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Love and War #3
Antibody
Vithii military cyborgs never go rogue.
At least, that’s the official line.
How could they, when their emotion centers have been ripped out and replaced with tech?
No, cyborgs are only good at three things—following orders, destroying whatever target you point them at, and walking calmly into the vaporization chamber when it’s time for them to be decommissioned.
PX-12—better known to his friends as Pax—adequately performed two of those functions during his stint in the Ilarian military. D-8, his unit-sibling, performed all three exceptionally well. For that reason, when D-8’s unique distress beacon activates some seven years after Pax saw him destroyed, it would doubtless be quite surprising if Pax were still capable of being surprised.
Someone in the Regime is recycling the minds of decommissioned cyborgs, turning them into weapons even more horrific than they were before. To stop it, Pax will need the help of telepathic Vitharan ambassador—and part time spy—Veila’ana Nalidor, a woman whose motivations are as opaque as her past.
Since his escape from his military masters, Pax has operated using a strict self-imposed code based on logic. He never expected to experience emotion again—not even somebody else’s emotions.
Can a fragile mental connection forged in crisis overcome the damage done by a ruthless military research team? To find out, Pax and Veila’ana will first have to prevent an atrocity born from the sins of the past.
Preferably, before it destroys the future.
* * *
From USA Today bestselling author R. A. Steffan comes a sizzling sci-fi romance series, perfect for fans of J. R. Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Strap in tight, because all's fair in LOVE AND WAR.
At least, that’s the official line.
How could they, when their emotion centers have been ripped out and replaced with tech?
No, cyborgs are only good at three things—following orders, destroying whatever target you point them at, and walking calmly into the vaporization chamber when it’s time for them to be decommissioned.
PX-12—better known to his friends as Pax—adequately performed two of those functions during his stint in the Ilarian military. D-8, his unit-sibling, performed all three exceptionally well. For that reason, when D-8’s unique distress beacon activates some seven years after Pax saw him destroyed, it would doubtless be quite surprising if Pax were still capable of being surprised.
Someone in the Regime is recycling the minds of decommissioned cyborgs, turning them into weapons even more horrific than they were before. To stop it, Pax will need the help of telepathic Vitharan ambassador—and part time spy—Veila’ana Nalidor, a woman whose motivations are as opaque as her past.
Since his escape from his military masters, Pax has operated using a strict self-imposed code based on logic. He never expected to experience emotion again—not even somebody else’s emotions.
Can a fragile mental connection forged in crisis overcome the damage done by a ruthless military research team? To find out, Pax and Veila’ana will first have to prevent an atrocity born from the sins of the past.
Preferably, before it destroys the future.
* * *
From USA Today bestselling author R. A. Steffan comes a sizzling sci-fi romance series, perfect for fans of J. R. Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Strap in tight, because all's fair in LOVE AND WAR.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 31, 2018
23 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
R.A. Steffan
85 books502 followersUSA Today bestselling author R. A. Steffan lives in New Mexico, where the sunsets paint the mountains purple, and roadrunners roam the desert endlessly in search of their coyote victims. When she’s not busy writing stories about people loving each other in all sorts of different and interesting ways, she can be found taking care of her small menagerie of critters.
A rebel to the core, she is currently sticking it to the man by illegally harvesting graywater from the kitchen and bathroom sinks to water trees outside. This fearless disregard for societal norms extends to her writing, as well. There, you will find polyamory along with straight, gay, bisexual, and non-gender conforming love of all flavors. You will also find families of choice, profound friendships, adventure, danger, and good triumphing over evil.
That, and sex. Lots of sex. Most of which is not the vanilla variety.
If any of that appeals, sign up at http://www.rasteffan.com/ to get a free starter library featuring the first books in several of her series. You can also follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RASteffanAut..., or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RA_Steffan.
A rebel to the core, she is currently sticking it to the man by illegally harvesting graywater from the kitchen and bathroom sinks to water trees outside. This fearless disregard for societal norms extends to her writing, as well. There, you will find polyamory along with straight, gay, bisexual, and non-gender conforming love of all flavors. You will also find families of choice, profound friendships, adventure, danger, and good triumphing over evil.
That, and sex. Lots of sex. Most of which is not the vanilla variety.
