Cordelia's Honor - Lois McMaster Bujold

I absolutely loved our bookclub's most recent pick, Cordelia's Honor. It is the story of Captain Cordelia Naismith, a scientist/explorer in the mold of Star Trek's Captain Janeway - kind, strong, resourceful, compassionate, and with a powerful moral compass. Cordelia is enjoying a routine survey mission to an unclaimed planet when she and her crew are attacked by a squad of Barrayans, a militant race with a revered warrior caste, the Vor. She is taken prisoner by their honorable commander, Aral Vorkosigan, and the two unexpectedly fall in love. Eventually, Cordelia returns with him to Barrayar as Lady Vorkosigan, where the two are swept up in intergalactic politics and domestic revolution. Powerfully written, with interesting reflections on war, love, gender dynamics, and the stigma of disability. Not your typical romance novel.