Review! Enemy Within by Marcella Burnard

Enemy Within

Marcella Burnard

Berkley Trade

November 2, 2010

ISBN-10: 0425236854 

ISBN-13: 978-0425236857

An intergalactic cold war-and some heated passion- from an inventive new voice in futuristic romance.

After a stint in an alien prison, Captain Ari Rose wonders why she even bothered to survive. Stripped of her command and banished to her father's scientific expedition to finish a Ph.D. she doesn't want, Ari never planned to languish quietly behind a desk. She wasn't built for it, either. But when pirates commandeer her father's ship, Ari once again becomes a prisoner.

As far as pirate leader Cullin is concerned, Ari's past imprisonment puts her dead center in Cullin's sights. If she hasn't been brainwashed and returned as a spy, then he's convinced she must be part of a traitorous alliance endangering billions of lives. Cullin can't afford the desire she fires within him and he'll stop at nothing, including destroying her, to uncover the truth. 

Captain Alexandra Rose - or Ari - has had it rough lately. After being held prisoner in an alien prison for three torturous months, she was thought a spy and dismissed by her own government. Now she's working with her father on his scientific expedition and this is definitely not Ari's idea of a good time. At all. Especially when pirates hijack her father's ship, things to go to hell quick in a hand basket.

Cullin Seaghdh is the pirate leader or so it seems. His main focus is Ari and what happened in her imprisonment because he thinks either she's a spy or she's part of a horrifying alliance made to destroy millions of beings. Either way, he's not about to let her out of his sights. No matter how their close proximity might ignite a hot chemistry that might burn them both.

Enemy Within is Burnard's debut novel and a huge hit! If you like futuristic romances in which the heroine is majorly kickass and yet so vulnerable at the same time, you'll love this story! I know I did. Neither Ari or Cullin pull their punches and it was highly entertaining seeing them interact and slowly but surely develop a super steamy relationship. Ari killed me at times, I was tearing up! She has been through hell and while yes, she's insanely damaged now, she's so determined to live and there were a few times when her vulnerability just broke my heart. But Cullin was fabulous, he was there with her all the way and I loved him too!

The one complaint I have is that the terminology confused the bejesus out of me. However, I complain about this in pretty much every futuristic romance I read. I'm not that tech-savy and admittedly all the made-up terms just annoyed me at times. Apart from that, I highly enjoyed Enemy Within. The characters are absolutely wonderful, Ari and Cullin will dig their little place in your heart and you'll be cheering for them in no time, the action-packed plot is super fun to read and I'm definitely going to be reading more of Burnard's stories in the future!

Lush Rating: 4!