Wow, only six months into 2014 and SFR is going strong! Come aboard and peruse this month's new releases, plus a free read!
New
releases
Kimcasha has lived by her wits since she lost her family when she was eight years old. So when three of her friends vanish, she has no fear about using herself as kidnapper's bait, until a stranger foils her plot...
After ten years of selling his services in a brothel, Onca has decided to retire. A refugee of planet Zetith, he has no family, no surname, and no woman-until he rescues a young homeless girl from a kidnapper. Onca helps Kim find her friends, but as their intense attraction deepens, he begins feeling too jaded for someone so innocent. It's up to Kim to convince him otherwise...
Grace McKenna and Benedict Thomas have uncovered a mutation
facility under the stark walls of Hammel Mental Institute. Freeing the mutated
patients is risky, but Grace and Benedict needs answers and the hard-faced
nurse at the asylum isn’t – or can't – talk. However the more they learn, the
more muddled Hammel's plan seems. Grace is convinced another attempt at world
domination is on the cards, but can she and Benedict put the pieces together
before that happens?
TETHERED - Pippa Jay
TETHERED - Pippa Jay
She
can kill with a kiss. But can assassin Tyree also heal one man's grief, and
bring peace to a galaxy threatened by war?
For Tyree of the Su, being an assassin isn’t simply something she was trained for. It's the sole reason for her existence. A genetically enhanced clone—one of many in Refuge—she's about to learn her secluded lifestyle, and that of all her kind, is under threat by a race capable of neutralizing their special talents to leave them defenseless.
For Zander D'joren, being a diplomat has not only cost him his appearance, but also the love of his life. Scarred, grieving, he must nonetheless continue in his role as co-delegate to the fearsome Tier-vane or risk a conflict that could only end one way.
Now both of them need to keep each other alive and maintain a perilous deception long enough to renegotiate the treaty with the Tier-vane, or throw their people into a war that could wipe out Terrans and Inc-Su alike. But there's more at stake than humanity, whether true or modified. Can the love growing between them save them both? Or merely hasten their destruction?
For Tyree of the Su, being an assassin isn’t simply something she was trained for. It's the sole reason for her existence. A genetically enhanced clone—one of many in Refuge—she's about to learn her secluded lifestyle, and that of all her kind, is under threat by a race capable of neutralizing their special talents to leave them defenseless.
For Zander D'joren, being a diplomat has not only cost him his appearance, but also the love of his life. Scarred, grieving, he must nonetheless continue in his role as co-delegate to the fearsome Tier-vane or risk a conflict that could only end one way.
Now both of them need to keep each other alive and maintain a perilous deception long enough to renegotiate the treaty with the Tier-vane, or throw their people into a war that could wipe out Terrans and Inc-Su alike. But there's more at stake than humanity, whether true or modified. Can the love growing between them save them both? Or merely hasten their destruction?
EVOLUTION: HEX (superhero; Evolution Series #3) - S.A.
Huchton
A lie is a prison without bars. A captive of the enemy, Candace is forced to confront mistakes and regrets from both sides of the battlefield, including her own. Nothing is simple, and lines in the sand that were once clear have become blurred and indistinguishable. Even the unlikely love she found teeters on the edge of uncertainty. The truth is not always what it seems, and can be a prison of its own. Alone, she must decide where she stands. Alone, she must decide who to trust. When the smoke clears, what's left might not be much… But it might be enough.
The war is on...
Counted among the fiercest Andarion warriors ever born, Hauk is one of the five founding members of the Sentella- an organization that has declared war on the League that rules the Ichidian universe with an iron fist and terrifies it with an army of well-trained assassins. Hauk's enemies are legion, but he fears nothing and no one. He will do whatever it takes to survive and protect his Sentella brethren.
Sumi Antaxas is one of the best assassins the League has ever trained. In her world, failure is not an option and she has never met a target she couldn't execute. So when she's assigned Hauk, she believes it'll be a quick and easy mission.
But nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and Hauk is far better trained and skilled than his dossier shows. More than that, as she pursues him, she stumbles upon the key that will bring down not only Hauk, but the entire Sentella organization.
In the race to report her information, she is overtaken by enemies out to end her as effectively as she intends to end Hauk. Now her only key to survival is the one man she's been sent to kill. And Hauk doesn't trust her at all.
The only question is, will he help her to live... or send her to her grave.
Counted among the fiercest Andarion warriors ever born, Hauk is one of the five founding members of the Sentella- an organization that has declared war on the League that rules the Ichidian universe with an iron fist and terrifies it with an army of well-trained assassins. Hauk's enemies are legion, but he fears nothing and no one. He will do whatever it takes to survive and protect his Sentella brethren.
