The Rule of Luck
RT Book Reviews – Top Pick
(2016 Futuristic Romance Nominee – RT Book Reviews)
A fresh heroine pairs with a dangerous hero to confront nuanced and compelling ethical dilemmas in this fast-paced, tightly plotted romance. Felicia evolves from determined but hapless to focused and empowered, while the plot picks up dizzying speed, delving into society’s capacity for manipulation and dehumanization. Fans of classic sci fi will recognize echoes of Orwell and Huxley.
Booklist – Starred Review
In the year 2950, dark days of floods, war, famine, and devastation are over, but the world has been reshaped forever. Terraforming on Venus and Mars, tech implants allowing for seamless access to the Internet-like CN-net, genetic modification to enhance beauty, government-sponsored anti-aging treatments, and strictly regulated population control are the new normal under the world’s new government, One Gov. Felicia Sevigny grows up blindly believing her life is her own until she discovers, for reasons unknown to her, she has been blacklisted from having a baby. Felicia has made a name for herself as a skilled fortune-teller, and her life changes the day Alexei Petriv, a high-ranking member of the Tsarist Consortium, a shadow organization set to take One Gov down, walks into her shop and demands a reading. In return for a promise to remove her blacklisted status, Felicia agrees to help Alexei in his quest to take power from One Gov. Their attraction is immediate, but Alexei’s plan is dangerous and unpredictable, and someone from Felicia’s past threatens their plans, and their lives. Cerveny’s first novel in a planned trilogy mingles romance and science fiction—think Nora Roberts meets Neal Stephenson—and is certain to satisfy audiences of both genres.
Publishers Weekly
Being lucky means never having to say you’re sorry in this sexy science fiction romance debut. Nairobi resident Felicia Sevigny lives on a near-future Earth where melted ice caps have led to flooded coasts and the centers of power are now located in Kenya and Brazil. She tells fortunes with a tarot deck inherited (over family objections) from her Romani great-grandmother. While trying to maneuver around being blocked by the world government from getting approval for pregnancy, she is swept up by Alexei Petriv, the wildly attractive heir apparent to the exiled Russian mafia, and tossed into a power struggle over human progress. Jetting around the world, Felicia confronts her hereditary ability to foretell danger, which stems from a gene that her missing mother researched and that Alexei wants to control. There’s a strong whiff of dominance and submission in Felicia’s relationships, accompanied by vivid romance; Felicia and Alexei are clearly consumed by both emotional and physical passion. Cerveny includes a variety of typical futuristic elements, such as remote-control bodies, life extension, space elevators, clones, teleportation, and flying cars, that will entirely satisfy fans of pulpy SF.
The Qwillery
The Rule of Luck is Catherine Cerveny’s debut novel. You can tell that Cerveny has spent a lot of time thinking about and creating her future Earth. The wordlbuilding is exceptional and is not bogged down by minutiae. Cerveny gives you everything you need to understand why this future Earth is the way it is and it’s fascinating.
I truly enjoyed the two main characters Felicia Sevigny and Alexei Petriv. The are both interesting and flawed. They make a wonderful, if not expected, couple. Felicia is a Tarot Card reader who really can read the cards and give advice to her clientele. Cerveny also provides insight into the Tarot and the way the cards are read that helps the reader get into the mind of Felicia. Alexei is the heir apparent to the Russian criminal enterprise that exists on Earth. He is somewhat rigid and very in control. He has his weak spots though. Their relationship starts as a professional one and progresses to more. It’s not an easy road for either of them, with both of them questioning everything. Their relationship builds slowly with some difficult bumps along the way. Both Felicia and Alexei grow emotionally over the course of the novel and you can’t but hope they will somehow end up together.
In addition to being a romance, The Rule of Luck deals with issues of what happens after the Earth faces catastrophic natural disasters. How do you provide resources and not overwhelm the planet? There are also issues of posthumanism, ethical and not-so-ethical science, population control, cutting edge science, and more. This is a novel with depth and gives you much to think about while being a really engaging and exciting read.
Cerveny has deftly blended Science Fiction and Romance. The writing is crisp and the novel flows beautifully. There is plenty of action and thrills as Felicia gets drawn deeper into Alexei’s plans. The Rule of Luck is a compelling read with engaging characters, a terrific story and a somewhat frightening portrayal of future Earth.
Kirkus Review
Cerveny’s world is noteworthy for its realistic balance. Her future, where everyone has access to age-halting technology but political turmoil still abounds, feels both familiar and intriguing…. A well-crafted world with a promising heroine.
“Imaginative. Fans of romance in science fiction are going to love this!”―Kim Harrison, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Cerveny’s debut blends steamy sci-fi-fi with breathless intrigue and action, all set on a far-future Earth that’s equal parts fascinating and terrifying.”―Beth Cato, author of The Clockwork Dagger and Breath of Earth
“A compelling and intriguing read built on a fascinating premise. Cerveny’s future world is richly drawn, and Felicia’s and Alexei’s adventure is definitely an edge-of-your-seat ride.”―Linnea Sinclair, award-winning author of the Dock Five Universe series
“Catherine Cerveny delivers the perfect blend of futuristic intrigue, engrossing action, and passionate romance in a riveting adventure that will leave you hungry for more. Intensely absorbing. Emotionally satisfying.”―Amanda Bouchet, author of the Kingmaker Chronicles
The Chaos of Luck
RT Book Reviews
As a follow-up to Cerveny’s debut, The Chaos of Luck is a worthy successor. Readers will be caught up and entertained by New Adult elements of high drama, angsty insecurity, angry sex, clubbing and fun details about futuristic fashion, but it’s all grounded by the speculative fiction tradition of posing serious ethical questions about where today’s social and political trajectories might lead. The advanced technology is a well-executed backdrop for the suspense-driven plot, and the “luck gene” continues to be a fresh, fascinating twist. Felicia makes some choices that seem inexplicable and frustrating at times, but in the end the plot resolves to make it all make sense.
Felicia and Alexei’s story continues on a terraformed Mars. They are together after beating steep odds in their first book, negotiating an uneasy truce with Alexei’s high-risk position with the Consortium. Under pressure from family and an old flame, Felicia’s luck continues to lead her in unexpected directions. With the stakes high, will Felicia’s luck gene allow her to find happiness with Alexei? The answer in the cards is terrifying, but there is always more than one way to interpret the Tarot.
The Game of Luck
Publishers Weekly
Who you know trumps what you know in this slightly racy family drama (following 2017’s The Chaos of Luck) spread out across the solar system. Felicia Sevigny, a fortune-teller from Nairobi, is now on Mars and head of the Venus redevelopment project for One Gov, the sole legal ruling power. She’s also married to Alexei Petriv, head of the rival Tsarist Consortium (aka the Russian mafia), and trying hard to get pregnant. Her family members, including her father, are disappearing, and her tarot cards tell of treachery from someone close. When her trusted grandfather, Under Secretary Felipe Vieira, is nearly assassinated, war between One Gov and Alexei’s syndicate is declared, and Felicia must choose between her career and her husband. Cerveny serves up a comfort stew of SF and romance elements (genetically engineered superman leads humankind to the stars, biologically evolved superwoman yearns for motherhood), mixing in some spicy sequences to add some heat, though the sex scenes flirt with (and in one instance involve) coercion. Readers with a fondness for active female protagonists will enjoy Felicia’s take-charge attitude