2nd Edition
First Edition published as Pandora in the Deep Into Darkness: Aliens, Alphas and Antiheroes Anthology by Smashwords, 2015.
Haunted by the screams of the men he murdered, ex-Marine medic Riff Khora is serving a life sentence on board a prison ship. Seeking more punishment for his crime, he strikes a deal with the corrupt Captain Vidal—an exchange of pleasure and pain—and forges a new life leading the team that surveys space wreckage for salvage.
Ship engineer Zed Jakobsen’s psychometric abilities make prison a sentence worse than death, and the barrage of emotional stimuli is an unending torment. His only regret is that he didn’t kill the monster who sent him to prison, and only a glimmer of hope to escape a judgment he doesn’t deserve keeps him clinging to a brutal existence.
When they board derelict ship Pandora and discover a lone survivor, the hell of prison life plunges into abject horror. An epidemic of violence and insanity consumes their ship, driving the crew to murder and destruction. Mutual need draws Riff and Zed together, and their bond gives them the strength to fight a reality they cannot trust. But Vidal possesses the only means of escape from the nightmare, and he’s not letting anyone leave alive.
Buy links: DSP Publications | Amazon
Tams gives this one 3.5 stars...
This was a.... different type of book than I usually read, but I was intrigued by the synopsis. The story starts out slow with lots of twists and turns that sometimes confused me. So, there's this seemingly abandoned ship, evil things afoot and two men, Riff and Zed, trying to navigate the chaos and horror while also dealing with their growing attraction to one another. Riff is smart and kind, but also a tortured, submissive soul. Zed is Compassionate and more dominate and as their mutual attraction grows, so does the danger they are in.
It's a bit syfy with suspense, intrigue and sadly, often confusion. I had to go back a few times a read a line or paragraph again to make sure I knew who's POV I was in at the time as the book is told through alternate POV. There is blood, death and violence littering many of the pages, but that was balanced with the relationship between Riff and Zed. I think my favorite part of this book was when these two came together physically. Riff needs to be submissive, needs someone else to be in charge in the bedroom which is the one place he is not. With Zed's psychic abilities he goes from an inexperienced dom to the man in charge quickly, using Riff's emotions and ques to please his lover. I'm not a huge BDSM fan but I really, really liked that aspect of this book because of the way it's conveyed and then acted out. It was one of the sexiest things I've ever read.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. There were a few hurdles, the story started out a bit slow, but once you figured out the setting and characters, it flowed better. There were times where I was confused as to which character I was reading, but not often enough to make me not want to continue reading. Honestly, I was intrigued by Riff and Zed and how they would move through the obstacles laid out before them in the story as well as their chemistry. I'd still recommend this read to fans of syfy, steaming hot romance, suspense, intrigue and a suspenseful story. I won't say full on horror, though there was some horror story here.
Click >>HERE<< to read an Excerpt from Pandora...
Marguerite Labbe has often been called both Trouble and Sunshine by those who know her. She’s not sure how she manages to make both those nicknames work together, but apparently she does. She’s a New Hampshire girl who married an Alabama boy, an Air Force brat who has somehow managed to settle herself firmly in Southern Maryland, with one overgrown son and two crazy cats.
Marguerite loves to spin tales that cross genre lines, where stubborn men build lifelong ties of loyalty, friendship, and family no matter the odds thrown against them, and where love is found in unexpected places. She has won the Rainbow Award for Historical Romance with Fae Sutherland, as well as the Rainbow Award for Paranormal and the Rainbow Romance Award for Excellence, also in Paranormal.
When she’s not working hard on writing new stories, she spends her time reading novels of all genres, enjoying role-playing and tabletop games with her friends, and helping out her husband with Apocrypha Comics Studio.
Be sure to leave a comment to be entered into the TTC Books and more monthly comment giveaway. EVERY comment that is relevant to the specific post will be entered. Prizes include various gift cards and swag donated by Publishers, Authors and blog Owner. REMEMBER TO LEAVE YOUR CONTACT INFO! How else will I notify you if you win?
I do so enjoy some suspense in my stories. I would love to read this one.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeletelegacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com