Loki Renard-Captive

Loki is so prolific. Which means that there is pretty much always either a brand new release or one just around the corner. Well, today, it’s a brand new release, Captive: A Dark Cyborg Romance.

A lot of Loki’s books have left me just speechless when I’m done reading them. This one didn’t. Instead, it left me saying fuuuuuuuuccccckkk. It totally deserved that reaction.

Lilly is a scientist. She was on a project to help build a cyborg. She saw pretty much every step of the process, from the physical body and brain being printed, to helping to make sure everything functioned the way it should. When Adam, the first cyborg, opened his eyes the first time, she was there, and they had a moment when their eyes met. It formed a connection between the two of them. When Lilly finds out that the other researchers are torturing Adam, she tries to stop it, only to find herself getting fired. They gave her a huge payoff, which was good, because she basically couldn’t work in her field anymore, so she spends the next 3 years sitting around her house, just drifting through life. Then the government men show up.

After 3 years of torture, Adam has managed to escape. But before he did, he killed all the researchers. But the government knew enough to know that Adam was fixated on Lilly and that he would go after her. They are there to take Lilly somewhere safe. She doesn’t trust them, so she says she has to go to the bathroom, grabs her purse, and runs.

Too bad she can’t avoid Adam that easily. When he catches her, he drags her out of the safe room she’s hiding in, and then carries her off to his hidden lair, where he wants to breed her and make little baby cyborgs.

One of the things I wondered when I read this book is why Loki didn’t name Lilly Eve, but then I thought that might be a little too precious. Then I thought about it some more, and decided that I liked the name Lilly for this character. Then I wondered if maybe Lilly was somehow related to Lilith, who was Adam’s first wife and the most dangerous demon and mother of demons, in Jewish mythology. And I decided that if it is, that is really cool. I also decided that if it wasn’t, it was still really cool. These are the things that go through my head when I’m reading. It doesn’t matter if I’m reading a book to be blogged or one that is a pleasure book, these are the things I think, especially if I’m reading late at night, like I did with this one.

I love Lilly. She may not always think all the consequences of her actions through, but she really commits to them. She’s smart and stubborn and she knows what she wants to do and she is more than willing to go out and do what she needs to do to get what she wants. I think Adam underestimated her a bit. There is a lot of kinkery fuckery going on along with some spanking, chains, and cages. I mean come on, it’s a Loki Renard book. There’s got to be a cage somewhere. I loved this one. I mean, I pretty much love all Loki’s books, but this one is going to be close to my heart, I think. I never really knew what was going on, and every time I thought I had a good handle on things, Loki through a twist in there. And just wow.

Of course, there is a reason that Loki chose not to call Lilly Eve, but I had already had my thoughts before I got to that point in the book, so that did explain that. I felt so sorry for Eve, just so sorry. I mean, what the people who created her did to her was just sheer evil. They should totally burn in hell. Definitely in the lowest, deepest, burny-ist pits of hell. They deserve no better.

OK, that’s all I have to say about this on. Go check it out. Happy reading!

Grace Goodwin-Cyborg Fever

If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you probably know that I love Grace Goodwin and her Interstellar Bride series. So it should come as no surprise that I devoured her newest book, Cyborg Fever.

Cyborg Fever hit some of my total fave buttons in this world. It’s one of the Colony books and it’s an Atlan. More than just being an Atlan, Anghar is one of my favorite Atlans. He’s been a secondary character in more than one book, and was pretty pivotal in the last IBP book. So I was so very, very happy to see that he finally got his own book. I love the Atlans. There’s just something about those big guys and their inner beasts that’s just so very awesome.

The Colony is where the Coalition fighters who have been “tainted” by the Hive. They were taken prisoner and have had Hive implants. They are sent to the Colony instead of going back to their own planet. The Colony is deep in safe Coalition space and where the Hive can’t reach them. At least, theoretically. For a long time, those guys got no respect and no chance at a bride, but with the new Prime on Prillion having Hive implants and a human bride who told him that it was a shame that the guys on the Colony were treated that way because they are vets and deserve respect, the males on the Colony now have chances to get a bride. There still aren’t a lot of brides on the Colony, but that’s slowly changing.

Ok, on to Angh’s story. We’re two years after the last book and he’s been living on the Colony for those two years. He’s tired, bored, and lonely. The people on the Colony are either mining for resources or protecting the miners and those resources. That’s important for the Coalition, but for men who were trained to be fighters and who have a whole bunch of rage because of what the Hive has done to them, it’s just not enough. One way that they deal with it is to fight in the Pit. The guys can take their aggression out on other guys who are in the same place. Angh is one of the regulars in the Pit. He figures that’s the only place he will ever get some peace because he’s never going to get a bride. He tested for the program a couple of years ago, but no match yet. Then, he sees her.

