Roslyn Sinclair is an author I got to know through reviews from TheLesbianReview . This story was first a fanfic by Telanu (penname for Roslyn Sinclair). The fanfic was from the fandom The Devil Wears Prada. It really never occurred to me that Andrea and Miranda could be or become a couple. With some apprehension I read a fanfic story by Telanu and well, that couple work really well 😍. At least in Roslyn’s stories. This author is very good at describing desire and passion and even better at building them up. She makes what seemed improbable to me very believable.

Same goes for The Lily and The Crown, where Ariana (Ari) leads a solitary life as a botanist on a space station. One day, she unwillingly gets a slave to assist her in her work. This slave was captured during a battle with the fleet of the fearful pirate queen Mir. The slave is an impressive woman who does not seem at all impressed by her situation as a slave. Ari is not in the least threatening to her, on the contrary. Ari really is a sweetheart. She’s an eccentric and used to being alone, but she’s definitely against slavery. She therefore does not treat her slave as a slave and refuses to call her that. However, she does not get the name of the woman and therefore decides to call her Assistant.

The story is told in the third person but only seen from Ari. It is therefore possible to guess who the Assistant is and what she is thinking or feeling. Ari is young and naive. Assistant is a lot older and comes across as worldly wise. Ari is fascinated by Assistant and is attracted to her, although she has virtually zero knowledge or experience in that sort of thing. At some point, Assistant seems to realize this and takes advantage of it by enticing Ari to have sex with her.

Meanwhile, Assistant is very interested in all kinds of things like the latest news, star maps and everything that concerns the space station. Why would that be 😏? The dynamic between the two is very recognizable as the one between Andrea and Miranda. Assistant even has clothing tips for Ari 😉! Other than that, I thought this was a very nice book. You can hardly make me happier than with a love story like this, between these types of characters, plus a space station and sci-fi elements as background. And sexy too 🥵!