Across the Stars (Cyborg Genesis #1) by Lauren Smith and Noah Chinn – Review

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5 stars, aliens, Book Review, cyborgs, galactic government, Lauren Smith, Noah Chinn, scifi romance, series

About Across the Stars by Lauren Smith and Noah Chinn

“We wait, we hide, and watch Earth burn across the stars…”
– From the lost pages of the ARK Diary

She’s one of the last free humans. On the run… And running out of time.

Laina Roberts has been on the run for ten years, a freeborn human hiding from the cyborgs of the Silver Legion who now controls what’s left of humanity. Moving secretly from planet to planet and space station to space station makes for a damn lonely life—and don’t even get her started on how long it’s been since she last had sex. Sometimes she thinks it might be worth turning herself in to the cyborgs just to end the loneliness. That is, until she’s caught!

Captured by a hot-as-hell Legion officer, the cyborg Ronan makes her think being probed by him might not be so bad. But becoming a cyborg’s slave—sex or otherwise—isn’t high on her to-do list. She doesn’t trust him and doesn’t understand his constant questions about Earth—especially those about her long-dead relatives. Ronan can just kiss her ass—oh yes, please—because she is not going to let her desires or his incredibly perfect body weaken her resolve. She now has a new mission, to convince the cyborgs and the rest of the galaxy that all Terrans, humans and synthetic humans like cyborgs, have the right to be free.

If only he didn’t make her feel like melting into his arms and never leaving. Being captured by a cyborg might not be so bad after all…

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Review of Across the Stars

Loved it! Across the Stars is a great scifi story that takes place in a future where Earth has been practically destroyed and the majority survivors are cyborgs. Oh, there are humans out there, but the political environment that existed when the Earth survivors joined the rest of the galaxy made humans personae non gratae and, in effect, the slaves of the cyborgs. They are hunted all over the galaxy.

In fact, Terrans in general (which are mostly comprised of cyborgs and synths) are second class species, not considered sapient because they are not able to naturally procreate. However, they are admired for the mercenary and/or peacekeeping services they provide to many of the other races. This galaxy, in which Earthlings are no big deal, is going to be a fun place to set this series.

As the creators of the cyborgs, humans are critical to the survival of all Terrans, even if not everyone realizes that. There is going to be a bit of a public relations issue when they discover that Laina is the most critical part of the survival puzzle. When the cyborgs figure this out, Laina goes from being a prisoner/slave to precious cargo. And the Cyborgs are not the only ones that want her.  Just to make things more interesting…

Despite being constantly hunted Laina, does give the cyborgs the benefit of the doubt. However, some cyborgs hold grudges, even though the events that caused the destruction of their beloved Earth (that they blame on humans) happened centuries ago. I think all humans should hate cyborgs just as much, but that would make Laina less of a heroine.

The romance between Laina and Ronan is a little bit of instant attraction and a little getting to know each other’s differences.  The romance intertwines nicely with the rest of the story and just as much as I want to see Laina get justice, I also want to see Laina and Ronan get together.

This is a nice move into SciFi for Ms. Smith. Along with Mr. Chinn, the authors have created strong scifi concepts and an interesting vision of the future. My only complaint was that the space battle scene was sketchy. There was an awkward segue from just after the beginning of the battle to the end when the good guys won. If this series is to continue, the authors may need to work on their space battle scenes, as there could very well be more in the future of this series.

I would not normally look too closely at a book with naked man chest. But Lauren Smith’s name was also on the cover, and she can tell a story. Her books (the ones I’ve read) are mostly romance with a strong secondary non-romance plot to support the romance. I usually like it the other way around. But I admire Ms. Smith’s ability to grab my attention. And this is SciFi. So I had to read it. Good idea!

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Abaddon Rising (Deg’Nara series) by P.L. Parker – Review

Tags

4 stars, aliens, gladiators, intergalactic war, P.L. Parker, romance, scifi, scifi adventure, series

About Abaddon Rising by P.L. Parker

One of a million statistics in the intergalactic war, Jocelyn St. Germaine is captured, sold as a slave and then forced to fight in the Deg’Nara gladiator games.  She’s slated to lose when Kanaan, the most feared warrior of all, claims her as his own. With his help, Joss’s chances of survival increase, but is it enough?

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Review of Abaddon Rising

The Deg’Nara series takes place in a part of the galaxy where there is a really nasty alien race, the Deg’Nara, that wants to enslave or obliterate all other races and worlds out there. Why? There is not a lot of reasoning given, except, like I said, they are really nasty.

The good guys are either slaves of the Deg’Nara or part of the onging fight against them. Or both. This common background is ripe for drama and action and romance.

Abaddon Rising focuses on two gladiator-like slaves of the Deg’Nara. Joss is a human woman who was ‘accidentally’ kidnapped by the Chiagan-Se and brought to this part of the galaxy (See The Chalice). The battles between the Chiagan-Se and the Deg’Nara resulted in Joss being captured and made a slave.