If any of that appeals, sign up at http://www.rasteffan.com/ to get a free starter library featuring the first books in several of her series. You can also follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RASteffanAut..., or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RA_Steffan.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 7, 2019
4 Stars
Hunter, Skye, Ryder, Temple, Kade, Ash, Draven and Pax are still trying to undermine the Regime. Only now they've found out the Regime has a new Cyborg program that rivals the one before. They're more dangerous and harder to take out. With the help of Nahleene (A Vitharan ambassador who also spies for Maelfian.), they have a better chance of removing the cyborg threat. She helps because her mother's people, who are neutral, don't want to see the Seven Systems taken over by the Regime.
This all started when Pax received a distress call from a decommissioned/destroyed batch sibling. How could his batch sibling send a distress signal when he was already destroyed? They get in touch with Nahleene to help. She is admitted into the secret cyborg outpost, gets caught, is rescued and becomes part of Hunter's group of misfits. When Ash discovers how to infect the new cyborgs with a program to wipe them out....Pax takes it upon himself to administer it...without anyone's knowledge of his intent.
Nahleene has a special connection to Pax. Her psychic ability to enter someone's mind to influence them or touch their emotions is key to how they get HFN ending.
Look forward to Antihelion Bk #4!!
A special note: The review by Alex (HEABookNerd) has an excellent overview of the story.
Hunter, Skye, Ryder, Temple, Kade, Ash, Draven and Pax are still trying to undermine the Regime. Only now they've found out the Regime has a new Cyborg program that rivals the one before. They're more dangerous and harder to take out. With the help of Nahleene (A Vitharan ambassador who also spies for Maelfian.), they have a better chance of removing the cyborg threat. She helps because her mother's people, who are neutral, don't want to see the Seven Systems taken over by the Regime.
This all started when Pax received a distress call from a decommissioned/destroyed batch sibling. How could his batch sibling send a distress signal when he was already destroyed? They get in touch with Nahleene to help. She is admitted into the secret cyborg outpost, gets caught, is rescued and becomes part of Hunter's group of misfits. When Ash discovers how to infect the new cyborgs with a program to wipe them out....Pax takes it upon himself to administer it...without anyone's knowledge of his intent.
Nahleene has a special connection to Pax. Her psychic ability to enter someone's mind to influence them or touch their emotions is key to how they get HFN ending.
Look forward to Antihelion Bk #4!!
A special note: The review by Alex (HEABookNerd) has an excellent overview of the story.
October 14, 2021
I'll admit to some uncertainty on what to rate ANTIBODY because while I enjoyed this next chapter in the series I had some problems with the book. Overall, I liked the action and suspense as Nahleene tried to infiltrate the cyborg program to determine what's going on. I found Nahleene to be a strong woman who just wants to help her mother's people and stop a war from breaking out in the Seven Systems. Her compassion for Pax is there from the beginning and though he's used to people fearing him, Nahleene never does. Pax chose to become a cyborg but he never really understood what that would mean. He's hyper intelligent, super strong, and capable of deducing things that normal humans would need months to think about.
On the surface Nahleene and Pax seem like they could be a great match and I was really looking forward to Pax's story. But this is where things get a little...confusing? Nahleene has some psychic abilities that allow her to influence people, read their minds through a touch, and even push emotions onto another person. When Nahleene psychically connects with Pax he realizes he can experience Nahleene's emotions. However, Pax's emotional center was destroyed when he became a cyborg so he's not expressing his own emotions, merely feeling what Nahleene feels. For me, this distinction created some confusion about their "love". I never felt like Pax did anything to inspire Nahleene to fall in love with him and since Pax doesn't have emotions he can't really love Nahleene back.
Now that being said, I really liked both Pax and Nahleene as characters, I'm just not sure about their love story. I enjoyed seeing our previous couples and the tension to stop the Ilarian Regime is really ramping up. The epilogue especially sets the tone for future books. But my other big issue is that ANTIBODY lacked a lot of depth for anyone who hasn't read the previous books. While I understood the characters and their motivations, the history of the Regime, and the customs surrounding the Vithii, I learned it all in the first book. I would not recommend reading this series out of order because of this.
