It’s been twenty-five years since the last Light Guardian was wiped out. Or so it’s believed. Ruby Winston is about to blow the lid off that theory, even though it’ll bring every Shadow Czar minion down on her ass.
She’s always known she was different from the rest of the evil-dictators-in-training Winstons. Uncovering the secret half of her gene pool proves it. Now she’s out to bring down her late father’s mind-control soda empire—and break the Shadow Czars’ hold on Earth.
Problem is, becoming a superhero overnight isn’t as easy as it looks.
Teague Younger has his own secrets to keep: his heritage, and his fierce determination to exact revenge on his friend and mentor’s murderer. So far he’s kept his cover—until he’s forced to use his Light Guardian powers to save Ruby from a sticky situation.
Thrust together and on the run, Teague and Ruby form a wary alliance as they desperately fight their circuit-blowing attraction. With an army of Shadow Queen minions hot on their tails, they might have a hard time surviving the night, much less ignoring their hearts.
Product Warnings This book contains mind-controlling beverages, evil dictators and minions, excessive use of spandex, and enough electrifying sex to melt an ice train.
At the ripe age of seven, I penned my first epic, complete with stick figure illustrations. Sadly, my drawing skills haven't improved much, but my love of creating fantasy worlds is still going strong. Yep, I still love writing about fairies, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures, only my stories pack a little more heat these days.
I currently reside in Michigan with my husband and overgrown lapdog. I'm a member of Romance Writers of America and Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America.
When I'm not writing or working the day job, I'm usually tinkering in the garden (weather permitting) or drooling over those smokin' hot Winchester Brothers from Supernatural. Strictly for research purposes, of course.
When do I get my own Light Guardian? I'd like to fry electrical circuits with our orgasms.
I seriously love Jodi's fiery female characters, and the heroes bound and determined not to fall for them (yet they do anyway; seriously, you would think they'd just give in and go for it). Again, sci-fi romance isn't my usual genre of choice, but Jodi makes me want it.
REVIEW: I had a bit of a fan girl moment when I read the synopsis for Breaking Bad. I’m a huge comic book fan and love anything with superheroes. Jodi Redford creates a world where superheroes existed but is overrun by the villainous Shadow Queen. I felt as if I was reading a comic book and enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Ruby discovers that she is the daughter of a Light Guardian, one who was killed by the dark Shadow Queen. Now she wishes to continue what her mother wanted, stop the queen and her followers the Shadow Czars. The only problem is she doesn’t know how to control her powers, but luckily she runs into another Light Guardian, Teague. Together they have the same goal and a connection they cannot resist.
Ruby didn’t fit it in with the rest of the evil followers that her family is and discovers who her mother really was. I liked that she wasn’t immediately able to understand her powers that she had to be trained to learn control. Teague is a guy out for revenge but his heart cant help but soften around Ruby. He’s a bit rough around the edges but he really wants the same thing that Ruby does. Plus their chemistry is off the charts and seriously sizzling through the pages. Both characters really feed of each other and learn how to become the heroes they are meant to be.
My main fan girl moment was when Redford introduced Teague’s allies; nerdy to the core these guys were loving it when they met Ruby. Since she’s the daughter of a famous superhero they were every bit excited. Teague had a bit of competition with these boys, who treated Ruby like a goddess.
Overall I liked the story that developed, how each character progress and both had a spunky sense of humor. I did wish there was more insight to what happened in the world, sense we did get only a glimpse into the past. Also the villain wasn’t as scary and tough as I thought she would be, but the battle was great and full of action. If you’re a comic book or superhero fan this is a book you don’t want to miss out on.
RECOMMENDATION: This is an adult novel with sexual content that is meant for a mature reader. Fans of the writings of author Moira Rogers and Sierra Dean will love Breaking Bad by Jodi Redford.
Oh, Jodi Redford. Your capacity to entertain me is limitless, isn't it? This time, you had me at mind-controlling beverages*. Who can resist mind-controlling beverages? NO ONE, that's who! Speaking of which, I've never been happier to be a non-soda drinker than while reading this book.
Let's start with Teague, shall we? Sexy, sexy Teague and his superb control over his Light Guardian powers. *sigh* At least, he normally has control. There might have been that one instance with the train. Oh, dear! I've said too much! *ahem* I really did like how cynical he was. His infiltration into Ruby's father's empire had nothing to do with helping those less fortunate and everything to do with revenge. Ruby, on the other hand, is gung-ho to stop the mind control and save the little people. This is in part due to recently discovering her Light Guardian heritage and finally understanding why she had never fit in with her villainous family.
