REVIEW!! The Mercenary (The War Chronicles #1) by Petra Landon

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SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS

She's a prisoner of the Imperial Forces. He's a nomad with a mercenary army. Can a desperate girl's risky gamble and a fierce warrior's love turn the tide of war and rewrite the destiny of their corner of the galaxy?

In a distant corner of the galaxy, Quadrant Five burns in the flames of a deadly war. The Budheya people are one of the worst affected.

Saakshi
Imprisoned by the Ketaari Imperial Forces, a young Budheya rebel is sent to a distant space station to work in an alehouse. For a girl who has known only hardship in her short life, things could be worse. Until an old foe walks into the alehouse.

Zoran
Zoran is Hadari'Kor - notoriously fierce mercenaries who only fight for hire. Drawn to a weary-eyed server girl, Zoran is forced to confront age-old traditions and question his role in the war.

The Rebel & The Mercenary
Alone, friendless and far from home, Saakshi makes a desperate gamble to trust an enigmatic stranger whose hot gaze haunts her dreams. The echoes of this unlikely alliance reverberate across the quadrant. As a relentless enemy hunts Saakshi, Zoran must fight with everything in his arsenal to protect her. When passion ignites amidst the embers of a smoldering war, will a warrior's quest for justice bring a mighty Empire to its knees ...

Author's Note : A spirited and resilient girl, a fierce warrior with a mighty heart, a fiery passion that flares amidst the debris of a deadly war and a love that will alter the fate of an entire quadrant forms the tale of The Mercenary, a standalone story that sets the scene for The War Chronicles - a collection of SciFi Romance & Space Opera tales with romance, swashbuckling adventure & a sprinkling of action

REVIEW

The author offered me a review copy and I'd been reading along and enjoying it mightily. Very strong and likeable characters, slimy bad guys, great world building, romance, action, page turning plot – everything I love in a book. And then I ran into one of those traffic jams that occasionally appear on everyone's life highway and couldn't read for weeks! Yes, it was very painful but my point is this book lingered in my mind. I found myself thinking about the characters and what further facets will be revealed, what plot twists they had yet to face, how they might react and rooting for them to succeed.  When life untangled itself I finished it and loved every minute but the story still lingers in my mind. To me, this is the sign of a great book and a great author.

Currently there is only one in the series but it is obviously set up for more – can't wait! I'll definitely be getting the next one. I did pick up the other book she has out, The Prophecy (Saga of the Chosen, #1), which is at the top of my TBR list.

Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW!! Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair

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Synopsis:

The universe isn’t what it used to be. With the new Alliance between the Triad and the United Coalition, Captain Tasha “Sass” Sebastian finds herself serving under her former nemesis, biocybe Admiral Branden Kel-Paten–and doing her best to hide a deadly past. But when an injured mercenary winds up in their ship’s sick bay–and in the hands of her best friend, Dr. Eden Fynn–Sass’s efforts may be wasted.

Wanted rebel Jace Serafino has information that could expose all of Sass’s secrets, tear the fragile Alliance apart–and end Sass’s career if Kel-Paten discovers them. But the biocybe has something to hide as well, something once thought impossible for his kind to possess: feelings . . . for Sass. Soon it’s clear that their prisoner could bring down everything they once believed was worth dying for–and everything they now have to live for.

Review:

I love Linnea Sinclair's books - all of them - but this is one of my very favorites.  It's one I have to keep getting new copies of because I keep giving mine away to friends, acquaintances, perfect strangers [well, not really PERFECT strangers].  But when you have a book you love you just want to share...

Our heroine is Tasha Sebastian who lives in interesting times.  She is currently the captain of a U-Cee huntership and a veteran of the recent war between the United Coalition and the Triad.  But before that she had other names and other lives...

Our hero is Admiral Branden Kel-Paten, brilliant strategist, military leader and a human who has been altered physically, mentally and most of all cybernetically.  He can interface directly with his ship and there are those who say "Tin Soldier" is more 'cybe than human.  But they're wrong...

As part of the treaty, 'mixed' ships are being established and Kel-Paten has specifically requested Tasha for his first officer.  Thus begin the games of command; why did he ask for her, what does he want? 

Enter a second plot starring the empathic best friend of Tasha, Doctor Eden Fynn, and Jace Serafino, renegade Nasyry priest, telepath, and all round rogue.  Kel-Paten would like to squeeze every drop of information out of Serafino personally. 

