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2176 Series #4
The Power of Two
For years, UCE Captain Cai Randolph has had one goal: Find her missing parents and bring them home. She thinks she's finally located them, but if she's right, they're on the Raft Cities, one of the most lawless and dangerous places on Earth. She searches for a reason for the army to send her, her partner, and his team there and discovers the UCE's most wanted fugitive—Banzai Maguire—is hiding on the floating cities.
Special Forces Captain Jake Tucker is furious when he learns Cai is a woman and not artificial intelligence. There's no chance he's taking her with his team on a mission to the Raft Cities, but when he realizes she's facing multiple threats, he has no choice. No one else will protect her the way he will. But getting her away from the UCE increases her risk and pretending to be lovers complicates everything because it isn't long before Jake wants Cai to be his for real.
Special Forces Captain Jake Tucker is furious when he learns Cai is a woman and not artificial intelligence. There's no chance he's taking her with his team on a mission to the Raft Cities, but when he realizes she's facing multiple threats, he has no choice. No one else will protect her the way he will. But getting her away from the UCE increases her risk and pretending to be lovers complicates everything because it isn't long before Jake wants Cai to be his for real.
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First published November 2, 2004
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About the author
Patti O'Shea
36 books116 followersNationally bestselling author Patti O'Shea has won numerous awards for her writing and been nominated for many more. Her books have appeared on the Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, and Borders bestseller lists and have earned starred reviews in prestigious publications such as Booklist.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 13, 2024
Recruited as a teenagers by the government for her genius level intelligence and compatibility to the hero, the heroine is given a Nano chip in her brain which essentially acts like a super computer, giving her interweb capabilities as well as linking her both mentally and emotionally to her partner. They act as one, they know each others minds and thoughts and carry a bond deeper than any other partnership could ever hope to achieve. He's her best friend- her only friend and she's the only one he ever always close enough to his heart. Too bad he thinks she's a computer.
Even knowing the discovery she's lied to him by omission will infuriate him and in a way betray his trust, she has no choice but to make face to face contact for the first time. She finally has a hint to the whereabouts of her missing parents and she needs his help in finding them. As expected he's angry and horrified to discover the A.I. who knows all his darkest secrets isn't a machine at all but rather a stunningly beautiful woman-young as she is. But regardless of hurt feelings, the trust and bond between them can't be severed because of something so small, so when he learns that she's in danger and needs his help, he doesn't hesitate for a second to bring her on his mission.
She's being targeted by another woman with part of the Nano chip experiment and as it happens this mysterious woman, the heroine's parents and the two rebels he's been assigned to bring in dead or alive have all gathered into one run down disgusting city. Despite their best attempts to avoid it however, they soon finds themselves kidnapped and imprisoned by the enemy who wants to use the heroine's abilities for 'world domination'. That's the least of their worried, though. Mainly the ever growing sexual tension between friends is becoming harder and harder to ignore and is threatening to change the dynamic of their friendship forever. But maybe change is good, maybe they are finally becoming what they have always meant to be but were too afraid to allow?
Awesome book with passionate , loyal and incredibly connected characters. They were soo in tune with one another. Though they fought and disagreed at times, the hero respected and protected the heroine while allowing her to prove herself on her first mission. He promised to help her find her parents, kept her realistic and level headed when her emotions threatened to make her blind to the facts and above all, he loved her as both a friend and as 'his woman'. The heroine really stole the show though for me because she was so cool. She was passionate, yes. And a hell of a soldier despite her youth and sex, but she was quick on the draw and a perfect balance to her male partner. And the most likeable quality about her character was her total void of feminine stubbornness. She respected the hero's leadership, trusted him 100% and believed him when he tells her that he'll do what he can to find her parents as long as it doesn't interfere with their mission. And she acknowledge that the mission came first! I loved her and I loved him and I loved them together.
So great. Oh and the part when the hero finally opens up about the subject of his repeating nightmares broke my heart. His guilt and remorse really resonated through the pages and just solidified my opinion of his character. Awesome book.
Even knowing the discovery she's lied to him by omission will infuriate him and in a way betray his trust, she has no choice but to make face to face contact for the first time. She finally has a hint to the whereabouts of her missing parents and she needs his help in finding them. As expected he's angry and horrified to discover the A.I. who knows all his darkest secrets isn't a machine at all but rather a stunningly beautiful woman-young as she is. But regardless of hurt feelings, the trust and bond between them can't be severed because of something so small, so when he learns that she's in danger and needs his help, he doesn't hesitate for a second to bring her on his mission.
She's being targeted by another woman with part of the Nano chip experiment and as it happens this mysterious woman, the heroine's parents and the two rebels he's been assigned to bring in dead or alive have all gathered into one run down disgusting city. Despite their best attempts to avoid it however, they soon finds themselves kidnapped and imprisoned by the enemy who wants to use the heroine's abilities for 'world domination'. That's the least of their worried, though. Mainly the ever growing sexual tension between friends is becoming harder and harder to ignore and is threatening to change the dynamic of their friendship forever. But maybe change is good, maybe they are finally becoming what they have always meant to be but were too afraid to allow?
