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Orphaned at a young age with no family to care for her, Kayana was chosen at age six to become the next TreeKeeper. It was the highest office on planet Vios, but also the loneliest. The planet had been settled hundreds of years before but still relied on an archaic form of currency, the leaves of the money tree. As the TreeKeeper, Kayana is bound to TreeHall and to the welfare of the tree. She lives in tedium, but the sameness is getting to her. Until one day, instead of the usual exchange of goods or services for money, Kayana is given conversation and a kiss by an intriguing Star pilot, Maddox, yet he leaves without his dolla.
When Maddox hears from his nephew about the beautiful, yet sad TreeKeeper, he decides he must go see who this woman is that had his nephew chattering all day about her. What he finds is a woman with an amazing mind and a voracious appetite for everything outside of TreeHall. He knows it is against the law to touch a TreeKeeper, and that they are forbidden to fall in love, but he cannot help his passions and kisses her.
Over the course of months, Kayana and Maddox meet, each time their unfulfilled passion for each other growing stronger and stronger. Kayana is new to human contact and doesn’t fully understand what she feels for Maddox but knows she will feel for him forever. When she finds out that violating a TreeKeeper in anyway is punishable by death, she vows to push Maddox away, to save him from death, but she cannot. If Kayana and Maddox follow through and consummate their love, it could mean the death of Maddox, and the economy as well.
Natalie Damschroder has a very fertile imagination. What a way to take the concept of a money tree and run with it! I’m a sucker for anything with a hint of sci-fi and THE TREEKEEPER had me hooked from the first page. The plight of Kayana is sad and heartfelt and Maddox is a patient, smoldering hero. The sexual tension is masterfully prolonged until the moment feels right for all involved, the characters and the reader. THE TREEKEEPER left this reviewer very satisfied and wishing there really was such a thing as a money tree.
Reviewed by Tina Burns
for The Road to Romance
November 4, 2004
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