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Tattooed, muscled, and fierce, they look like felons; but these highly trained agents are humanity's protectors - the only ones standing between Earth and the threats of the galaxy. They are the Star Guardians. A born geek, Juanita has dreamed of exploring the stars for as long as she can remember. Getting kidnapped by slavers from another planet? Not so much. If she's lucky, she might be able to convince the hot guy protecting her from the others to help her escape.
You'd think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you'd be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they've left their cargo of human women - including me - on an ice planet. And the only native inhabitant I've met? He's big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me....
A lush, tropical island on an icy planet makes no sense. Then again, not much makes sense anymore after waking up and finding myself not in bed but on a strange world populated by aliens. Since that moment, I've learned that nothing is normal anymore and I've got to roll with the punches. I can handle this, though. I'm strong and capable. So...washed up on a tropical island? Got it handled. Stranded alone with a brutal but delicious alien man that can't speak English but has great...ahem...body language? Yup, handled.
Christina Sanders, an archeologist and professor in history, is fascinated with the past. As a modern woman of year 2437 she knows that women are better off without men, but longing for an adventure, she makes a spontaneous decision and volunteers for a job no one else wants. Now she's going to lead an archeological excavation in the Northlands, the most secluded place on earth where the mythical males live who are rumored to be as brutal and dangerous as the men Christina has read about in her history books. What will happen when Christina crosses into the men's territory?
Kirall was desperate. He was a Black Prime Dragoon, the strongest and fiercest of his kind. He was returning home after defeating the Varana when a small planet's moon triggered his Joining Heat. It shouldn't have been possible. He was right. Autumn was desperate. She was human, female, and struggling to survive. At 22, she was barely making ends meet. It's why she agreed to impersonate her roommate as a waitress for the weekend at a private party. She believed the money would change her life. She was right.
When Earth space marine Harper Adams finds herself abducted by alien slavers off a space station, her life turns into a battle for survival. Dumped into an arena on a desert planet on the outer rim, she finds herself face to face with a big, tattooed alien gladiator...the champion of the Kor Magna Arena. A former prince abandoned to the arena as a teen, Raiden Tiago has long ago earned his freedom. Now he rules the arena, but he doesn't fight for the glory, but instead for his own dark purpose - revenge against the Thraxian aliens who destroyed his planet.
Tattooed, muscled, and fierce, they look like felons; but these highly trained agents are humanity's protectors - the only ones standing between Earth and the threats of the galaxy. They are the Star Guardians. A born geek, Juanita has dreamed of exploring the stars for as long as she can remember. Getting kidnapped by slavers from another planet? Not so much. If she's lucky, she might be able to convince the hot guy protecting her from the others to help her escape.
You'd think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you'd be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they've left their cargo of human women - including me - on an ice planet. And the only native inhabitant I've met? He's big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me....
A lush, tropical island on an icy planet makes no sense. Then again, not much makes sense anymore after waking up and finding myself not in bed but on a strange world populated by aliens. Since that moment, I've learned that nothing is normal anymore and I've got to roll with the punches. I can handle this, though. I'm strong and capable. So...washed up on a tropical island? Got it handled. Stranded alone with a brutal but delicious alien man that can't speak English but has great...ahem...body language? Yup, handled.
Christina Sanders, an archeologist and professor in history, is fascinated with the past. As a modern woman of year 2437 she knows that women are better off without men, but longing for an adventure, she makes a spontaneous decision and volunteers for a job no one else wants. Now she's going to lead an archeological excavation in the Northlands, the most secluded place on earth where the mythical males live who are rumored to be as brutal and dangerous as the men Christina has read about in her history books. What will happen when Christina crosses into the men's territory?
Kirall was desperate. He was a Black Prime Dragoon, the strongest and fiercest of his kind. He was returning home after defeating the Varana when a small planet's moon triggered his Joining Heat. It shouldn't have been possible. He was right. Autumn was desperate. She was human, female, and struggling to survive. At 22, she was barely making ends meet. It's why she agreed to impersonate her roommate as a waitress for the weekend at a private party. She believed the money would change her life. She was right.
