1) Gabriel's Ghost
2) Shades of Dark
3) This book, "Hope's Folly"
4) Rebels and Lovers

In the first two books of the series, Captain Chasidah Bergren, court-martialled and convicted of a crime of which she was innocent, was sentenced to a hellish prison planet. Then Gabriel Sullivan, a smuggler she had frequently crossed swords with, but believed to be dead, showed up and offered to rescue her - if she would help him deal with a dangerous conspiracy. Before she knows it she has helped him steal the ship she used to command, persuaded her ex-husband Captain Philip Guthrie not to blow it out of space, and is haring off through the galaxy with Gabriel and a blind telepathic alien, trying to defeat a devilish plot. Before long the corrupt Empire which she served is breaking up ...

The hero of this third book of the series is the ex-husband of the heroine of the first two books. (I think this is the first time I've ever known a romance author to take the risk of making the ex for a sympathetic character in one book into the hero or heroine of another book in the same series, but Linnea Sinclair does carry it off.)

Philip Guthrie had become an admiral in the service of the Empire but wearied of the corruption and cruelty at its heart, and has joined the rebels. At the start of this book, he is given the job of trying to recommission an obsolete imperial cruiser, called the "Hope's Folly." Under her former name "Alvin Stockwell", this ship had once been commanded by Philip's friend Cory Bennton.

Captain Bennton was one of a number of captains and officers in the Imperial fleet who had been assassinated by the Empire's new strongman, Darius Tage. These murders were the final straw which caused Philip Guthrie and many others to defect to the new "Alliance of Independent Republics" which has broken away from the Empire.

Outdated as she is, the old cruiser is the most powerful vessel that the new Alliance has been able to obtain - or at least, she will be when her main armament is reinstalled. But an old ship is not all that is waiting for Admiral Guthrie as he heads for the dockyards of Seth System to take up his new command. Also heading for the old cruiser is Rya, the daughter of Captain Cory Benton, who has signed up to join the rebel fleet. Before they even arrive on the "Hope's Folly" Philip and Rya run into a party of imperial assassins on Kirro station - and things will get more difficult from there.

Two enemy powers - both the Imperial government controlled by Darius Tage, and the "Farosians" who support a rival claimant to the throne - have sent hostile warships, hit squads and kidnappers to try to stop Guthrie before he can bring the "Hope's Folly" back to Alliance space. And Rya soon realises that at least one of the crew of "Hope's Folly" may be an enemy agent ...

A light-hearted romance set in space, this book won't appear on too many lists of the most brilliant works of science fiction ever written. I have a sense that, in returning to this "Dock Five" universe, Linnea Sinclair has to some extent gone back to her comfort zone of witty and entertaining but bog-standard space opera romances after a couple of really imaginative and unusual works, Games of Command (Bantam Spectra Book) and The Down Home Zombie Blues .

As science fiction this one isn't up to the standard of those books, but as an exciting and witty thriller/romance it has its moments and I did enjoy it.

Other books by Linnea Sinclair which I can recommend include

An Accidental Goddess (Bantam Spectra)
Finders Keepers

3 people found this helpful

Merle

Tolle SF-Romance

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on March 18, 2018

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Die tolle Science-Fiction-Serie mit Romance geht weiter mit dem Ex-Ehemann von Chaz.

Nachdem der ehemalige imperiale Admiral Philip Guthrie den Hinterhalt des betrügerischen imperialen Rats Darios Tage knapp überlebt hat, schliesst er sich vollständig der Sache der aufständischen Allianz an, welche das Reich mit dem unfähigen Kaiser retten wollen. Guthrie soll ein ehemaliges Kriegsschiff, die Hopes' Folly, wieder einsatzfähig machen, wobei sowohl Tage als auch die feindlichen Farosianer um Sheldon Blaine ihn fangen oder töten möchten. Mit im Team ist Rya Bennton, die Tochter seines getöteten Freundes Cory, an dessen Tod er sich die Schuld gibt.

Die Geschichte ist gut, gut erzählt, äusserst spannend mit interessanten Protagonisten. Am Anfang hatte ich Mühe in die Geschichte mit den vielen Namen und Ausdrücken reinzukommen. Aber die Mühe hat sich voll gelohnt.

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Cassandra

It doesn't get better than this!

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on August 24, 2009

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Ms. Sinclair is the queen of SciFi-Romance! Whatever she puts out there I buy and I have yet to be disappointed.

"Hope's Folly" is an adventurous thrill-ride that had me turning pages faster and faster. It is part of an ongoing series, starting with "Gabriel's Ghost" and continuing with "Shades of Dark" though it is not necessary to read them to understand the story. I do believe though, that it gives you a better background on the universe and the hero, Philipp, as he appears in the previous books.

Linnea Sinclair has an engaging writing style that makes it easy to immerse yourself into her world. I could easily see her starports and ships and though I don't always get all the technical details she provides for her star ships and weapons I still love that she does it, because it creates a gritty and realistic feeling for space travel and propels her novels way out of league of any other scifi-romance writer out there! Her characters seem very real to me, too. Their actions match their personalities and what they say and do rings true. I very much enjoy reading about grown-ups for a change, as too many space-opera-like heros and heroines populate scifi romances these days. No childish behavior or stupid actions in sight here, though, what a relief!

I'm very glad to see that Ms. Sinclair will continue the series as the overall storyline that began in "Gabriel's Ghost" is not yet resolved. I would have loved to read another book with Philipp and Rya as main couple as their relationship has only just begun and their engaging and spirited personalities were lots of fun to read. Alas the next story is about Philipp's brother and I'm just as eagerly awaiting it!

I highly recommend "Hope's Folly" and every other book by the very talented Linnea Sinclair!

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Kindle Customer

SINCLAIR just keeps getting better and better!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 21, 2017

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This the third installment of Dock 5 is a furious romp that doesn't stop !! It just keeps getting better and better! I'm so glad that I still have one more story to go! I will be devastated when that's done! The shipboard fighting descriptions are magnificent!

Lyrix

fesselnd

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on August 31, 2013

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Die Handlung ist actionreich und hat keine Längen, die Romanze zwischen den Hauptpersonen entwickelt sich nicht immer absehbar, was die Spannung auch da erhöht. Außerdem erfährt man mehr über die Protagonisten der vorangegangenen zwei Bücher und die Rahmenhandlung entwickelt sich weiter.

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