On the surface Nahleene and Pax seem like they could be a great match and I was really looking forward to Pax's story. But this is where things get a little...confusing? Nahleene has some psychic abilities that allow her to influence people, read their minds through a touch, and even push emotions onto another person. When Nahleene psychically connects with Pax he realizes he can experience Nahleene's emotions. However, Pax's emotional center was destroyed when he became a cyborg so he's not expressing his own emotions, merely feeling what Nahleene feels. For me, this distinction created some confusion about their "love". I never felt like Pax did anything to inspire Nahleene to fall in love with him and since Pax doesn't have emotions he can't really love Nahleene back.
Now that being said, I really liked both Pax and Nahleene as characters, I'm just not sure about their love story. I enjoyed seeing our previous couples and the tension to stop the Ilarian Regime is really ramping up. The epilogue especially sets the tone for future books. But my other big issue is that ANTIBODY lacked a lot of depth for anyone who hasn't read the previous books. While I understood the characters and their motivations, the history of the Regime, and the customs surrounding the Vithii, I learned it all in the first book. I would not recommend reading this series out of order because of this.
January 29, 2019
It's been a while since I read the other books in this series, so it's good for me that these can be read as stand-alones. This is firmly scifi romance in that there's a main scifi theme and mission while a couple falls in love. So far the couples have been mixed species. In this story, we get cyborg Pax and Naline, who had a big role in book 2.
For those going for the romance, this was a great couple. It was one of those that shouldn't work, but it totally does. Each of the two leads have parallels with each other so it just makes sense that they fit together in the best possible ways.
The specific scifi arc in this story involves shutting down a dangerous cyborg program. All the characters have to use their different talents (hacking, espionage, medicine, telepathy) to get the desired result. The band of rebels that might have started the story has growing ranks as we get closer to the desired end of toppling the regime.
I did listen to this via audiobook, and while I normally have nothing but praise for Gwendolyn Druyor, there were three small things that bugged me.
*One, she was inconsistent with Pax's voice. Sometimes he sounded like a female character speaking. It was only context that made it clear who it was supposed to be.
*Two, her vocal choice for Cade was uncomfortable for me. He constantly sounded like he was growling. I realize it was likely a specific acting choice since he's an addict and regularly in a lot of pain. As a listener, though, it was was hard to experience so much of this character, and he has significant page time in the first half of the book.
*Third, there isn't a lot of vocal difference between Cade and Draven.
Druyor is normally very great at what she does, and this isn't necessarily a deal breaker.
So who's this book for? Steffan fans. Those who like scifi romance. People who like a story where a band of rebels sticks it to the man (shades of Star Wars and Firefly). Those who just want to have a good time for a few hours to read or listen to a fun book.
As for me, I'm ready for Ash's story... which should be book 4.
For those going for the romance, this was a great couple. It was one of those that shouldn't work, but it totally does. Each of the two leads have parallels with each other so it just makes sense that they fit together in the best possible ways.
The specific scifi arc in this story involves shutting down a dangerous cyborg program. All the characters have to use their different talents (hacking, espionage, medicine, telepathy) to get the desired result. The band of rebels that might have started the story has growing ranks as we get closer to the desired end of toppling the regime.
I did listen to this via audiobook, and while I normally have nothing but praise for Gwendolyn Druyor, there were three small things that bugged me.
*One, she was inconsistent with Pax's voice. Sometimes he sounded like a female character speaking. It was only context that made it clear who it was supposed to be.
*Two, her vocal choice for Cade was uncomfortable for me. He constantly sounded like he was growling. I realize it was likely a specific acting choice since he's an addict and regularly in a lot of pain. As a listener, though, it was was hard to experience so much of this character, and he has significant page time in the first half of the book.
*Third, there isn't a lot of vocal difference between Cade and Draven.
Druyor is normally very great at what she does, and this isn't necessarily a deal breaker.
So who's this book for? Steffan fans. Those who like scifi romance. People who like a story where a band of rebels sticks it to the man (shades of Star Wars and Firefly). Those who just want to have a good time for a few hours to read or listen to a fun book.
As for me, I'm ready for Ash's story... which should be book 4.
