New Releases in Science Fiction Romance for August 15

I hope the hot summer isn’t getting you down – more good books to read in this week’s column!

Claimed by an Alien Warrior is a fast moving tale from the husband and wife writing duo that makes up Tiffany Roberts. They temporarily stepped away from the watery alien world of their Kraken series to write a standalone novel set on Earth. I really enjoyed this book and devoured it in one sitting. The plot: After losing her job, apartment, and boyfriend in one afternoon, Zoey doesn’t think things can get any worse. Then an uninvited passenger — green, four-armed, and sexy as sin — proves her wrong by dragging her into his frantic escape. Helping Rendash is the right thing to do, but it means becoming a fugitive and risking the only things she has left — her life, and her heart.

Weakened by years of captivity and torture, Rendash, an elite aligarii warrior, seizes his only opportunity to escape. Alone in an alien wasteland, he seeks the aid of a human — one of the very species that imprisoned him. But he finds himself inexplicably drawn to Zoey, and his need to protect her soon wars with his mission — return to his homeworld.

With a shadowy government agency pursuing them, Zoey and Rendash must race across the country before he is recaptured, and she is thrown in a dark cell as a traitor to her kind. But their greatest obstacle may be the most unlikely — their insatiable attraction to one another.

Ruby Dixon has returned to her Corsair series with the fourth entry, Deceiving the Corsair.  Yes, her heroine is also named Zoey, but no connection to any other author’s book! Here’s the blurb: The crew of the pirate ship the Lovesick Fool are worried about their navigator, Sentorr. He’s obsessed with working, spending all his time on the bridge. It’s not work the big blue alien is truly obsessed with, though.

It’s a female.

Sentorr’s convinced that Zoey, a female navigator on another pirate ship, is his mate. She won’t show him her face, though, or agree to meet him. She’s happy to have steamy, late-night conversations with him over comm channels, though.

He’s determined to find her and claim her, no matter what it takes. But when he does locate her and discovers that she’s been lying to him about who – and what – she is, will he still love her?

Or is the fact that Zoey’s human too much for this blue-skinned male?

Imprisoned: Brides of the Kindred 22 from Evangeline Anderson is another in her long running, steamy series, with impressive worldbuilding to create structure for the adventure and romance. Here’s the story: Lady Arianna Blackthorn is a woman on a mission–she intends to rescue her brother, Jak, from the infamous BleakHall prison. BleakHall is a Triple Max Penitentiary where only the worst of the worst are sent–a males-only facility where not even female prison guards are allowed. So how can Ari infiltrate this fortress? With the use of a holo-projector that makes her look male (the important parts anyway) she’s determined to get in and she has a foolproof plan for getting both herself and Jak out…or so she thinks.

Commander Lathe is a Blood Kindred who lost his younger brother to the horrors of BleakHall. He is on a mission to go undercover and collect evidence against the cruel and ruthless prison guards who run it and the Yonnite Mistresses who own it. He also has a plan to get out but it’s going to take some time and while he’s waiting, a strange new inmate comes to BleakHall–a boy called Ari.

Ari is in over her head from the minute she steps through the prison gates. She is immediately singled out by Tapper, BleakHall’s most ruthless sexual predator, as his next conquest. Only Lathe’s timely intervention saves her from a fate worse than death…and death itself. Lathe moves Ari into his cell to keep her safe but he has no idea she is really a female and Ari doesn’t dare to tell him.

Can Ari keep her secret from the big Kindred? Can Lathe sort through his confusing feelings for the “boy” he has taken under his wing? (Why does he smell like a female? Why can’t Lathe stop thinking about him…stop wanting to touch him?) Can the two of them rescue Ari’s brother and escape from the maze of sadistic guards, psychopathic prisoners, and ravenous lashers–the huge carnivorous snake-cats that roam the corridors of BleakHall at night waiting to devour any inmates attempting to get away?

For a different type of prison planet novel, Traitor by Emmy Chandler is the sixth and final entry in her gritty, dark and hot series set on the prison world of Rhodon. (Not to worry – the author sets up a spinoff series in the final pages of this book.) I thoroughly enjoyed the way the damaged lovers at the heart of this novel came together and fought the challenges. The blurb: Sold into slavery as a teenager, Mallory Landrum was held captive by Varian Roys until she was coerced into testifying against him, and despite their promise to protect her, the corrupt government of Kallisto sends her to Rhodon. There, she is rented out to wealthy guests who come to tour the prison planet until she escapes into the open population, only to find herself in zone three, hiding from the very man she sent to prison.

Hit man Barrett Oliver survived the brutal attack that took both his voice and his wife. He swore to kill everyone who played a part in her death, but when his vengeance falls short, he winds up on Rhodon, in the same zone as Varian Roys, the man he failed to kill.

When he discovers Mallory fleeing the wreckage of a crashed space yacht, he realizes she’s just the bait he needs to draw their mutual enemy out of hiding. Though he can’t speak to her, the more time he spends with the beautiful, psychologically fragile little survivor, the harder he falls for her. And the less willing he is to dangle her in front of a monster who’s already taken his first love…

2230: The Perfect Year by C. M. Corett takes on a whole basket full of science fiction and romance tropes and weaves a tale involving time travel, fated mates, aliens and more. The plot: Alex Coulson spends his days as a lowly laboratory assistant. At night, he watches movies in his lonely apartment and dreams of exciting adventures and handsome leading men.

When an electrical fire breaks out in the lab, an experimental machine malfunctions and Alex is caught in the explosion. He awakens, injured and confused, to learn he has traveled two hundred years into the future—to the year 2230. Under the care of the gorgeous Doctor Baylin Davies (a definite contender for a leading man) Alex recovers quickly, and his feelings for Baylin deepen each day. Baylin is handsome, sexy, caring, and a verified genius—everything Alex could ever dream of. Add in the whole concept of living in the future, and Alex soon decides the year 2230 is the perfect year to begin his new life.

But then there’s the major…

Whenever the intimidating military man, Major Marcais, is near, a strange power overcomes Alex’s senses, clouding his mind and weakening his desire to be with Baylin.

When the major reveals he is an alien and declares Alex to be his life mate, Alex must find the strength to resist him. And while fighting for the man he truly desires, Alex just might discover he’s the leading man in his own adventure.

Stars Uncharted by S. K. Dunstall is pulling good reviews for being a fun space adventure, not all that heavy on the romance, but I like to give readers a range of books to consider in these columns. The story: Captain Hammond Roystan is a simple cargo runner who has stumbled across the find of a lifetime: the Hassim, a disabled exploration ship–and its valuable record of unexplored worlds.

His junior engineer, Josune Arriola, said her last assignment was in the uncharted rim. But she is decked out in high-level bioware that belies her humble backstory.

A renowned body-modification artist, Nika Rik Terri has run afoul of clients who will not take no for an answer. She has to flee off-world, and she is dragging along a rookie modder, who seems all too experienced in weapons and war . . .

Together this mismatched crew will end up on one ship, hurtling through the lawless reaches of deep space with Roystan at the helm. Trailed by nefarious company men, they will race to find the most famous lost world of all–and riches beyond their wildest dreams . . .

Back with more adventures to recommend next time!

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