Monday, September 22, 2014

Morningstar by Robyn Bachar: Exclusive Excerpt & Review

Morningstar
(Cy'ren Rising, Book 2)
by Robyn Bachar

Publication Date: September 23, 2014

Desire is an addiction that could destroy them all.

The second son.
Lieutenant Commander Jace Harrow is the second son of House Morningstar—the spare, not the heir. Armored with an arrogant mask, Jace keeps the world at arm’s length to protect those around him from becoming targets for his bloodthirsty brother.

The broken sword.
Lieutenant Bryn Viera was a shadow sword and a decorated officer, dedicated to protecting her people. But for the past five years she has lived as a slave and has the scars to prove it. Bryn vowed to escape or die trying—until she met Sabine.

The slave.
Born into slavery, Sabine never expected to fall in love. Her feelings for Bryn sparked her desire for a new life, but now Sabine is in phase, consumed by the need to mate with a male. Her dream of freedom with Bryn is on the brink of destruction, for to deny the phase means death.

Thrown together by the unforgiving demands of the phase, they must unite to save Cyprena’s people from a deadly new bioweapon—or be destroyed by the scars of their pasts.

Warning: Contains an arrogant officer with a weakness for having his hair pulled, an insatiable empath, and a badass warrior woman who form a male-female-female threesome sizzling enough to melt your shields.
The emergency lights flickered as they hurried to the docking ring, and Bryn prayed that the power stayed on. If the emergency power failed they’d have to manually override the doors, and that would slow them down. More pistol fire greeted them when they arrived, blocking their escape again. Bryn hunkered down and watched the battle while the girls huddled behind her.
“Who are they?” Sabine asked.
“Not the Alliance—too many Cy’ren. Might be a slaver fight.” Bryn turned, and her stomach knotted at the sight of Sabine. Her eyes were glazed with fever, and her violet skin glistened with sweat. “How are you?”
“I don’t feel well,” Sabine admitted.
Bryn kissed her. “I love you. It’ll be all right.”
Shrieks rose from the back of the group, and Bryn darted toward the noise. An armored figure stood near them, and Bryn rushed him. He raised a blade of his own and blocked her attack, and retreated a few steps.
“I won’t hurt you. I’m with the resistance.” His voice was mechanical, spoken from behind an armored helmet with the tinted visor down. Not a bad idea—the smoke was beginning to scratch her throat, and some of the girls were coughing.
“Prove it,” Bryn said.
He pulled his helmet off and hooked it at his belt, revealing a male Cy’ren. His white hair was mussed from being trapped beneath the helmet, and Bryn eyed the ink just barely visible at his throat against his charcoal skin—House Morningstar family marks but no slave marks. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a Cy’ren without slave marks, but Morningstar was one of the top three houses on the ruling council. Must be nice to be important.


Also: Cy'ren Rising, Book 1

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Years of slavery have depleted the female population of Cy'ren females to the point that having more than one female mate is now considered a symbol of wealth and status. Even though Jace Harrow, second son of House Morningstar, has enough wealth to support mates, he has yet to choose even one The dangerous political situation in his home city has resulted in multiple assassination attempts, and he's reluctant to allow his enemies to have a mate to target as well.

Bryn and Sabine have been mated for over two years, but their status as sex slaves leaves them with no rights or life outside of the brothel where they are forced to live.  When Sabine's breeding phase started over a year ago, their master refused to allow her to mate with a Cy'ren male, quickly learning that her body's need for sexual satiation allowed him to partner her with men she would have previously refused.

When Jace, a Lieutenant in the resistance, rescues the brothel slaves while on a mission, it doesn't take him long for Sabine's pheromones to draw his attention. As a Cy'ren male, it is his duty and right to claim Sabine as a mate, but she refuses to accept a man that won't mate Bryn, a former warrior, as well.

Despite their unusual circumstances, the three develop a bond that quickly grows beyond mere sexual satisfaction. Just when Jace begins to hope for happiness and a break from his previously lone existence, the treacherous actions of House Nightfall come to a head. As and secrets from both Bryn and Sabine's pasts are unearthed, they threaten the newly mated triad's lives in unexpected ways.

MORNINGSTAR is fast paced, with a dramatic and adventurous storyline, sizzling sexual chemistry, and complex characters. A well written and sensual sci-fi erotic romance with a perfectly balanced ending, it left me satisfied but also eagerly anticipating Sunsinger's upcoming release!

While MORNINGSTAR can technically be read as a stand-alone story, I highly recommend readers start with Nightfall, as the characters and political plotline spans the entire series, and having previous understanding of the culture will greatly enhance the overall reading experience.
Robyn Bachar enjoys writing stories with soul mates, swords, spaceships, vampires, and gratuitous violence against the kitchen sink. Her paranormal romance Bad Witch series, historical paranormal romance series Bad Witch: The Emily Chronicles, and spicy space opera romance trilogy Cy’ren Rising are available from Samhain Publishing. Her books have finaled in PRISM Contest for Published Authors, the Passionate Plume Contest, and twice in the EPIC eBook Awards.

As a gamer, Robyn has spent many hours rolling dice, playing rock-paper-scissors, and slaying creatures in mmorpgs.

*OVER*
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