The Marann, Book 1 of Tales of Tolari Space, by Christie Meierz  was one of the best science fiction romances that I have read in a long time.

Ms. Meierz writes about Ms. Marianne Woolsey, a young hyperpolyglot fluent in seventeen languages and teacher of foreign language in twenty-sixth century Iowa, who has been forcibly requested by Earth’s government to teach six foreign languages to the heir of the Sural, leader of a distant uncannily human like race called the Tolari.

I loved how the author introduced us to the Tolari mostly through Ms. Woolsey’s perspective. Her description of the complex culture of the Tolari is water to the world building thirsty soul. Her attention to detail from initial encounters, hierarchy, foods, clothes and even language is impressive and without contradiction. Clearly Christie Meierz has spent an extraordinary amount of time researching and piecing together her Tolari world. Her work reminds me of the efforts of Ilona Andrew husband and wife team and their own detailed world building which makes Meierz’s efforts even more impressive as she completed all this work on her own.

I immensely enjoyed how the love story that plays between Marianne Woolsey and the Sural is sweet and evenly paced. Their relationship plays out over years instead of a few days or even a few hours as some other romance relationships in the same genre tend to do. And their story is not over as The Marann is only the first of the series.  

The Marann is one of the few thought provoking and beautiful science fiction romances out there in an otherwise seemingly smut smut filled world.

If you loved The Marann, I would recommend reading Eden by Louise Wise and Starkissed by Lanette Curington.