Nightchaser (Endeavor, #1) by Amanda Bouchet – Review

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5 stars, Amanda Bouchet, Book Review, scifi, scifi romance, series, space opera

About Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet

Tess Bailey: the galaxy’s Most Wanted.

Captain Tess Bailey is in deep trouble. She and her crew are on the run, pursued by a tyrant who’ll take them dead or alive. Tess’s best hope is a tall, dark, and much-too-appealing stranger, Shade Ganavan, who says he can help her. But his motivations are far from clear…

Shade Ganavan: arrogance, charm…and that special something that makes you want to kick him.

With the dreaded Dark Watch closing in, what Tess and Shade don’t know about each other might get them killed…unless they can set aside their differences and learn to trust each other before it’s too late.

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Review of Nightchaser

Tess Bailey is my favorite part of this book. She is intelligent, brave, foolhardy and with a large dose of vulnerability. This vulnerability comes not only from being a wanted criminal, but also from her own emotional desires. This combination makes her character one of the most compelling I have encountered in a while.

Tess also has a past that, in a twist, comes out early in the book. It is a revelation to the reader and to her crew on Endeavor. The shocking announcement comes out in the heat of battle right before Tess thinks she and her crew are about to die.

But they don’t die. Hmm. Thinks could get uncomfortable now. Her crew members each have their own past to deal with, so they don’t seem to mind. But the crew are not the only ones that heard it. I have a feeling that Tess is going to be jumping from one frying pan to another. Not just in Nightchaser, but in any books that follow.

“Shade Ganavan had oodles of arrogance, oodles of charm, and oodles of something that made me want to kick him…” Tess Bailey in Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet.

In the book, Tess is actually quite specific about where she wants to kick Shade.

It’s hard for me to say much about Shade without possibly giving up a spoiler. Except that part about kicking occurred to me often and with increasing desire as the book progressed. But he is a charmer, and Tess likes him a lot. So with a bit of a spoiler about to come out – Shade did redeem himself in my eyes and ultimately my thirst for violence directed toward that charming man was abated.

And redirected. In a climactic scene, Tess’s past comes back to totally mess with her life/escape. In a very bad way. I was heartbroken in a scene where two of Tess’s crew pay heavily for their friendship with Tess.

Nightchaser is a welcome addition to the Scifi Romance genre. Colorful, charming and warm characters mix colorful, cold and evil characters. There is also a great complex plot with so much potential that it is sure to get even better with each installment in the Endeavor saga. And romance. Yes, it is a bit shaky at first, but I am planning on it to get even better as the series continues.

So let me say to Amanda Bouchet, “Welcome to Scifi Romance!” Ms. Bouchet’s Kingmaker Chronicles are very popular fantasy romance books, so I am pleased to see her put her talent to SciFi. I am decidedly happy I found Nightchaser on NetGalley, and will be anxiously waiting for the next book in the Endeavor series.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Prime Target (Prime Chronicles, #4) by Monette Michaels – Review

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4 stars, Book Review, Monette Michaels, scifi romance, series, space opera

About Prime Target by Monette Michaels

Former Prime sex surrogate Susa Anghard has never been off her planet, let alone out of the Cejuru solar system. While she isn’t naive about men and what they want, she isn’t prepared for the predatory males who now have her in their sights. When she’s kidnapped on her way to a galactic rim jump station to visit her cousin Borac, she has no expectations of being rescued.

She vows to free herself or die trying.

When Borac Anghard asks Damon Martin to intercept his cousin Susa’s transport and escort her to their jump station, Damon agrees. When he arrives to meet Susa’s ship, he finds she’s been kidnapped by Dorian mercenaries. He goes in hot pursuit and prays he finds her before she’s delivered to the person who paid for the kidnapping.

He has vowed to save her.

When Damon catches up with the kidnappers, he hadn’t expected to find the resourceful Susa in the act of getting away. And he really hadn’t expected to be so attracted to her. An attraction that could go nowhere—she was his business partner’s cousin and Damon still wasn’t over losing the only woman he’d ever loved.

Take one alpha-male with a slightly broken heart, add in one Prime female finding her courage and self for the first time—throw them together in close quarters in a trip across the galaxy and love will find a way.

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Review of Prime Target

Prime Target continues the story of the Prime people who are losing the struggle with negative population growth. They are dying out as a people unless they can find a way to get past the doctrine that has been ingrained into them all their lives.

Prime should only mate with prime. Mating marks identify optimal mates, but with so few females in the population, the men are having a hard time finding their mates. Some women that did not mark, became sex surrogates to men who had not found their mates.