July 16, 2023
Series: Love and War #3
Rating:3 stars - I liked it
While I did enjoy this book overall, I have a few issues with it at the same time. Like the previous books I enjoyed the action and suspense. I really enjoyed learning about the cyborg programing, Pax, and more about how other planets view the Ilarian Regime. I am extremely glad that we are continuing to see world building with every book and are getting a better picture of what this small group of rebels is up against.
Nahleene was a wonderful heroine who I instantly liked. She was a strong woman who took her job as a spy seriously. She jumps right into infiltrating the cyborg program and isn’t afraid to use her abilities to protect herself. I really enjoyed getting to learn more about her psychic abilities and how she can use them to influence people. Her compassion for Pax was wonderful and I liked that she never was afraid of him. Pax may have chosen to become a cyborg but at the time he didn’t understand what that meant, and by the time he did he couldn’t mourn the loss because of his lack of emotions. Pax’s story was very interesting and I liked that we finally are getting to learn more about him and the cyborg program.
My main issue was with Nahleene and Pax’s relationship. While I did like these two, their relationship was a bit concerning. Pax cannot feel emotions but he can understand them. He only feels emotions when Nahleen is physically connected to him and is sharing her emotions. This didn’t really make their relationship seem like it was built on love. Also Pax never really did anything to inspire Nahleene’s feelings so I just felt like there wasn’t really a relationship there.
Overall, while I did enjoy this book, the relationship didn’t really work for me. I did enjoy these two characters though. I am very interested in seeing what happens with the next book because things are really ramping up.
Rating:3 stars - I liked it
While I did enjoy this book overall, I have a few issues with it at the same time. Like the previous books I enjoyed the action and suspense. I really enjoyed learning about the cyborg programing, Pax, and more about how other planets view the Ilarian Regime. I am extremely glad that we are continuing to see world building with every book and are getting a better picture of what this small group of rebels is up against.
Nahleene was a wonderful heroine who I instantly liked. She was a strong woman who took her job as a spy seriously. She jumps right into infiltrating the cyborg program and isn’t afraid to use her abilities to protect herself. I really enjoyed getting to learn more about her psychic abilities and how she can use them to influence people. Her compassion for Pax was wonderful and I liked that she never was afraid of him. Pax may have chosen to become a cyborg but at the time he didn’t understand what that meant, and by the time he did he couldn’t mourn the loss because of his lack of emotions. Pax’s story was very interesting and I liked that we finally are getting to learn more about him and the cyborg program.
My main issue was with Nahleene and Pax’s relationship. While I did like these two, their relationship was a bit concerning. Pax cannot feel emotions but he can understand them. He only feels emotions when Nahleen is physically connected to him and is sharing her emotions. This didn’t really make their relationship seem like it was built on love. Also Pax never really did anything to inspire Nahleene’s feelings so I just felt like there wasn’t really a relationship there.
Overall, while I did enjoy this book, the relationship didn’t really work for me. I did enjoy these two characters though. I am very interested in seeing what happens with the next book because things are really ramping up.
June 19, 2023
So, I was worried I wouldn't get attached to Pax since he doesn't have emotion (cyborg). That's usually the thing that gets me attached to characters. But I still really like him. He's actually among my favorite characters in the series, even if his actions later in the book didn't make sense for him. A logic based cyborg deciding to do the most dangerous thing possible without even looking for an alternative just didn't sit right with me. I get that it was a big thing for the plot, but it was a little frustrating.
Pax and Veila'ana are really cute together. I had hopes that their mental joining and her emotions coming through would teach his nanobots how to produce emotion, just to round it all out and give him the life he clearly wants. It wasn't something the author outright stated as a possibility or anything. It was just something I came up with that I was hoping for after the author said the cyborgs' organic brains eventually relearn free will by rewiring themselves to work despite the damage to the parts that control free will. I was disappointed when it didn't happen, but again, not really the author's fault. My writer brain got ahead of the story. (Maybe in later books? Here's to hoping.)
There were occasional info dumps, minor issues with pacing.
As with the previous books, the narrator for the audiobooks is not my favorite.
All in all, I'd definitely recommend this book.
