Marjori Liu does it again! Angsty, not invulnerable hero, plucky but not stupid heroine, and a plot that reveals more and more of the tangled web behind Dirk and Steele and the origin of the psi humans.

But the best part of this one, are two intimate moments between the hero and the heroine.

Now we all like the intimate moments, right? But these particular moments were real in a way I have seldom encountered in fiction.

1. Hero is slighly....er....premature in his first encounter with the heroine.

Yep, just exactly what you think, but in the context is handled beautifully. It shows how the heroine handles her feelings, shows compassion, and how the hero in turn shows his vulnerability.

2. Hero wants to, but heroine is feeling tired/overwhelmed. He goes to kiss her and he notices she's not into it. But instead of feeling male pride whalloped, he steps back and talks to her directly about it and they end up having an emotionally closer relationship because if it.

Excellent work. I am so addicted to this series now.