Queen of Starlight (Sheerspace #1)

Had anyone ever wanted to be his sky?

Available at Amazon.com

Queen of Starlight
Jessa Slade
Sheerspace, book one
ebook, 133 pages
Published July 20th 2014 by Red Circle Ink
ISBN unknown
FREE read from Amazon

Her body is his prize, but he'll risk the stars for her love.

Transformed by empathic crystals into the perfect paramour, Benedetta Galil is the last treasure of her fading world. When raiders attack—seeking to corrupt the crystals and conquer all of charted space—she gives herself as a prize to the one man in the universe who values freedom over power.

Mercenary sheership Captain Corso Deynah left oppression behind him on a burning planet and has no use for a sex slave, even one as seductive as Benedetta. But while he stubbornly resists her body, her fierce spirit tempts him, and he will risk everything—his ship, his seclusion, the very stars—to win not just her passion but her love.

*Originally published as "Enslaved by Starlight" in Hotter On The Edge: Science Fiction Romance Anthology.

I've only read one other book by Jessa Slade. That being, Seduced by Shadows. It was not one of the greatest reads of my life. It was actually closer to being one of the worst. That said, when Queen of Starlight popped up on my Recommendations list, I figured what the hell. Let's give this another go.

Opening up, Captain Deynah is abruptly contacted by Benedetta, a slave-whore as he so eloquently refers to her, with the promise of credits and ownership of her very self if he will come to the aid of her planet and defend it against those who would claim their precious crystals for their own. Crystals that have the power to create bonds between two people and thus create a form of mind control.

The money isn't much. And the idea of owning of pleasure slave is not only bothersome to Corso in the no need for it sense, but also in that he can't fathom why someone would willingly allow themselves to be sold and owned. Prepared to turn down the offer, Corso's plans immediately change when Benedetta threatens him with the destruction of the only thing he has left that matters to him- his ship.

Successfully blackmailed, Corso heads straightaway for a world that holds the balance that could mean the complete and utter control of the sheerspace and freedom as they know it.

Benedetta wasn't raised to just be some male's plaything. She'd been educated and trained to be more of a help-mate. An adviser. A partner. But even with romanticizing her role in life, Corso's perception bleeds into her way of thinking and even she must agree, a pleasure slave has no place with a mercenary.

This story has a rough, drawn out start, but once the romance kicked in, the temperature, as well as my interest, sparked to a more favorable height. Until now, Corso has only craved the blackness of space with its wild freedoms and endless wonder. In meeting Etta, he finds that maybe the darkness of his life could use a bit of light, Maybe, he doesn't want the same things he once did.

In the end, Etta comes to terms with being nothing more than a glorified slave and breaks free from her torque and the binds of its key. Of course, she does this on the heels of Corso's confession of his desire to be with her... his willingness to buy her key despite having refused that very thing as payment for his aid. Apparently, she wanted exactly what she was about to get but on her terms. Yays for freedom of choice.

3 out of 5 stars.

Blood Hunt (Sentinel Wars #5)

When you look at me like that, I forget who I am.

Available at Amazon.com

Blood Hunt
Shannon K Butcher
Sentinel Wars, book five
ebook, 303 pages
Published August 1st 2011 by Signet Book
ISBN 9781101517190

Hope appeared out of nowhere, naked and alone, a woman without a past. The only thing she knows is that she is imbued with a strange power. It's in her blood. And two men want to posses it. One is Logan, a Sanguiner demon-fighter who needs Hope's essence to survive. The other is Krag, a Synestryn lord whose desire is to enslave Hope, and drain her of the lifeforce.

When Hope and Logan both fall prey to Krag, a powerful desire grows between them. But is it enough to thwart their captor's diabolical plan and his demon warriors, and survive a vampire's destiny written in blood?

Ah, Logan. Loved and loathed alike, Logan, with his unnatural beauty, has never failed to capture a woman's notice. Any woman. Every woman. But not one, in a very long time, has ever made him feel anything in return. Until Hope.

On the hunt to uncover the mystery of an address left in blood on a mirror in book four, Logan finds himself at an abandoned building where one of the couples brought together through Project Lullaby is under attack by a demon. The battle leaves Logan poisoned, weak, and near death.