I loved Teague's living-off-the-grid friends something fierce. They had me at the Star Wars references, guys, because I'm really just a big sci-fi geek at heart. Oh, and the mention of "uncomfortable boners in the room" might have knocked a hearty guffaw out of me. Ha! Yep, I'm still laughing over that.
Jodi's ability to write characters that sparkle, shine and otherwise glimmer (I actually didn't mean to make an allusion to Teague and Ruby's Light Guardian abilities, but I think I'm going to pretend that I did!) is one of her strengths and she worked her magic here. Well played, Jodi. I salute your creative use of mind-control soda and creepy minions who are brought down by strong men and women who aren't quite the norm! Bonus points for the Chewbacca references.
*Please note: Previous things she's had me at include redneck werewolves, puffer fish who do not have sex, tentacled aliens, and her really creepy ability to climb three stories and suck the thoughts out of my head.
I love it when a sexy book has the power to make you laugh and squirm at the same time. With the third book of the Midnight Justice series, I was giggling and fantasizing simultaneously. In this superhero installment, we meet Teague Younger; a Light Guardian in hiding who is determined to avenge the death of his closest friend. We also meet Ruby Winston; a young woman who was born into the dark side but with a determination to move into the light. After discovering the truth about her mother, Ruby sets out to destroy the evil Shadow Queen's mind controlling soda empire and release the human's from the mind controlled life they have been living. When Teague catches Ruby in the act, all hell breaks loose and together the pair must fight to save the world while trying to deal with an irresistable attraction to eachother.
While I have confessed to not being a fan of superhero stories, once again I am proven wrong regarding the stereotypes. Jodi Redford has created two characters that made me laugh from start to finish. The banter between Teague and Ruby is cute and completely giggle worthy. I could not stop smiling the first time Ruby sees Teague in all of his naked glory and has an entire conversation about his penis with him. It made me wish I was there for the show. The plot of the story is like many hero stories; the good guys are out to save the world. I found it humorous that this one involved mind control via soda. Hmm, if that is the case, I think caffiene has been controlling my mind for years. On a good note, this story involves some sexy scenes, that although they are short, are hot enough to satisfy and make you want more. This was a fun read to say the least!
Well, Jodi has done it again. I’m honestly not a sci-fi, alien, super-hero kind of reader. Of course, I label myself as an eclectic reader, which I am. There are just some genres I don’t go searching for and this is one of them. Jodi, however, can make any genre interesting, and before you jump to conclusions, no – it isn’t just because of the *ahem* hot and steamy scenes. (Not that they aren’t…. never mind…) The connection that the characters have pulls you into Jodi’s books.
Teague was a loner and wanted to keep it that way. His only goal was to exact revenge and he was driven by guilt. Ruby was coming to terms with power she didn’t even know she had and needed help. They fought their attraction until it became combustible – pretty much literally. That in itself would have been enough of a story, but of course, Jodi had more.
Teague’s connection to his band of misfit friends helped readers connect with him in a way they wouldn’t have been able to if they wouldn’t have been included. Then Ruby’s connection with them brought all their relationships full circle. It was an unlikely group of friends, but the more you got to know them, the more the chemistry worked and made sense. It also added to the fun of the book – and brought out the alpha in Teague. *sigh*
Breaking Bad also had plenty of evil and action. It literally started off with a bang and never really slowed down. The evil characters were really easy to hate and the action scenes were powerful. In short, this book had a little bit of everything. I’m still not going to jump on the sci-fi, alien, super-hero band wagon, but Breaking Bad did convince me (once again) that I will continue to read whatever Jodi Redford comes up with next.
Love Jodi Redford's writing and "Breaking Bad" is another good read. It is packed with humor, action and heat making a great combination. I hope this novella leads to a larger series from Jodi.
I love Jodi Redford's story telling skills. I think the only reason this didn't rank higher for me is that I'd have loved a full-length book to tell Teague and Ruby's story. The final climax with the Shadow Queen felt a bit rushed to me because of the limitations of a novella-length story.
That said, this was a great addition to Redford's catalogue. The love scenes (and I was shocked by how few there were given how steamy most of Jodi's other books are) were well written and not overly flamboyant.
I couldn't get into this one. The heroine was irritatingly stupid most of the time and the overall story felt cheesy. The world and the superhero setup weren't very fleshed out, either, so it wasn't set up as well as I would have liked. It's a bummer since I have a weakness for superheroes.
The scenes between the h/h were fantastic. Love the characters. I felt a bit lost in the world - there just wasn't enough to really give me an impression or help me to understand what had happened. Also didn't fully understand the superheros - what they were, how they came to be. It kinda felt like a 2nd in a series..... Super funny though :D