Federation CTD: <title>Hard Habit to Break

Agent Nolette Ashford is an investigator for the Federation’s Counter-Terrorism Department. Now that the attempted coup organized by rogue para Ripley Johnson has been squelched, the CTD is trying to mop up lingering traces of terrorism. Nolette, herself a para who lost her talent under torture by Federation scientists, is investigating the appearance of a new street drug, Dream Weaver. This drug only works on people with paranormal talents. Nolette’s boss, Marcus Carlyle, brings in scientist Drake Conners to assist in the investigation. The only problem is that Nolette and Drake have a history together. Years ago, they had been lovers – and Nolette is certain that Drake is the person who betrayed her to the Federation. Can she overcome her past and work with him to stop the threat of Dream Weaver?

This novella is a stand-alone sequel to the author’s Voices Carry and Lost in Emotion, which describe a world prejudiced against people with paranormal talents. (Reading the first two books in the series is not necessary in order to understand this one, although I think it would help the reader to achieve a fuller understanding of the story.) The beginning of this novel is somewhat confusing, because we leap right into the action with very little explanation. However, the reader quickly gets up to speed and the action keeps going without respite until the end.

The primary characters in this story are Nolette and Drake. These two characters are very well fleshed out and realistic, and are interesting enough to pretty much carry the story. There are a couple of very steamy and explosive sex scenes between the former lovers that are described in fairly explicit terms. However, the emphasis throughout is on the feelings of Nolette and Drake as they rediscover each other. This book was fun to read, and a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of lazy hours on the weekend.

Reviewed by: Jean