Synopsis

Sabralia is one of the many wives contracted to the emperor. As one of the wives, she had a personal cyborg who helped her bath, get dressed, and ready for functions that required her attendance. While she did not treat her cyborg as her sex slave, she allowed herself to fantasize about him.

“He was a machine, of course, but his body was a man’s, fit and smooth skinned.”

After an attack on the planet, Sabralia is forced to flee with her cyborg Qy.

Kaistril (cyborg Qy) has been the personal cyborg of Sabralia for more than 2 years. After the attack on the planet, he begins to remember his life before being programmed as cyborg. More than just a high-ranking officer, he was a good-looking, virile man.

Opinion

After first reading this book, I gave it 3 hearts, but I kept coming back to read it because I loved the story. So, I had to up my rating to 4 hearts.

Sabralia is a woman in bad situation and she knows she wants more out of life but cannot get it. Given as a wife to a dictator for treaty purposes, she tries to keep a low profile to prevent anyone physically assaulting her. She has a serious crush on her cyborg but she does not act on it because it would not be the same as if he was a real man.

Then he is a real man.

“Years of wanting her cyborg to be a man, not a cyborg, made her weak.”

Meanwhile, Kaistril knows what he wants and he likes what sees. He can remember what he saw while he was a cyborg and knew that he had bathed her.

“All those months in the bath teased him, ratcheting up his desire.”

He thought it would be as simple as “We will sate each other, put those longing to rest…”

He should have known that he would be hooked.

I think the overall reason why I liked this book is because Sabralia was not a weak woman. She seemed like it in the beginning; but, really she was a woman resigned to her fate. When things changed, she regained her self-esteem and took control of her destiny. She did not sit around waiting for the hero to save her all the time. She did what she could to be a supportive partner. I can appreciate that in the heroine’s character. At the end of their adventure, they are together for their HEA.

Should you buy? Yes. I have the rest of the series on my TBR list.

Book details from Goodreads

Kindle Edition, 85 pages

Published May 23rd 2012 by Grand Street Publishing (first published February 1st 2009)

series Diaspora Worlds #1

Available on Amazon

Summer Storm #MCromance #bookreview

Sep16

Summer Storm: A Satan’s Fury MC Novella

Synopsis

Guardrail is part of a motorcycle club. When a guy steals from the club, he is responsible for tracking him down.

Allie is the sister of the man they are looking to find.

Guardrail should not want to get into a relationship with Allie since he is looking for her brother, but there is something about her that makes him want stake a claim.

Opinion

I read this book because it was part of a compilation that I bought on Amazon. I am not into the whole motorcycle club scene because they usually are involved in illegal activities (e.g. Sons of Anarchy). The few books I have read in the past, it was from the viewpoint of an undercover officer infiltrating the “club” to put a stop to whatever drug/sex trafficking they were doing.

This motorcycle club was doing all the things that were against the law; but to hear them rationalize it, they were maintaining order in the community. “Maintaining order” is best described as eliminating threats in a manner in which others will think twice before circumventing the established chain of command.

This was the first book that I have read where the main focus was on a MC member starting a relationship with his “old lady”. I’m not a staunch feminist, but really? And he only will give her information on a need-to-know basis. Why so many secrets?

It was hard for me to get involved in the romance because I kept wondering if Allie wanted to break up him later, would she have to go into protective custody? She is essentially becoming part of a gang. One does not just leave the gang. Forget the explosive chemistry. Her life could be at stake. Maybe all motorcycle clubs are not into nefarious dealings, but in this story there is a whole lot of shady going on. And when the law enforcement eventually shuts it all down, the “old ladies” are getting arrested too.

This review has been derailed by my overactive imagination.

Should you buy? If you like stories about motorcycle club heroes, you might like this. If you rather your hero be law abiding, then this is not for you.

Book details from Amazon
File Size: 689 KB
Print Length: 100 pages
Publication Date: June 25, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Available on Amazon

Defining Destiny can lead to love triangles #definingdestiny

Aug30

Defining Destiny (Destiny, Book 1): New Adult Romance

Synopsis

This story is set in a reality where everyone has one true soul mate. With that person, everything they do together is better.

Lucy’s soulmate is Caden. When they sing, it is a magical connection that moves people on an emotional level. However, Caden is also selfish and conniving which is why Lucy leaves him.

Seth lost his soulmate in a car accident. He is an artist and she was his inspiration. He is attracted to Lucy but is uncertain where it will lead.

Opinion

The story is told from the POV of Lucy and Seth. In this reality, soulmate just means there is a strong connection between two people but it does not confirm monogamy.

Caden was a complete douche. For example, he lied and manipulated many times to keep Lucy close. I was annoyed with Lucy for being as nice as she was to him.

