Banner's Bonus by Carole Ann Lee is set in the year 2105 and portrays a very realistic view of a possible future for the planet Earth.

Commercialism and self-serving people are still around and the names of many of the places are taken from those familiar to all of us.  For example the ports on Terra Four have names such as Port Ireland, Port France and Port Canada.

But although there is a familiar feel to the novel's setting there are still a great many differences, as can be expected in a futuristic world.  The main difference is the ease in which the inhabitants of this world can travel from planet to planet.

Nick Banner is one such inhabitant who ships his cargo from one planet to another.  However his latest cargo however will turn out to be much more troublesome than he bargained for.

Tressa Loring's father has found out that there is a threat on his only daughter's life.  The only option he can see to avoid her being kidnapped is to get her off planet as quickly as possible with someone he can trust.  Despite the reputation of Nick Banner, Jonathan Loring knows that Nick is the best person to keep his daughter safe.

All Nick has to do is keep Tressa safe without letting her know she is even in danger - oh and he also has to keep his hands off the headstrong young woman.

After being deceived and heartbroken by a women when he was young Nick has vowed never to let a woman past his defences again.  For two years he spent his time undergoing dangerous missions and not caring if he lived or died.  Brought back from the brink of self-destruction he still has the walls he has built around his frozen heart, and he is determined that no one will break through them.

The only women he consorts with are those who want no strings, no commitment and do not try to get close to him.  A woman in every port, but none to share his life with.

Nick Banner has been the talk of Port Ireland for years, and all that time Tressa has harboured a secret crush on the mysterious and charismatic man.  She does not imagine that Nick would ever remember her but now that she is stuck with him on his small craft, the Victorious, she is determined that she will not throw herself at his feet like every other woman at every port he visits.

Part Creohen, Tressa has the ability to feel emotions of other people.  She has inherited this gift/curse from her mother but having tested negative for the ability she is completely unprepared for her newfound senses when she suddenly finds herself experiencing Nick's emotions.  Nor does she have anyone to turn to for advice about how to handle the situation.  The only other person she knows with Creohen abilities is her mother who is safe on Terra Four.

Thrown together in the cramped quarters of  the Victorious neither Nick or Tressa can anticipate the events which are soon to follow.  Not only is Tressa's potential kidnapper hot on their trail but so too is Nick's former business partner who is hell-bent on getting revenge on Nick and has his whole gang of thugs eager to help out.  Added to this the growing attraction between Tressa and Nick and it is a recipe for a fast-paced chase through space with a healthy dose of romance thrown into the mix.

We are introduced to new planets such as Nick's home world of Acacia and the nightmarish Steel where the slave trade is continuing without anyone having the power to stop it.

We are also introduced to Nick's equally handsome brothers and his friend Zeke.  A whole group of men just waiting for their own stories to be told.

But it is the chemistry between Nick and Tressa that makes this novel a great read.  From Tressa's drugged confession on board the craft to Nick's realisation of just what he has lost when he walks away from Tressa, the hero and heroine are everything a futuristic romance needs them to be.

Tressa comes across to the reader as a sheltered, rather naive young woman who has only lived on Terra Four.  Nick on the other hand appears as a hardened man who has travelled the universe and has not liked that much of what he has seen.

As the story progresses Tressa becomes more worldly and comes into her own when she is forced to run the Victorious single-handedly.  Nick mellows out as their adventure forces them to rely on each other and the loveable rogue begins to emerge from through the hardened shell of the man he had become.

Tressa and Nick make what would have been a good book, great!

RATING : 

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Banner's Bonus

Reissue

In the summer of 2004 Banner's Bonus was re-released by a new publisher, with a new cover (sorry no picture at the moment) and a whole new twist to the story.

Essentially the story, which was excellent to begin with, has not been changed too much.  However the two main characters Nick and Tressa have undergone something of a change.

Those who have read and enjoyed the first issue of this book will very likely notice the changes in Tressa the most. 

Whilst Tressa of the original story was sometimes slightly immature and less a woman of the world, this new, and improved, Tressa is a woman that readers of today will identify with much more.

At the first meeting Tressa comes across as a much tougher character and is quick to answer Nick Banner back and make her feelings known.  There are a lot fewer references to Tressa's school and she does not spend as much time crying as she previously did.  All in all the new Tressa comes across as somewhat older and more mature. 

Nick too has undergone a bit of a change although, in my opinion, not as drastic a change as Tressa.  In the original story Nick occasionally came across as something of a playboy character.  However this has been subtly altered to show him as less of a ladies man and even more of a hardened loner than he had previously been. 

Nick is also far less patronising of Tressa and there is no calling her "little girl" as he had previously done.  This would presumably be because the new and tougher Tressa would not be putting up with it.

There are also other cosmetic touches with Nick being referred to more frequently as Nick and not Banner, which of course sounds more personal and less distant than before.
 

RATING : 

(if you need an explanation of the hearts ratings see my homepage)

Also by Carole Ann Lee: Solar Wind (available September 2008 from Awe-Struck E-books.

Visit Carole Ann Lee online here

Banner's Bonus will be available from Awe-Struck E-books from 13 June 2008.