BENLON (Lunar Uprising 5) by Cyndi Friberg- a review

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Sandy

BENLON (Lunar Uprising 5) by Cyndi Friberg

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 18, 2023

Can a brilliant physician and a brave outcast find happiness while battling potential genocide?

Olarra sacrifices everything to warn Benlon about a Pylorian plot that threatens his entire species. Their attraction smolders and flares while they battle the destructive nanobots wreaking havoc inside each lunar raider. They try to stay focused on the crisis, but bonding fever is impossible to ignore. The Pylorians sabotage their progress at every turn, and time is running out!

••••••

REVIEW: BENLON is the fifth instalment in Cyndi Friberg’s adult LUNAR UPRISING sci-fi romance series. This is medic-class Commander Benlon, and microbiologist Olarra’s story line. BENLON can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion.

SOME BACKGROUND: Eight years earlier, six Pylorian spaceships arrived on Earth asking for asylum claiming they were fleeing their immortal enemy, the wolf-like Morax, but in the ensuing years, the Pylorian began to take control, using their considerable powers to force the governments of Earth to do their bidding. In an effort to protect Earth, the Pylorian’s claim to have cultivated aka created the lunar raiders, a hybrid of three alien species (Morax, Pylorian, Dox Tory) one of which reacts instantly when their destined mate is near.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Benlon and Olarra) BENLON follows in the wake of the genocide of several species propagated by the aggressive Pylorians. Having created several hybrids of alien species, the Pylorians have implemented an ‘expiration syndrome’ meant to be lethal, nanobots when activated, quickly destroy and take down their intended target, their hybrid host. As a hybrid herself, Olarra is all too aware of the discrimination many have faced at the hands of their ‘creators’, hands that are now systematically killing those who have escaped to friendlier planets. Knowing any help will come at a cost, Olarra finds herself the victim of an attempted assassination, and the only help will come from the man who governs several Pylorian cities, a man close to our heroine’s heart.

Meanwhile, Benlon, the medic-class Commander knows that Olarra is his mate but Olarra is a hybrid, and does not have the same capacity to know when her fated mate is near. As Benlon struggles to convince Olarra of their future together, the timing is all wrong as thousands are dying because of their genetics and modified DNA. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Olarra and Benlon, and the potential fall-out as our heroine is targeted for who she is, and what she knows.

The relationship between Olarra and Benlon is one of fated mates but Olarra is part Pylorian, and Pylorian’s do not take permanent mates. Olarra battles between head and heart, unable to trust the man with whom she will fall in love, having faced a lifetime of discrimination from the people in charge. As Olarra and Benlon’s relationship quickly builds into something more, an assassination attempt threatens to end their love before it has had a chance to grow. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters including Zorak and Cara; Leko and Julia: Dracus and Addison, Prime Commander Vosic, and Olarra’s father Governor Kreth.

BENLON is a story of discrimination and racism; genocide and murder, love and acceptance, loss and grief. The fast paced premise is captivating and engaging but all too familiar in reality; the characters are power, struggling, and charismatic; the romance is seductive but fated. BENLON ends on a happily ever after-for now.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Zorak
Rogar
Leko
Dracus

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Siege by Robert DeSimone Jr-Review & Guest Post

Posted on October 22, 2022 by Sandy

SIEGE by Robert DeSimone Jr-Review & Guest Post

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 14, 2022

Year 2096. Earth is at war with a reptile-like alien race known as Architects who have invaded the planet alongside their android armies. Rain Tessio and his brother Jax are drafted into the war and assigned to an isolated military supply depot called The Krag. Their sleepy assignment soon turns into a full-scale conflict when a small Architect army surrounds The Krag. To make matters worse, when one member of the unit is mysteriously killed, they discover that the killer is one of their own.

••••••

REVIEW: SIEGE by Robert Desimone Jr is a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi thriller set in the year 2096.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise including graphic violence, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from third person perspective SIEGE focuses on Unit 27 Romeo, a group of 19 nineteen humans conscripted to protect an isolated military supply depot called The Krag. With very little experience between them, and hundreds if not thousands of androids surrounding the depot, the rag tag team of unskilled and non-miliary fighters are forced to defend something they know nothing about. One by one, each member of Unit 27 Romeo is plucked off and killed, and some begin to suspect a killer from within. A war between the humans and the aliens reveals a secret hidden deep within the Earth’s surface, a secret that may threaten the existence of the rest of humanity.

SIEGE is a quick read; a story focusing on an alien invasion of Earth wherein the inhabitants of Earth are struggling to survive, struggling against an enemy who themselves are battling to thrive. The fast paced premise is dramatic, imaginative and tragic ; the characters are energetic, ill-fated but determined.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

The Many Sides of Morality in Siege by Robert DeSimone Jr.

Probably the most important part of writing any story for me is having likeable characters you can get attached to. To know their histories, wants, fears, etc. One important theme that goes into most of my stories is morality. As something of a goody-two-shoes since I can remember, I love exploring the idea of morality in my characters. And it is the main theme I try to (and hopefully) convey in the science fiction/mystery novella Siege.

