Two novellas present differing futures. In LAND'S END by Lauren Dane we see a country guarded against anarchy outside garrisoned towns, with a highway linking Silver Cliffs to Shelter City. Loyal is a guard of the shipment of foodstuffs and other goods, and he sees Verity Coleman on these trips along the Land's End highway, a widow who keeps the rooming house. Self-sufficiency in areas like food growing and solar power is very important but the travellers also bring eagerly sought-after news.

This erotic tale puts two characters in each other's orbit who keep having fantasies about each other and not mentioning their desires; I wondered why one of them couldn't say something? Verity had to marry at fourteen but now as an adult widow she has rights and property. Brigands prowl the highway and Loyal could find battle on any trip. This time however he receives reports that the brigands are massing, ready to attack the town. Maybe it's the imminence of danger that convinces the two lonely people to break down the barriers, and then they can't get enough of each other. This is an adult romance which harks back to tough pioneer days but is set forward in time.

BY THE SEA OF SAND by Megan Hart shows the planet Sheir. Life is hard and resources meager. Giant whale creatures, reminiscent of sandworms in 'Dune', live under the gritty sea, and oil from their bodies helps to sustain the human settlers. Teila keeps a lighthouse and is pressured to take in convalescents from an ongoing war. One such, a bio- engineered soldier, is brought to her; he is burned, scarred and lacking memories. Even so he has barely woken up when they are making love, which didn't ring true with me. Teila recognises this man as her supposedly dead husband, but if she tells him so before he remembers by himself, it could destroy his mind and turn him into one of the enemy.

Cue plenty of bedroom scenes as the seriously injured warrior has not enough energy to stand up but plenty when lying down. There are simple robots and native worlders to flesh out the picture as Teila keeps demonstrating her love for a man who has nightmares and remembers nothing of their life. In THERE ALL ALONG we have two intensely atmospheric tales of warriors and strong women, not the usual fare but suitable for those who like to combine SF and adult romances.

Book Summary

Bestselling authors Lauren Dane and Megan Hart deliver two stories of longing, lust, and love in futuristic worlds where love comes first—then survival...

“Land’s End” by Lauren Dane…

The Land’s End highway is one of the most dangerous places in the universe. The constant peril of brigands keeps Verity Coleman stuck in Silver Cliffs, dreaming of the open road—and of Loyal Alsbaugh, the tall and silent highway patrolman. When her town is attacked, Verity has a chance to win over Loyal’s muted heart. But will his wounded past make him leave her along the road, or can she convince him to take her along?

“By the Sea of Sand” by Megan Hart…

Captain Kason Reed was willing to give his life to the Sheirran Defense Forces, but now he can’t remember anything but bits and pieces of the war. When his sexual attraction to his caregiver, Teila, causes him to make advances toward her, she becomes the aggressor, urging him with her body to explore the memories of his past—memories that all seem to draw him back to Teila…