Kira teaches at the Coalition’s academy, but that’s not her only job, she’s also a member of the Intelligence Corps. She goes in and helps extract high-profile prisoners from the Hive before they can crack their minds. Those prisoners generally have info that would be very hurtful to the Coalition if the Hive were to get it. But she does that on the down low. Her public job is being a teacher. Right now she’s supervising some students who are just about to graduate who are doing a course on the Colony. They are using the caves for simulations since it will be similar to a lot of places where they will be fighting the Hive. She has a friend who is a student and together, they decide to go see the fights in the Pit. That’s when she sees Angh and fixates on him. She decides that she can have one glorious night with him, but she can’t give him any more than that, because the IC basically owns her. That turns into a huge problem for Angh, because while they are having their wonderful night, he offers her mating cuffs. Too bad he wakes up in the morning and she’s gone, with the cuffs sitting on the bed.

OK, you know what time it is. I love Kira and Angh’s story. I love it so hard. It isn’t an easy journey for anyone. There are a lot of shitty things that happen. There is a vice-admiral that didn’t get near what she deserved. Not nearly. I really wanted to go smack the absolute shit out of her, because damn. That was just wrong. If you love the Atlans, this is a definite book for you to read. Angh has been a fan favorite, and like I said, is my fave Atlan. I’m pretty sure that I kind of hate Kira for ending up with him. Oh well, at least he’ll be happy, right? Watch out for a guest appearance from Denzel Washington.

OK, that vice-admiral knew what was going to happen when you threaten an Atlan’s mate. Of course, that was in her plans, devious bitch that she was, but I want to know if she was aware just how far that he would go. I’m betting she didn’t expect him to go to the extent he did. And Kira really needed to kick her ass.

I can’t wait to see more of this world. I never can. Of course, I think Grace may be sadistic to make us wait. Of course, I think most authors are more than just a little sadistic. So, go check this out, along with all the other books, and get the mad Atlan love. Happy reading!

Cynthia Sax-Cyborg Sizzle, Pt. 2

Hopefully, you read yesterday’s post and know the background of the Cyborg Sizzle-verse. Today, we get to the review of Seeking Vector, the latest of the books in this ‘verse.

So, Cynthia describes Vector as a side-quel. It happens at the same time as the previous two books, Hers to Command, Ace and Thrasher’s story, and Ghost of a Machine, Ghost’s story.

We meet Vector in the first of the cyborg books, Releasing Rage. He is the captain of the warship Freedom. It is the premier ship of the cyborgs’ fleet. When Rage and his brethren rebel, it’s to his ship that he goes. I kind of didn’t like Vector the first time we saw him because he didn’t want to let Joan, Rage’s female, come on the ship and made Green get rid of his beloved plant, Windy. Don’t worry, Green gets Windy back and good things happen there.

Anyway, Vector wasn’t a complete douchebag, and he did finally come around, at least on Joan’s case. And now, he has his own book with his own HEA.

In this book, we find out that an unknown female has been making contact with Vector over the private transmission lines that the cyborgs use. She’s been giving him information to pass along to the cyborg council so that they can use it in their rebellion. However, Power, the leader of the council, has so far refused to use any of the information. Pretty much all the cyborgs are convinced that this is a trap, so Power has directed Vector to find the female and eliminate her.

Vector is all set to go out and do that very thing, but the female doesn’t talk to anyone but him, and he keeps thinking, deep inside his mind, that she is HIS female, even though he keeps trying to logically tell himself that she isn’t. Spoiler, she totally is.

She won’t tell him anything personal about herself, and she uses a synthesized voice to interact with him. She tells him that it has been half her lifespan since she has even heard her voice and that she is lonely. She also sexts him.

Meanwhile, we find out that her name is Kaisa and she’s been hiding out on a Humanoid Alliance base for years. She does what she cans for all the J models that live there, including giving them hope and courage when they are getting tortured. She sneaks in to give them pain inhibitors whenever she can. Kaisa is also a hacker extraordinaire. Not only has she managed to back into all kinds of databases, she’s also managed to get rid of all kinds of references to herself and various weaknesses that the cyborgs have.

When Vector gets to the base where Kaisa is hiding, she tells him that he needs to wait for a couple of days, until the J models rebel and take over the station. He waits, and then goes to find her when he’s allowed on board. The J models all call her their woman because she talks to them, she has helped them, and she has done everything she can for them. They all love her and want to protect her, to the point where they tell Vector that they will die for her.

Anyway, this is the time when we need to go our separate ways if you don’t want to get spoiled. There is cussing, there is serious sex, and there is some spanking, but these aren’t kinky stories, in general. They are seriously sex heavy, but it’s good sex, so who’s complaining? I really like Vector as a character now, and we learn more about his past and his history and it explains why he has made some of the choices that he did. Vector is extremely honorable, even for cyborgs who very honor-bound. He does what he thinks is the right thing to do, which leads to conflict, but works well within the story. I’m looking forward to the next installment to the cyborgs, or to the spin-off series, the Refuge. I think we have to wait until December for it though, so I guess I can maybe be patient.

So, poor Vector, I mean, man. That is some serious shit that he went through before he became free. I about wanted to cry for him, and now it makes sense why he didn’t want Windy around.

And Kaisa, man, I can’t even imagine how hard it was for her to completely shut herself away from her family the way that she did, especially since they appeared to be close. I mean, I know that she did it so that they would be safe. Sometimes curiosity isn’t always the best thing to have. Of course, if she didn’t have that curiosity, then the cyborgs would still be more vulnerable.

I was mad that Power didn’t suck it up and try to use her information before Vector leaked it out, but Power is a massive asshole, and I haven’t liked him since Hers. Of course, watch, Power will be the next book, and I’ll end up liking him.

It was nice to see Mayhem and his female and get that little look into what’s happening there.

Anyway, while you can read these books as standalones, you are going to be better off if you read the books in order since you run into the same characters throughout and the overall story builds from book to book.

I’m off for the evening, to finish reading an ARC for  LK Shaw that will be coming at you on the 9th. Tomorrow’s blog is the new one from Isabella Starling that came out today. Meanwhile, happy reading!

Cynthia Sax-Cyborg Sizzle Pt. 1

Today’s and tomorrow’s blogs are a two parter. That way I don’t have to spend the whole blog tomorrow writing about the back story to Cynthia Sax’s cyborg universe. This way, you get the back story today and as soon as I read Seeking Vector, which comes out tomorrow, is pre-ordered, and will be on my Kindle at midnight, I can get that reviewed and out on the blog to you! I’ve been really looking forward to reading Vector. Cynthia doesn’t keep us waiting for long in between books, usually, but as with most series and authors I like, any wait after I finish The End is too long.

In this universe, there are 3 main groups that we deal with. There’s the Humanoid Alliance. They are the bad guys, and they are mostly all guys. Rude, abusive, misogynistic, specieist, destructive assholes. They commit genocide and destroy planets. Then you have the Rebels, who are the good guys. The final group are the cyborgs.

Now, cyborgs are part human and part machine. The ratio of organic to machine varies from universe to universe. Usually, cyborgs are created, think Borg from ST:TNG, but that’s not quite how they work in Cynthia’s world. They are basically born as cyborgs. They have been manipulated so that they born with the mechanical side that they will need in their lives as the ground pounders for the Humanoid Alliance. The cyborgs have nanocybiotics running through their bodies that help repair them and keep them from aging. The nanocybiotics are strongest in their saliva and their semen.

The current model series is K, I think. Each successive model series looks and acts more human. Rage and Ghost, both C models, are more primitive, don’t act as human, and have gray skin, making them look not so human. Ace and Thresher, who are much more advanced models, act more human-like and look more human-like. In fact, in their book, they aren’t clocked as cyborgs immediately because they cover up the model number that they have under their eye.

The HA thinks that the cyborgs are just mindless machines that do nothing but follow orders. Most of their handlers and the others who are near the cyborgs mistreat them, torture them, abuse them, rape them, and all manner of not good things. However, the cyborgs have free will. They’ve been slowly but surely rebelling and leaving the HA. They have to do it carefully so that they don’t risk their brethren that are still in the hands of the HA.

One thing that all of the cyborgs want is to find their female. The one person who is destined to be theirs. There is only one female who is their genetic match. When they find that person, they can make little baby cyborgs. The cyborg’s nanocybiotics are transferred to the female every time the kiss or fuck. They help keep the female from aging and dying, and will help to repair her if she is injured.

OK, this backstory blog is long enough, I think. Tomorrow is the day that the new book is dropping, so I will read it and review it. I can’t wait! Meanwhile, happy reading!