Awesome book with passionate , loyal and incredibly connected characters. They were soo in tune with one another. Though they fought and disagreed at times, the hero respected and protected the heroine while allowing her to prove herself on her first mission. He promised to help her find her parents, kept her realistic and level headed when her emotions threatened to make her blind to the facts and above all, he loved her as both a friend and as 'his woman'. The heroine really stole the show though for me because she was so cool. She was passionate, yes. And a hell of a soldier despite her youth and sex, but she was quick on the draw and a perfect balance to her male partner. And the most likeable quality about her character was her total void of feminine stubbornness. She respected the hero's leadership, trusted him 100% and believed him when he tells her that he'll do what he can to find her parents as long as it doesn't interfere with their mission. And she acknowledge that the mission came first! I loved her and I loved him and I loved them together.
So great. Oh and the part when the hero finally opens up about the subject of his repeating nightmares broke my heart. His guilt and remorse really resonated through the pages and just solidified my opinion of his character. Awesome book.
May 1, 2024
THE POWER OF TWO is an old favorite of mine but it's been many years since I read it. As one of the first science fiction romances I ever read it has a special place in my heart and I enjoyed it just as much today as I have in the past. I loved the world which has emerged in the future and found The Quantum Brain Tandem Project to be a really cool idea. Cai and Jake can communicate psychically and Cai, a computer genius, has access to almost unlimited information on all the UCE systems; plus she's a bit of a hacker so that gives her even more information. When they're first linked Jake believes that Cai is a computer, and as a socially awkward 16 year old she never says anything. Several years later she has to reveal that she's actually human because Cai is being sent into the field for the next mission.
To make things even better, especially for my trope loving heart, this is a fake relationship romance and I loved reading about Cai and Jake pretending to be lovers on the Raft Cities. Cai has always crushed on Jake but it's only been recently that Jake is dealing with feelings for Cai. Jake carries a lot of baggage over a mission gone wrong several years before and he believes Cai deserved better so he puts up a lot of resistance. These two were so much fun to read about and I love how determined, loyal, and feisty Cai is.
This is technically the 4th book in a multi-author series but you can read it as a standalone. While all the books are set in the same world and involve a growing rebellion/uprising undercurrent, the book's individual plots are fairly contained. There's full resolution to Cai and Jake's relationship as well as their mission.
To make things even better, especially for my trope loving heart, this is a fake relationship romance and I loved reading about Cai and Jake pretending to be lovers on the Raft Cities. Cai has always crushed on Jake but it's only been recently that Jake is dealing with feelings for Cai. Jake carries a lot of baggage over a mission gone wrong several years before and he believes Cai deserved better so he puts up a lot of resistance. These two were so much fun to read about and I love how determined, loyal, and feisty Cai is.
This is technically the 4th book in a multi-author series but you can read it as a standalone. While all the books are set in the same world and involve a growing rebellion/uprising undercurrent, the book's individual plots are fairly contained. There's full resolution to Cai and Jake's relationship as well as their mission.
September 14, 2019
Romance isn't my thing, but if the story is good, I make exceptions this series is great (minus day of fire) but this one here, it's a goodie. Minus one star because I view romance novels as porn for people who think they're above porn
December 23, 2012
This book redeemed the 2176 series a fair bit for me. It was set somewhere in Asia with the Quandem pairing of Cai and Jake. I liked the fact that they could essentially read each other’s minds – it’s a concept I’ve been fascinated by since I started writing myself. The idea pops up a lot in Dragonball Z fanfiction for some reason and I have to say its one I’d like to write about one day. Once the main barrier between Jake and Cai came down, the uniqueness of their relationship became even more interesting to follow and this made it feel a little bit more like a Grant book than the other non-Grant books in this series. Obviously, their new relationship and their unique bond helped save the day, but it worked and it was an enjoyable read, even if at times it felt like it took ages for them to just have sex (little delays kept getting thrown up, even once the mutual desire had been established) and quite a few ridiculous blah-blahing moments about age differences which annoyed me (my parents are ten years apart in age, I’m not that worried about an age gap any smaller than that, but I guess that’s personal preference) but otherwise it was good. Definitely one of the stronger of the non-Grant novels in this series.
February 13, 2013
Liked everything about it:
* The premise which is kind of unususal. Hero and heroine have been mentally linked via the volatile beta version of some nano-technolgy thingy for years and became somewhat best friends even though he assumed his partner was a computer. When he finally meets her he is understandably quite stunned at first.
* The hero - albeit a strong special ops team leader - is an intelligent, caring individuum who treated the heroine as an equal as soon as he recoverd from the shock that she was a mere girl when they were first connected. No alpha male shit on the horizon.
* Adventure and romance are well balanced. I never tired of one or the other.
* The obstacles may seem a bit clichéd (he thinks he's too old for her despite being only 26 himself; she thinks a handsome soldier wouldn't be interested in a nerdy, reclused computer genius) but they worked and were handled very well.
