SFRB Recommends 60: The Scarabaeus Saga by Sara Creasy #scifi #romsf

Trained since childhood in advanced biocyph seed technology by the all-powerful Crib empire, Edie's mission is to terraform alien worlds while her masters bleed the outlawed Fringe populations dry. When renegade mercenaries kidnap Edie, she's not entirely sure it's a bad thing . . . until they leash her to a bodyguard, Finn—a former freedom fighter-turned-slave, beaten down but never broken. If Edie strays from Finn's side, he dies. If she doesn't cooperate, the pirates will kill them both.

But Edie's abilities far surpass anything her enemies imagine. And now, with Finn as her only ally as the merciless Crib closes in, she'll have to prove it or die on the site of her only failure . . . a world called Scarabaeus.

This duology is one of the more original works I've read. Edie has to use her brain and skills to get out of a bunch of situations: Finn's her brawn. Hacker heroines are close to my heart, and Edie's specialty is something I've never considered before: using code to manipulate biological material and terraform planets. The antagonists have fascinating agendas and the worlds created feel fresh.

The romance takes a while to get going, and the books are Romantic SF rather than SFR, but there is a HEA for Edie and Finn. The first book ends a little abruptly and leads straight into the next one, so read them together!

Author site: Sara Creasy

Recommendation by Lee Koven.