Pax and Veila'ana are really cute together. I had hopes that their mental joining and her emotions coming through would teach his nanobots how to produce emotion, just to round it all out and give him the life he clearly wants. It wasn't something the author outright stated as a possibility or anything. It was just something I came up with that I was hoping for after the author said the cyborgs' organic brains eventually relearn free will by rewiring themselves to work despite the damage to the parts that control free will. I was disappointed when it didn't happen, but again, not really the author's fault. My writer brain got ahead of the story. (Maybe in later books? Here's to hoping.)
There were occasional info dumps, minor issues with pacing.
As with the previous books, the narrator for the audiobooks is not my favorite.
All in all, I'd definitely recommend this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2019
A Totally Gripping Series
OMG, I'm very much enjoying this series by R. A. Steffan. I first found her in the anthology Other Worlds and I can't get enough of the Shadow Wing house.
This third book is for the character Pax, who is the awesome cyborg in the crew. It was fast paced and action packed from the beginning. There is all kinds of character interaction, in regards to the continuing plot of the series, but this books POV is mainly from Nahleene and Pax,since it their story.
I have found myself totally taken in by the world and characters the author has created. I am eagerly awaiting the next two books in the series. I'm not one to give five stars, but this series is very engaging for me. I would highly recommend if you like romances that are not sappy, but do have a HEA.
OMG, I'm very much enjoying this series by R. A. Steffan. I first found her in the anthology Other Worlds and I can't get enough of the Shadow Wing house.
This third book is for the character Pax, who is the awesome cyborg in the crew. It was fast paced and action packed from the beginning. There is all kinds of character interaction, in regards to the continuing plot of the series, but this books POV is mainly from Nahleene and Pax,since it their story.
I have found myself totally taken in by the world and characters the author has created. I am eagerly awaiting the next two books in the series. I'm not one to give five stars, but this series is very engaging for me. I would highly recommend if you like romances that are not sappy, but do have a HEA.
February 4, 2019
I am in love with this series! I would have liked to have seen more growth or healing with Pax but the story is great just the same.
I recommend that if you want to read this series that you start with book one.
The rebel group asked Nahleene Veila’ana to get information on the cyborgs research when Pax received an alert from a brother cyborg that he saw get turned to particles.
She discovered some frightening information. She is also compromised when it is dis overed that she used her mental powers to get inside the research facility.
Pax hasn't felt anything since he was turned into a cyborg. When Nahleene links her mind to his he can feel emotions through her.
Pax also does something stupid in order to try to save people from the newly created cyborgs.
I recommend that if you want to read this series that you start with book one.
The rebel group asked Nahleene Veila’ana to get information on the cyborgs research when Pax received an alert from a brother cyborg that he saw get turned to particles.
She discovered some frightening information. She is also compromised when it is dis overed that she used her mental powers to get inside the research facility.
Pax hasn't felt anything since he was turned into a cyborg. When Nahleene links her mind to his he can feel emotions through her.
Pax also does something stupid in order to try to save people from the newly created cyborgs.
January 2, 2019
Awesome reading!
I loved this series and would have a difficult time choosing a favorite. I'm excited for the next release. I've read one other of her series and look forward to reading all of her books. Excellent author, exciting and thorough imagination! I mean really, how do you think this stuff up!
I loved this series and would have a difficult time choosing a favorite. I'm excited for the next release. I've read one other of her series and look forward to reading all of her books. Excellent author, exciting and thorough imagination! I mean really, how do you think this stuff up!
June 19, 2025
Still listening to the audiobook of this series. This book was fine but I felt a little less engaged. I don’t know, maybe the overarching plot is lacking urgency for me? Or maybe just the emotional connections aren’t quite there? (Which may be because the MMC in this book is a cyborg with no emotional centre in his brain lol.) I think I’ll take a break from this series now.
September 5, 2019
Great storyline
Great story line, love, devotion and determination to win the war.
The team are a family fighting for freedom and they have each other's backs, while trying to fight their own demons.
Great story line, love, devotion and determination to win the war.
The team are a family fighting for freedom and they have each other's backs, while trying to fight their own demons.
May 2, 2019
My favorite so far!
May 6, 2021
The Cyborg & the telepath
Pax is a valued member of the rebellion not just for his nanites but his unfailing teamwork and integrity. Then Pax meets the Ambassador.
Pax is a valued member of the rebellion not just for his nanites but his unfailing teamwork and integrity. Then Pax meets the Ambassador.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews