I feel like reading something different, so I'm going with Susan Grant. I read the AAR DIK review of Contact a few days ago, and that reminded me that I still have The Star Prince (Pandora's Box review) to read, and it sounds great.
Plot summary (from Amazon.com):
"Imagine for a moment that you're a twenty-year-old guy in college, working on a finance degree, when your divorced mother remarries -- a king. But you're happy for her, and gradually you grow used to the idea. Imagine now that several years later your stepfather tells you that he's picked you to succeed him, and the next thing you know, you're the crown prince, thrust into a world you never envisioned, complicated by a court-load of scheming royals who don't think you belong there, either. And if that weren't enough, an independent-minded princess-in-peril lands in your arms, on the run from the very laws you pledged to uphold. Outmanned and outgunned, plowed under, fish out of water -- at this point, any of those terms would describe you. Only allowing yourself to be overwhelmed is a luxury you can't afford; it seems that the entire kingdom is hurtling toward war, and you're the only one who can stop it... "Posted later...
The Star Price was great fun; a grade of A-. I'm beginning to think I'll have to read more science fiction, because I enjoy the whole world-building stuff so much.
Apart from a great setting, this one had one of the loveliest heros I've ever read. I'm a sucker for the nerdy, honorable hero, who always tries to do the right thing, but isn't frightened of fighting for what he wants, and Ian was all that. And Tee'ah was the right woman for him. Very often this goody-2-shoes heros are paired with shrews, but Tee'ah was nice too (niceness is often underrated in romance), as well as honorable. I also loved that there wasn't too much adventure here (not life-in-peril situations, that is) and that court intrigue didn't overwhelm the story.
This one wasn't an A+ only because of the ending, which was way too much and melodramatic. I didn't like it at all. Also, a little problem: I don't know how much of a stand-alone this book was. I mean, I don't know if I would've enjoyed it so much if I hadn't read The Star King, where we see how Earth comes into the Trade Federation.