DO OR DIE – Marly Mathews
The Wild Rose Press
ISBN: 1-60154-427-8
September 2008
Futuristic Paranormal Romance

North America, 2505

Years before, Earth was nearly destroyed by an intergalactic war, but Shylah McKay and the other members of the Gemini Order stood in the face of destruction to stave off The Enemy. The Gemini Order is an elite group of warriors who have special abilities, such as telepathy, which prove useful in fighting their enemies. Shylah lost her family during the war and nearly her life, but there is one bright point...Grayson. The first moment they meet, a connection is formed between them, as if they were always meant to be together. However, there is one little problem: Grayson is dead. A ghost. While that is a little bit of a problem, it is, as Shylah decides, only minor since it could be worse. At least he isn’t married.

Grayson is reticent about his past and how he came to die. To him it doesn’t matter, since being with Shylah now is what counts. He rarely leaves her side and tends to her every need, though they will never be able to have the true relationship that most couples have. Shylah has never truly forgotten her first love, Jack Parker, but can she give up Grayson when there is this something between them?

As Shylah prepares to appeal to the council to restore civil rights to her people, she’s faced with resentment and derision from those who no longer respect her family’s history. Earth is still struggling to recover from the war, and rumors are rampant that their enemies, the Rhiannons, are about to attack Earth again. Shylah and her people would be useful in battle with their special talents. If only Shylah can be successful in convincing the council.

From the first page, DO OR DIE is an action packed thriller with a kick ass heroine in Shylah McKay. She and the other members of the Gemini Order have special psychokinetic powers that should be useful in any attack. Instead, they are derided as outcasts and banished. Though her body is healed, emotionally Shylah is still racked with grief over the loss of her family. But, as any true leader must do, she rises above it all to rally the troops, so to speak.

Earth in the 26th century is certainly different. They travel via hover cars, which can transport their riders instantly to wherever they need to go. There are robots to serve them, and nothing is thought about hopping onto a spacecraft and traveling in space. But one thing doesn’t change. Family and loyalty are most important.

The bond between Shylah and Grayson is special in many ways. He cares for her, and it’s obvious he would do anything for her. She accepts him as a part of her life and would do nothing to hurt him. I loved the interaction between these two characters as it was both sweet and compelling, even as they occasionally sparred and shared their thoughts through telepathy. They worked together beautifully as a team against the bad guys.

But the very core of DO OR DIE is the intense action as Shylah and the other Gemini Order members battle against The Enemy and others who wish to snuff them out. Shylah is not afraid to put herself in nearly impossible situations. She’ll do whatever it takes to protect against evil. Her motto is, after all, do...or die.

Marly Mathews tells a compelling tale that hooks you from the first page with its intricate world building and a couple oozing in sizzling chemistry. If you are like me, then you will be rooting for Shylah to win and to find that happily ever after with Grayson. Oh, wait, he is dead. Will death be overtaken by life? You’ll have to find out in DO OR DIE.

Patti Fischer