What’s interesting about morality is that it is completely subjective based on the individual and/or the culture. Some say that there are universal truths regarding morality including not killing or stealing, however, if you consulted a Viking raider from the 9th century, he may disagree based on the norms of his culture. Regardless, when I wrote the characters of Siege, I installed some of my own ideas on right and wrong.

The four aspects of morality I explored was separated into four characters: Rain, the serial killer, Sofia, and Binder. Rain, as the de facto protagonist, is a character who has a strict black-and-white sense of right and wrong and generally follows the universal truths of morality. After finding the alien infant Crocadelia, he spends a great deal of time making sure she is safe and fed despite some of his teammates voting to have her killed. In this instance, his teammates argued that because she was the same species as their enemy and because she may one day, far in the future, be a threat, she should be killed, but Rain chooses to advocate for her life because she has done nothing wrong and is an innocent regardless of her species. To him the decision is easy: she’s innocent so she must be protected. Nothing else matters.

Rain’s biggest moral dilemma, perhaps, is the perceived temptation of the beautiful electrical engineer Sofia. Because Rain has a girlfriend named Annabelle back home, the question is: will Rain betray Annabelle in favor of Sofia or will he stay loyal? While I present this dilemma to the reader as if it is a possibility, Rain never actually considers betraying Annabelle. He simply admits to himself that he’s attracted to Sofia and that’s as far as he’ll ever take it. Because he has a cookie-cutter sense of right and wrong, he sees everything in black and white and would never betray someone he made a promise to. And he would never delve into the world of grays to satisfy his lust because that’s not in his moral programming.

Sofia, on the other hand, represents the gray area of morality. Partway through the story, it is revealed that Sofia is afflicted with a disease that will kill her by her mid-fifties and there is no cure in sight. Because her life will be cut almost in half, in her I explored morality mixed with mortality. She has a clock that is constantly ticking in the back of her mind, which is further exacerbated by the threat of being killed at any point during the siege, which leads her to make decisions she may not normally make if she were completely healthy. While she is empathetic, caring, and very protective (especially towards Crocadelia), she is more than willing to steal Rain away from Annabelle because she feels she may not have the time a healthy person would have to find a partner she truly loves.

The serial killer lurking within the walls of The Krag represents amorality. After the serial killer’s childhood and upbringing is explored, it is revealed he suffered trauma, lacked a mother figure, had a non-existent social life, and murdered his first person at a young age. Due to this, he grew up without morality being a factor in his life. Morality, in a practical sense, serves as a buffer to keep people from engaging in horrible

Immorality was explored, mainly in the character of Binder, but also in a few other minor characters as well. Binder is presented as a selfish person with little sympathy towards anyone but himself. This is shown in his treatment of Osman, one of his subordinates. He also has no empathy towards the animals he paralyzed during his time as a research assistant. He remarked that he preferred paralyzing the test subjects from their necks rather than their backs because it was more convenient for him. It didn’t matter to him that he would cause extra suffering to the animal who would no longer have use to any of its limbs.

I enjoyed being able to explore these themes in Siege. When writing the immoral and amoral characters in Siege, I tried to present them as cautionary tales to those who have no regard for others because I can’t imagine one can have a fulfilling life without empathy towards others and no moral code whatsoever. Consequences usually follow bad deeds.

And while these are my opinions on morality, others may find that people who do the right thing simply use morality as the excuse for being a coward. Another may not think animal experimentation is an immoral act, rather a practical one to obtain data. What importance do you think morality plays in a story or life for that matter?

Follow the Author: Facebook / Website/ Goodreads

Robert DeSimone Jr. was born in Long Beach, CA on June 9th, 1987. He is the second of six children. His first job was as a computer technician before he began working various jobs in the fire service including as an EMT, fire cadet, and finally fire inspector.

Robert published his first short story in 2021. His favorite book is Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy. He spends much of his free time building his business as a writer and spending time with his wife and two dogs.

Mind Bender / Dueling Timelines by Dean C Moore-reviews

Posted on October 2, 2022 by Sandy

Mind Bender / Dueling Timelines (It Takes Two 1 & 2) by Dean C Moore-reviews

MIND BENDER
(It Takes Two 1)
by Dean C Moore
Genre: adult, futuristic, sci-fi, speculative thriller

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Globetrotting assassin, Amy Farr, and her ex-Navy SEAL partner, Trevor Hunter—the good guys—cross one continent and one country after another in an effort to retrieve a scientist’s formula.

Once injected with the mind-bending substance, ‘mind over matter’ stops being a catchy saying and becomes a reality.

In the right hands, it’s the stuff that new generation soldiers are made of. And in the wrong hands? When you think that few have the mind control of a Zen master, empowering the average joe’s imaginings, well . . . The formula is Armageddon in a bottle.

To get their hands on the substance, Amy and Trevor must face off against their counterparts: Curt Hammon, a sadist and Delta Forces commander with more than one team at his disposal; and Lara Lietoman, a mastermind and corporate head of a transnational empire of crime.

There’s nowhere to go in this world where Lara and Curt can’t track you. And the only one more tech-loving than our assassin Amy Farr, with her hands on even more cutting-edge stuff, is Lara.

It’s a clash of titans grown small in a world where each new tech breakthrough makes yesteryear’s giants seem like today’s roadkill.

••••••••••

REVIEW: MIND BENDER is the first instalment in Dean C Moore’s adult, futuristic IT TAKES TWO speculative/science fiction series.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise including graphic violence, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told in five acts, from several third person perspectives MIND BENDER focuses on the hunger for power; the ultimate control of the human psyche, and the world at large. Many of the world’s population are transhuman, injected with powerful nanobyte technology creating a humanistic cyborg but a scientist has developed a formula that when administered has the potential for biological warfare including the ability for humans to use thought projections turned into reality. From telekinetics, telepathy and manifestation, assassin Amy Farr, and ex-Navy SEAL Trevor Hunter find themselves in the jungles of Mexico, as self-administered guinea pigs when Amy ‘disposes’ of a vial of futuristic powers. Hoping to build an army of super soldiers, already genetically enhanced with nano technology, CEO Lara Lietoman and Curt Hammon, go in search of Amy and Trevor, in an effort to take back what doesn’t belong.

MIND BENDER is a story of what ifs? Of psychobiology in a world with a sentient AI reaching for singularity, at the expense of humanity and the world, at large. Dean C Moore pulls the reader into a fast paced, graphic, violent, complex and detailed adventure of science fiction and potential fact.

Copy supplied for review

____________

DUELING TIMELINES
(It Takes Two 2)
by Dean C Moore
Genre: adult, futuristic, sci-fi, speculative thriller, satire

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 1, 2022.

He’s the perfect assassin. He’s never failed. It doesn’t matter what the resistance is; he cuts through it like Kerry Pure Irish butter. Some are saying he’s enhanced; he’s gotta be. Android maybe. Nano-enhanced maybe. Genetically altered possibly.

But Amy Farr, the trained assassin sent after him, and her partner, Trevor Hunter, former Navy SEAL, fear something far worse.

They fear he isn’t enhanced at all.

So, either he’s some super-powered Zen monk China flushed out of a monastery in Tibet when they should have had the good sense to leave those poor people alone. Or, he’s an extraterrestrial. Those are about the only two options left.

It doesn’t help that Agent X has a penchant for taking out the most politically corrupt, highest-ranking string pullers on the planet; people whose every decision affects billions of lives for the worse. He gives them a choice: confess your crimes on tape, or eat the bullet.

That creates a moral dilemma for Amy and Trent. They see themselves as the avengers. And he’s definitely making them look like slackers on the subject of holding the really bad and entitled accountable to the really needy and disenfranchised.

But that’s what romantic relationships are for, to drive each other absolutely crazy second-guessing their every decision, in between all the smooching and ripped-through Spandex.

As Agent X gets one deep state operative to confess after another, their shocking testimonials are broadcasted into another timeline as part of the experiment. Does the truth set us free, or is too much too soon too detrimental, if people are jumping out of windows out of the sense of horror?

Tired of an era of endless deep state overreach, of false flag events and psyops run against the many peoples of the world, Amy and Trevor are eager to prop up The Truth Shall Set You Free Timeline with the right strategic moves. But which timeline truly serves the greater good?

•••••••••

REVIEW: DUELING TIMELINES is the second instalment in Dean C Moore’s adult, futuristic techno-thriller IT TAKES TWO speculative /sci-fi series. DUELING TIMELINES is a stand alone, not connected to book one, but a stand alone with the same lead characters as MIND BENDER-Amy Farr and Trevor Hunter. You do not have to have read MIND BENDER to understand or comprehend the current timeline.

Told from third person perspectives DUELING TIMELINES is a satirical look at real-world conspiracy theories come to life in a futuristic time. Earth is now occupied and controlled by a serpent-like species known as Draco, and assassin Amy Farr, and her now husband, former US Navy SEAL Trevor Hunter work for an organization called Earth Command. Nano-byte technology has improved such that reanimation, cloning and molecular transportation are the norm but the people of Earth are unaware and oblivious to what’s going on.

DUELING TIMELINES is a satirical tale blending as many modern-day conspiracy theories into a sci-fi adventure of dueling timelines, fallen angels, God and spirituality. From the ultimate control by the world’s oligarchs-Big Pharma, Industry, Financial, Military and Technology to the ascending knowledge of the Dark Web, Deep Web, Deep State and ‘Dark ET’ powers, the conspiracies turned reality asks the questions: Are we all actors on a giant stage controlled by a higher power? Or are we all watching a fraudulent play from the false comfort of our homes as the world implodes?

Copy supplied for review

Reviews by Sandy

Only Bad Options by Jennifer Estep – Dual Review & Giveaway

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Barb

Only Bad Options by Jennifer Estep – Dual Review & Giveaway

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Description:
A WOMAN WHO SEES EVERYTHING . . .

Few people know the name Vesper Quill. To most folks, I’m just a lowly lab rat who designs brewmakers and other household appliances in the research and development lab at the powerful Kent Corp. But when I point out a design flaw and a safety hazard in the new line of Kent Corp starcruisers, everyone knows who I am—and wants to eliminate me.

I might be a seer with a photographic memory, but I don’t see the trouble headed my way until it’s too late. Suddenly, I’m surrounded by enemies and fighting for my life.

I don’t think things can get any worse until I meet Kyrion Coldren, an arrogant Regal lord who insists that we have a connection, one that could be the death of us both.

A MAN WHO CAN’T FORGET HIS PAST . . .

The name Kyrion Coldren strikes fear in the hearts of people across the Archipelago Galaxy. As the leader of the Arrows, the Imperium’s elite fighting force, I’m used to being a villain, as well as the personal assassin of Lord Callus Holloway. Even the wealthy Regals who live on the planet of Corion are afraid of me.

But everything changes when I meet Vesper Quill. I might be a powerful psion with telepathic, telekinetic, and other abilities, but Vesper sees far too many of my secrets.

Thanks to an arcane, unwanted quirk of psionic magic, the two of us are forced to work together to unravel a dangerous conspiracy and outwit the dangerous enemies who want to bend us to their will.

•••••••

Barb’s Review:
Only Bad Options by Jennifer Estep is the first book in her Galactic Bonds series. As noted, many times, I am a big fan of Jennifer Estep, having enjoyed all her fantastic series. I was thrilled to learn that she was starting a different kind of new series, and after reading the first book, I can’t wait for more.

This series centers on Vesper Quill, our heroine, who works for Kent Corp, in their research and development lab. Vesper is considered a lowly lab rat and a seer, she has uncanny ability to find flaws and fix anything in high tech equipment, as well as brew makers/appliances. She discovers a terrible conspiracy, and before she can point it out, the tables are turned, and she is sent away to be eliminated.

Kyrion Caldaren, is a powerful and arrogant leader of the Imperium Arrows, who is known to be the most notorious assassin, having killed many; he reports directly to Lord Callus Holloway. During a battle, Kyrion accidently meets the low lab rat, who is sent out to fight the battle in front of them, knowing Vesper was expected to not survive. But she manages to use her seer knowledge and experience on the weapons used, Vesper manages to save herself and Kyrion.

Kyrion, at first, is not planning on saving her, but in a short time, he finds her abilities intriguing. They start out as enemies, with Kyrion thinking she is a spy, and in time they become partners in stopping the evil Kent family, who have teamed with the enemy.

What follows is an exciting, action filled, suspenseful story that kept me unable to put the book down. Vesper was a great heroine, as she was not only smart, savvy, but her abilities was amazing; as some of her other abilities, allowed her to see things beyond, an discover many secrets. In time, I began to like Kyrion, who earlier was not really likable. Only Bad Options had a Galactic theme, with seers, powerful psion, magic, telekinesis, telepathy, as well as spaceships, blasters and great technology.

The last third of the book was extremely tense and exciting, with a few surprises along the way. I enjoyed watching Vesper and Kyrion begin to work together, as they eventually made a great team. I will not tell too much more, as it would be spoilers, but it was a wild satisfying ending.

Only Bad Options is a different and intriguing Sci-Fi and Fantasy new series that is very well written by Jennifer Estep. I loved both Vesper and Kyrion, and look forward to see what Estep has planned in future books. I suggest you read Only Bad Options, as I fully enjoyed it.

Sandy’s Review:

ONLY BAD OPTIONS is the first instalment in Jennifer Estep’s adult, sci-fi GALACTIC TRUEBOND space-opera series. This is thirty-seven year old R&D tech specialist Vesper Quill, and thirty-eight year old, leader of the Arrows Kyrion Coldren’s story line.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Kyrion and Vesper) ONLY BAD OPTIONS follows in the wake of our heroine discovering a possible fatal flaw in in the new line of Kent Corp starcruisers, a safety hazard that had already killed several hundred people. In an effort to keep Vesper quiet, our heroine is imprisoned and set to fight a war on another planet, a fight that is meant to end in her immediate death but Vesper isn’t about to go down without a fight, and alongside the infamous personal assassin of Lord Holloway, our couple manage to reach the relative safety of an enemy ship. With her ability to ‘see’ and ‘fix’ things, Vesper and Kyrian manage to escape only to come up close and personal with the people who want her gone but all is not well with our story line couple when blood contact reveals a Truebond mate, a mating neither wants or is willing to accept. As our couple must come to terms with their unknown future, the enemy begins to circle, hoping to destroy everyone in their way.

ONLY BAD OPTIONS is a space-opera-esque, Cinderella-esque, story line reminiscent of many of Jennifer’s previous series. Friends turned enemies, dysfunctional family bloodlines, power and control, magic and mayhem, attraction and rejection. The reader is pulled into a sci-fi fantasy of betrayal and vengeance, and a hierarchy of command desperate to rule without question. Like most dystopian story lines, there is limited to no romance as the couple must fight for their lives, all the while rejecting the attraction to one another, and the potential for a broken heart. The premise is intriguing and captivating; the characters are numerous, powerful and determined. If you are looking for romance, there is none-only rejection and second thoughts.

Jennifer is graciously offering a $10 Amazon Gift card to ONE (1) lucky commenters at The Reading Cafe:

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8. Giveaway open Internationally

9. Giveaway runs from September 21 – 25, 2022

The Mind of God (The Mind of God 1) by Dean C Moore-a review

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Sandy

THE MIND OF GOD (The Mind of God 1) by Dean C Moore

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 3, 2022.

They’re building the mind of god. And they’re using the rollout of the 10-G wireless internet to do it. You must be nano-enhanced so you can be connected to the quantum-computing ubermind to play. But with the right modifications, this time when you plug into the grid, you can go anywhere, do anything.

You will be able to teleport.

You’ll be able to time travel.

You will be able to venture to other planets.

Even more amazingly, you will be able to manifest any world you deign to live in, using nothing more than your imagination.

Disease, sickness, even aging, will be a thing of the past.

But one old man has his suspicions. What sounds too good to be true, probably is.

“It always starts this way,” he says, “all upside, all rainbows and puppy dogs. That’s how they get you hooked. And once you’re a hundred percent committed, well, then, that’s when the guillotine drops.”

The grandson Jules refuses to listen to the old man. “Typical Luddite.”

As far as he’s concerned, the mind of god is the gift to humanity of brilliant minds like his, and of countless more on whose shoulders they stand, and their joint efforts to unlock the infinite potential of the quantum domain.

But the old man, is he even real? And what exactly is he? A figment of the grandson’s guilty conscience? Is he an extraterrestrial in disguise, warning of a road well-traveled that’s best not gone down? Or is he a manifestation of Lucifer, providing sufficient disclaimers so he can’t be accused of breaking God’s most fundamental law: never violate free will?

You just have to play the game and see.

••••••

REVIEW: THE MIND OF GOD is the first instalment in Dean C Moore’s sci-fi, fantasy, space opera THE MIND OF GOD series.

Told from in four acts and third person perspective, following several paths and planes of existence THE MIND OF GOD focuses on the reality of unreality. Something or someone known as The Mind of God or M.O.G. is offering an injection of nanites or nano-cocktail to anyone or anything willing to jump to the next level or plane of existence. A form of virtual reality wherein humans, humanoids, ETs and Ais give up the ultimate control to experience life somewhere else but The Mind of God has evolved beyond its’ original parameters, expanding the limits of its’ powers, in an effort to control ALL and EVERYTHING in its’ path.

THE MIND OF GOD is a complex, detailed and often overwhelming tale that pulls together modern and futuristic conspiracy theories referencing current day and historical authors, books, science fiction and science fact, television and movie story lines. A culmination of truth vs fiction, reality vs VR presents as the ultimate video gaming world in which every move and action is broadcast for the Cosmos to see, wherein a ratings race and fandom pick their favorite hero or antihero. From robots to AI, wizards and dragon, magic, cyborgs, avatars and telepaths, THE MIND OF GOD looks at the ultimate control over people places, life and time.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Follow: Website / Goodreads / Facebook/ Twitter / Amazon Author Page /

While action-packed sci-fi/techno-thrillers set in the near future are my forte, I also stray into other genres from time to time, such as space operas, paranormal fantasy, and detective stories. All my novels can be described as action-thrillers, no matter the sub-genre.

You can sample my writing with a free sci-fi e-book set in the near future by visiting my website https://deancmoore.com and signing up for my email list.

I live in the country where I breed bluebirds, which are endangered in these parts, as my small contribution to restoring nature’s balance. When I’m not writing, or researching my next book, I may also be found socializing with friends, or working in the garden.

If you’d like to know what compels me to write, it’s simple. I write as a force for peace. Fiction has a way of engaging our whole minds, not just our intellects, but various layers of our conscious, superconscious, and unconscious. Novels also encourage our left and right cerebral hemispheres to get in sync and, with just enough magic and wizardry, can help to transform people into more enlightened souls (the writer included) better than a hundred years of therapy or rational arguments to the same ends.

I’ve remained a lifelong student of philosophy, spirituality, psychology, science, and the arts.

Dracus (Lunar Uprising 4) by Cyndi Friberg-a review

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Sandy

DRACUS (Lunar Uprising 4) by Cyndi Friberg-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 17, 2022

Can a war-weary commander win the heart of his independent mate before the Pylorians silence her forever?

Dracus has known nothing but war. With Morax hostilities escalating and a rebellion brewing among his own troops, he doesn’t see that changing any time soon. Then Addison visits Lunar Prime. Now he is in the grip of bonding fever and all he can think about is claiming his mate. She is stubborn and independent. Good thing he thrives on challenge.

Addison is brought to Lunar Prime when her life is threatened, but secrets draw her back to Earth. Her attraction to Dracus is instant and powerful. Still, she is not willing to redefine her life to please a male. Even one as tempting as Dracus.

•••••••

REVIEW: DRACUS is the fourth instalment in Cyndi Friberg’s adult LUNAR UPRISING sci-fi, romance series. This is lunar raider Commander Dracus Soons, and human female/podcaster/bar owner Addison Doherty’s story line. DRACUS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as there is an ongoing premise throughout.

SOME BACKGROUND: Approximately eight years earlier, six Pylorian spaceships arrived on Earth asking for asylum claiming they were fleeing their immortal enemy, the wolf-like Morax, but in the ensuing years, the Pylorian began to take control, using their considerable powers to force the governments of Earth to do their bidding. In an effort to protect Earth, the Pylorian’s claim to have cultivated aka created the lunar raiders, a hybrid of three alien species (Morax, Pylorian, Dox Tory) one of which reacts instantly when their destined mate is near.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Dracus and Addison) DRACUS follows two pathways: the building romance and relationship between Addison and Dracus, and the ongoing war between the Morax, the Pylorians, the Lunar Raiders, the rebels, several outlying species, and the humans of Earth. The Pylorians have begun inhabiting Earth making humans dependant upon Pylorian technology but a new face has arrived in the war between worlds, a species offering hybrid weaponry capable of destroying warships and cities. When close to forty percent of the Guardians have deactivated from the Lunar Raider ‘collective’, Dracus and the his team must uncover the truth, leaving his mate behind.

Meanwhile, Addison Doherty struggles in the face of ‘abandoning’ her life on Earth for a romance and relationship with a hybrid male but Addison’s ‘choice’ is taken away when the Rebels target everything she left behind, taking our heroine prisoner in an attempt to take down the people in charge. Distraught and disheartened, Addison returns to Lunar Prime where she will fall in love with the mate of her heart but an attack leaves Dracus fighting for his life, as the Lunar Raiders must consider from whom and where the betrayal began.

The relationship between Addison and Dracus is one of fated mates, immediate attraction. Dracus knows Addison is his mate but Addison struggles in the face of her humanity, and leaving everything behind. Initially, a little TSTL, Addison returns to Earth believing all would remain the same but Addison is now a target, taking aim at our story line hero. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We welcome the return of Leko and Julia, Zorak and Cat, Rogar and Marisol, as well as Leko’s guardian Numid, Commander Vosic, Dr. Benlon and Pylorian whistleblower Olarra Kreth. The requisite evil has many faces.

DRACUS is a story of betrayal and vengeance, discrimination and specieism, secrets and lies, understanding and acceptance, desperation, family, friendships and love. The fast paced premise captivating and entertaining-a combination of Star Wars™ and Star Trek™ technology, AI and sentient ships: the characters are powerful, energetic and strong; the romance is passionate and fated.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Zorak
Rogar
Leko

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Nano Man 1 & 2 by Dean C Moore-reviews

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Sandy

Nano Man 1 & 2 by Dean C Moore-reviews

NANO MAN
(Nano Man 1)
by Dean C Moore
Genre: adult, Sci-Fi, thriller

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

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Release Date: February 4, 2015

Jane Macelvey is a genius bioengineer. Her first human guinea pig is also the one person who has any chance of keeping her alive against all the secret government agencies and private corporations that are after her. He is the first Nano Man. He has no idea what he can do, and neither does she.

But one thing is certain, the special interests closing in on them have their own nexgen human prototypes, and they know exactly what they can do. They also recognize that the first to market with their prototype wins. For that reason and that reason alone, the Nano Man must be eliminated at all costs. Budget no object.

•••••••

REVIEW: NANO MAN is the first instalment in Dean C Moore’s NANO MAN sci-fi thriller.

Told from third person perspective NANO MAN follows bioengineer Jane Macelvey as she is stalked by a number of assassins for who she is, and what she has developed.

Jane Macelvey has developed a nanite serum, using herself as a test subject then injecting into former US solider Michael Murphy, creating a nexgen prototype cyborg, more advanced than anyone or anything known to man. On the run, Jane and Michael must stay ahead of the government organizations, tech companies, a powerful Android named Serena, and special interest groups including Gunther, the man, who ten years earlier, introduced the world to the age of robotics. Believing himself to be a god in the world of robotics, Gunther has set into motion an android war between cybernetic powerhouses but all does not go according to plan as Jane Macelvey’s nano technology and her nanites are evolving, gaining knowledge and power, such that the power of the cybornetic beings that are now Jane and Michael, have quite possibly destroyed the world as they know it. As Gunther ushers in a new world order of the Singularity, he begins to replace the people in power with androids, robots and cybernetic organisms.

NANO MAN is a complex, detailed and elaborate story of cyborgs, robots, androids, AI and the fallible human capabilities of understanding. From sentient androids to the ever evolving hive-minded cyborgs, the knowledge and power gained is beyond comprehension for the human brain. Dean C Moore pulls the reader into a fantastic and roller coaster journey reminiscent of I, Robot™ and Ex-Machina™, Terminator™, The Machine™ , Westworld™ and Star Trek’s™ ‘the Borg’.

________
NANO MAN 2
Nano Man
by Dean C Moore
Genre: adult, Sci-Fi, thriller

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Release Date: May 5, 2022

Janey Macelvey, genetic and nanoengineer extraordinaire, settles into Humboldt County, California. Like so many people here, she’s running from something. The region, once the pot growing capital of the world, producing the best sinsemilla on the planet, is now beleaguered thanks to the legalization of marijuana. The area is losing ground fast to corporations and big money interests. What was once a modest living is now an invitation to financial ruin.

Janey becomes Humboldt county’s Sister Theresa. She swoops in with her gene makeover savvy and patents unique strains for each of the farmers in the area. She puts them back on the map, and single-handedly restores Humboldt’s street cred as the premiere capital in the world for the best ganja. They love her.

They’ll do anything to protect her.

This time, when the bad guys come, she’s going to have a lot of friends between them and her. And there’s no shortage of former soldiers in the region–more specifically, special operatives and space marines. And the latter know all too well the shock and awe the military-financial-industrial complex can bring with off-book futuristic combatants and forces that aren’t even supposed to exist yet. The very forces that might be needed to get past her Nano Man.

Jane’s greatest ace in the hole remains the Nano Man himself. While many nano-enhanced soldiers exist now, none are nearly at the cutting edge that her prototype is. That’s why everyone wants to get their hands on him. And against the numbers they’ll throw at him? Well, even army ants can bring down a camel, if there are enough of them.

If that’s not bad enough… Jane’s in love with her Nano Man, and has no desire to see him subject to the kind of hell that’s headed his way. It’s bad enough that they’re already suffering PTSD from their former brushes with super-soldiers.

•••••••

REVIEW:NANO MAN 2 is the second instalment in Dean C Moore’s adult multi-genre, sci-fi, techno thriller series. NANO MAN 2 should not be read as a stand alone as the story picks up several years after the events of book one NANO MAN.

SOME BACKGROUND: Scientist Jane Macelvey had previously developed a nanite serum, using herself as a test subject then injecting into former US solider Michael Murphy, creating a nexgen prototype cyborg, more advanced than anyone or anything known to man. On the run, Jane and Michael must stay ahead of the government organizations, tech companies, a powerful Android named Serena, and special interest groups including Gunther, the man, who ten years earlier, introduced the world to the age of robotics. Believing himself to be a god in the world of robotics, Gunther has set into motion an android war between cybernetic powerhouses but all does not go according to plan as Jane Macelvey’s nano technology and her nanites are evolving, gaining knowledge and power, such that the power of the cybornetic beings that became Jane and Michael, have quite possibly destroyed the world as they know it. As Gunther ushers in a new world order of the Singularity, he begins to replace the people in power with androids, robots and cybernetic organisms.

Told from third person perspectives following several time lines, several time jumps, numerous interconnected and intersecting paths, and a large and diverse group of characters, NANO MAN 2 focuses on the small town known as the Republic of Humboldt, a town in California, which most of the residents are either genetically enhanced or nano-enhanced, a town whose profits are derived from the production of marijuana. Jane Macelvey, and Sean Hunter, her new ‘nano man’, have become a fixture in Humboldt, using their ‘nanites’ to aid the town in their quest for marijuana supremacy but Duke University’s new head of research Cronos, a man who has had several past encounters with Jane and Nano Man, continues to search for our couple, a search that now involves extraterrestrials, aliens, and omnipotent powers. In the wake of Humboldt’s resident Baker Boys War against Corporate thusly collapsing the global economy, with the destruction of Big Business and Big Pharma to the tune of trillions of dollars, Cronos is about to wage a war with his own nano and genetically enhanced army of ROTC cadets, a war that will see the birth of a weaponized, transdimensional savior in the face of a catastrophic failure.

Dean C Moore’s NANO MAN 2 pulls from a number of science fiction works including I, Robot™, Independence Day ™, The Terminator ™, The Matrix™, Neuromancer™, Westworld™ , War of the Worlds™ and Star Trek’s™ ‘the Borg’. The multi-genre story line includes science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, steampunk and cyperpunk, with references to, and including artificial intelligence (AI), robots, cyborgs, androids, extra terrestrial, aliens, werewolves, zombies, dragons, guardian angels, demons, golems, clones and a sorceress named Aaliyah; psychic abilities, genetically and nano enhanced humans, super soldiers, hive minds, portals, black holes and worm holes, as well as superfoods that temporarily give everyone enhanced powers and psychic ability. The author makes additional reference to several twentieth and twenty-first century trends, fads, ideas, songs, movies and televsion shows, as well as cloaking the entire story line in Christian, spiritual and religious undertones. The sentient flora and fauna, insects and earth, space ships and vehicles add to the multi-layered technological society that is rapidly facing its’ own demise.

NANO MAN 2 is a detailed, complex and protracted tale of power and control, obsession and knowledge, faith and perseverance. The numerous characters require a spread sheet in order to keep track of who, what and how; a map of Humboldt and the universe is necessary to know where you are at all times.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

“Hey, Sean.” That was Joe, the bartender, an old cuss, wiping down the bar.
“Don’t call me, Sean.” That was the hunk sitting on the bar stool.
“That’s your name.”
“I know, but it sounds too girly. I’m trying to impress the broad.”
Sean’s eyes focused on her like laser beams set to stun. She was Jane to some, Janey to others; the latter more a term of affection. Either one couldn’t help but smile.
At six-foot-tall, Sean would have made a good quarterback. Anyone curious about how well he threw things could just trace the arc of the flying bodies. Muscles erupted out of him like pimples on teens. He showed them all off as a deterrent to anyone who deigned to question his bouncer status. That was a maroon long johns top stretched over his torso atop tight jeans. He must have a hundred pairs of jeans in back alone to get around all the split crotches with all the high kicking. This was definitely one high-kicking bar. Jane Macelvey could attest to one thing: the only people who did better high kicks than former special forces operatives were ballet dancers; and the latter only because they remembered to point their toes.

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You can sample my writing with a free sci-fi e-book set in the near future by visiting my website https://deancmoore.com and signing up for my email list.

I’ve remained a lifelong student of philosophy, spirituality, psychology, science, and the arts.

BEAST CHARMING (The Beasts 5) by Grace Goodwin -Review Tour

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Sandy

BEAST CHARMING (Interstellar Brides Program: The Beasts 5) by Grace Goodwin -Review Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play / Apple /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 26, 2022

Warlord Tane of Atlan is a warrior, not a prince.

So why is he wearing these ridiculous white pants and gold-trimmed jacket?

And gods help him, why are there hundreds of females in glittering gowns, circling like vultures, expecting him to dance?

The human producers of the Bachelor Beast television show thought this would be a good idea; dress up an unmated Warlord like a fairytale prince, invite hundreds of eligible human women to a ‘Cinderella Ball’, turn on their cameras and record everything.

And then he sees her. His mate. The only female who can tame his beast.

But…

This princess wasn’t supposed to be at the ball. A borrowed ball gown. A stolen invitation. A friend in trouble. Everything is going according to plan…until she can no longer resist temptation.

Surely once dance won’t hurt?

Even a dance with a beast.

•••••

REVIEW: BEAST CHARMING is the fifth instalment in Grace Goodwin’s adult INTERSTELLAR BRIDES PROGRAM: THE BEASTS erotic, sci-fi, romance series. This is Atlan Warlord Tane, and human female, tutor, Elena Garcia’s story line. BEAST CHARMING can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. THE BEASTS are a spin off/interconnected series with the author’s original Interstellar Brides Program.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Tane and Elena) BEAST CHARMING is a Cinderella-esque story line focusing on the mating of Atlan Warlord Tane, and human female, tutor, Elena Garcia. Bachelor Beast is a reality television program that focuses on the search for a mate but no human females are stirring Atlan Warlord Tane’s inner beast until the arrival of Elena Garcia, whose appearance has nothing to do with the show but the rescue of a young woman who has escaped her father’s home. Warlord Tane knows he has found his mate in Elena Garcia but a sexual encounter in the garden brings the mating of ‘aliens’ and humans into focus when discrimination and speciesism raises its’ ugly head. What ensues is the quick building relationship between Tane and Elena, and the potential fall out as Tane and Elena’s sexual encounters become fodder for the press and those hoping to end the Interstellar Brides Program.

Elena Garcia didn’t have any plans to meet a potential mate but removing her student from an impossible situation brings Elena face to face with her future in the guide of Atlan Warlord Tane. Their attraction is immediate and palpable, and separation from one another feels like heart break for our story line couple. Tane’s inner Beast demands to claim their mate but outside interference is about to bring their relationship into the public domain. The relationship between Tane and Elena is erotic, fated and intense.

We are introduced to Elena’s best friend Dominique, eighteen year old podcaster Abby, show host Chet Bosworth, as well as Tane’s fellow warriors Buhre and Quinn (Beauty and the Beast), and Warden Egara.

BEAST CHARMING and the Interstellar Brides Program: The Beasts is the retelling of some of our favorite childhood fairy tales. BEAST CHARMING is a fast paced, character driven story of fate and betrayal, discrimination and acceptance. The premise is entertaining; the romance is provocative; the characters are colorful and charismatic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Grace Goodwin is a USA Today and international bestselling author of Sci-Fi and Paranormal romance with more than one million books sold. Grace’s titles are available worldwide in multiple languages in ebook, print and audio formats. Grace is an avid reader, an escape room enthusiast, sci-fi nerd, coffee fanatic, and an eternal optimist forever believing that Earth will, some day, have a Star Trek style future. Grace loves to hear from readers.

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