Lucan
3.5 Stars

In the future, infertility is leading humanity to the brink of extinction. Arthurian scholar, Lucan Rourke, is convinced that the solution lies with the Holy Grail. Following archeological clues, Lucan travels to the planet Pendragon but his plans are disrupted when he meets Lady Cael, the High Priestess of Avalon, who has her own reasons for locating the relic. Joining forces in the search, Cael and Lucan must overcome not only the military forces threatening their objective but the dangers posed by their intense physical and emotional attraction. Will Cael and Lucan survive the revelations to come?

An original premise with a scorching romance, but the pacing is a little off and the world building could be better.

Although not usually a fan of futuristic novels, the amalgamation of science-fiction with Arthurian Legend is very intriguing and the scientific explanations for mythological elements, such as the composition of the Grail and the mechanics of Dragon biology and flight, lend authenticity to the story if not precise accuracy.

That said, the plot is somewhat undermined by the lack of background and detail on the characters and the history of their individual planets. Moreover, Cael and Lucan’s romance is not all that believable and despite their intense chemistry, their emotional attachment feels forced.

The biggest problem with the book is the writing. The pace is very strange with certain events happening quite rapidly while others are excruciatingly slow.

In sum, despite its problems, the twist on Arthurian lore is compelling enough for me to continue with the series and it will be interesting to discover the reasons behind Rion’s shifting issues. ( )

Well there really isn't much I can say for this book, I really didn't like it. I like a good King Arthur twist but taking it to outer space and such, was a bit much for me. Also, the love scenes in this book were a little too spontaneous for me. "Hi, how are you"....bumping and grinding on the ground. That's about it. I also didn't feel a connection with the plot or the characters, I just was not sucked into this book, as much as I wanted to be. The female lead character, made me want to scream as well, she was increasingly self-pitying and just wasn't as strong as a high priestess who could turn into a dang dragon should have been. ( )

The prologue was okay but after that this was a sci-fi story that really didn't grab my interest with sex but very little romance. I heavily skimmed and eventually gave up. High priestess Lady Cael works with explorer Lucan to find the Holy Grail.
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Lucan & Cael both work in the same lab on Pendragon & are instantly attracted to one another. Both their worlds, Earth and Pendragon are in desperate situations. The one thing both of their worlds need is the Holy Grail. It could also be the one thing that could tear them apart.

Lucan is a non-stop, entertaining read. Filled with adventure and steamy scenes. Lucan and Cael sizzle. Ms. Kearney has done a wonderful job creating this new world. My favorite part of the story has been the dragon element. I think fans of the King Arthur legends will enjoy this new twist. This was my first time reading Susan Kearney's work, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. ( )

Susan Kearney’s LUCAN looked interesting and captured my interest with it’s lovely cover and intriguing synopsis. I figured it would be a cute romance and a nice fantasy with enough action to keep the reader engaged. What I did not expect that a thrilling tale bursting forth from a new take on the legend of the Holy Grail. I didn’t expect the story, I didn’t expect the intense chemistry between the characters and I certainly didn’t expect to be so captivated by this book!

Lady Cael lives a sad and lonely life. She is the High Priestess of Pendragon and goes through every day without the touch of a single soul. From the time she was trained to be a Priestess as a young child, it became a taboo to touch her and more than that, anyone found doing so would be put to death. Even her family has a strict hands-off rule. If that wasn’t depressing enough, try having a sudden and overwhelming desire build up for a man just arrived on Pendragon. He can’t touch her and yet every fiber of her being yearns for him. Want to talk about romantic tension? Here it is!

Earth is dying, or rather, the people on Earth are. Infertility has spread across the planet like a nasty plague and Lucan’s sister is not immune. After she loses another baby, her twin brother Lucan sets out on a quest to cure her and the other women of Earth. After discovering ancient documents that describe the Holy Grail and where it can be found, Lucan sets off on a trip through space to Pendragon where his fate and that of Lady Cael will eventually meet.

I’ve said it time and time again. Tension makes a story, especially a romantic story. Tension is the element that keeps the reader wanting to turn the pages. When you say, “Oh, just one more paragraph/page/chapter,” and yet you just can’t seem to stop at that mark, that’s tension at play. A book with no tension has no way to grab on to the reader and pull them in, gripping like some fierce magnet. I am thrilled to say that the tension is definitely present in LUCAN. Kearney does an amazing job of making the story easy to read and engaging while at the same time keeping it from getting too heavy. There is such a thing as too much tension, in my opinion. Tension should rise and fall like a wave; constant high tension is bound to wear the reader out. Kearney is obviously a master at this ruling aspect of writing because the tension just felt perfect through the story.

Just as it is hard to watch a romantic scene between two actors on television when they have no chemistry, it’s equally hard to watch a romantic scene between two characters in a book when they have no chemistry. In some aspects I think that writing a romance might be harder than filming one because you have to create the chemistry and I don’t think that is a natural talent for everyone. Again, Kearney surprised me with the romantic touch she gave to her characters. With the obvious forbidden attraction between Lady Cael and Lucan aside, the characters still maintained a wonderfully bit of chemistry between them. While reading, I constantly pictured Cael and Lucan as two magnets drawn to each other. Kearney’s work her definitely helped to make the story for me and has created a romance that will appeal to many.

Lastly, I have to discuss the overall plot of this book. I think it was a brilliant idea to combine a story that usually deals with knights, castles and a semi fantasy based reality with a complete departure from reality. We have the legend of the Holy Grail in the same story as space travel and shapeshifting High Priestesses. Awesome! Kearney’s beautiful writing would have in and of itself drawn me in to the story, but it was the story that she fashioned that made this a success in my eyes and will most likely become a success everywhere else.

Fair warning time: There are adult themes and adult scenes within the pages of LUCAN.

I obviously have to give top marks to LUCAN. This was a wonderful book that I would be thrilled to read over and over. I have a feel it would never get old either. Lovers of Romance will just adore this while fans of Science Fiction / Fantasy will find a new and refreshing take on an old tale. ( )