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Off World #1
Off World
Sarhaan and his band of elite soldiers don't know what to make of Caleb when his little spaceship turns up on their viewscreen. Believing that he might be a Republican spy, they bring the junior diplomat onto their stolen spaceship and question him. Sarhaan is immediately attracted to the young aristocrat, despite his doubts about Caleb's motives, and his feeling that giving into his feelings would be a very bad idea.Caleb is no spy. He's come looking for Sarhaan's soldiers to help them clear their names of a crime they didn't commit. Or at least he thinks they didn't. He's looking for a murderer and figures he'd better stay clear of any kind of entanglement with the smoking hot Sarhaan until he can find out who's at fault. What he doesn't count on is falling for the genetically enhanced Sarhaan, who seems to think Caleb is just a good time.
Can Caleb convince Sarhaan that he's more than just a soldier's diversion? And can Sarhaan accept that the young elite might be just what he needs?
Set against the backdrop of space and Doradus Station, a place where anything goes, Off-World is part mystery, part romance, and all heat!
Can Caleb convince Sarhaan that he's more than just a soldier's diversion? And can Sarhaan accept that the young elite might be just what he needs?
Set against the backdrop of space and Doradus Station, a place where anything goes, Off-World is part mystery, part romance, and all heat!
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First published May 23, 2006
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September 27, 2013'Ready for our next Book-A-Day Giveaway? Off World by Stephanie Vaughn is FREE 9/27/13 from 8 - 9 a.m. CST! ow.ly/nXSEh '
September 2, 2012
3.5-4 stars. An enjoyable m/m sci-fi romance adventure about a group of renegade military men who take upon a young runaway diplomatic official who is trying to solve the murder of his friend (and seeking out why the renegade group is being blamed.)
I had a fun time reading this, but it didn't go as deep as I wished. I wish there was more development with Caleb's mystery over the murders (it ends pretty quickly at the end, and some important evidence is gathered off-scene and just "appears" during the reveal.) More about his impetus to seek out the soldiers (who were reported as killers before he met them) would have also been nice.
The MCs had fun chemistry though. Their "ogle-vision" is on high, meaning most scenes when they're not directly interacting, they're staring and/or thinking about each other. It must be hard to get any work done on that spaceship since they're so distracted all the time! On the plus side, there was insta-attraction but no insta-love--everything developed over the story.
Even though I wish there had been more depth to the story, it was still a fun book and the author's style is very readable. Recommended if you're looking to escape a few hours with some sci-fi adventure romance. I'm looking forward to checking out the sequel next.
As a heads-up, you can get the e-book version from the publisher. Places like Amazon carry just the paperback.
I had a fun time reading this, but it didn't go as deep as I wished. I wish there was more development with Caleb's mystery over the murders (it ends pretty quickly at the end, and some important evidence is gathered off-scene and just "appears" during the reveal.) More about his impetus to seek out the soldiers (who were reported as killers before he met them) would have also been nice.
The MCs had fun chemistry though. Their "ogle-vision" is on high, meaning most scenes when they're not directly interacting, they're staring and/or thinking about each other. It must be hard to get any work done on that spaceship since they're so distracted all the time! On the plus side, there was insta-attraction but no insta-love--everything developed over the story.
Even though I wish there had been more depth to the story, it was still a fun book and the author's style is very readable. Recommended if you're looking to escape a few hours with some sci-fi adventure romance. I'm looking forward to checking out the sequel next.
As a heads-up, you can get the e-book version from the publisher. Places like Amazon carry just the paperback.
Read
March 24, 2009Cal is a very young man, with a gentle soul and a fragile body who wants to discover who has brutally murdered his friend Daphne.
The prime suspects of the crime is a crew of rogue soldiers who has stolen a starship and now is wondering on the universe. Cal steals a little navette and succeeded on find the crew: but they are very big and very hungry men who think he is a spy. And decide to captive him.
Fortunately the man in command is Sarhaan, an afro-american hunk of man who happen to be very interested in Cal, and not because he could possibly be a spy: Sarhaan is very fascinating from this blond and innocent guy, who never has had sex cause sex between male is illegal on the earth. But now they are off world and Sarhaan, even if he thinks he is too unpolish and brutal for a guy like Cal, will not throw out the chance to have him.
