Review: Cyborg Pleasure by Cathryn Cade

15 April of 2016 by Jean

Reviewer's Rating: 4

4.0Overall score

Beware a woman out for vengeance

Cyborg Pleasure: The Space Madam’s Warrior By Cathryn Cade

SyFy Romance

Released March 18, 2016

Windtree Press

Series: LodeStar Series, Book 6

Synopsis

In space, there are even more ways to lose your lover

She lost everything . . .

Ilya Mondas once lived her dream—life with a band of space gypsies wandering the wild plains of Frontiera, the freedom to use her tech savvy to wreak mayhem on pirates and slavers, and her big, soft-spoken warrior Var, who adored her. Then she lost him, and the life she loved.

She’ll do anything to get it all back . . .

Now on her own, she must take over The Pleasure Palace, a ragtag space-station casino, home to hookers, gamblers and rogues. But one or all of them want her dead, and they have the monsters to do it—human-cyborg gladiators, created for the illegal fight ring hidden deep in the center of her new home. Where the biggest, baddest cyborg of all looks eerily like her dead husband.

But can she trust anyone again?

Review

Reviewed by Jean

Beware a woman out for vengeance

Besides being a real cock block when she’s out for a bit of revenge, Ilya Mondas is the grief-stricken widow of Var Garroc, best friend of Joran Stark aka Il Zhazid, The Storm… space pirate and now High Sheriff of the Frontieran Planes. But even in all his esteemed might, he’s just as susceptible to a woman grieving and her vengeance. Thankfully, he isn’t heartless, especially when he can’t get past his own feelings of guilt and remorse.. So rather than major repercussions he sends Ilya and all her tech savvy to oversee the recently acquired Pleasure Palace orbiting Fronteria as the new CEO. With all her technical know how she’s the best bet for routing out any further dissidents, slave traders, and traitors.

Banished from the pirate conclaves of Fronteria, Ilya moves into her new position as CEO with a thirst for those who took part in her husband’s death. What better position to search from than from the top down? The only problem… she was never the best when it came to diplomacy. When it comes down to it, her late husband was the soothing influence that balanced her rough edges. Now there is nothing to soothe the brittle bite of her wrath… except a crippled Indigon admin and her newest security officer. They’ll have their hands full reigning Ilya in and giving her the appearance of a successful CEO. So from wild ragamuffin grieving widow to svelte seductress she’s transformed. And after months of grieving, temptation takes a bite out of Ilya in the form of cyborg VX-900. VX’s build and mannerisms are reminiscent of her husband and it doesn’t take much for her to succumb to that temptation even if only to slake her needs. Even so, Ilya isn’t an imbecile and she knows a spy in her midst when she sees one.

VX has no memory of a past other than what has transpired since he woke as a cyborg on the Pleasure Palace. He’s the personal pawn of Dr. Annar Blu. His life isn’t his own, nor is his mind. You see he is the creation of a mad Indigon scientist. Not only has the scientist created his cyborgs as ruthless gladiators that he wields in combat for the gambling pleasure of the rich, he controls their every thought and move with his formidable Indigon mind control abilities. And when the cyborgs aren’t fighting they’re pleasuring the rich clients of the floating casino. Any independent action is met with cruel and inhuman punishment. And yet VX is drawn to Ilya beyond anything and in spite of any punishment this draw could mean to him.

Where Ilya might have started out with the sole purpose of routing out her husband’s killers, the scope of her mission quickly expands to saving the cyborgs from their ruthless captivity. Ms. Cade has once again delivered a wonderfully hot SyFy romance with strong alpha males and smart powerful women that kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. I fell in love with Ms. Cade’s writing when I first picked up Tyger, Tyger Burning Bryght from her Orion series. The Fronteria and the LodeStar series are spin-offs that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I would warn you all that while this one can be read as a stand-alone, I would recommend that you read Captive of Pleasure first as they are closely related and Cyborg Pleasure directly follows Captive. And now I’ll sit and ponder where Ms. Cade will take us in the galaxy she created far away. Wherever the space lanes take us, I’m betting it will be one scorcher of a ride.