Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore

Dunleavy, or Lee, Mallorough is a Shield, and her partner, Shintaro Karish, is a Source. Which means that Shintaro can draw on the magic of the land to prevent catastrophes like earthquakes, and Lee protects him as he does so. But when Taro is recalled to the capitol by the Empress, presumably for his great physical beauty, she must go along because Taro has convinced the Queen that they both suffer unless they are physically near each other... not the truth, but he used it to get out from under the Empress's lecherous gaze.

But she hasn't called them back so that she can try to seduce Taro. Instead, she sends them on a mission to the Southern Islands, to find the offspring and descendants of a sister she only recently found out she had. The only way to tell the people's relation to the Empress will be by a tattoo of a special flower that only the royal family have on their bodies. The last known location of her sister was in a town called Flatwell, and the Empress supplies them with maps.

They have no choice to agree, but their trip is fraught with troubles. For one thing, the Southern Islands are hot, and all their clothes are too heavy to be bearable. The second thing is that, in the north, Sources and Shields don't have to pay for anything, by decree of the Empress. The South, though part of the Empire, doesn't recognize that rule, and so they are quickly rendered penniless. Thankfully, Lee's Benchdancing skills come to the rescue. Though she is good, but not especially great at Bench Dancing, her exotic appearance in the copper-skinned, dark- haired South, allows them to make lots and lots of money travelling wih a troupe of entertainers who wander the islands not unlike Gypsies.

But the entertainers have their own probems, believing they are under a curse placed on the troupe by the brother of the current leader. But when he nearly kills Lee, Lee and Taro are able to capture him. But can they sever the idea of a curse from the superstitious islanders? And even if they can, can they possibly find the descendants from a baby taken to the islands over 50 years ago?

This was an engaging story, though the cover was more than a bit deceptive, as Lee never wears an outfit like that during the whole of the story, even if they do spend, oh, about 5 to 8 pages on a ship... in a 340 page novel. Other than that, I did enjoy it. The story is focussed less on the search for any possible descendants of the Empress and more on the "fish out of water" experiences of the two protagonists. Lee's voice is a sarcastic and snarky one, but she's less snarky when they are in the south. Shintaro, normally sought after and admired for his good looks in the north, finds himself extremely disconcerted to learn that he is considered plain and even a bit oily and smarmy in the south. Whereas Lee, who thinks she is plain and mousy (despite having red hair) is considered beautiful and exotic in the islands because of her coloring.

Other changes happen in their relationship with each other, as they become lovers during the trip. Lee has long carried a torch for Taro, but knows he isn't someone who can stay in a committed relationship. However, even by the end of the novel, he hasn't shown signs of moving on or even of wanting to move on. Yet... the outcome of their relationship isn't discussed, or the problems Lee feels are not addressed by the end of the book. While this isn't the first book in the series and obviously won't be the last, having this not dealt with or addressed made the book feel curiously unfinished, even if the story came to an end.

While it's nice to have a storyline carry over into the next book, the way it was done just... didn't feel right. It's not dealt with in the "Tomorrow is another day, and I'll deal with it then" fashion, or even "I don't even really want to think about it happening, so I won't deal with it", it's done in a "I know he's going to leave me soon, so I have to prepare my heart for when he does." Despite Lee and Taro being Source and Shield partners, they apparently are not particularly close or that they think they can get by without talking these things out.

It was an otherwise enjoyable book, but the strangely unfinished ending makes me hesitate to recommend it to others, especially since this is not Moira Moore's first book. It was clumsy, and the editor should have caught it and made it less so, or eliminated the clumsiness, as it rather turned me off to reading more of her work. I might seek out other books in the series, but then again, I might not.