A sci-fi about a potentially disastrous first contact with an alien intelligence (that kind of resembles furries? :D and they call themselves "furrs"), but with an MM twist. I liked it because it had a lot of plot and that though there was a constant attraction between the main characters they didn't stop every 5 minutes to have sex. Actually there is no sex, but they do get off on each other a couple of times.On the other hand I disliked the fact that we only got the briefest glimpse into how they established their relationship and brokered peace. From a very dangerous situation, with deaths on both parts and neither being very diplomatic, the epilogue skipped right to "a few weeks after" when all was ok (or ok-ish). As a fan of sci-fi I was immediately drawn to this story from page one. Human invaders plant roots on a foreign planet and immediately start destroying a humanoids way of life. At first sharpshooter Marc thinks he's doing his honorable duty but as the story progresses he realizes the damage he's done and soon becomes more a friend than enemy to these new cat-like creatures. He finds himself drawn to their leader Hamm and as the hormones flair between them the sexual tension amps up in a race to keep their two spaces from all-out war.This story is action-packed with a constant sense of foreboding. This alien world is similar to ours in many respects and with the human invasion there's a feeling of bullying and that nothing good will come out of our visit. These feline creatures may look different than us but they're intelligent and rely on their other senses for survival. It's these other senses that bond Hamm and Marc. The overwhelming pheromones lock them together in endless demonstrations of hot and steamy foreplay. These scenes are not overt but result in heavy purring for all of us and put a unique spin on the usual m/m action.The main focus of this story is the emotional fallout of war and the actions of one man to make himself a hero. It's the humans that end up being the bad guys and it's only through great sacrifice that true love overcomes adversity and ingrained bigotries. Fragile Bond brings forth difficult questions with difficult answers in a vividly depicted world and is a great addition to the sci-fi family.
I usually love books like this, but I just couldn't get into it. Still a pretty good read.
—Mema
The excerpt up on Riptide's homepage is a bit strange, but very promising. *smirks*
—smithjc26
3.5 Stars
—CuppyCakeKisses