And then there are the furzels, Tank and Reilly.  They are rather cat-like in nature with some VERY special abilities.  Even more special than their humans, Tasha and Eden, know because they can identify the truly evil creatures which they simply call 'Bad Things'.  They know the Bad Things are watching their people and resolve to protect them...

Her world building is consistently outstanding and the world of Games of Command is no exception.  The poignancy of Kel-Paten's love and the utter wrongness of what was done to him grab your heart. Tight, page-turning plot, great characters [and her aliens are outstanding] and dialog that grabs you - it is a must read.

Associated short stories:

Seven Months of Forever from The Mammoth Book of Futuristic Romance

Mission: Nam Selan from Tales From the SFR Brigade

BLOG TOUR!! Retribution (Wade Ferris Chronicles Shadow Warrior, #2) by W.M. Clarke

Title: Retribution

Author: W.M. Clarke

Genre: Sci-fi Romance

Series: Wade Ferris Chronicles Shadow Warrior, Book 2

Release Date: May 9, 2016

Publisher: ZinaImage Media

WARNING: ADULTS ONLY. This book contains Graphic Violence and Sexual Situations

It’s a love story set in the violence and turmoil of an invasion by Alien beings. Corrupt government officials and violent gangs, all of them wanting their share of the spoils. Amidst the sexual tension, and personal conflict, they know that they to put their feelings aside and do what needs to be done before it is too late. Failure to accomplish their goals will only result in death, not only for themselves but for every living thing on the planet.

Carline and Ferris had dealt the Invaders a major setback by blowing up one of the antennas and destroying their equipment. Forced now to move away from the beach area of Waikanae, they moved inland towards the center of town with the goal of locating a transmitter they could use to contact the military and pass on what information they had gathered about the Invaders.
Little did they know, that the collaboration of the gangs was just the tip of the iceberg, and ran a lot deeper than they could ever imagine.

After helping two women escape from their attackers, they take Carline and Ferris to a building they consider safe, but things are not as they seem. The building holds its own secrets, as do the two women they just rescued.

Ginny and Carmella join forces with Ferris and Carline after they discover what each other is trying to do. Close relationships between the four of them quickly develop with each of them knowing they might not survive for much longer. The four of them set out to rid Ginny’s mysterious Green Mountain of the gang members and the Invaders. Their mission is to find out what is there the invaders want and why.

Other eyes are watching them as well, those of the supernatural world that have charged them with the return of a sacred object supposedly hidden within Green Mountain.

Amazon: US I UK I AU I CA

 Other Books in the Series 

Shadow Warrior

Wade Ferris Chronicles

Book 1

Buy HERE

W.M. Clarke

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Born in New Zealand sometime around the middle of last century, and according to my mother, I was found under a cabbage plant when asked where I came from. During these early years I spent a lot of time with my Grandparents. My Grandfather was a fisherman and owned a small fleet of ocean going fishing boats. Before I was 5 years old I knew how to strip down the engines and how to mend and make fishing nets. All these good things taught to me, I was sure would hold me in good stead at some future time.

So armed with new found knowledge of engines, fishing nets, and that I just grew; I was packed off to Elementary School to begin years of tedious book learning. I remember the first few days quite vividly, wondering home at the first break in class and my mother asking me why I was home. My reply to that was "The teacher said I didn't need to be there anymore and I knew everything I needed to know." This was a concept that suited me right down to the ground. But for some unknown reason Mom didn't see it that way. So I had my sorry butt dragged back to that place, where I was to remain for a whole year.

At the years end, I was told I was not going to be going back to the old school, which for your information suited me just fine. The trouble was I didn't hear the rest of the what was being said. I spent that Christmas break enjoying the feeling that school was done for me and I was finally free to do as I pleased until I was old enough to go out to work.

Can you imagine the shock I felt when the Christmas break was over and I find my scrawny ass being dragged out of bed at the ungodly hour of 7:00 a.m. on that Monday morning. (You can insert whatever cuss words you know in here. It's all good.) A new school, new teachers...oh, crap!

I found myself becoming a foundation pupil of a brand new school. Windley School, a name to be feared in future years. It was during this first year at the new school, that we moved to a new house closer to the school.

