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Rise: a new Power (The Blue Blood Trilogy Book 1) Reviewed By Dr. Wesley Britton of Bookpleasures.com
http://www.bookpleasures.com/websitepublisher/articles/7992/1/Rise-a-new-Power-The-Blue-Blood-Trilogy-Book-1-Reviewed-By-Dr-Wesley-Britton-of-Bookpleasurescom/Page1.html
Dr. Wesley Britton

Reviewer Dr. Wesley Britton: Dr. Britton is the author of four non-fiction books on espionage in literature and the media. Starting in fall 2015, his new six-book science fiction series, The Beta-Earth Chronicles, debuted via BearManor Media.

In 2018, Britton self-published the seventh book in the Chronicles, Alpha Tales 2044, a collection of short stories, many of which first appeared at a number of online venues.

For seven years, he was co-host of online radio’s Dave White Presents where he contributed interviews with a host of entertainment insiders. Before his retirement in 2016, Dr. Britton taught English at Harrisburg Area Community College. Learn more about Dr. Britton at his WEBSITE

 
By Dr. Wesley Britton
Published on April 25, 2016
 

Author: May Sage

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (February 26, 2016)

ISBN: 978-1530208074

ASIN: B01ATSFBWO


Author: May Sage

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (February 26, 2016)

ISBN: 978-1530208074

ASIN: B01ATSFBWO

As Rise is a rather short, breezy read, it won’t take long to summarize the story.

In the opening, we’re introduced to the Klints, an alien race that long ago abandoned the process of natural breeding. Somewhere along the way, they learned they needed female breeders for non-engineered offspring which is what brought them to earth.

Looking for just the right breeders to match their needs, the Klints decide Lena Smith is the only human compatible with Calden, the emperor of the Klints. Her mission was to bear his heir, Jason, and then go away. Six years later, Lena finally became involved in her son’s life when Calden finally showed interest in her. For some reason, he can’t just marry her—Lena has to compete in a savage race to earn the right.

There you have it.

The main reason for summarizing the book so quickly is that it doesn’t give us much information about the worlds involved or the interactions of the two species. Who are these Klints, when did they invade earth, what happened in the war, if anything, what else is in this empire other than the emperor’s home planet? What else is on it besides his palace? In short, there’s only the flimsiest of back-stories. Rise starts out sounding like the second volume in a series, not the first.

While Lena Smith is well fleshed out as a character, her ultimate romantic interest, Calden, isn’t. After six years of ignoring Lena, Calden suddenly ignites sexual desire in Lena and she in him, although they spend little time together, talk together not at all, and have only one thing in common—their kidnapped son. A son who is rescued with a minimum of effort.

The conclusion, described as a cliffhanger, is also rather rushed. There, we learn Lena is smart enough not to jump into the race to become empress until after all the other contestants tear into each other. There, Rise ends. But Sage offers us a sample chapter from the second book of the trilogy, Rage, where she pretty much tells us what happened after that. So why wasn’t this chapter just included in Rise in the first place which would have made much better sense?

Judging from reviews at Amazon, there’s a happy audience for such short yarns. I suspect that’s a younger readership, at least readers who enjoy being able to knock out a book at one sitting. With much more description of settings, the plot, and the action, with much more depth in the secondary characters and their relationships, the sequels to Rise might offer more than a sexy protagonist with potential.