Amanda has lived her entire life in space, but wants more. When her ship discovers a lost Earth colony she finds a new home, complete with handsome alpha male Rhodri. It helps that Amanda had a father who was an earth witch so she isn't shocked when the forest, known as "The Green" sings to her. Rhodri has a secret of his own, a genetic trait shared by members of the group known as the Guild.
When Amanda decides she wants to be the first woman and first earthling to pass the tests to enter the Guild, there is an uproar. Rhodri has political issues of his own as he is head of his clan and not everyone is in favor of him being in charge.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story moves right along and draws the reader in quickly. I was very surprised by Amanda's character - she is a strong woman in her own right and stands equally with the alpha males that make up the Guild. She wasn't obnoxious about it; she just does her job and does it well.
Rhodri is a sweetie and they have great chemistry. I'm definitely looking for more books by this author. ( )

4.5/5
"You did a lot of walking today, " she said softly, moving in close. "And you'll need your strength." His eyes opened wide as her hand grazed up his thigh. He grinned and started to reach for her, then howled in outrage when she pressed her fingers directly into the still tender knife wound in his groin.

"Damn it, woman! What kind of healer are you?"
"Not kind at all," she said smugly. "Now go inside and rest while I find us a snake."


Women power! *shakes fists* I love D.B. Reynolds for her exceptionally stubborn, clever and wilful heroines. Throughout the whole book I was grinning and cheering for Amanda, while she was acing her trials and thumbing shifters' noses.


But I'm getting ahead of myself. As far as I know D.B. Reynolds hasn't written anything else in sci-fi genre, so Shifter Planet must have been a first for her, and it was done exceptionally well.



Amanda was born on a space ship and all her life has been dreaming about living on a planet. She is a specialist in first contact, so when a new planet is discovered (or shall I say, planet which dropped out of circulation for 500 years) she is beyond excited to relocate and start researching it.



There is a bit of Avatar theme going on, as the flora and fauna of the planet is extremely hostile to humans, and first Earthlings had to create a new species by splicing the gene and combining it with human genome to become more attuned to the planet itself. Not everyone has the right genes, but those who have can shift into animals and become members of the Guild - an organisation which provides protection to people travelling through the forests and which listens to the needs of the environment itself.


Amanda, all fresh eyed and excited learns that she has a special connection to that same environment and tries to enroll into The Guild. Of course, everyone is in uproar because she is (shockingly) a girl and is not a shifter.


"What if you're not the only non-shifter who can do that? What if you're the first of many? You don't only have to fail, Amanda, you have to fail spectacularly so that no norm will ever try again."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she said in disgust. "If norms were going to line up to join the Guild, don't you think they'd have done it before now? And if that's the kind of thinking going on in the Guild, then I'm worried for the planet because it's being run by a bunch of furry idiots with dicks."


So the whole book is about Amanda getting ready for the trials to qualify as The Guild member and going through them. And that woman, ladies and gents, kicked some ass. She was amazing, so get ready not only for some spectacular action, but for some sexy times in between.


I loved this book and solidly recommend it to all the fans of UF, sci-fi and strong heroines in any genre. ( )