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As a child, Ashe Martez
was sold to a mysterious stranger,
and raised to become a bounty hunter. As a Huntress, it is her job is
to bring
wanted criminals to face Justice on her home-world of Malia.
Her current mark is a
fellow by the name of Andre Glassen,
who's been selling women from "primitive" worlds, such as Earth, in
underground auctions. It's an easy buck when love slaves are worth a
fortune.
Her chase lands her near Death Valley, where
she meets Sheriff Ty Jacobson.
His gut tells him there's
a lot more to Ashe than what she's
told him, but even in a place where UFO sightings can happen, he's not
ready to
believe that she's not even from Earth. For the first time in her life,
Ashe is
becoming involved with a man. The resulting distraction from her
mission proves
disastrous as Ashe and Ty's lives are changed forever.
The
Sheriff and the Huntress is far from as
straightforward as
the title might hint at. There's more to it than just a slave-running
crook
involved in an interesting mystery that slowly unravels while Ty and
Ashe
struggle with something hotter than a summer afternoon in Death Valley…their attraction to one
another.
Ashe is no shrinking
violet, and proves to be just as
resilient as the man who's proving to be her match. He's just as
distracted and
unnerved by their connection as she is. It's nothing either of them
could've
prepared for. I was heartened to see that Ty respects Ashe as a
person and
as a pro at what she does. He still worries about her well-being, yet
he
doesn't try to change who or what she is. Rather, he finds that Ashe's
experience and presence are a good compliment for him. In turn, she
finds
something that was missing in her own life. Someone she can trust to
watch her
back, a partner, a lover and that nebulous something that's always been
missing.
I found myself curious as
to the direction Ms. Ainsworth
intended to go with this X-files-like
episode. But the deeper one gets, the more surprising the twists and
turns, as
the real architect of Ashe's dilemma is finally revealed. The
Sheriff and the Huntress is guaranteed to take you by
surprise.
Reviewed
by Niniri Theriault for The
Road to Romance
July 28, 2004
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