Beyond the Next Star (Love Beyond, #1)

by Melody Johnson

An intolerable order. A desperate charade. A deadly secret....

Before Commander Torek Renaar can return to active duty, he’s ordered to purchase an animal companion to help relieve his PTSD symptoms. But having been a caretaker for and lost a loved one, keeping even one little human alive is a challenge he feels doomed to fail. It doesn’t help that his animal companion is the newest, most exotic breed on the market, demanding constant attention, daily grooming, and delicate handling. If she doesn’t die first in his incompetent care, she’ll be the death of him.

After witnessing the murder of her domestication specialist, Delaney McCormick allows her new owner to treat her like the pet he believes her to be. If anyone suspects she’s more intelligent than a golden retriever, her murder would be next. She endures the humiliation of being washed, the tediousness of being trained to “sit” and “come,” and the intrigue of hearing private conversations. But in Torek’s care, she finds something unexpected on this antarctic planet, something she never had in all her years on Earth while house-hopping between foster families: a home.

As companionship grows to love, must Delaney continue the charade, acting like an animal and hiding from the murderer waiting on her misstep? Or can she trust Torek with her secrets, even if the truth threatens everything he holds dear—and both their lives?

• ISBN10: 173514990X
• ISBN13: 9781735149905
• Publish Date: 23 June 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Incendi Press, LLC
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 376
• Language: English

Reviews

[booksandcats]

This book was really weird and it seemed mostly a means to an end to write a story where there are certain kinks involed (petplay in this case). Delaney gets kidnapped by aliens and through some turn of events gets classified as a pet and decides to at as one isntead of revealing her intelligence, so she gets adopted by this general who tries to care for her. I know technically there is no sexual contact or relationship between them until he discovers the truth, but it' just... weird. I did not like the plot and was not a big fan of the characters or the writing style, but if this is something you enjoy, have fun with it, it will certainly have an audience and I hope they enjoy this story but it's really not for me.