By the time I was about 8 this learning thing had become a bad habit. Forced into attending this "School" 5 days a week was getting to be a bit of a drag. Although I did find I had the knack for making people laugh and generally getting teachers a tiny bit pissed at me. (Good stuff!) I discovered writing and I found that I could get a few laughs out of it. The teacher would say I want a 500 word essay from everyone by this afternoon. (Which translated into, I don't feel like teaching right now I need to rest.) Hell! With only 500 word, I had barely gotten started on the first part. I think the teacher actually feared asking for a word count. While my classmates moaned and groaned about it being so long, I was happily filling my exercise book full of words and dream worlds.

I always knew when the teacher got to my book. There was an audible sigh from her when she opened it.

"Clarke come here! " She would say. "Do you know what 500 words mean?"

"Yes Ma'am." I'd answer.

"What does it mean? Tell me!"

"Not enough Ma'am." Which usually earned me a slap on the hand from her, much to the enjoyment from the rest of the class.

High School was an eye opener for me. I discovered Girls, lots of girls to occupy my time with. I also during this time I met a local poet, who ended up being my English teacher. Sam Hunt was one of the few people that actually tried to help me develop a style that suited my personality. But unfortunately his time there was limited, and he was coming into his own peak. His poetry and needs took first place. I couldn't blame him for that. If I was at the peak of my career I would have done the same thing as well.

Once out of High School I met a young man that was to become a close and dear friend for many years after. We were destined to share a friendship that would lead both of us through a great deal of harrowing times and adventures. We rode motorbikes together, got into no ends of trouble. Tried our hands at riding in the rodeo for a couple of seasons thinking we might make a few dollars.

Around 1975, we found ourselves in what was then Rhodesia as part of the Rhodesian Security Forces fighting in the so called Bush Wars. My parents and that, all thought I was safely tucked away in Auckland working my ass off there. Both of us returned to New Zealand, changed in a way that neither of us had expected. We were hard and rugged, far more used to living in the bush than in civilization.

I met the woman who was later to become my wife in 1980. I help raise her two young daughters, and my own daughter was born four years later. My friend Denny was still in my life and my wife was friends with his sister. During this time I worked as a Security specialist for Businessmen and a couple of Foreign Diplomats.

1998, my marriage had ended and it was time for me to move on. I end up here in the US of A and this is the place I now call home. For 14 of the last 18 years I have served and protected this country in one way or another as a Contractor or a Security Specialist. For me now, my wars are done. I have returned to what I feel comfortable with. I have a new career wife and family to consider.

I write full time now, and do a little design work on the side to keep the wolves from the door. I have Ghost written two novels for others in the last 18 months. Written, edited and published 1 art book for a friend (currently in print as a 2nd Edition), and I will release it as a Kindle eBook shortly for those who like to follow artists and their works. My own Science Fiction Novel Shadow Warrior Book One is due out in a month. Book two in the series is just about finished and hopefully be released on Kindle by October.

No, I never got to use the skills taught to me by my Grandfather, but neither do I regret it or the time i spent with both him and my Grandmother. As for my past life, if asked I would do it all again! In a heartbeat!

Darkness on Fire (Paladins of Darkness 9) by Alexis Morgan

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Synopsis:

When Kalith geologist Jora b'Larth notices strange seismic activity occurring around the underground energy barrier in Yellowstone National Park, she realizes someone otherworldly has been siphoning off energy. Keeping her identity under wraps, she reaches out to the enemy Paladins for help. When Paladin Penn Sebastian shows up, ready to investigate her allegations, Jora is unexpectedly attracted by his handsome face and intense blue eyes. And as they work together to solve the rift between their two worlds, something surprising happens: the two sworn enemies begin to fall in love.

Review:

Great read with an action plot.  What happens when what had defined you is suddenly gone? What happens when the warrior can no longer be a warrior?  Penn was injured in an earlier book and has not made a full recovery.  He is still shattered at not fighting with his fellow Paladins.  But when Devlin gets a mysterious call for help in Yellowstone, he asks Penn to go and meet with the unknown caller. 

The caller turns out to be a female Kalith geologist whose parents bought their way into this world when she was an infant. She has very bad news - activities from people on the Kalith side of the Barrier seem to be creating an imbalance which would trigger an explosion of the Yellowstone super volcano [definitely the end of life as we know it].  The story consists of them researching the problems, ducking bad guys, fighting bad guys, and getting over their prejudices. 

