"An Excellent Romantic Sci/fi that will keep you thinking..."

Ellen Fisher has definitely thought this through. Never Love a Stranger is an excellent Sci/Fi romance of what ifs. I can't count how many times I pondered her concepts and paradoxes as she unfolded her story. And while my mind couldn't stop debating the theories, there was always the wonderful and sensual love story that unfolded to help ease your mind and release a little tension.

Annie is a woman who has lived the last year of her life on autopilot. Her husband passed away and she finds the only way she can continue to move on is to keep her day-to-day routine. Go to work, come home, eat, watch TV, and sleep. Repeat. However her life is about to change and the autopilot is about to be replaced by a naked man found in her kitchen.

James, a tall, gorgeous, blond, is from three hundred years in the future. Where everyone has moved underground and convenience is paramount. And what better way to live easier than to have your own personal slave? Tired of being oppressed he leads those of his kind in a revolt to free the slaves. Unfortunately the affects result in deaths on both sides and he must flee for his life. Thus taking his last chance at survival and possibly preventing death of his people, he transports himself back in time to Annie's kitchen.

Regrettably, there is an organization, called the Bureau in the future that is set up to track him down with out altering the future. To make matters worse one of their agents has a personal vendetta to settle with James. So his only hope is to convince Annie of his plight and hope that she will not abandon or judge him as a lesser person like those of his future do.

So what's a girl to do? She buys him some clothes so as not to internally combust from how totally sexy he is and tries to have an open mind. Unfortunately that mind is quite distracted by the attraction he awakens in her. Feelings she thought long since buried with her late husband. But James is no ordinary man, and Annie is about to be stretched to her limits.

Ms. Fisher does an excellent job grabbing our attention by approaching the situation with a real down to earth character like Annie. And as such it is easy to step into her shoes and imagine what she must be going through. Just as you start to feel comfortable with the events taking place, Ms Fisher starts to twist the plot and ask the reader to open their minds up further. And just when you think you can grasp on to where you think the author might be leading you with this story, she takes a completely different turn and blows your mind away. I truly don't want to reveal much more as it will ruin the spontaneity and thought provoking experiences this book will invoke. So take a chance. How far are you willing to go to help a stranger, especially one escaping from the future?

Reviewed by Mindy Lobaugh
Courtesy PNR Reviews
Posted September 29, 2004

Summary

One seemingly ordinary evening, Annie Simpson finds an extremely gorgeous (and totally nude) man in her kitchen. When James tells her he's an escaped criminal from three hundred years in the future, she figures he's crazy ... until they're pursued by ray-gun wielding cops from the future. Now they're both running for their lives, and Annie's falling for James in a big way. But how will she feel about James when she discovers ALL his secrets?