Thursday, September 24, 2015

Review and Giveway: Stranded with the Cyborg by Cara Bristol







Stranded with the Cyborg 
(A Cy-Ops Sci-fi Romance)
By Cara Bristol
Blurb:
The daughter of the Terran president, Penelope Aaron resented the restrictions imposed upon her, but that was no reason to take it out on the man assigned to protect her. She regrets how she got Agent Brock Mann booted from the security force. But now that she’s an interplanetary ambassador about to embark on her first diplomatic mission, she still doesn’t want him tagging along. Especially since he seems to be stronger, faster, more muscled, and sexier than she remembers. And pretending to be her husband?  This mission couldn’t get more impossible!
Ten years ago Penelope Isabella Aaron had been a pain in Brock Mann’s you-know-what. Much has changed in a decade: “PIA” as he code-named her, has grown up and is about to attend her first Alliance of Planets summit conference, and Brock was transformed into a cyborg after a near-fatal attack. Now a secret agent with Cyber Operations, a covert paramilitary organization, Brock gets called in, not when the going gets tough, but when the going gets impossible. So when he’s unexpectedly assigned to escort Penelope to the summit meeting, he balks at babysitting a prissy ambassador. But after a terrorist bombing, a crash landing on a hostile planet, and a growing attraction to his protectee, Operation: PIA may become his most impossible assignment yet.





Available for purchase at 



ARe  




Excerpt





Different, my ass. At the Interplanetary Shuttle Port, Brock leaned against a pillar outside the arrival gate of Pia’s incoming flight and erased from his face all indication of how steamed he was. Pia had lived up to her former code name. She hadn’t changed a bit. He’d have been really pissed if he’d gotten all the way to Terra and then been informed his protectee had gone AWOL. Fortunately, he hadn’t yet boarded his shuttle when Cy-Ops had received word through a secure channel Pia was headed for the ISP. All he had to do was round her up. 

All I have to do. He snorted. Nothing involving Pia was ever easy.

The computerized voice announced the landing, but Brock remained where he was and scrutinized the crowd for potential threats. After the craft taxied to the dock and locked to the terminal bridge, passengers began to disembark. 

A carryall slung over her shoulder, a naked Pia sashayed into the terminal. She wasn’t technically nude, but Brock’s cyber-enhanced vision could see right through her travel uniform. Only a cascade of blue-black hair streaming to her waist impeded a full view. As she moved, her hair swung, giving him a peep show of generous breasts tipped by rosy nipples. Nothing obscured the tantalizing mound of her sex, the curls trimmed to a neat vee. 

Brock yanked his gaze to her face. Thick lashes framed violet eyes over high cheekbones and a cute little chin that masked her stubbornness. The gonna-be-pretty-someday teenager had transformed into a stunning, breathtakingly beautiful woman with a flawless, creamy complexion. 

Blood rushed south, and Brock immediately activated his nanocytes to cool the heat. She had no enhanced vision, and his uniform wasn’t transparent, but his erection would be obvious if he didn’t control it. 

She was his current protectee, a former accuser, a spoiled, entitled, vindictive hellion who’d derailed his CPO career, all facts his body continued to ignore. This was Carter’s fault. If the director hadn’t interrupted him before he could avail himself of the services of a Darius 4 pleasure droid, he wouldn’t be reacting this way. If his former friend and current superior officer hadn’t forced this assignment on him, he wouldn’t be here at all. 

Fuck it all to hell. Brock shoved off from the post. 

Pia stopped dead, blocking disembarking passengers. Her jaw dropped, and her huge violet eyes widened more. “Agent Mann?” She hadn’t gotten any taller—she didn’t even top his shoulder. 

“Ambassador,” he growled, mad at her, angry with Carter, and furious with himself.

She licked her lips. “W-what are you doing here?” 

He took her arm and led her out of the traffic flow. “Is that a question to ask your…husband?” If she was his wife, his real wife, he’d make damn sure she never wore another travel uniform. It didn’t matter that only machine scanners, droids, and cyborgs could see through it. 

She jerked and snapped back her head. “You’re my bodyguard? No, absolutely not.” She wrenched her arm out of his grasp. “Despite what my mother believes, I don’t need a babysitter, and certainly not you. You may return to whatever other duties you have,” she said like she was dismissing an android. 

“I don’t take orders from you,” he said. “I issue them. You’ll do what I tell you to do.” He leaned in. The scent of her hair swirled around him. “My orders to ensure your safety supersede your assignment. If that means tossing you over my shoulder and putting you on the first flight to Terra, so be it.”





Review:
SFR is my very favorite genre to read but for some reason very hard for me to find books to enjoy. When I was offered this story in exchange for a fair and honest review I was tickled. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn't too technical though there were plenty of the required cool gadgets and tech in this story. The author didn't go into detail about how things worked they just did.  Which works for me because just like in the real world I don't need to know how a car works just  that it does.
Even though Pia and Brock have a prior history it works in this story because even though she acted like a spoiled brat when she was a teenager she has finally grown up now. Brock does have some issues in regards to that but quickly finds out that Pia is not the same person anymore.  And who has time to dwell on the past when the future is coming at you fast and furiously. There is plenty of action adventure in this book. And these two do find time to fall in love. Brock saves Pia and Pia gets her job done. So they do manage to win over the bad guys this time at least. They won the battle but the war rages on. I don't know if this a series or not but if not it needs to be. This one worked well as a standalone but I was a little confused about the bad guys like why did they do what they did and what is their ultimate agenda.
All considered though this was a fantastic SFR story and from a new to  me author so I am definitely going to check out her other stories. A few  minor issues like figuring out the bad guy motive and agenda but nothing that seriously detracts from the story. So I am giving this book 4 1/2 stars.
And as a noted I was given this book in exchange for fair and honest review.


About the Author



Multi-published, Cara Bristol is the author of more than 20 erotic romance titles. She writes science fiction romance, contemporary romance, paranormal, and spanking romance. No matter what the subgenre, one thing remains constant: her emphasis on character-driven seriously hot erotic stories with sizzling chemistry between the hero and heroine. Cara has lived many places in the United States, but currently lives in Missouri with her husband. She has two grown stepkids. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading and traveling.



You can find Cara at 



         




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6 comments:

Bonnylynn said...

I love the Excerpt, which is why I added it to my TBR list! Sounds amazing!

Sharon E said...

Loved the excerpt. That's why I bought it. Thanks.

Deb PelletierC said...

Sexy excerpt, the book sounds interesting.

Jennifer L.L. said...

Added to my TBR list, thank you for the opportunity!

Kathy Davis said...

I like the excerpt and the cover. Thanks for sharing with us.

Betul E. said...

Sounds like a great read!