Larem and Baraq, Kalithan friends from Seattle who have their own books, have cameos. Their friendship has prepared Penn to accept his heroine.  Jora, on the other hand, was raised by her Kalithan parents on stories of the Paladin boogeymen...

This was supposed to be the last of the Paladin books but joyfully the author has just released a novella, Darkness Torn Asunder, which continues the series. I’m hoping for more…

The Paladins

1.     Dark Protector

2.     Dark Defender

3.     In Darkness Reborn

4.     Redeemed in Darkness

5.     Darkness Unknown

6.     Defeat the Darkness

7.     Bound by Darkness

8.     The Darkness Beyond

9.     Darkness on Fire

9.5 Darkness Torn Asunder

REVIEW!! Undercover (Federation #1) by Lauren Dane

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Synopsis:

A sexy debut exploring an erotic future universe of passion, danger, and deceit…

On the battleground or in the bedroom, one woman and two men fight for dominance in a bold, new, and excitingly different direction in erotica…

As a lieutenant of the Federation military, Sera Ayers is accustomed to giving orders, not taking them. Now she must obey the one man she can't stand-and can't stop thinking about.

With the enemy Imperialists gaining ground, a covert team is assembled by Ash Walker. Ten years before, Sera had lovingly submitted to Ash's dominance in the bedroom. But when he was forced into a political marriage, she refused to play mistress. His marriage now over, Ash wants Sera on his team-and back in his bed.

The third team member, Brandt Pela, has an elegance to match Ash's savage sexuality. And when their undercover plan requires Sera to pose as Brandt's lover, it ignites a passion among the three of them more dangerous than their mission.

Review:

Futuristic/SFR with a relationship driven plot.  I'm not saying there isn't action but much of it is sexual.  Since this is a ménage book, a great deal of time is spent on scenes exploring combinations of one, two and three partners.   [Despite the heroine assuring them she is okay with 'boy touching' - her words, not mine - the two guys are into her and not each other.  They are emotionally intimate, and there is an occasional kiss or caress - but it's on the way to what they really want, her.]  Contains some BDSM elements - bedroom submission, a few toys, spanking...

The book opens with the heroine, Sera, storming into her superior's office demanding to be sent back to her unit.  He refuses and introduces her to her new unit, Brandt Pela and Ash Walker.  She decks Ash, puts Brandt on the ground when he tries to block the door, and storms back out.  Eventually she is forced to listen - she has been assigned to work with these two in a covert intelligence unit - for reasons having to do with her skills, not her past with Ash.

Both Brandt and Ash are Ranked [think English aristocracy, especially before the introduction of the House of Commons.]  Ranked men are not supposed to do more than play around with unranked women.  Sera is unranked.  Ten years ago Sera and Ash were together and, she thought, deeply in love.  The shock when she found out he was engaged to be married and he asked her to be his official Mistress was devastating.  She left him, and any thought of love, behind.

The mission necessitates her being a 'mistress' to one of the men since the society they will be entering requires it and they need someone to spy at that level.  She refuses to have anything to do with Ash but agrees to do it with Brandt.  Circumstances [of the extremely obvious plot device variety] occur that require her to be the mistress of both of them...

The threesome work well together in the bedroom and on the mission.  They succeed in tracking down the traitors and bringing the proof back to their superiors, proof that rocks the comfortable world of the Ranked...

Ash wants her back - desperately.  The wife he was forced to marry divorced him seven years ago so he is now free, but as a second son he still cannot marry without his father's permission - permission that he could not get ten years ago and cannot get now. 

Brandt had heard a great deal about Sera from his best friend and he falls deeply in love with her.  And his father is much more liberal than Ash's..

Sera learns about the realities of being Ranked and finally understands why Ash did what he did ten years ago.  She slowly begins to trust again, both Ash AND Brandt...

I enjoyed it - and moved on to the next book in the series. After Relentless the focus moves to the Phantom Corps [a special unit within the Federation, essentially a formalized version of the the covert ops team explored in Undercover]. I tried to ignore the cover - it's way too lingerie model for me!

Federation Chronicles

1. Undercover

2. Relentless

Federation Chronicles/Phantom Corps

3. Insatiable

4. Mesmerized

5. Captivated