Sumi Antaxas is one of the best assassins the League has ever trained. In her world, failure is not an option and she has never met a target she couldn't execute. So when she's assigned Hauk, she believes it'll be a quick and easy mission.
But nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and Hauk is far better trained and skilled than his dossier shows. More than that, as she pursues him, she stumbles upon the key that will bring down not only Hauk, but the entire Sentella organization.
In the race to report her information, she is overtaken by enemies out to end her as effectively as she intends to end Hauk. Now her only key to survival is the one man she's been sent to kill. And Hauk doesn't trust her at all.
The only question is, will he help her to live... or send her to her grave.
GILDED LILY (steampunk; Steam and Seduction #3) - Delphine Dryden
Hidden identities, scandalous secrets…deadly attraction.
Frederique Murcheson’s introduction into society hasn’t gone smoothly—some would even call it a disaster. Only Freddie considers her debut a success. Her scheme to become a makesmith has gone off flawlessly. The only thing that could upset her plans now would be if someone discovered that brilliant tinker Fred Merchant is, in fact, a lady in disguise.
Wooing a spoiled heiress is not exactly Barnabas Smith-Grenville’s idea of high espionage. However, considering his brother disappeared on the job, supposedly into the most iniquitous of opium dens, he cannot expect much better. At least the assignment will afford him time to search for his brother, whom he suspects is in spy-related trouble rather than a drug-addled haze.
But when Freddie proves to be both irresistible and the key to the answers he seeks, Barnabas finds himself not only entwined in a scandalous mystery involving lethal submersibles and deranged dirigibles, but also in a dangerous game of the heart…
SALVAGED DESTINY - Lynn
Rae
Blush Sensuality Level: This is a sensual romance (may have explicit love scenes, but not erotic in frequency or type).
Delphine Browen knows what it takes to survive on the rough agricultural planet of Sayre. She helps with her family’s recycling business, prospects for minerals in the Outlands and keeps clear of corrupt officials.
When a handsome security officer recruits her for a secret mission, she’s suspicious. But it’s his allure that worries her the most—Lazlo Casta makes her feel things she finds hard to ignore. Things that involve getting up close and far more personal than a simple salvage operation.
Re-issued SFR with all new packaging
INAUGURATION
- S.G. Lovell
Her biggest enemy is her own mind.
As a member of the Program, twenty-one-year-old Ali lives the life of a slave when an unscheduled health check reveals her impending death. The upcoming implantation of a mind-controlling microchip into her brain will kill her within two short weeks.
Desperate to live, Ali turns to artificial intelligence specialist Rob for help. Together, they hatch a dangerous plan to escape.
But the leader of the Program has a personal interest in seeing Ali inaugurated and the power and means to enforce his will. As Ali is pressured into submitting to the implantation procedure, she must realize that the microchip is turning her own mind into her biggest enemy. And that the dangerous attraction growing between her and Rob could easily end up destroying them both.
Note: This book has previously released under the same title, but a different pen name. Ali’s story unfolds over multiple volumes.
As a member of the Program, twenty-one-year-old Ali lives the life of a slave when an unscheduled health check reveals her impending death. The upcoming implantation of a mind-controlling microchip into her brain will kill her within two short weeks.
Desperate to live, Ali turns to artificial intelligence specialist Rob for help. Together, they hatch a dangerous plan to escape.
But the leader of the Program has a personal interest in seeing Ali inaugurated and the power and means to enforce his will. As Ali is pressured into submitting to the implantation procedure, she must realize that the microchip is turning her own mind into her biggest enemy. And that the dangerous attraction growing between her and Rob could easily end up destroying them both.
Note: This book has previously released under the same title, but a different pen name. Ali’s story unfolds over multiple volumes.
Quick note:
I'm over halfway through INAUGURATION currently and I feel the book falls
within the romantic SF category--as in light romantic elements. Much of the plot focuses on the sinister nature of the Program. Ali and Rob's
relationship feels more like friendship so far, though the grounds are being
laid for a romance. Fans of "Big Brother" dystopian
SF might be interested in this story.
Get your science groove on
At Spacefreighters Lounge, Laurie A. Green explores the science behind "We Are Stardust."
Get your science groove on
At Spacefreighters Lounge, Laurie A. Green explores the science behind "We Are Stardust."
Free read
Like biopunk?
Zombies? A quick read before starting work or childcare? Then check out Sharon Lynn Fisher's short SFR story RED on Wattpad. It's a
work in progress, so stay tuned for more.
For other exciting
science fiction romance news and features--and more stories!--download your free copy of the Sci-Fi
Romance Quarterly #3!
Now I turn
the mike over to you. Got any SFR news/links to share?
Joyfully
yours,
Heather