Tag Archives: romance

Mercenary Instinct

Book Review of Mercenary Instinct (Mandrake Company, #1), by Ruby Lionsdrake

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Mercenary InstinctI picked up a copy of Ruby Lionsdrake‘s Mercenary Instinct when it was free on Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:
Skulking around in the ruins on a planet swarming with treasure hunters, slavers, and bounty hunters isn’t good for one’s health. But Ankari Markovich needs a few archaeological samples for her latest business venture, a venture that might prove lucrative enough to move her family off the impoverished planet where she grew up. Unfortunately, she has no sooner collected her samples than she’s captured by a band of brawny mercenaries. The captain might be handsome, but he’s intent on turning her over to some finance lord who has, for reasons unknown, put a bounty on her head, a ridiculously large one at that. If she can’t figure out a way to escape before she’s delivered to the lord’s home world, she could be forced into a life of indentured servitude—or worse.

Captain Viktor Mandrake doesn’t usually take on piddling bounty hunting gigs, but when his intelligence officer informs him of a criminal on a nearby planet, he decides it wouldn’t hurt to take a shuttle down to collect the woman. But Ankari Markovich is trouble from the start, nearly eluding his elite forces, then fighting and tricking his people left and right. He finds himself admiring her spirit, but according to her warrant, she’s a criminal. The safest thing is to keep her in the brig and ignore her until she can be handed off to the man who wants her.

But the situation grows more complicated when other bounty hunters show up, wanting to claim Ankari for themselves. Thanks to this woman, Viktor’s ship is in danger, his crew members are going missing, and he’s fighting enemies he never asked for in a jungle in the middle of a hurricane. He’s either going to strangle Ankari… or fall in love. Either scenario could get him killed.

Review:
An amusing bit of Sci-Fi/Space Opera romance fluff. Nothing too serious here, but no big grievances on my part either. The characters were likable enough and the plot easy to follow. There were no big surprises and everything seems to happen with questionable ease, but it’s an entertaining ride.

I might have liked a little more world-building and character development and the whole thing could do with another editing pass, but for easy reading it passes.

Bloodlines

Book Review of Bloodlines (KinKaid Wolf Pack #1), by Jessica Lee

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BloodlinesI picked up a copy of Bloodlines, by Jessica Lee, when it was free on Amazon. It was still free at the time of posting.

Description from Goodreads:
Evin KinKaid, the only son of the KinKaid pack’s alpha, has a secret. One that will tear his family apart. In one year, Evin is to succeed his father as alpha leader and continue the dominant bloodline of his family. There’s only one problem: Evin is gay. When Evin is pushed into the bed of his intended female mate, he’s forced to reveal the truth. And for an alpha male wolf shifter promised to a female whose goal is to one day be queen, coming out has never been more explosive.

To Mason Thorne II, heir to Thorne Global Inc., life is a lie. To sustain his father’s love, Mason has agreed to stay in the family business and to one day assume his place as CEO. Instead of reaching for his heart’s desire, he’s settled for a life he never wanted. But an unexpected auto accident will send Evin and Mason into each other’s arms and down a path toward a destiny neither man can escape: an eternity sealed in blood.

Review:
This was ok, not great, deep or important in any way, but also not all bad. It was basically 75% sex though. Which was a shame because that left far too little room for the plot, which was weak to say the least. I rather thought it just a pretty skin laid over the sex to tie it all together. Meh.

The main characters, while likable, were shallow and poorly developed. Everyone else were just caricatures, blown up and over exaggerated villains or angels. Mostly including cheesy dialogue to match their role. Meh.

The writing, when not dripping cheese, was fine. But the editing was a mess. Meh.

Billionaire Dragon's Bride

Book Review of Billionaire Dragon’s Bride (Treasure Lane Dragons #1), by Anya Nowlan

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Billionaire Dragon BrideOn a lark, I picked up a copy of Anya Nowlan‘s Billionaire Dragon’s Bride at Amazon when it was free:

Description from Goodreads:
He’s blazing hot and this dragon won’t take no for an answer. 

Devon Bluewing is a billionaire playboy like no other. Cocky, strong and sexy as hell, he’s used to getting anything and anyone he wants. But when it comes a time to step up and stand as the head of his family, and the dragon council of Treasure Lane, Devon is met with an inexplicable problem. He needs a mate or his whole legacy could be in jeopardy. Now, that doesn’t work at all for the fire-breathing bad boy, who’s used to getting his own way. 

Gemma Teeley can’t stand injustice. She’s sassy, smart as a whip and always ready to fight for what is right. So when the newest Bluewing heir decides to wrack up the taxes on her hometown, Gemma isn’t about to stand for it. But what she doesn’t know is that her fight against traditions might just get her into a whole lot of steamy trouble! The curvy, headstrong woman has all the fire of Devon, and when he gives her an ultimatum, they’re both in for more than they bargained for. 

Even if she’ll play along, it doesn’t mean that she’ll make it easy on him. But it isn’t just Devon whose making decisions for Gemma, and soon it becomes very clear that it’s not only Gemma’s pride that’s in danger of getting burned… 

Review:
There were dragons. I love dragons. They’re my favorite mythical shifter. But they weren’t enough to save this train wreck. Nope. For one (and most importantly for me) I went all over ragey at the just-force-her-and-she’ll-like-it-in-the-end plotline. I hate that in a book. I hate it on the whole, but also in the smaller scenes where a female character is justifiably angry and the man grabs her and forces an unwanted kiss on her and she then just melts and forgets she’s angry, because she wants him so bad. RAGE people, RAGE!

On the smaller scale the world isn’t defined. The characters aren’t developed and are both unpleasant. The plot is shallow, never even expanding far enough to allow minor things like family coming to the wedding, because that would require introducing new characters. The villain is evil just because he is. The file seems to have a lot of filler, as the story ends at 60%. It’s repetitive and needs more editing. I’m fairly sure no one says, ‘he cummed’ to explain the culmination of a sex act.

I did appreciate the dragon’s obsession with his hoard and how that played into what he perceived as courting and there was some humor.