Starting Dark Horse I was excited to read it but I was also a little worried I wasn't going to like it as much as the author's other titles because, although I love science-fiction, I haven't actually read many books in the genre. But I should've known not to worry because this is Michelle Diener we're talking about and I ended up absolutely loving this book!

This book is mainly about Rose McKenzie, a human from earth who gets abducted by aliens and taken captive for three months until she escapes with the help of Sazo, an artificial intelligence. The story starts pretty much in the middle of Rose escaping until eventually she gets picked up (again with the help of Sazo) by Captain Dav Jallan and his crew. This is where her loyalties start start getting divided.

This book was all kinds of awesome so I'm not sure where to begin.I love stories that feature aliens, especially artificial intelligences like Sazo was. Sazo scared me a little bit in the beginning because he seemed so out of control and reckless but he ended up as my favorite character in the entire book, with Rose coming close as second favorite.

Rose was also an amazing character. I just loved her attitude to her situation. She never gave up and she stayed loyal to Sazo the entire time while also not wanting to betray Dav and the others. And I loved Sazo and Rose's relationship and I loved how Rose refered to Sazo as Sherlock Holmes and herself being his Watson. They were really a good team and it was just so endearing to me.

Dav Jallan is yet another favorite character in the book. Just like Rose I really enjoyed reading his point of view. I liked even though he and his race were aliens to Rose, they did resemble humans mostly, just bigger and with pointy ears. But anyway, he was great! I loved the way Rose intrigued him and the chemistry they had with each other.

Nearing the end of the book I found myself wanting to read slower (but of course I couldn't) because I didn't want this fantastic story to end. The pace of it was steady, the world and character building was excellent (like always) and although I probably say this about all the author's books, Dark Horse is absolutely a top favorite of mine. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

Enjoyable book. Fast- paced with well developed characters.

What an unexpected gem!

I thought this would be the usual alien abduction book, but I was very pleasantly surprised!

Rose and Dav were wonderful, but my favorit was Sazo! LOL

Who wouldn't like such an AI?! I'm sure I would! He was such an endearing and at the same time very dangerous being!

Rose was great too. A level-headed heroine with really clear and clever ideas! I very much appreciated her honesty and her reasoning (with Sazo!). She didn't do TSTL things and she was very, very clever!

Dav was great too. An alien who didn't jusmp her bones after one day! I very appreciaed that too! LOL

The ideas explored in this book were interesting and well done. I loved the confusion Rose had when she discovered how Grih felt about music! A turly alien ideal!
Also lovely is the moment when Rose explains to Sazo about Sherlock Holmes and Watson!

A great SF adventure with lovely romance and great friendship!

This is Michelle Diener’s first Science Fiction Romance book. There is a check list of things I look for in a good SFR book and Diener has checked them all off.

First there is the story line. I always want to know if it can survive if the romance is removed. In Dark Horse it is certainly strong enough to stand on its own. The romance just adds to the tension and the action in the story World building and back story are always important. Getting them into the story can be tricky. The way the plot develops in Dark Horse both were woven into the story in a way that did not stop or impend the action.

Of course characters are also important. SFR is character driven. It is very important to have well developed and interesting characters leading the story. Both Rose and Dav are well-written and are strong enough to carry the action. Rose arrived with another character in tow, one that is not easily detected. Saco, an artificial intelligence, plays a critical part in the plot and also drives much of the action. The story requires a large cast of secondary characters and their development fits their place in the story.

The story line is not new but like many other good authors Diener has given it some unusual twists. Rose and her actions add some of the twists and the aliens in the story have plenty of their own. This is an action filled story where more than the romance provides tension.

Diener has written an impressive number of books and her experience shows in the writing in Dark Horse. Each scene was carefully crafted to carry the story and theme forward. It is one of those books that is very hard to put down.

It looks like Dark Horse might be the first book in a series. I hope so. While much is finished there is still a lot of story left to tell.