Prince Sherem of Nefar and Princess Nadia of neighboring Gattonia, on the planet of Ganz, first met in the story of Zorroc. While aiding Zorroc, the King of Gattonia, and his human mate Catarina in the battle against the Dargons, Sherem met Zorroc's teenage sister Nadia, managed to kiss her socks off and then mistook her for household help. Although he knew right away that she was destined to be his lifemate, Nadia wasn’t quite so taken with Sherem. After three cycles of trying to bind her to his side, he still can’t seem to do anything without putting his foot in it and messing things up. Frustrated to the nth degree, he doesn’t know what to do to win her over.

As Nadia sees it, Sherem might be a magnificent mass of muscle, total eye-candy, but he wouldn’t know gentle wooing if it walked up and bit him in his hunky arse! Never mind his chauvinistic tendencies! Sherem is crude, arrogant and insensitive. He has irritated, hurt and disappointed her at every turn. Furthermore, the word “love” isn’t even in his vocabulary, and Nadia isn’t about to settle for anything less, much less consent to being one of Sherem’s possessions. Unfortunately, the big dolt has the power to kindle a roaring blaze in her womanly parts every time they meet. Naturally, Sherem is the last person she wants to go to for help when her brother and his family turn up missing on a voyage to Earth. Given no other option, she bites the bullet and seeks Sherem’s help, only to catch him naked with a Jasperi pleasurer. And didn’t that just figure?

Unsure of Sherem’s help, she devises a plan to trick him into assisting her — a plan that backfires when she’s kidnapped by Dakar, Sherem’s younger brother. Dakar is the chief suspect in the recent attempts on Sherem’s life, but he’s only one of many possible suspects. Sherem must deal with finding Nadia when she keeps getting kidnapped and sealing their mating bond while trying to unravel the network of spies, kidnappers, traitors, assassins, drug runners and saboteurs that are either onboard his ship, the Portender, or hot on his ion trail as he, Nadia and his crew set out to rescue Zorroc and his family. Fortunately, Sherem has one ally onboard (besides Nadia) that he knows he can count on. An ally that can mind-speak with Sherem, become invisible at the drop of a hat, and is capable of tearing Sherem’s enemies to pieces by eating his way through them.

Can Sherem find Zorroc and his family before all hell breaks loose onboard the Portender? Who is behind the assassination attempts? Is it really Sherem's own brother? Does it have anything to do with the Angels’ Gate drug killing so many people on the planet Jasper? And what is Sherem to do about Tula—the pleasurer gifted to him by the Queen of Jasper, the Queen‘s very own granddaughter—when she insists on being included in the rescue mission? What is Tula’s motivation for coming along, when she knows that Sherem has absolutely no interest in her? Sherem knows he must convince Nadia to commit to a mating with him of both minds and bodies before they return to Ganz, but how will the lovers be able to work out their issues with Tula in the mix?

In Sherem, Lil Gibson once again treats us to her trademark “cat men” of Ganz. I highly recommend reading book one in this exciting series first to gain a better perspective on the history of the planet Ganz, its divergent peoples and its growing connection to Earth. Besides, it’s a thrilling read that shouldn’t be missed. Those of us who have read book one will be happy to revisit many of those characters in this book. However, reading Zorroc isn’t necessary to grasp the plot of Sherem. This is a terrific book! While it contains occasional rocky transitions in the point of view—just as there were in Zorroc—it doesn‘t take anything away from the story. The plot is intricate and involved, with a good dose of humor and lots of twists and turns to keep the reader absorbed and quickly turning pages as emotions run high between the leading couple.

I loved watching Sherem discover and come to understand what love really is and how it can make you stronger rather than weaker. Despite taking a while to catch on to Nadia‘s way of thinking, he’s the kind of guy for which a woman would walk barefoot through hot coals. He’s a strong, compelling leader of men who’s used to giving orders and having them followed without question. Nadia has grown up a lot in the three years since we last visited her in Zorroc. She’s no longer a shy, introverted teenager. She’s grown into an indomitable, self-sufficient woman determined to educate Sherem on the value of loving a woman with a mind of her own. The love scenes between the pair are loaded with sexual tension, along with sensual and emotional discovery for both Sherem and Nadia. There is one sex scene in which Sherem is forceful in using anal sex to emphasize to Nadia that she can do little but accept his domination as her mate. The reader has to understand his overpowering need to seal their mating bond, once and for all, and Sherem does redeem himself afterwards, apologizing for the almost violent nature of the act.

The supporting characters are just as vividly drawn as Sherem and Nadia, especially Bran, who I’m hoping will get his own book sometime after Rosik, the next book in the series, which will be out in March of 2010. Previously published by Venus Press in 2006, Sherem has been revised for this re-release.