In this novel the sci-fiction elements are not the principal aspect of the story. And also the crime is an element not so delved. It is more a story of self-discovery: for Cal, who learns that sex with a man is not a crime and that his feelings are not perverse, and for Sarhaan, who learns how to love someone. Even if you can think that Sarhaan, with his body and his role of power, is the strong element of the pair, it is not total true: I can read in him feelings inedequacy and fears to lose who he loves, that decipt him like a big man with a tender soul.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1603700277/?...
The prime suspects of the crime is a crew of rogue soldiers who has stolen a starship and now is wondering on the universe. Cal steals a little navette and succeeded on find the crew: but they are very big and very hungry men who think he is a spy. And decide to captive him.
Fortunately the man in command is Sarhaan, an afro-american hunk of man who happen to be very interested in Cal, and not because he could possibly be a spy: Sarhaan is very fascinating from this blond and innocent guy, who never has had sex cause sex between male is illegal on the earth. But now they are off world and Sarhaan, even if he thinks he is too unpolish and brutal for a guy like Cal, will not throw out the chance to have him.
In this novel the sci-fiction elements are not the principal aspect of the story. And also the crime is an element not so delved. It is more a story of self-discovery: for Cal, who learns that sex with a man is not a crime and that his feelings are not perverse, and for Sarhaan, who learns how to love someone. Even if you can think that Sarhaan, with his body and his role of power, is the strong element of the pair, it is not total true: I can read in him feelings inedequacy and fears to lose who he loves, that decipt him like a big man with a tender soul.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1603700277/?...
June 26, 2009
This is the first book in Ms Vaughan's Off World series and I really liked it. This futuristic sci-fi thriller, with it's great cast of characters, has a little bit of everything for a readers enjoyment. Set on a spaceship and then on a rough outpost world, it is full of action, adventure, a bit of political intrigue, some seriously hot sex and romance as well.
Caleb Adams is a young junior diplomat out in space for the first time when he meets Sarhaan, a rogue soldier who at first thinks Caleb is a spy. The attraction between the two is intense and undeniable. There is plenty of interaction with other characters and the pace of the book flows very well.
As with the other books I've read from this author, there are plenty of smoking hot intense sex scenes, yet we can still see the deeper feelings between Caleb and Sarhaan, as they go from being just lovers to being in love.
This was a well written book that grabbed me from page one and I really enjoyed reading it.
Caleb Adams is a young junior diplomat out in space for the first time when he meets Sarhaan, a rogue soldier who at first thinks Caleb is a spy. The attraction between the two is intense and undeniable. There is plenty of interaction with other characters and the pace of the book flows very well.
As with the other books I've read from this author, there are plenty of smoking hot intense sex scenes, yet we can still see the deeper feelings between Caleb and Sarhaan, as they go from being just lovers to being in love.
This was a well written book that grabbed me from page one and I really enjoyed reading it.
March 11, 2011
There was so much sex in this story, that there was barely room for the story. Definately not my thing.
November 3, 2012
Ending is a bit rushed, but the romance is decent
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 7/10
PROS:
- The mystery plot is revealed slowly, a piece at a time, and almost every chapter ends with a little cliffhanger. I had a hard time putting the book down.
- At first I was a little skeptical of the characters’ emotional attachment to each other, since they don’t have very many interactions where they seem to be connecting in any way other than physical. However, the physical attraction morphs into something deeper, so overall I thought the characters were a good fit by the end of the book.
- I liked all the details about the fantasy setting that related to the real world. There are plenty of completely foreign concepts in the story, but there are also mentions about water being a luxury and “real wood” being almost unheard of that made the futuristic setting easier for me to relate to.
- I’m always impressed when an author undertakes the creation of a foreign language. Vaughan doesn’t use Kush too often, and she keeps the sentences short, so that the impression of foreignness is achieved without becoming too overbearing for the reader.
CONS:
- The ending is rather cursory and thrown-together when compared to the process the characters go through to discover who the villain is. I was expecting much more of a showdown than I got at the end.
- The descriptions, especially sexual, were a little over-the-top for me at times: some of them actually made me cringe (Sarhaan thinking of Caleb’s “rosebud mouth,” for example).
- There are some repetitive phrases and a lot of typos that suggest pretty sloppy editing. Examples: “Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t this”; “What he’d expected, he didn’t know, but it surely wasn’t this.” “Sarhaan’s face grew slowly larger. Until all he could see was darkness”; “Sarhaan’s face grew closer until it was all Cal could see.” In some instances, the grammatical mistakes are so bad that they render entire sentences almost incomprehensible: “Xuwicha’s had been report sounding generally positive until his voice trailed off.”