While I thought this was supposed to be a story about Lucy and Seth, I felt like I was reading more about Lucy and Caden. As a result, I had a difficult time connecting with the characters.

Since Caden was self-seeking and egotistical, it was easy to root for Seth. But then he was emo so much of the time, that I wondered if Lucy would just be better off without either one. Then I would think, “Should I get emotionally vested in a Lucy-Seth match if there is a chance she could toss that to go back to jerk #1 Caden?” In a way it was kind of like a love triangle but not really.

I finished the story and all I can say is that there was a satisfying but missing something end.

Should you buy? If you want a book that is infuriating and set in an alternate reality where everything you know as logical may or may not be true, then read Defining Destiny. If you do not want to have to think that hard, then pass.

Details from Goodreads

ebook, 266 pages
Published by Bayou Moon Publishing, LLC (first published February 20th 2014)
series Defining Destiny #1

Ours to Save: ES Siren 9 – Shona Husk #ScifiRomance #netgalley

Aug21

I received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ours to Save: ES Siren 9 by Shona Husk

Synopsis
Micah and his daughter Sadie are on the ship Siren travelling to a planet that is going to be colonized. Since he has experience in agriculture, his skill set is seen as a benefit to the new settlers.

Felicity is imprisoned for her involvement as a radical Gaia Movement . As an explosives expert, she knows a lot of bomb making. Because of severity of her crimes, she is in a maximum security prison. She does not want her daughter to be stigmatized by the fact that her mother is a criminal, so Micah and Felicity keep their relationship secret.

Despite their best efforts, someone found out about their close ties and looks to leverage this information for their own nefarious plans. Threatening harm to the important people in her life was not a wise move. Felicity will do whatever she needs to do to ensure her family’s safety.

Opinion
At first this was difficult for me to get in to because it was not what I expected. I knew it was part of a series but I thought that it would still be okay to read as a standalone story. Logically I know this is book #9 of the series, but I was optimistic.

Once I was able to understand what this world was about, I was able to focus more on the plot. That being said, I think you are better off if you read some of the earlier books to get background for the story.

From Goodreads, here is the series in a nutshell

As a small fleet of ships makes their way toward a new colony the people on board find love and lust.

~~~Back to story~~~
Micah and Felicity were already in love when they were on their way to the new colony. For most of the story, I felt tense at the situation Micah and Felicity found themselves. Felicity’s feeling that Micah was too good for her and could possibly leave at any time, stressed me out. She loved him and could not understand why he was giving up a better life to love her back.

I felt sorry for Micah and Felicity. This is one of those screwed up situations where they cannot show in any kind of emotion that might prove how much they love each other for fear of someone trying to exploit the situation. Then someone did that any way.

Overall, I think that because the story picks up in the middle of their relationship timeline, there was not a lot of character development. I did not see this as steamy or sweet. It was raw in the sense that it deals with the realities of loving a person who is imprisoned. If a person likes that type of romance, they will love this book. I, on the other hand, prefer less stressful, more fanciful romances.

Ours to Save: ES Siren 9 Product Details
Print Length: 95 pages
Publisher: Momentum (July 23, 2015)
Publication Date: July 23, 2015

Can’t Shake You should be Can’t Understand You #contemporaryromance

Jul20

Can’t Shake You (River Bend, #1)

Synopsis

Carissa bought a house that she is remodeling to sell.

Josh is a contractor that helps Carissa after she fires her first contractor.

Carissa and Josh had a one night stand years ago, but decide that they cannot have a relationship now. Complicating things is the fact that Carissa dated Josh’s best friend. Plus Carissa’s best friend is marrying Josh’s brother.

Opinion

I think that Carissa thought that what she had with Josh was never going to happen again and that is why she decided dating his best friend was a good idea. Not a choice I would have made, but I guess she realized that she did not have many options in a small town. It is still confusing why Josh was not an option for a relationship.

What I could not understand about this story

Josh’s hesitancy to tell his best friend about dating Carissa. It was not as if they were still dating. What kind of ridiculous “I got dibs on her” type of childish nonsense was that? Josh and Carissa were sneaking around so that they could hide their relationship from one person. The way they were carrying on, it was as if one of them was married.

What really annoyed me about this story

Carissa’s best friend kept pushing her to sleep with guys as if she needed to be in a relationship to be happy.

Overall, this book was not the best, but was not the worst. The villain did not seem to have a decent grasp on reality. What stalker is a sane person? Josh’s reason for not making their relationship public was borderline ridiculous to me. But in the end, they get together and all loose ends are neatly tied up.

Should you buy? Yes as a time filler for an afternoon or while travelling, but do not pay more than 99cents (last I checked, it was free on Amazon)

Book details from Amazon

Print Length: 326 pages
Publisher: Molly McLain (February 21, 2014)
Publication Date: February 21, 2014

Available on Amazon