You all know I’ve been into cyborgs lately, and I’m not going to say it wasn’t the sexy cyborg on the cover that drew me to this book. But it was actually the interesting backstory of the female lead, Sandra, that made me hit “purchase.”
Sandra’s story seemed so similar to my current main character, Gemma, that I couldn’t help wanting to meet her. Like Gemma, Sandra (Sandy) Jodane is the daughter of a corrupt world leader, and she’s turned to drugs to deal with the pain and rejection of a parent too focused on political domination to love their child.
That’s where the similarity to Starlight stops. But although this book doesn’t share as many similarities to my series as I thought it might, I really enjoyed this sweet romance and its fun sci-fi elements.
Maelstrom is book number four in the Cyborg Force series, and the brave ladies who discovered sentient sand and uncovered the president’s evil plot to take over the alien sand’s home world have already met their cyborg matches.
Now, Cyborg Force leader Quint Stroud has detained Sandy, with the goal of gathering information on her mother’s unethical dealings. But Sandy soon joins the cyborg’s team, working to thwart her mother’s illegal attempts to build a base on the sand planet.
Sandra admits an almost immediate attraction to Quint. But the cyborg hides his feelings, knowing he can’t offer the stable relationship Sandra needs after her long battle with addiction. But of course, sparks eventually fly, and the two work together to take down the evil president and her corrupt regime.
It’s always a gamble jumping into a romance book that’s not the first in a series, but this one is written in a way that makes it easy to jump in on the plot without feeling like you’re missing key information, while at the same time continuing an overarching series plot that’s complex enough to satisfy readers who have followed the story from book one.
That’s not easy to do, and I admire the author’s ability to pull it off.
If I had it to do over, though, I’d start with the first book. I was really intrigued by the alien sand, and I kind of wish I would have read the story of the female scientist discovering the sand’s sentience through music. What a cool idea!
I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fun, quick romance reads with intriguing sci-fi elements and a satisfying happily-ever-after. It’s enjoyable as a standalone, but if you have the time, I’d recommend reading through the whole series to watch the full discovery and intrigue unfold.