Overall comments: This book reminds me of another sci-fi I read recently, Details of the Hunt: it has a well-formed fantasy world, a fairly sheltered human character who is thrust into a situation foreign to him, and very loving descriptions of the characters’ physical interactions. Sex is certainly a main focus of the story. There are several detailed scenes, and even when the characters are focused on resolving issues of the plot, they’re still thinking almost constantly about getting the other guy into bed.
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 7/10
PROS:
- The mystery plot is revealed slowly, a piece at a time, and almost every chapter ends with a little cliffhanger. I had a hard time putting the book down.
- At first I was a little skeptical of the characters’ emotional attachment to each other, since they don’t have very many interactions where they seem to be connecting in any way other than physical. However, the physical attraction morphs into something deeper, so overall I thought the characters were a good fit by the end of the book.
- I liked all the details about the fantasy setting that related to the real world. There are plenty of completely foreign concepts in the story, but there are also mentions about water being a luxury and “real wood” being almost unheard of that made the futuristic setting easier for me to relate to.
- I’m always impressed when an author undertakes the creation of a foreign language. Vaughan doesn’t use Kush too often, and she keeps the sentences short, so that the impression of foreignness is achieved without becoming too overbearing for the reader.
CONS:
- The ending is rather cursory and thrown-together when compared to the process the characters go through to discover who the villain is. I was expecting much more of a showdown than I got at the end.
- The descriptions, especially sexual, were a little over-the-top for me at times: some of them actually made me cringe (Sarhaan thinking of Caleb’s “rosebud mouth,” for example).
- There are some repetitive phrases and a lot of typos that suggest pretty sloppy editing. Examples: “Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t this”; “What he’d expected, he didn’t know, but it surely wasn’t this.” “Sarhaan’s face grew slowly larger. Until all he could see was darkness”; “Sarhaan’s face grew closer until it was all Cal could see.” In some instances, the grammatical mistakes are so bad that they render entire sentences almost incomprehensible: “Xuwicha’s had been report sounding generally positive until his voice trailed off.”
Overall comments: This book reminds me of another sci-fi I read recently, Details of the Hunt: it has a well-formed fantasy world, a fairly sheltered human character who is thrust into a situation foreign to him, and very loving descriptions of the characters’ physical interactions. Sex is certainly a main focus of the story. There are several detailed scenes, and even when the characters are focused on resolving issues of the plot, they’re still thinking almost constantly about getting the other guy into bed.
January 23, 2017
3.4 Stars
I seriously think I'm in one of my moods again because I should have loved this one and it only left me...meh. The futuristic/sci-fi aspects were just kinda glossed over without much detail, it didn't seem like there was enough relationship development to leapfrog into love and I didn't feel like we got to know Sarhaan and the rest of his crew very well. Also, that resolution felt super rushed; I'd have preferred some exposition on the whole of how they maneuvered that and I wanted to know how it all turned out for the boss. I just needed...more.
The sex was smoking hot though. And of course I'm going to read the next one at some point because I need to know how these boys make a go of things. There was some mention of running cargo & passengers and yeah, that gives me Firefly Feels so I'm all in for that.
I seriously think I'm in one of my moods again because I should have loved this one and it only left me...meh. The futuristic/sci-fi aspects were just kinda glossed over without much detail, it didn't seem like there was enough relationship development to leapfrog into love and I didn't feel like we got to know Sarhaan and the rest of his crew very well. Also, that resolution felt super rushed; I'd have preferred some exposition on the whole of how they maneuvered that and I wanted to know how it all turned out for the boss. I just needed...more.
The sex was smoking hot though. And of course I'm going to read the next one at some point because I need to know how these boys make a go of things. There was some mention of running cargo & passengers and yeah, that gives me Firefly Feels so I'm all in for that.
March 15, 2013
I've only read a few gay romances, and had been disappointed in the past. Initially I avoided those written by women (even though they're the vast majority) because I thought, "How could a woman really understand the gay male experience?" But I see now I've been silly. This book had a good plot, a nice romantic angle, and lots of hot lovin'. Now I think the more important factor is the writer and how well they write: this is hands-down the best romance I've read, and though I'm new to the genre it's a good sign. I'll be trying another by Stephanie Vaughan soon.
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September 27, 2013Free RIGHT NOW from Torquere (9-10 am, EST, 9/27/13!)
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July 7, 2013
interesting book. bit to much sex for me.
October 16, 2013
Anticlimactic.
April 18, 2011
4.5 Stars. I just finished rereading this book and I still love it.
December 28, 2019
De los tiempos en los que me compraba cualquier cosa m/m, me leí este libro hace diez años, me gustó para lo que es, me compré la segunda parte y jamás me la leí.
La reseña que hice en su día:
Caleb es apresado al bordo de la nave Vigilant como sospechoso de ser un espía republicano. Nada más lejos de la realidad, ya que el motivo por el que Caleb ha terminado en la nave es para limpiar el nombre de la unidad de soldados de élite que se encuentran al mando tras ser acusados de un grave delito, el asesino en masa de prostitutas en la Tierra, y de paso encontrar al verdadero responsable de la muerte de su mejor amiga Daphne, quien lo estaba investigando.
Caleb queda al cuidado del jefe de la unidad, Sarhaan, un atractivo soldado cuyo sentido del deber se verá empañado por el intenso deseo que siente hacia Caleb, deseo correspondido por un muchacho que ha vivido toda su vida en un planeta Tierra en el que la homosexualidad es delito y es penado con la cárcel o incluso con la muerte.
No nos engañemos; Off World no es ninguna joya literaria porque en sus trescientas páginas, el 70% es sexo entre Sarhaan y Caleb, otro 20% es ellos fantaseando que tienen sexo con el otro, y el 10% restante sería el dedicado a la trama.
Stephanie Vaughan es una mujer y como mujer sabe lo que nos gusta leer a las mujeres en erótica gay; las escenas sexuales entre Sarhaan y Caleb son muy sexys y es fácil formarse una imagen mental clara de lo que te está describiendo la autora, además ayuda que los personajes tienen una personalidad bastante marcada dentro de lo que cabe y es sencillo encariñarse con ellos. El tema de la ciencia ficción queda relegado a un segundo plano ya que lo más importante es la relación que se establece entre los dos protagonistas y como esta va evolucionando, cómo tanto Caleb como Sarhaan van siendo conscientes del enorme deseo que sienten por el otro, cómo Caleb intenta no hacerse demasiadas ilusiones al respecto y se va familiarizando con algo que toda su vida había tenido prohibido, algo que sabe tan y tan bien, y cómo Sarhaan se va rindiendo a los sentimientos que van creciendo dentro de él a medida que pasa más y más tiempo con el chico.
Eso sí, tanto Caleb como Sarhaan, los pobres, no son capaces de hacer nada sin pensar en el sexo, no sé cómo se lo hacen para pasarse todo el libro excitadísimos, qué vida más dura tiene que ser.
Y la trama, bueno, para el poco tiempo que le dedica, no está mal desarrollada (aunque no profundice en nada de nada) y eso hace que el libro no sea un PWP completo.
En fin, que no me ha aportado nada literariamente hablando, pero me ha entretenido y eso es lo que cuenta.
La reseña que hice en su día:
Caleb es apresado al bordo de la nave Vigilant como sospechoso de ser un espía republicano. Nada más lejos de la realidad, ya que el motivo por el que Caleb ha terminado en la nave es para limpiar el nombre de la unidad de soldados de élite que se encuentran al mando tras ser acusados de un grave delito, el asesino en masa de prostitutas en la Tierra, y de paso encontrar al verdadero responsable de la muerte de su mejor amiga Daphne, quien lo estaba investigando.
Caleb queda al cuidado del jefe de la unidad, Sarhaan, un atractivo soldado cuyo sentido del deber se verá empañado por el intenso deseo que siente hacia Caleb, deseo correspondido por un muchacho que ha vivido toda su vida en un planeta Tierra en el que la homosexualidad es delito y es penado con la cárcel o incluso con la muerte.
No nos engañemos; Off World no es ninguna joya literaria porque en sus trescientas páginas, el 70% es sexo entre Sarhaan y Caleb, otro 20% es ellos fantaseando que tienen sexo con el otro, y el 10% restante sería el dedicado a la trama.
