Caeli is one member that has a few unique skills. There is a commander in trouble with his spaceship. Will he survive? Caeli is part of the few survivors of her world. She is taken from her home and put with someone that being dictator.

Tabitha is a good author and she brings it all to life. What will happen on Horizon. Will the commander and Caeli get together and help save the crew, and find love in each other? She happy to work on the ship in where she loves working.

We go on adventures through inner space and what life is like on Horizon. Will they all survive or not? I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last page. I cannot wait to start the second book that I do have in this series. The author has done wonderfully with it. There are surprises throughout the book and some romance as well.

I believe this book is good for though science fiction but also I would suggest teens read it from the age of 14 and up. The parent has the right to decide. It being rated PG 13 so it would be okay for 13 years old if you the parent this your child or children are mature enough for the book. That is up to you.

Horizon by Tabitha Lord is the first in a series, of at least one more book, and ends with a cliffhanger. While it is a sci-fi story, it is also heavy on the romance but nothing sappy (thankfully). Actually, the romantic scenes were well done and therefore nothing for me to quibble about.

The story opens from Caeli Crys’s point of view as a ship crashes on her planet. She is empathetic and she feels the terror of the crew in the moments before the actual crash. When she goes to investigate she finds that, of the two people on board, only one has survived, Commander Derek Markham. As empathetic, Caeli possesses the skill to heal with her mind and she quickly sets about saving Derek’s life.

When Derek awakens he finds he is now stranded on this alien world and that Caeli, his savior, is running for her life. As he heals, with the help of Caeli’s abilities, he learns of the tragedy that has befallen her people. Derek hopes that the command ship Horizon will get the distress call he sent just before the crash and that Caeli will come with him. When the ship finally arrives to rescue him he has already fallen for Caeli and convinces her to leave with him.

Of course, the world Derek lives in is totally foreign to Caeli and just as dangerous, if not more, than the one she left behind. She will be called upon to do things that go against her basic beliefs in order to prevent a tragedy like the one that befell her own people. She will have to decide if the end justifies the means.

The world building, at least as far as Caeli is concerned, was excellent. There is plenty of backstory so I was able to have that deep connection with Caeli. I can’t say the same for Derek. Hopefully the next book will flesh out his character and world. The plot moved along at a nice pace and there where not any big surprises other than the cliffhanger I have already mentioned.

The story is not hard core Sci-Fi; therefore, it may be a disappointment to those fans. However, as an eclectic reader, I liked it. I believe, since it is not hard core Sci-Fi it will appeal to a larger reading audience. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance with a twist and light sci-fi.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

For more reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com. ( )

Caeli Crys is one of the few survivors of the Novali people. The Novali have special gifts; Caeli happens to be an empath as well as having the ability to heal people. Because of their gifts, many of the Novali were killed by the other people on her planet, the Amathi. Caeli escaped the Amathi and has been living on her own in the woods. That is-until she connects with the mind of Derek. Derek's spacecraft has been hit and is crashing near Caeli's camp. Caeli arrives at the crash site in time to help heal Derek, but not his partner, Tommy. After several days of helping Derek heal, Caeli and Derek connect on a deeper level. Caeli shares her history and her people's trouble with the Amathi. When Derek's command ship, the Horizon, sends a rescue team, she is granted asylum aboard the ship. However, the Horizon soon learns of another planet under attack and Derek's team is sent on a mission there. Derek knows that Caeli's gifts would be helpful on the mission, but fears putting her in danger again.

This is a fast-paced science-fiction romance that had me hooked from the moment Caeli connected with Derek's mind. I was very interested in Caeli's people and their powers. The story of Caeil's planet, Almagest, that she shared with Derek really drew me in. Through this backstory, I really got to know Caeli's character; I knew how deeply she cared for people and her true strength, with or without her gifts. I really think this could have almost been a story by itself. I am also really interested in how the planet fared after Caeli left, especially with the resistance that was rising. I do appreciate the parallels on Caeli's planet to what is happening in some parts of the world right now. Caeli sums it up best in the quote: "No, but I can't ignore the situation in front of me. My people did that. They chose not to see, not to act, and it cost us everything." Hopefully, this will be explored in the next book! While it was no surprise to me that Derek and Caeli formed a romantic relationship after being connected through their minds; however, for me this happened a little too quickly. Once on Horizon, the pace quickened. I was glad Caeli found her place so quickly as a physician and was valued among the crew. When Derek learns of the threat on the planet Tharsis, I knew Caeli would be involved. The situation was very similar to what happened on her home planet. This section of the book moved quickly and was filled with suspense. At the end of the book I am still left with some questions about Caeli's planet and how humans came to populate all of these other planets. Maybe book two, Infinity will answer these!

This book was provided for free in return for an honest review. ( )

I thought this book was a nice introduction to this world that the author has built. The characters are fine. They all did have different voices but to be honest, none really stood out above the rest and this includes the two main characters, Derek and Caeli. Yes, Caeli may be different from the rest but she was a bit on the reserved side. Which in the beginning I could understand as everything was new to Caeli. Yet, as the story progressed and everyone became accepting of Caeli and her abilities; I wanted her to open up more. Where her and Derek's relationship is concerned, it was slow and mild. There was some action that Derek, Caeli and the rest of his crew encountered. Overall, as much as I liked the story aspect and the character building, there were moments in the book that were unremembered. Though, the other factors of the book that I enjoyed are enough to make me willing to check out the next book, which I hope to see Caeli grow stronger. ( )