* The premise which is kind of unususal. Hero and heroine have been mentally linked via the volatile beta version of some nano-technolgy thingy for years and became somewhat best friends even though he assumed his partner was a computer. When he finally meets her he is understandably quite stunned at first.
* The hero - albeit a strong special ops team leader - is an intelligent, caring individuum who treated the heroine as an equal as soon as he recoverd from the shock that she was a mere girl when they were first connected. No alpha male shit on the horizon.
* Adventure and romance are well balanced. I never tired of one or the other.
* The obstacles may seem a bit clichéd (he thinks he's too old for her despite being only 26 himself; she thinks a handsome soldier wouldn't be interested in a nerdy, reclused computer genius) but they worked and were handled very well.
August 17, 2009
Though I'm not normally a reader of futuristics, Patti O'Shea is rapidly winning me over. I loved her first book, Ravyn's Flight, and this one is even stronger. The Power of Two is incredible! A lot of times, books billed as "action romance" usually favor one element over the other, but O'Shea has it all! Jake and Cai are an amazing and believable couple, and the progression of their realtionship is a delight to behold. Jake is everything you'd want in a hero, and Cai makes a fascinating heroine. O'Shea makes the intricate technical aspects of the story easy to follow. (Trust me, if I can, you can.) If you've read other books in this series, don't miss this one-- it's the best of the lot! But rest assured that the book stands alone well. I couldn't put it down!
August 14, 2008
#4 in the 2176 series (Futuristic Action/Military Romance)
5 book series, 4 different authors
The year is 2176, a critical time for the UCE (United Colonies of Earth), the Kingdom of Asia, Europe/Africa, etc. in this futuristic world.
This time the action takes place in Raft Cities. Cai, the "anchor" part of an Army mind-tech half of an elite ops team, makes the dangerous trek with Jacob Tucker, her "recep" and "mind partner", and a Special Forces team.
The mission is to find and return home Banzai Maguire, who has been discovered after living in statis for 170 years.
Cai and Jacob must dodge or defeat the pirates of Raft City, an underworld bad guy, and other obstacles.
5 book series, 4 different authors
The year is 2176, a critical time for the UCE (United Colonies of Earth), the Kingdom of Asia, Europe/Africa, etc. in this futuristic world.
This time the action takes place in Raft Cities. Cai, the "anchor" part of an Army mind-tech half of an elite ops team, makes the dangerous trek with Jacob Tucker, her "recep" and "mind partner", and a Special Forces team.
The mission is to find and return home Banzai Maguire, who has been discovered after living in statis for 170 years.
Cai and Jacob must dodge or defeat the pirates of Raft City, an underworld bad guy, and other obstacles.
April 9, 2021
The Power Of Two - 2176, Bk 4 by Patti O'Shea
Cai Randolph is in the Army Special Forces of the United Colonies of Earth. She is the tech half "anchor" of a Quandem. She can communicate with her partner in the field with neural implants. They have never meet face to face, he even thinks shes a computer, he's in for a surprise:)
Jacob Tucker is the receptor, he takes the information that she send through the implants to complete his missions in the field. Their new assignment has them going to the Raft cities, to find and capture Banzai Maguire.
Cai Randolph is in the Army Special Forces of the United Colonies of Earth. She is the tech half "anchor" of a Quandem. She can communicate with her partner in the field with neural implants. They have never meet face to face, he even thinks shes a computer, he's in for a surprise:)
Jacob Tucker is the receptor, he takes the information that she send through the implants to complete his missions in the field. Their new assignment has them going to the Raft cities, to find and capture Banzai Maguire.
March 18, 2012
Cai Randolph has implants in her brain that enable her link to the computers of the Unified Colonies of Earth to feed data to her Recep, the gorgeous Jake Tucker, captain of an elite Special Forces team. Cai now believes that her parents are being held captive in the Raft Cities so she persuades Jake to include her on their latest operation.
July 19, 2012
When I looked at the cover I thought the book wasn't good at all. Instead I found myself surprised by the ride I got with it. The plot is fantastic for a romance book and the characters have dept you wouldn't believe.
Unfortunately I feel some explanations were left off. It should have been a bit longer.
Unfortunately I feel some explanations were left off. It should have been a bit longer.
November 12, 2013
This series is awesome, as a whole and as individual books. I loved the concept, in this book, of the two main characters being able to communicate 'telepathically' using nano computers in their brains. I especially loved that Cai could kick butt on her own but still relied on Jacob to have her back. Great pairing and story!!
July 29, 2007
This one has plot and when the characters do angst it's for reasons that make sense. One of the better books of the series by a looong shot
January 1, 2008
Book #4 in the 2176 Series. This series was written by different authors--mostly. I thought they were all good. Sci-fi with a cause.
April 25, 2010
I really enjoyed the story idea. And the sexual tension was great. I didn't enjoy the second half of the book as much as the first though.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews