I’m back and eager to share more exciting new releases in the science fiction romance galaxy.
S.E. Smith brings us book 6 in her Alliance series, Edge of Insanity. The story: Sometimes the only way to survive is to let insanity take over…
Edge remembers little of his capture but all of what has happened since. Sold to the Waxians, he resists their efforts to gain information on the Trivator military and weapons systems. He can feel his mind splinter from their repeated tortures, but a soft voice in the darkness urges him to resist-and fight back.
Lina Daniels is used to fighting fire with fire. She isn’t afraid of death, but she is terrified of being captured. As a resistance fighter on Earth, she knew the dangers. Those threats seem minuscule compared to those on the alien world she was taken to.
Determined to return home, her plan is simple-free the Trivator warrior she discovered and force him to take her and the other women that are with her back to Earth. That plan turns out just as hazardous as being a fugitive on an alien world! The last thing Lina expects is for the Trivator to have an intense protectiveness of her or his stubborn determination in believing she is his Amate!
The soft sound of Lina’s voice is the only thing that prevents Edge’s mind from completely shattering. With the Waxian and Drethulan forces on their tail, it will take more than a few daring moves to escape to freedom. Can a tortured warrior and his rebellious rescuer escape the forces chasing them or will the threat of losing the last thing holding him together hurl Edge over the precipice and into insanity?
Anna Hackett has a new Galactic Gladiators tale, her tenth in the series, Cyborg. Why yes, I do seem to mention Anna just about every month but the lady is a fast writer and readers, including yours truly, never get enough of her books. I was eager to read this character’s story for sure. The plot: Ever has been fighting for her life since her abduction, and the only good thing to happen to her was one heated night with a mysterious prisoner–a connection, a flash of light in the darkness. But then he was rescued and she was left behind. Now, weeks later, she’s been saved by the House of Galen gladiators…and by the man she shared the hottest night of her life with. But cool, emotionless cyborg Magnus Rone has no memory of their night together and finding out that she’s expecting his baby is a shock to everyone.
Created in a military program, Magnus is genetically and cybernetically enhanced–emotionless, ruthless, focused. He vows to protect Ever and the baby she carries, and despite his lack of memory, everything about tough, levelheaded Ever draws him in. All his life, his emotional dampeners and training have limited his ability to feel emotions…but one small Earth woman cuts through all that and leaves him feeling.
As they work together to hunt down the deadly desert arena of Zaabha and the final human woman trapped there, Ever and Magnus find a stunning passion neither can resist or ignore. But in the dangerous desert sands of Carthago, with the House of Galen gladiators by their sides, deadly enemies are closing in. Ever and Magnus will be dragged back into the darkness, and Magnus will do anything and sacrifice everything to keep her safe.
Grace Goodwin is another personal favorite read for me and her Colony series has combined characters I care about, steamy scenes and plot twists to keep everything fresh. Cyborg Fever (Interstellar Brides®: The Colony Book Five) is no exception. The blurb: Warlord Anghar survives hell as a captive of the evil Hive. Convinced he will never break free, he chooses death over dishonor. When the Coalition ReCon Team sent to kill him frees him instead, he begins the long, tortuous journey back to a true Atlan, a warrior proud of his beast, of his service.
But no amount of honor, of bravery, or strength of will can save Angh from a life alone, banished with the other “contaminated” warriors on The Colony. And no amount of prayer to the gods will save him when the fever in his blood grows beyond his will to control – and the Atlan Mating Fever steals his final shards of belief.
Imprisoned, awaiting execution, one hope is left; a woman brave enough to tame his beast – and strong enough to fight the demons inside both his head and his heart. Because he may have escaped the Hive…but they aren’t finished with him yet.
(Why yes, cyborgs are big in SFR! Readers never get enough of this popular trope…)
Tasha Black’s Kirk: Stargazer Alien Mail Order Brides #10 (Intergalactic Dating Agency) is pure fun, starting with the setting at a comic con type event. The plot: Katie Henderson has been a teenager in the collective consciousness of Sci-Fi fans for a decade. Never mind that she’d rather be called Kate and is tired of wearing a starship uniform. Like her character in Suspended in Space, Katie’s life has been hopelessly stuck, still orbiting the waylaid starship that made her a household name, long after the show’s cancellation. She’s decided to do one last Comic Con circuit during her college summer break. After that she can’t wait to start a new life where she can make a real difference and leave the world of Sci-Fi behind.
Kirk is a visitor from another planet. Back on Aerie, he was migrated into a gorgeous human body, and assigned to learn about humans by choosing a female to annihilate with pleasure. Kirk looked forward to his assignment, but had no idea that his first look at Kate would bring him to his knees. He is desperate to make her his mate. But the impudent little human doesn’t want to get involved with an alien. When an over-eager fan starts showing up where he doesn’t belong, Kate allows Kirk to act as a temporary bodyguard. But sharing close quarters with the achingly handsome alien threatens to push Kate’s willpower past the limit.
Will the practical former actress hold out for a “normal” life? Or will this interstellar hunk convince her to lighten up and relish all that he has to offer?
I’m going to finish with a book that’s not a romance, although it does contain a very satisfying romance and a Happy for Now ending. Aurora Terminus by S. E. Fanetti is a post-apocalyptic tale, with all the grim goings-on such stories require (no zombies but just about everything else bad does happen). As a longtime fan of such books and shows like ‘The Walking Dead’, I couldn’t resist this one and read it in one big gulp, staying up late. Here’s the bare bones official synopsis , although the book contains so much more than this, including a very surprising colony of survivors – I WISH I did spoilers because this twist was so great but alas, I don’t. The blurb: The end of the world came quietly, in a breathtaking display of light and color, while everyone stopped and watched, entranced.
And then the lights went out, and death and chaos took over.
A woman went up, high above the fray, and tried to build a life alone from what was left of the world that had been.
A man stayed down, in the midst of the turmoil, and tried to find a home in the world that had become.
But neither life nor home is possible until there is family, until love and trust and hope return.
Until then, there is only survival.
Happy reading and be sure to let us know what terrific books you’ve been savoring!
