Official Review: Jewel of Solana by Susan Sheehey
Posted: 27 Sep 2016, 15:06
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Jewel of Solana" by Susan Sheehey.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Jewel of Solana is a romantic adventure filled with peril at every turn, a strong attraction that could be everyone's undoing, and the greed of drug dealers determined to destroy all competition. Overall, I would rate this book by Susan Sheehey a strong 4 out of 4 stars.
Princess Alanna Peralta is the youngest child and only daughter of King Rodrigo. They rule over a small island named Solana in the South Pacific. Despite its size, Solana is prosperous and even has a place in the United Nations. Unfortunately, Solana is at war with the Lozanos, a ruthless family of drug dealers set on conquering the island and using its strategic location for their trade. At the book's opening, the Lozanos have sent a militant force wielding automatic rifles to Solana and the attack takes the royal family by surprise. The palace falls, but King Rodrigo has already prepared for Alanna's evacuation from the island - a plan involving close family friends. Refusing to endanger anymore of her people, Alanna escapes from their custody and forces her way onto the nearest boat she could find.
This is when we're introduced to Gabriel Flynn, a former Navy Seal and current seafaring engineer. I personally found his personality very fascinating (and endearing). Flynn has a form of Autism that results in anxiety, fits of rage, an aversion to being touched and looked at, and Sensory Processing Disorder. Despite his quirks, Flynn is hard-working, loyal, dependable, and absolutely dreamy. He's immediately taken with Alanna and becomes a driving force in her quest to contact the United States about Solana's attack and, with their help, purge the Lozanos from Solana. After a series of events that result in Alanna almost getting her fingers chopped off, Flynn decides he will stay by her side and defend her from the drug dealers who want to eradicate the entire Peralta bloodline.
Jewel of Solana is a fast-paced, addictive book that I just couldn't put down. There were no grammar mistakes, which is always something I look for in a book. To me, it shows that the author is serious about their writing and respects the readers enough to do some hardcore editing. Anyway, the writing flowed nicely, with no overly-long paragraphs or confusing wording. Also, the dialogue was very realistic and believable. The use of modern slang terms was a bit excessive at times and didn't really fit with how I would imagine a princess, even a modern day princess, would be taught, but they were usually said during arguments, so I think they were meant as slips of the tongue. Even a princess can break character every once and a while, especially when stressed.
The ending, however, left something to be desired. After all the lovey-dovey confessions and talk of being together forever, we weren't given a glimpse of a happy future. Granted, there is a sequel. But that book follows her brother Andre, the only living Peralta besides Alanna, and I wanted to see Alanna become a great queen through her own eyes, not Andre's. I know the ending was left open in order to encourage readers to buy the next book, but it seemed overly rushed. As a reader, I wanted more closure to such a fantastic story.
So, I highly recommend Jewel of Solana for anyone interested in romance novels. It's easily one of the best books I've read in awhile and I'll probably be picking up the other books in the series. As a warning, though, there are several very detailed sex scenes that some people might want to skip, depending on your preferences.
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Jewel of Solana
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4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Jewel of Solana is a romantic adventure filled with peril at every turn, a strong attraction that could be everyone's undoing, and the greed of drug dealers determined to destroy all competition. Overall, I would rate this book by Susan Sheehey a strong 4 out of 4 stars.
Princess Alanna Peralta is the youngest child and only daughter of King Rodrigo. They rule over a small island named Solana in the South Pacific. Despite its size, Solana is prosperous and even has a place in the United Nations. Unfortunately, Solana is at war with the Lozanos, a ruthless family of drug dealers set on conquering the island and using its strategic location for their trade. At the book's opening, the Lozanos have sent a militant force wielding automatic rifles to Solana and the attack takes the royal family by surprise. The palace falls, but King Rodrigo has already prepared for Alanna's evacuation from the island - a plan involving close family friends. Refusing to endanger anymore of her people, Alanna escapes from their custody and forces her way onto the nearest boat she could find.
This is when we're introduced to Gabriel Flynn, a former Navy Seal and current seafaring engineer. I personally found his personality very fascinating (and endearing). Flynn has a form of Autism that results in anxiety, fits of rage, an aversion to being touched and looked at, and Sensory Processing Disorder. Despite his quirks, Flynn is hard-working, loyal, dependable, and absolutely dreamy. He's immediately taken with Alanna and becomes a driving force in her quest to contact the United States about Solana's attack and, with their help, purge the Lozanos from Solana. After a series of events that result in Alanna almost getting her fingers chopped off, Flynn decides he will stay by her side and defend her from the drug dealers who want to eradicate the entire Peralta bloodline.
Jewel of Solana is a fast-paced, addictive book that I just couldn't put down. There were no grammar mistakes, which is always something I look for in a book. To me, it shows that the author is serious about their writing and respects the readers enough to do some hardcore editing. Anyway, the writing flowed nicely, with no overly-long paragraphs or confusing wording. Also, the dialogue was very realistic and believable. The use of modern slang terms was a bit excessive at times and didn't really fit with how I would imagine a princess, even a modern day princess, would be taught, but they were usually said during arguments, so I think they were meant as slips of the tongue. Even a princess can break character every once and a while, especially when stressed.
The ending, however, left something to be desired. After all the lovey-dovey confessions and talk of being together forever, we weren't given a glimpse of a happy future. Granted, there is a sequel. But that book follows her brother Andre, the only living Peralta besides Alanna, and I wanted to see Alanna become a great queen through her own eyes, not Andre's. I know the ending was left open in order to encourage readers to buy the next book, but it seemed overly rushed. As a reader, I wanted more closure to such a fantastic story.
So, I highly recommend Jewel of Solana for anyone interested in romance novels. It's easily one of the best books I've read in awhile and I'll probably be picking up the other books in the series. As a warning, though, there are several very detailed sex scenes that some people might want to skip, depending on your preferences.
******
Jewel of Solana
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like Camogirl217's review? Post a comment saying so!