When the Prime joined the Galactic Alliance, the door was open to the possibility of finding other females that were compatible with Prime males. Some proved to be the Lost Ones, Prime females that had been send away for their safety during the war with the Antareans. Some proved to be humans.

Too many men, not enough women is a pretty common theme in this genre. So, while there are no points for originality, Ms. Michaels does take an old story and give her own spin, adding interesting characters, adventure, heat and romance.

Susa Anghard is a former sex surrogate who is excited and nervous about leaving her world to visit her cousin and his family. It is both a family visit and the adventure of a lifetime to someone who has never left her homeworld. Because travel for young women, especially an unmarked Prime female, is exceedingly dangerous, Susa’s cousin Borac sends Damon Martin to intercept Susa and escort her to the jump station that Damon and Borac own and run. When Damon and Susa meet, there is some instant chemistry, but acting on it doesn’t happen for a while. In fact, when they realize the strong attraction, they verbally discuss a week with no sex (mentally, neither wants to wait).

In the meantime, Susa is being hunted by an egomaniac who will stop at nothing to kidnap her and take her to his home world. He really is an icky little man and you will want him to get what is coming to him early in the book. And often thereafter. Damon will do anything to protect her, though Susa has a few tricks up her sleeve to. Like a ragbag. I know, doesn’t sound like much of a defense, but trust me. It is. 🙂

There is a great dynamic between Damon and Susa. Like I said, he wants to protect her. She doesn’t like being ordered around. They get along just fine. Well, maybe it’s a little bumpy, but with all that attraction, you know they are going to come to an agreement.

Having read books 1 and 2 a couple years ago, I must say that I remember more adventure and less sex. Prime Target has many sensual passages, even while Susa and Damon are abstaining from sex. Plus they are on a pleasure cruise where the main pleasure is sex. Prime Target is: Scifi adventure – yes, romance – yes, erotica – pretty close.

Prime Target is #4 in the Prime Chronicles series. Each book can be read as a standalone. Since I have now read all the books, it is kind of nice to have the backgrounds of expanding cast of supporting characters.

I’m going to leave you with a few thought that may or may affect your curiosity about Prime Target:

• Borac and Damon, two men that seem to have so much respect for women, need to do something about the lawlessness of their jump station. Boys, you are the law on that station. Do something about it!
• Ragbags make excellent bodyguards.
• Who names themselves ‘Prime’ and doesn’t expect other people offer up a little scorn?

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

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Highlander Ever After (The MacGregors: Highland Heirs, #8) by Paula Quinn – Review

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4 stars, Book Review, favorite series, historical, historical romance, Paula Quinn, Scotland, series

About Highlander Ever After by Paula Quinn

They tried to resist a marriage of convenience…
As the clan chief’s son, Adam MacGregor is duty-bound to marry a royal heir. Yet when he meets his bride—a beautiful but haughty young lass who thinks he is nothing more than a common savage—he realizes she’s more than he bargained for. But the more Adam gets to know his new wife, the more intent he is on proving her wrong about him.

But can they resist each other?
Sina de Arenberg wants nothing to do with the unsavory MacGregors, especially the fierce Highlander she now calls husband. But the more time she spends with the man she married, the more she sees his honor and courage. Just when she thinks there might be a future for her and Adam, Sina is called back to court. England isn’t the place she remembers, though, and soon she’ll be forced to choose between the life she once knew, and the Highlander who has captured her heart.

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Review of Highlander Ever After

First I am going to say something that might sound critical, but it will be followed up by praise, so hang in there. There is a sameness to the Highland Heirs books. With slight twists on character backgrounds and the conflicts that arise within and without the relationship between the heroine and hero, each book in the series takes a predictable path.

So why do I keep reading this series? That is easy. Paula Quinn is a master storyteller with the ability to grab my reader’s heart and give it over to witness a new MacGregor couple in the making. Her characters are strong and bold and passionate and make me want to follow their tale to the ultimate happy conclusion. With plenty of bumps and jolts between the initial meeting of the couple and their happily ever after, the result is a can’t-put-it-down historical romance that often manages to make me tear up at least once. Sometimes more often.

This time, in Highlander Ever After, the bleary eyes came when one of the dogs endeared himself/herself to Sina or Adam (and me). I’m sure dog lovers will appreciate the beast Goliath.

I have read many of Paula Quinn’s McGregors Highland adventure/romance books, include several in the Highland Heirs series. Each and every book is full of passion and heart combined with just the right amount of adventure to make a truly great tale. Highlander Ever After is no exception.

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