Geneticist Dr. Khira is working to find a cure for the son of the Zigan ambassador, Prince Myrek.  The Mhajavi are more medically advanced due to their willingness to separate religious beliefs from science, unlike Myrek’s father and his followers.  Myrek will sacrifice anything to save Vilem, and is grateful for Khira’s expertise and assistance. 

Their cultural differences and social status does little to deter their growing attraction.  Myrek can only marry a virgin from the aristocratic class, while Mhajavi law states that virgins cannot wed and must have sexual congress by the age of 25.  Khira is 24, and still a virigin.  Her life has been submerged in years of study once she proved to be a child prodigy, which gave her no time to pursue a relationship.  When Khira’s family demands that she follow the Mhajavi custom of surrendering her virginity, Myrek makes an important decision that will change their lives forever, and scandalize the universe. 

From start to finish, Alliance: Cosmic Scandal is a well constructed story. The writing is sound, the character motivations clear, and there’s the right balance of sex and angst.  No matter how much I wanted to enjoy this book, it proved difficult.  I didn’t find the characters remarkable.  Perhaps I’ve read way too many books with complex tormented souls.  Khira and Myrek are truly good people, who rebel to be together. The supporting characters proved either just as nice or predictable.  There wasn’t enough substance in the forms of sexual tension, psychological flaws, action and world building to whet my appetite for more.  My biggest issue was the setting.  I didn’t feel like I was exploring a strange new universe.  The people, places and planets still felt like earth with odd names and traditions, so that it was more a touristy experience rather than out-of-this-world.  Throwing in an alien life-form (that wasn’t that ‘alien’) and odd words didn’t help.