A look at Girl Under Glass by Monica Enderle Pierce...

What do you do when you’re trapped between death and the Devil?

To protect her young daughter from a madman and a tyrant, Rachel Pryne must trust an enemy – one of the alien warriors who conquered Earth.

It is 2032, the Ohnenrai – Earth’s humanoid alien conquerors – orbit the planet, and Terran reproduction is failing. Rachel Pryne, a trained medic, is struggling to protect her seven-year-old daughter, Pearl, from the sexual predation of their community’s leader, Elder Cyrus. Having fathered the girl by rape, Cyrus now intends to take her on her eighth birthday, only six weeks away.

Then Rachel finds her unlikely champion – an injured Ohnenrai soldier who appears in her yard one stormy evening. She knows she may be choosing death over the devil in trusting this warrior, but she doesn’t know that her trust, and her DNA, will make her one of the most important and endangered people to ever set foot aboard an Ohnenrai starship.

Girl Under Glass starts out as a gritty tale of one woman’s survival in a world gone to hell care of an alien invasion over a decade back. Living on the outskirts of a community, scraping together just enough to feed and clothe her daughter, Rachel Pryne is a heroine you can’t help but love to pieces. She’s tough and complex with a mysterious history that hooks you straight away. Meanwhile, our hero, Ehtishem Zain, is big, buff and beautiful in his own manly way, despite being part of the conquering alien hoard. He's capable, kind and very strong. I love him and I want him for Christmas. Together, our hero and heroine evolve nicely into the dynamic duo they were always meant to be. Do note however, the sexy times scenes are light on detail. Given Rachel's back story, however, this fits. In no way did it detract from my enjoyment of the book and you know what I'm like with wanting the raunch.

The book is written in first point of view which I have to admit I don’t often read. Usually the delivery puts me off for some reason. Not so with this book. I loved it. The plot is nicely developed and the characters engaging. The machinations of Cyrus, one of the main villains of the piece, will have you shaking your fist at the sky in anger. Damn your psycho-pseudo-religious bullsh*t you monster! Die in a fire! The world-building is flawless and complex, but not so crazy-town heavily detailed that you can’t keep up.  

Apparently one reviewer described it as Star Trek meets The Scarlett Letter and I think they’re right. Buy it, read it, you won’t regret it. What? You want a complaint? Okay. Monica has promised a second and third book and I wish she’d hurry up. The end.

Monica Enderle Pierce writes romantic science fiction, romantic dystopian fiction, and romantic historical and gothic fantasy for adults. She lives in Seattle with her husband, daughter, and two rock ’em, sock ’em catbots. She is unrepentant about the piles of clothes in her laundry room and the collection of dishes in her sink. When not writing novels, Monica works for a web design and development company where her official title is Troublemaker.

facebook.com/MonicaEnderlePierce

www.stalkingfiction.com

@MonicaEPierce