SYNOPSIS

A new dystopian sci-fi YA series from the New York Times bestselling author Colleen Houck

Warning all Astronauts:
COLONY BOUNDARY WARNING!
PERMISSION TO ENTER ALIEN FOREST IS REQUIRED
NOTE: NO RESCUE ATTEMPTS WILL BE MADE

In the future, a terraforming ship lands on a perfectly green planet.
Two perfect young men, one a budding colony leader, the other an engineer, compete for the affection of one perfect young woman training as a botanist.
The only problem?
She’s not perfect.
Astra has a secret.
A big one.
And someone or some thing just maybe trying to kill her for it
.

Deadly toxins can be hidden inside the most beautiful flowers.

That’s what Astra Meador’s famous biophysicist mother taught her.

As her mother’s apprentice, Astra has developed skills in botany, chemistry, medicine, and, most importantly, in keeping secrets.

In fact keeping Astra’s secret was the reason her family decided to leave the Earth and join a terraforming mission to colonize a distant planet called Crillain IV. But when Astra wakes early from hypersleep, she discovers that her mother never made it onboard, her father died in transit and his body has been ejected from the ship, and she suspects that she’s not the only one awake.

When the ship finally lands and she’s reunited with her brother, Nash, Astra hopes to settle into a new life, especially when she meets the charming young engineer, Jax, and is recruited by the mission commander to train alongside his handsome son to be a future leader of the small colony.

Then Astra learns that she’s not the only one with a dark secret.

As both young men contend for her affection, Astra searches for answers, trying to determine who to trust. But with theft and murder occurring in the colony along with the sudden disappearance of her beloved brother, Astra can’t listen to the whisperings of her heart, especially when someone or something else on the planet is whispering to her mind even louder.

Praise for TERRAFORMER

“I was rooting for Astra and entranced by the seamlessly crafted world of TERRAFORMER! Colleen Houck gives you a chilling glimpse into what can happen when technology and nature collide.” —Kimberly Derting, author of award-winning young adult novels The Body Finder, The Pledge, and The Taking

“A richly imaginative page-turner!” —Melissa Landers, bestselling author of Blastaway, the Alienated trilogy and the Starlight duology

TERRAFORMER BY COLLEEN HOUCK EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT

I nodded and turned away. “She and my father…well…they couldn’t have children. My…weakness at birth was a side effect, a consequence of her breaking the law to conceive.”

“I see.”

I couldn’t look at him. Couldn’t image what he was thinking. Not only was I completely dependent on a plant compound to survive, carrying a deformity that would likely be genetically passed down to any potential offspring, but I represented everything his family despised. I shouldn’t be alive at all, let alone on this new planet. And now, here I was, about to meet his uncle, the one who’d taught him how to work without the aid of computers or modifications of any kind, the one who was so determined to let nature take its course that he was now suffering with a debilitating disease of his own.
I felt a warm hand grip my shoulder. When I didn’t turn, Jax came around me and slid his hands up to my cheeks with a tenderness that offset the tightness of his jaw and the rigid muscles of his forearms.

“First of all, you are not responsible for the decisions your parents made.” His thumbs traced my cheekbones. “And I am not at all sorry they made the choice to have you. You are remarkable. The only redoubtable leader in the colony, in my opinion. You’re dedicated to your work, fair, and loyal.”
“I’m flawed,” I added. “It’s just that my biggest flaws are beneath the surface.”

His fingertips grazed down the side of my neck until they fluttered at my collarbone just above the spot of synthetic skin.

“Astra,” he breathed my name in a whisper, “Can’t you see? You’re perfect in your imperfection.”
I don’t know what made me say it, but the words came out and it was too late to pull them back. “Thane wouldn’t see it that way,” I said.

Jax stiffened and backed away so I could clearly see the unease rippling in his now gelid eyes. The warmth from just a moment before had chilled, curling up and dying like a leaf in the fall, and I could feel the cold filling the space between us.

“You shouldn’t care what Thane thinks,” he said, turning and striding ahead.
Copyright © 2020 by Colleen Houck

WEBSITE: https://www.facebook.com/ColleenRayHouck