Monday, October 27, 2014

REVIEW: Black Hole Bounty (+$10 Amazon GC Giveaway!)

Title: Black Hole Bounty
Author: Sienna Bronwyn
Series: Black Hole Bounty #1
Pages: N/A
Date Published: August 19th, 2014
Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing
Format: ebook
Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
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Synopsis:
Destiny is written in the stars? Maybe, but when you’re in a black hole you make your own damn destiny.  It’s not every day you get abducted by an alien general, but then, Jerusa Whichab isn’t having an average day. Earth is fading from view and she’s got a decision to make—cooperate with her despotic, yet unnervingly attractive captor or receive an injection of goo. General Toyeb can’t be trusted, and his body-healing, mind-blowing Theta waves leave her panting for more. But what choice does she have if she’s to stay alive?  None, if enemy bounty hunter Berwyck dal Korth has his way. Intent on capturing Jerusa, he performs a binding ritual to ensure she cannot escape him—a ritual with unforeseen side effects for both of them. Forced into hostile proximity, Berwyck and Jerusa battle to subdue their rising attraction, but will they conquer their desire—or succumb?

~My Thoughts~
A mysterious virus is wiping out an alien race (scary Ebola thoughts anyone?) and Jerusa Whichab has the "magic touch" or at least her blood does. In order to stop the virus, Jerusa is kidnapped and let at the mercy of the alien's General Berwyck. The world building was fun and interesting and the story wasn't your Plain-Jane romance. The aliens were cool and not your everyday galactoids. While I found the originality very refreshing, I found myself with a rather unsympathetic view of the two leads.

Jerusa was not what you could really call a strong character. She does absolutely nothing but whine and moan over her situation. She's an object really. She is moved and affected by those around her and almost nothing she does really has any affect.  As such, she got on my nerves quite a bit. I could just see her flailing and wringing her hands going "oh woe is me!". I like my female leads with a little more spice or intelligence...add some Katniss or Hermione to her at least! Berwyck was a bit less cliche. He was dark and brooding, true, but he wasn't quite the devoted leading man we've come to expect. He had a lot of hard edges that defined him and made him stick in my mind a lot more than Jerusa.

Black Hole Bounty is the kind of book that isn't going to take you forever to read. It's not particularly deep, but it's enjoyable and has some unique flavor that makes it work on many different levels. If you can get over Jerusa's character weaknesses, you should be sitting pretty with a fun intergalactic romance! 
~Try an Excerpt!~
My skin tingled with awareness. Someone, something was observing me from the shadows. I had to risk a peek, one tiny glance in the direction of that menacing energy.

“Welcome.”

The voice was male, clipped, but it had a hollow quality, as though it were filtered through a long tunnel. It sounded as if it came from the bottom right corner. I blinked rapidly, but my effort revealed only a fuzzy, humanoid shape. I ached to ask questions, demand answers, but couldn’t see who or what to demand them from. Where the hell were my glasses? Oh. Right. They’d fallen off during the Cessna crash. One minute I was hurtling to my death over my Caribbean island, and the next—the next my body felt as though it were being deconstructed, catapulting through the air and onto a spaceship. An experience my stomach had punctuated by hurling the beans and rice I’d had for lunch.

“Who’s there?” I croaked out. “Show yourself.”

“Are you rational?”

Good question. “Am I on a spaceship?”

“A military war vessel, to be exact.”

“Then I think I’m crazy.”

“Your behavior suggests as much.” This with a hint of irritation.

“Well, you’d act crazy, too, if you’d been through what I have,” I said, none too cautiously. “You abducted me.”

“No, I saved you.”

Was his emphasis on “saved” meant to make me feel grateful? “Thanks, much appreciated, but you have to take me back now.”


A heavy, put-upon sigh. “That is what you always say.”
~Meet Sienna!~ 
Sienna spent her adolescence staring at the dark skies over the Caribbean coast of Panama, dreaming up romantic adventures she now delights in writing down. She reads, writes and revels in romance, and she’s attracted to off-beat, sexy characters—in fiction and in real life! These days she lives a long way from the Caribbean, but when she drags her husband and children to Hermitage Castle to gaze at the stars, the vast beauty of space makes her feel at home.  Who knows, maybe an alien will pop down and invite them on a ride?

You can find out more about Sienna and her books on her website: www.siennabronwyn.com.

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Sienna will be awarding a $10 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $20 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn host.
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