Kanaan is the local boy. Part Chiagan-Se and part Mogishada he was raised in the slave system, but his mother taught him everything he needed to know in order to not just survive, but to come out on top. Indeed, at the beginning of the book Kanaan is the ‘demon warrior of the slave pits’, also known as The Destroyer.

In the slave quarters Kanaan claims Joss to protect her, but it will soon become something more.

The relationship between Joss and Kanaan is a bit off again, on again, depending on the last conversation they had. It is not an easy alliance but as the reader, I knew they were meant to be together. However, neither of them is an ace communicator, so it takes awhile for them to confess their love. Which is how it should be. 🙂

Joss and Kanaan will go through much before the end of the book. Arena battles, training, a tournament, escape attempt, family re-union and ultimately, the chance to join in the great, far-reaching battle against the Deg’Nara. The story is nearly epic and the romance keeps the pace. I truly enjoyed every page of Abaddon Rising.

I feel like I should clarify the Deg’Nara series, which started with The Chalice, originally published in 2012. Breeder Slave came next, in 2017, but it does not seem to be billed as part of the series (according to Amazon or Goodreads). Finally, Abaddon Rising came out this year and it is designated Deg’Nara #2. It is a little confusing, but to clarify:

Breeder Slave really is part of the Deg’Nara series. It takes place during the same time period as Abaddon Rising but has mostly different characters and locations. There is a slight overlap. Read them in any order. Both fit in nicely with the Deg’Nara series.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Giveaway

Don’t forget the ongoing giveaway for the audiobook of Phantom Evil by Heather Graham, or the print books of Catherine Cerveny’s The Rule of Luck and The Chaos of Luck.  If you haven’t entered yet, you might be interested to know that commenting on today’s post helps qualify you for an entry – see the giveaway post for all the details.  Or go straight to the giveaway….

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Alien Contact for Runaway Moms (Alien Contact for Idiots, #5) by Edward Hoornaert – Review

Tags

5 stars, aliens, Book Review, Edward Hoornaert, scifi romance, series

Review by KJ Van Houten

Review of Alien Contact for Runaway Moms

Audra Verhailey is good at running – that’s a really good skill to have when she needs to get away from an abusive boyfriend, but how is she going to manage it with an 8-month-old baby in tow? For a start, by going to the last place on Earth anyone would think of going. So Audra runs to the abandoned underground cities on Kwadra Island, home to the all-too-intriguing Kwadrans, aliens who had appeared suddenly four years ago when they mysteriously moved their island home to our world. No human in her right mind would go there, right?

Somehow on the way, Audra picks up a volunteer guide in the form of Tal Pelletier, Kwadran construction worker, who finds Audra and baby Roxie right after they reach Kwadra Island. He agrees to lead her to the underground, as much to his own surprise as to hers since it’s the last place he wants to go, too. Underground holds too many memories and he really doesn’t want to confront his painful past. But there’s something about the way baby Roxie smiles and gurgles up at him that he can’t resist. Yeah, it’s got to be the baby. It definitely isn’t the way his body reacts when he looks at Audra. Nope, not the annoying female who is obviously hiding a secret and running from who knows what kind of trouble.

Nearly a month after Audra’s disappearance, her uncle Matthew, an expert in cyber security, arrives on Kwadra Island. His search for his missing niece has led him this far, but now her trail is cold. Opsie Beaverclaw, duchess of the Beaver Clan, agrees to help him search the Island for her. It’s just because she’s bored after resigning as head of the Kwadran security force. OK, so maybe it’s his determined attitude to find and protect his niece that appeals to the scarred woman in her. Maybe it’s just those appealing blue eyes.

Audra finds more underground than she expected. It’s not as abandoned as she thought it would be, and there are more dangers than just getting lost on unfamiliar streets. Good thing Tal is there to guide and protect her, even if she doesn’t understand why he just walked away from his job on the surface and has stayed with her this long. Or is the biggest danger Tal himself. But now there’s evidence that someone is after them, or at least her. Is it her ex coming to steal Roxie from her? Audra has to learn to trust more than just herself.

Alien Contact for Runaway Moms provides two romances for the price of one! While the main story centers around Audra and Tal, I was just an happy to read about the relationship developing between Opsie and Matthew. Maybe because Opsie is portrayed in a different light than in previous books in this series. I really didn’t like her character before, but in this book, she steals the scenes with her strength and attitude.

I usually avoid romances that have ‘baby’ anywhere in the blurb, but I enjoyed the other books in this series so much that I was happy to give this one a try and I’m glad I did. I really need to find a better way to describe this series than ‘quirky’ or ‘a fun romp’ – those are exactly the right words, I just have been overusing them. Hoornaert’s balance of humour and serious story is delightful to read. I never recommend any of these books as standalone, although some people might be okay with that. I prefer to read the series in order to get the backstory that can’t be explained in each new book, the growing depth of characters and how they interconnect. In this book, I think not knowing more about the Kwadran society and Opsie’s background particularly, a reader might miss some of those connections.

Disclaimer: An ebook of Alien Contact for Runaway Moms was provided in exchange for an honest review.

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