Drift by Lyn Gala

 Allie always enjoyed casual sex with crewmates, but the war never let her get too close to anyone. Now the war is over, and shipmates lost. Somewhere Allie lost some part of herself, too. But no matter how hard she tries, she can't escape the gentle touch of Shank Lacroix, her favorite lover. He insists on standing by her and helping her find the missing pieces. The problem is that the old pieces don’t fit anymore. Allie wants more even as she fears her changing beliefs and sexual appetites.

Shank knows the signs of a person carrying too much guilt and anger. Allie is in danger of emotionally self-destructing. Shank knows he has to save his beautiful and dominating Allie and help her find herself again. In his youth, he went on a vision quest to find his path, but right now, spiritual quests don't have much to offer him. However, he does hope a quest to find their missing crew might help them find themselves and their love before it's too late. That is assuming that Command doesn't catch them trying to desert their posts and execute them first.

Another stellar read from Lyn Gala. The crew of the Candiru is back for more action, more emotional upheaval, and, thankfully, more hot sex. This time around the story focused on Allie and Shank - that's Lacroix for those of you who read Turbulence. While we learn more about Allie as she comes to terms with feelings of failure due to leaving Jacqs and Zeke behind, I found that Shank's character development was far more fascinating. His familial background and the distinctions between family and non-family ships within their culture were presented in such a way that I received a history lesson without being bored or wanting to skip parts; but then again, we're talking about pirates and pirate tales are always interesting.

In Drift, the crew has to adjust to the fact that the war is now over. Allie's conflict with this new reality is a central theme in the book. However it's not how the non-war status will affect her that concerns her as much as what her crewmates will be expected to do in their new assignments. as well as what happened to Jacqs and Zeke after being left behind. These two things are what lead to some of the crew embarking upon a rescue mission to retrieve Jacqs and Zeke and thus the action begins, complete with jail breaks, pirate (space)ships, grand theft, and crossing the border into bat territory (an act which could restart the war). Are they successful? You'll have to read Drift to find out for yourself.

What I will tell you is that the sex scenes between Allie and Shank are hot. There is some light bondage play farther into the book and as it is just being introduced to the couple's sexual interactions it is by no means advanced BDSM, but it definitely increases the sensuality level. Ms. Gala has produced a sequel that is just as good as its predecessor and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.