Selfless to a fault, Hope is on a hunt of her own. For answers as to who she is, and what she is. And where the homeless people she helps at the local shelter are disappearing to. Over a decade ago, Hope awoke, naked and alone in the same building in which Logan fights to survive, with no memory of who she was or where she came from. Taken in by a nun, Hope has made a small success of herself as a photographer and volunteers faithfully to those in need. On her ritual walk through the streets, packed with sandwiches and blankets, she's drawn to the battle. And ends up saving Logan with light, a pipe, and eventually, her blood.

Blood that empowers Logan in a way he's never known. For the first time in centuries, his hunger is sated. His body feels warmth. And he's aroused. A gift and curse he can't do away with whenever Hope is near. Alas, there's nothing to be done about it. If Hope is a Theronai, as the power of her blood suggests, she's off limits. If she's human, she's a prime specimen for Project Lullaby wherein Logan and his fellow Sanguiner match-up humans to mate and bear children that will one day feed the blood dependent Sanguiner race.

A race currently dying of starvation.

Meanwhile... Yay! Joseph, leader of the Theronai, meets his destined, Lyka. Sister of the Slayer's leader (Andreas), Lyka is a force all her own as her brother strips her naked, bags her in a sheet, and drags her to the Theronai stronghold as a means to initiate a truce between the Theronai and the Slayers. Long explanation made short: It's custom to arrive naked to show proof of being unarmed and Andreas offers Lyka as a hostage to further endear Joseph to his honest plight. His sister may be a thorn in his ass, but he loves her more than anything else in this world. She and Joseph's story comes in book nine, due out in March.

The rescued Theronai, Jackie, continues to lengthen her list of compatible partners as, with Joseph's response to her touch, it appears any of the Sentinels could be saved by mating her. Having lived far too long as a prisoner, whose blood sustained the demons that feasted on her, Jackie is haunted by the looks of hunger and need on the faces of her captors. Seeing the same mirrored by the Theranai men sends her running. Her destined match? Iain, who has lost the last of his leaves and merely pretends that his soul remains. He feels very little. And his apathy is growing.

The search for a mate for Hope begins. So far no luck with the Theronai. And then, Alexander brings in the Slayer, Eric Phelan, brother of Andreas and Lyka. And much to Logan's regret, he finds his blood to be a perfect match for Hope. Their children would powerful. But let me tell you, this guy's no prince. Despite being willing to bed and mate Hope, with his brother's permission of course, he doesn't give a damn whether he cares for her or her for him. His sense of duty is strong. His grip on the heart not so much.

As it turns out, Hope isn't Theronai. Nor is she human. She's like Logan. But from another planet.

Logan and Hope go through a few levels of hell before they find a peaceful end. An end that was far too abrupt. It wasn't a cliffhanger, but sure felt like one. One more scene, is it too much to ask?

4 out of 5 stars.


Previously in the series:

Scent of a Mate (Sassy Mates #1)

I wasn't asking for permission. You're already mine.

Available at Amazon.com

Scent of a Mate
Milly Taiden
Sassy Mates, book one
ebook, 250 pages
Published September 20th 2013 by Latin Goddess Press
ISBN 9781301183388
Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited
Read for Free with Kindle's Lending Library

Mission: Scent a Mate

Jordan Alvarez knew that a promise to her best friend involved staking out the local wolf pack's scenting ceremony and recording the graphic details, but she was the writer and the only one with the balls to finish the task. No one would know that four human women had sneaked proof of their rituals, or at least, that was the plan until Aric Wolfe showed up.

Mission: Stake a Claim

Aric Wolfe knew his baby sister was up to something, and expected her best friend, Jordan, to be in on the chaos. He finally had an opportunity to lay claim to a mate that had been under his nose for years. Jordan's scent called to both the man and the animal, and he was done fighting the call of the beast. It was time to mark his mate.

Mission: Survive an Alpha

When a good intention creates a problem for the Wolfe family, Jordan finds herself being stalked by a woman intent on claiming Aric as her own. Battle lines will be drawn, love will be put to the test, and Aric will have to fight Jordan's strong personality to keep her alive. Two alpha hearts seeking control will either find the balance or risk losing their love forever.

This was my first read from Milly Taiden and I'm having a difficult time understanding why. She's credited with about thirty books, most of which fitting into the genre I've spent the last eight years exploring and yet I just now picked up one of her wolf shifter stories.

It won't be the last.

Jordan fell for Ellie's eldest brother, Aric, when she was a mere thirteen years old. Coming from a shattered home and raised by alcoholic parents, Jordan found a lifeline to normalcy from Ellie and her family though, strangely enough, they're a family of wolf shifters.

