by Casie Aufenthie
A.J. Calvin started Willow Wraith Press’s Series Spotlight with The Warriors of Bhrea. I’ll be showcasing a trilogy of romantic sci-fi thrillers, which was completed in June 2025.
The Drift Trilogy:
Genre: Sci-fi, Romance
Series status: Complete
Book Titles (in sequential order & links to my reviews): The Drift, The Symbiosis, The Convergence
Series Overview:
In a future torn apart by evolution, humanity has split into three species: the mentally evolved Illuminatos, who rule through violent oppression; the physically evolved Corporis, forced to serve to survive; and the Unevolved, nearing extinction.
Samara, an Elite Corporis, lost everything in the Evolutionary War—her family and her freedom. She is trained in combat and subterfuge, but doesn’t get to choose her assignments. Under threat of death, she’s ordered to track down the leader of the Resistance and seduce him into returning to his former life. But when she meets the mysterious Tristan, everything she thought she knew about the world—and herself—unravels.
Tristan, once a high-ranking Illuminatos, fights for peace and equality. As secrets from his past threaten to destroy everything he’s fought for, he finds himself torn between his cause and his growing feelings for Samara. Either choice will demand an extraordinary sacrifice.
This is a world of superhuman genetic mutations, with social commentaries on things like eugenics and war. There are also some Shakespearean overtones. Romeo and Juliet are not only referenced by the characters, but the warring factions of Illumanatos and Corporis mirror the Montagues and Capulets.
Why you should read it:
What I like about the romance in this sci-fi trilogy is that it forms an important part of the main narrative without shrinking the world down to two people. When it is the focus, it isn’t rushed along; when duty calls the main characters, their relationship adds to the stakes without being the only thing on their minds. Samara is petite, but superhumanly strong and endowed with miraculous regenerative abilities. Tristan is lanky and cerebral, and burdened with psychic gifts that make him more mature than his twenty years. There is a sizable age gap between the pair, with a long-lived Corporis like Samara being much older than she appears. While popular romance tropes are woven into the trilogy, Tristan and Samara’s relationship is anything but predictable; it is messy, and sometimes melodramatic. They hurl cutting insults at each other, and become passionate just as quickly.
The pair face significant opposition from the villainous Council, which is made up of the most powerful Illuminatos from different sectors around the world. Masters of telepathy and telekinesis, they can manipulate their environment on a molecular level. The worst of them is Fang, the leader of the Council, who is utterly committed to her belief that the Illuminatos are the superior species. However, not all of the antagonists are quite as sadistic or irredeemable as she is.
The setting of The Drift is futuristic, with holograms and a digital currency. However it doesn’t lean into an over-reliance on AI or extensive space travel. Earth-splitting battles have laid waste to vast areas, and some sites have become toxic wastelands. Present day cities are referenced, but many areas go under unfamiliar names, which makes this Earth feel like a dystopian, alien world. The concept of a multiverse is present, but not distracting. We are rooted in our main timeline, but Tristan is offered glimpses into alternate realities.
The author has experience with martial arts, and her fight scenes are excellently executed. The physical combat is gritty, the aerial dogfights breathtaking, and the telekinetic battles in equal parts awe-inspiring and horrifying.
If all that isn’t enough to entice you into reading this trilogy, you should come for Kip. A tech genius who is also Tristan’s best friend and confidant, he keeps the two leads from getting themselves killed or doing things they’ll regret. A number of other characters have excellent arcs independent of the main couple. The Romeo and Juliet references hint at tragedy looming over the trilogy. But while there is plenty of emotional turmoil, this story does not disappoint those who want to see the MCs snatching happy moments together.
Find out more about The Drift Trilogy!
C.B. Lansdell
C.B. (Coe) Lansdell is a longtime storyteller who drew picture books and enacted scenarios years before she could write. She’s worked as an illustrator since 2010, focusing mainly on school readers. Though born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, she is as pale as can be expected for someone of English and Welsh stock.
Hours of staring into rockpools left her wondering what sort of beings could develop from the colourful creatures found there. Her dogs consider her writing an annoying distraction, only good for keeping Mum at home.
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