When Earth space marine Harper Adams finds herself abducted by alien slavers off a space station, her life turns into a battle for survival. Dumped into an arena on a desert planet on the outer rim, she finds herself face to face with a big, tattooed alien gladiator...the champion of the Kor Magna Arena. A former prince abandoned to the arena as a teen, Raiden Tiago has long ago earned his freedom. Now he rules the arena, but he doesn't fight for the glory, but instead for his own dark purpose - revenge against the Thraxian aliens who destroyed his planet.
Some scary-looking aliens have just boarded Fortuna Tau, our little asteroid mining station. Kordolians, by the looks of things. What the hell do they want with this floating rust bucket? What are they even doing here? Come to think of it, I've never seen a Kordolian up close before. They're huge and intimidating, with strange silver skin and pointed ears. They have freaky nano-armor, and they're packing a serious arsenal. We humans stand no chance against them.
A fighter pilot on a mission to reunite with her daughter. A cyborg soldier on a quest to regain his humanity. Mortal enemies during the war, they must now work together to salvage a 70-year-old freighter and navigate the gauntlet of pirates, scavengers, mercenaries, and other pitfalls that stand in their way after the fall of the largest empire mankind has ever known.
His name is Khazaar Drasurq. He is different from all the other men she knows. He is dangerous. He is unpredictable. To Cassie, he is the most desirable man she has ever laid eyes on. For Khazaar, on the other hand, she exists only to secure the survival of his race. She is a little cog in the big plan the possessive Alien lord is following. As Cassie is thrown into his dangerous world, she soon realizes that she desperately needs something only he can give her. His protection.
Drago, King of the Isle of Dragons, is the last of the magnificent dragons of the Seven Kingdoms. Bitter and alone, he abandons the emptiness of his realm and retreats to the caverns beneath the palace. In the form of his dragon, he remains hidden from the world, protecting the Dragon's Heart, the last legacy of his people - until he is disturbed by a most unlikely thief.
In his junior year at college, the only things on Sean's mind are doing his homework and getting out of college to get a real job. A gamer and a bit of a nerd, Sean's philosophy in life has been to keep his head down and get his work done. But when a failed kidnapping attempt leaves him with a gaping hole in his memory, his oldest friend dead, and his mother missing, Sean suddenly finds his whole world turned upside down as he's thrust into the hidden world of magic and the supernatural.
Starseer, pilot, and animal lover Jelena Marchenko wants to prove to her parents that she's ready to captain her own freighter and help run the family business. When she finally talks them into getting a second ship and letting her fly it, it doesn't faze her that the craft is decades old and looks like a turtle. This is the chance she's craved for years. But it's not long before the opportunity to rescue mistreated lab animals lures her from her parentally approved cargo run and embroils her in a battle between warring corporations.
Dommik was a monster, a Monster Hunter, and an alpha. Part of an elite group that dealt with the horrors of the universe. At least that was what everyone at the spaceport was whispering as he walked by. A Cyborg, a hunter, a beast with eyes as dark as the pits of Hell and the stride of a predator. Katalina was a nobody who was intimate with death. It clung to her like a shroud, It followed her like the plague, and infected her like a parasite. When she overheard that the Monster Hunter needed an assistant, she took the job.
When you are old enough to finally become an Earth Mars citizen, everything should be perfect. Right? Not for Liam Hoffen. He's stuck on a mining asteroid called Colony 40, helping his father work a claim that is never going to pay out. His best friend, Nick James is set for life in James' Rental business and Liam just discovered that the girl he's known forever thinks he's pretty great and now she's leaving for the Mars Naval Academy.
Telryn "Trip" Yert has always been a little odd, with hunches that are too accurate to explain. Magic is feared and forbidden in Iskandia, so he's struggled his whole life to hide his eccentricities. As a boy, he was forced to watch his mother's execution. Her crime? Witchcraft. Understandably, Trip wants nothing to do with the power that lurks within him, always threatening to reveal itself. Instead, he dedicates himself to serving as an officer in the king's army, to battling pirates and imperial conquerors. He longs to become a soldier as respected and renowned as General Zirkander.
Air Force pilot Andromeda "Andie" Kim dreams of being chosen to join NASA so she can go to space. Instead she's stolen by savage kidnappers from a dystopian future where fertile women are needed for breeding purposes. All she wants is to escape and find a way back to her time before she's sold as broodstock and stuck in this ruined world forever.
Avalon was the flagship of the Castle Federation in the last war, now 20 years past. The first of the deep space carriers, no other warship in the fleet holds as many honors or has recorded as many kills. No other warship in the fleet is as old. Accepting the inevitable, the Federation Space Navy has decided to refit her and send her on a tour of the frontier, showing the flag to their allies and enemies as a reminder of her glory - and then decommission her for good.
Powerful and charismatic, Raphael is a Vampire Lord, one of the few who hold the power of life and death over every vampire in existence. Thousands call him Master and have pledged absolute loyalty on their very lives. But when, in a brazen and deadly daylight attack, a gang of human killers kidnaps the one female vampire he'd give his life for, Raphael turns to a human investigator to find his enemies before it's too late.
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 going to either strangle Ankari or fall in love. Either scenario could get him killed.
Love a really good space opera that mixes action, romance, humor and great characters, and Ruby Lionsdrake delivered them all!
The lead female character, Ankari, is strong, spunky, confident but finds herself in one sticky situation right after the other. She loathes being captured by the exasperating, good looking, always in control Captain Victor Mandrake and his crew. While she tries to convince him she's innocent, she's using her pickpocketing skills and marital art moves to try to escape. The captain can't help but to admire her tenacity; however, he's also determine to cash in on his bounty. After all, she and her associates have a high price on their heads, but the more time he spends around her, the more he questions the truth of the accusations.
The story was well written, creative, and had a great pace. The main characters as well as the secondary characters were developed and had distinct personalities. I loved how the H/h relationship evolved naturally and wasn't forced. There are a few sex scenes in the second half of the story but are more on the sweet side.
Jill Redfield delivered a stellar performance, and does an amazing job with both the female and male characters. Not all female narrators can pull off male characters like Jill, and make them sound not only believable but give them a sexy bedroom voice. She's one talented narrator who really brought this story to life!
All in all, Mercenary Instinct was fun to listen too, kept me engaged, and was another great KU/whispersync find. I will definitely be looking out for more stories in this series to be released in audio. (I really hope Jill narrates the rest of the series ;-) !)
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
Book synopsis says it all.
This is one of those science fiction romance novels that keep you entertained from the first page to the last; and are hard to come across. It was such a fun read, I had not realized I had the audible. The story has continuous action, romance, space ships, descriptions that would place you in the land, bad guys that aren't so bad but ain't good either. I really had a smile throughout the book. It had some laughs, some exasperating moments, and overall a bit of everything. What I enjoyed most was it was not love or lust at first sight. It was slow, more realistic and believable. Same as the world building. I was so emerged in the story did not notice the hours go by at work. I did have to go back several times when had to use my head for rational thinking at work. Hating having to pause. I literally have not been able to put it down. Even though I had the audio companion (at work), I still followed every word. Even the ending... has left me with a smile plastered on my face. Very, very entertaining!
My many thanks to narrator Jill Redfield. She uses her voice in a way she's able to animate all emotions. She has a great sense of pacing, and her adaptability to the tone of the scene was fantastic. She did amazing with the lighter and deeper aspects of the story. Jill's voice is so easy to listen to! She made me forget I was listening to a female narrator. Kudos to Jill Redfield for her dedication and her all in enhancing the book °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Perfect combination of sci-fi, humor and romance. Jill Redfield does her usual incomparable job of bring the story to life through a wide repertoire of character voices. Bring on book 2 please!!!!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I truly enjoyed this book it was a wonderful storyline, great characters great plot, adventur3 and had the romance that I like. That slow building kind of relationship not the instantaneous love it first sight, but ones where the characters get to know each other and they realize that they care for each other. good book!
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
This was almost a good story. There’s just wasn’t enough dialogue. Someone would say something then it would go on and on with the descriptions of the ship they were on or the forest they were trudging through or the mountain that was in front of them or the temple they were heading for. So many descriptions of everything except the characters in the story. I couldn’t tell you what anyone looked like, really.
I know Ankari, Jamie and Lauren were almost indestructible. They were in two shipwrecks in a week and they all lived to tell about. And they were attacked by three raptors and only got a couple of scratches and bites from them. Oh, and they were saved from being gang raped by a ship load of bounty hunters, when they escaped from Viktor’s ship. Ankari made one bad decision after another, and talked her friends into going along with her.
I did like the last 15% of the book best. Their battle with Felgard’s soldiers, robots and his man-eating flowers was quite exciting.
And, about the sex.. Not a thought about it, no desire, no wanting, no nothing except one kiss at about 36%. Then at 63%, after still no desirous thoughts, they have some pretty nasty sex, nothing romantic about it, IMO. So that keeps me from reading this author again.
As to the narration: Jill Redfield did a wonderful job. Her male and female voices were great and she read with terrific emotions.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
WOW this book was boring. Sigh... Great narration though.
Hmm where to start? The characters were dull and boring. The story line is dull and boring. There is hardly any dialogue, just a lot of story telling which included a bunch of unnecessary stuff nobody cares about. This story did not flow very well at all, it seemed to be all over the place and there was no real concept to it. What a waste of my time. UGH!
This book is 5 hours too long.
As for the narration, that was the only good thing about the book. If I had been reading it and not listening as well I would have quit it.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Now that's a series I would love to listen to. Space lost planets and scumbags of all kind and only thing keeping one alive is their wits. Just tell me when the next book is available.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
This is my first Ruby Lionsdrake listen, and Mandrake Company is her long and very popular e-book sci fi romance series. I'm excited to finally have it on audio, and as read by Jill Redfield, this is a very good first in the series.
Ankari Markovich has landed on a restricted planet known for it's ancient alien ruins. In fact, she's dangling from a rope down an old latrine, chiseling old alien poo into specimen bags. She and her partners are looking for DNA for their new bio company, and they think they've isolated the genes that could heal humans, and make them stronger and faster.
Her crew/partners are Jaimie, the pilot, and Lauren the bio scientist. Lauren is up top, waiting for the, eh . . . samples, when all of a sudden, all hell breaks loose.
A group of heavily armed mercenaries have arrived on the planet specifically to capture them, and deliver them to one of the wealthy Lords of Finance. (Think of them as the 1% of the 1%, on steroids -- above the law and all that.)
The Lord's demanding that the women be brought to him immediately, claiming they're criminals who have broken into one of his businesses, and stole from him. And he's offering a VERY big fee, and won't take no for an answer.
But it isn't long before the Lord's story starts to stink, and the captain of the mercenaries begins to question his accusation. The women don't appear to be criminals, and this sets up a bit of a moral dilemma for the captain. What to do? Especially when the crew is really, REALLY looking forward to the big payday.
Highly Recommended: For sci fi romance readers. (Note: There is no depiction of sexual assault in this novel.)
Note: Ruby Lionsdrake is aka Lindsey Buroker, and it shows. I've always liked the way Buroker writes relationships, and she does a great job in this sub-genre, too. Nothing cheesy here folks, although I think she used the 'butt' in one of the sex scenes. Made me snort water up my nose!
3 of 5 people found this review helpful
i so loved this book, mercenary instinct is thrilling, sizzling and witty, i have giggled many times listening to this book. The narrative is excellent, Jill Redfield you are amazing, you have an incredible voice and can do both male and female voices successfully and you inflict so much emotions in your narrative. thank you to you Ruby and Jill for a job well done. xx
1 of 1 people found this review helpful