Aric was changed the day he met Jordan. His wolf sensed his mate in her, despite that she was human and six years younger than he. So Aric distanced himself and for years, once Jordan was older and mature enough, begged his sister to help him make Jordan his.

Then one night, where the wolves gather from packs all over for scenting and match making, he finally gets his chance. As do the rest of Ellie's brothers with her other friends: Jake with Nicole, Nathan with Karla, and Mason with Emma. Ellie, meanwhile, has a semi complicated relationship with Caleb who faces the challenge of becoming Alpha to his own pack.

There's a good amount of time jumping in this story, and it's not always done smoothly. And damn, does Jordan take a beating. A few times actually. But not once does she consider the idea of not being able to handle being with a shifter. Other things, yes, but not that.

Ellie's friends are all taken from the same mold. They're curvy, supposedly sassy, and all deeply infatuated with the Wolfe brothers. For that alone, I'm pushed to skip the other three brothers' stories altogether and dive right into Ellie and Caleb's book. Unfortunately, it hasn't been published yet.

3 out of 5 stars.

Living Nightmare (Sentinel Wars #4)

Maybe when it came to Madoc, Nika was crazy.

Available at Amazon.com

Living Nightmare
Shannon K Butcher
Sentinel Wars, book four
ebook, 368 pages
Published November 1st 2010 by Signet Book
ISBN 9781101445068

For nine years, the Sentinel Nika has had one goal-to save her younger sister from the Synestryn who hold her captive. Now, the psychic bond Nika forged with her sibling on that terrible night is fading, and time is running out. But the one man who can unlock the power inside her may be the greatest danger to her.

Oh, Madoc. How I love to hate you.

Madoc and Nika's story started a while ago. Nika, a victim of a Synestryn attack nine years ago, has spent every day since haunted by what their taking of her blood has done. Fearing being fed blood and human flesh, she's refused to eat and has been locked in a psychiatric hospital since childhood. When Paul came for Nika's sister, Andra, in book two, Nika was also rescued and came to meet Madoc, a bastard as rough as they come but so very capable of gentility too. Which he solely bestows upon Nika.

Despite Madoc's addiction to killing and fucking, the first of which being Synestrian and the latter being prostitutes, I couldn't help but fall for his way with Nika. The guy slammed her with the tough love angle while everyone else coddled the hell out of the broken woman. But despite the draw the two had toward each other, Madoc's ring never swirled with the colors indicating he'd found a potential mate. Convinced she wasn't for him, and too damn scared to be near her let alone touch her without hurting her, Madoc hit the road and stayed away. For seven months.

Seven long months in which Nika yearned for him.

[ SPOILERS]

Sadly enough, this is my least favorite of the series thus far. Nika is whiny and clingy and, like, Madoc with his 'I'm too dangerous for you' mantra, running her mouth like a broken record. But what really let me down the most was the total lack of oomph when Madoc finally realized that Nika had been right all along--that she was his match. It was completely opposite his reaction as he realized she was physically healthier than he'd last seen her. At that moment, he'd stared in awe. I expected the same with his ring.Granted, his was soulless at the time but, like most things in life, the excuse excuses nothing.

The back stories make great progress in the meantime. Gilda finally comes clean in her part of the Theronai sterility (at least to her husband) and the story of how the twins came to be twins and were sworn to never grow up came to light.

And then, there was Torr and Grace. With Gilda's help, Grace obtained the means to cure Torr of the poisoning that has left him paralyzed and very much near death. The cost, however, is taking the poison into herself. A bittersweet turn that won't get its conclusion until freaking book eight!

Two new females do finally make it home. The first: Andra and Nika's stolen baby sister, Tori, who has spent the last nine years as a prisoner of the Synestryn, raped and impregnated with a child she loses in the end. The second, is Jackie, the long lost sister of both Helen and Lexi. A sister they hadn't always known they had. Much less, that they were even related.  Also a hostage of the Synestryn, Jackie has the opposite problem Nika had, Whereas Nika was only found compatible with Madoc, it appears Jackie has a growing list of possible mates to choose from. Iain, Nicholas, and Morgan to start with.

And finally, Angus and Gilda's story concludes as they free their daughter, Maura, from her path of evil, and die. A justly deserved death in Gilda's respect.

3 out of 5 stars.

Previously in the series: