Science Fiction Romance/Space Opera
From Goodreads:
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 either going to strangle
Ankari… or fall in love. Either scenario could get him killed.
Mercenary Instinct is a
full-length, stand-alone novel of 90,000 words. It is part of the “Mandrake
Company” series of science fiction romance stories and is recommended for
readers who enjoy space-based adventure (such as Firefly) and steamy love
stories (in the style of Linnea Sinclair).
Mercenary Instinct is a very well
written and exciting story that combines Space Opera and Science Fiction
Romance. Captain Viktor Mandrake
and Ankari Markovich are both great characters that keep the story moving.
Starting with Ankari chipping off alien poop and ending with a pink shuttle
there is both danger and humor. In
between Viktor captures Ankari after destroying her space ship and find that he
has a very unusual captive on his hands.
This is how I like my SFR. The romance is woven into the
plot. You could take the romance
out, do a little re-writing and have an exciting Space Opera. With the romance added in you have a
story that blends both in just the right amount. This is the first book in the Mandrake Company series. After reading Mercenary Instinct I will
be looking for all the books.
Amazon Digital Services published
Mercenary Instinct by Ruby Lionsdrake in 2014.
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