In Kate Hill’s Doing Thyme, Dr. Thyme Westcott is a prison psychologist who has spent the last four years helping inmate Ross Lovell rehabilitate and prepare for his eventual release. Ross, an alien/human hybrid who is a victim of the violent nature his genetic makeup, has chosen on his release to be stationed in a scientific observatory on an uninhabited planet. He believes that isolating himself is the only way to protect others from the harm he might cause them. Although physically separated from Ross by an opaque shield during his prison term, Thyme has fallen in love with the man she has counseled over the years, and she secretly follows him to his new post. When the two meet face-to-face for the first time on his deserted planet, they find immediate and intense passion and emotion. Ross does not trust himself, however, and believes that in spite of Thyme’s assertions to the contrary his aggressive nature will prove to be a permanent handicap. Can Thyme convince him that his nature is basically good and that by understanding himself he has overcome the restrictions of his genetic makeup? Will he accept her love as well as her passion and agree to make a life with her?

Doing Thyme is a quick and sexy story that features main characters that are strong on the outside but vulnerable within. The reader is told that Ross committed acts of violence, but that is not apparent in the character portrayed. All one sees is a man who is riddled with guilt and self-disgust and who believes himself a genetic freak. Thyme has her own self-doubts that are buried in a seasoned and self-assured shell. She thrusts her doubts aside, though, and proves herself to be a very determined person, taking an aggressive role and risking losing her job as well as possible arrest for trespassing in order to snag Ross. The burst of lust and love between them seems to happen awfully fast until the reader is reminded that Ross and Thyme have actually known each other for years even if they had never physically met. Sex between the two is positively combustible, and the emotion is tender, and the two add up to a very enjoyable read.

Reviewed by: Whitney