Stephanie Vaughan es una mujer y como mujer sabe lo que nos gusta leer a las mujeres en erótica gay; las escenas sexuales entre Sarhaan y Caleb son muy sexys y es fácil formarse una imagen mental clara de lo que te está describiendo la autora, además ayuda que los personajes tienen una personalidad bastante marcada dentro de lo que cabe y es sencillo encariñarse con ellos. El tema de la ciencia ficción queda relegado a un segundo plano ya que lo más importante es la relación que se establece entre los dos protagonistas y como esta va evolucionando, cómo tanto Caleb como Sarhaan van siendo conscientes del enorme deseo que sienten por el otro, cómo Caleb intenta no hacerse demasiadas ilusiones al respecto y se va familiarizando con algo que toda su vida había tenido prohibido, algo que sabe tan y tan bien, y cómo Sarhaan se va rindiendo a los sentimientos que van creciendo dentro de él a medida que pasa más y más tiempo con el chico.
Eso sí, tanto Caleb como Sarhaan, los pobres, no son capaces de hacer nada sin pensar en el sexo, no sé cómo se lo hacen para pasarse todo el libro excitadísimos, qué vida más dura tiene que ser.
Y la trama, bueno, para el poco tiempo que le dedica, no está mal desarrollada (aunque no profundice en nada de nada) y eso hace que el libro no sea un PWP completo.
En fin, que no me ha aportado nada literariamente hablando, pero me ha entretenido y eso es lo que cuenta.
March 4, 2025
Too much nitpicky description. I'm the type who gets frustrated by that kind of thing. It was sometimes difficult to keep track of the dialogue flow due to all the friggin' descriptions of looking, moving, twitching, breathing, existing, and I was like, author, would you please just let these people TALK! No, we are often required to go through 1-3 paragraphs of description - which could have easily been shortened into a single sentence - before getting to the point.
I also got the feeling that the author got lost in all that excessive detailing to the point she forgot to answer some important questions. Such as reasons for some important plot points. Like WHY were the soldiers blamed for murders in the first place (and that's actually the opening premise).
Apart from the tedious writing style, the romance was alright.
I also got the feeling that the author got lost in all that excessive detailing to the point she forgot to answer some important questions. Such as reasons for some important plot points. Like WHY were the soldiers blamed for murders in the first place (and that's actually the opening premise).
Apart from the tedious writing style, the romance was alright.
February 5, 2014
I liked the romance in this. The plot, however, made ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. Because of this, I thought the book dragged a lot at the beginning before the romance got up to speed.
The plot, as far as I can tell:
.
I'm so confused! Why did this even try to have a plot if that's how it was going to turn out? I did like the romance, the plot just got in the way.
The plot, as far as I can tell:
.
I'm so confused! Why did this even try to have a plot if that's how it was going to turn out? I did like the romance, the plot just got in the way.
April 12, 2010
Setting a m/m romance in a future where being gay is once more illegal and a possible death sentence works surprisingly well, because off world those rules don't apply. I enjoyed the world building that went on behind the characters' interactions. The characters were nicely drawn, even the secondary characters were more than two dimensional. There were a lot of loose ends that I hope will feed into the sequel Off World 2: Sanctuary
January 16, 2018
I usually dislike books that takes place in space but I really liked this one. the story built slowly and it was hard to stop Reading. I liked that even though the MCs was attracted to each other they didn't fall in love straight away. I however fell in love with Sandy and therefor feel compelled to read the next book.
What I didn't like that much was that I thought Cal was a little dense, especially when it came to the thing with Alex. I didn't really like the dialog during sex either but hey still an entertaining book.
What I didn't like that much was that I thought Cal was a little dense, especially when it came to the thing with Alex. I didn't really like the dialog during sex either but hey still an entertaining book.
June 6, 2011
What? I never rated this book? Though I read it years ago, this sci-fi offering still stands out vividly in my mind. It's time for a re-read, I'm thinking.
January 13, 2012
2.5
Hhmmmm....it wasn't bad, it wasn't great...just wasn't feeling it.
Hhmmmm....it wasn't bad, it wasn't great...just wasn't feeling it.
August 7, 2011
This was a re read
Good story - entertaining
I am sure I will read it again.
Good story - entertaining
I am sure I will read it again.
lurking-in-kindleland
September 27, 2013Torqure freebie 27.9.13
August 9, 2012
Ничо так. Я думала, будет хуже, но прочла с удовольствием.
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