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Off World #2
Sanctuary
The boys from Off World are back!
Vigilant crewmember Sandy D'abu stays behind on Doradus station to mind the crew’s new secure cargo business while the rest of the guys take the spaceship out on a run. There isn't a lot for him to do, so he spends his evenings at Durty Nelly's, keeping an eye on bartender Alex, a former pleasure slave a few of his crewmates feel responsible for.
When the man who made Alex's a pleasure slave back on Earth suddenly turns up as part-owner of the sex club, Sandy agrees to help Alex out by pretending to be his boyfriend. After all, what are a few kisses among friends? The problem is that Sandy doesn't want to pretend; he's already in love with Alex.
Alex is still skittish about being touched at all by anyone, let alone kissed by the huge ex-soldier, and if that wasn't enough, there are plenty of bad guys in both Sandy and Alex's pasts back on earth who have escaped to Doradus station too, and they all want a piece of the action..
Will Sandy and Alex be able to put the past, and the men who want to hurt them, behind them to find a future together? Find out in this passionate sequel to Off World.
Vigilant crewmember Sandy D'abu stays behind on Doradus station to mind the crew’s new secure cargo business while the rest of the guys take the spaceship out on a run. There isn't a lot for him to do, so he spends his evenings at Durty Nelly's, keeping an eye on bartender Alex, a former pleasure slave a few of his crewmates feel responsible for.
When the man who made Alex's a pleasure slave back on Earth suddenly turns up as part-owner of the sex club, Sandy agrees to help Alex out by pretending to be his boyfriend. After all, what are a few kisses among friends? The problem is that Sandy doesn't want to pretend; he's already in love with Alex.
Alex is still skittish about being touched at all by anyone, let alone kissed by the huge ex-soldier, and if that wasn't enough, there are plenty of bad guys in both Sandy and Alex's pasts back on earth who have escaped to Doradus station too, and they all want a piece of the action..
Will Sandy and Alex be able to put the past, and the men who want to hurt them, behind them to find a future together? Find out in this passionate sequel to Off World.
228 pages, ebook
First published August 22, 2007
3 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 29, 2012
A good M/M sci-fi romance between Sandy, an ex-marine, now in space security, and Alex, a bartender working at a local sex-club.
I admit, when the opening scene described a guy fisting another, I was a little dubious. Fortunately, it was just an act at the sex-club where Sandy was watching Alex work. Sandy is attracted to Alex, but is aware of Alex's background, and is content to watch over him. Alex, a former sex-slave, is wary of interacting with others, and though Sandy is not 100% certain of the reason why, he realizes that it was not for anything good.
As the story evolves, we slowly gain information on Alex's past, particularly when someone from his past arrives in the spaceport. From here, in many ways the story is predictable, but not in a bad way. There are a couple of plot bumps (not a twist per se, but a small surprise...) and the characters are interesting, although again, a little predictable. For me, a 3 star read is an average read, and this was a bit better than average, but it's also not a 4 star read, so 3.5 stars it is.
I admit, when the opening scene described a guy fisting another, I was a little dubious. Fortunately, it was just an act at the sex-club where Sandy was watching Alex work. Sandy is attracted to Alex, but is aware of Alex's background, and is content to watch over him. Alex, a former sex-slave, is wary of interacting with others, and though Sandy is not 100% certain of the reason why, he realizes that it was not for anything good.
As the story evolves, we slowly gain information on Alex's past, particularly when someone from his past arrives in the spaceport. From here, in many ways the story is predictable, but not in a bad way. There are a couple of plot bumps (not a twist per se, but a small surprise...) and the characters are interesting, although again, a little predictable. For me, a 3 star read is an average read, and this was a bit better than average, but it's also not a 4 star read, so 3.5 stars it is.
June 26, 2009
Book 2 in the Off World series features Sandy D'Abu and Alex Valentine. This was a very nice continuation in the series and I enjoyed it very much.
Alex is a very vulnerable character, having experienced years of forced captivity and drug use. Sandy is a tough soldier with a soft tender side that's been kept hidden from the outside world. Their gradual change from friends to lovers to a caring loving relationship was beautifully written.
There is action in the book including Mobster-like baddies that have to be dealt with. The sex between Alex and Sandy is hot but doesn't overpower the focus of the book, which to me was the story of two men falling in love and helping each other to realize that they are worthy of that love.
I really liked this book, the main characters were wonderfully written and I enjoyed visiting again with the rest of the crew from Off World 1.
Alex is a very vulnerable character, having experienced years of forced captivity and drug use. Sandy is a tough soldier with a soft tender side that's been kept hidden from the outside world. Their gradual change from friends to lovers to a caring loving relationship was beautifully written.
There is action in the book including Mobster-like baddies that have to be dealt with. The sex between Alex and Sandy is hot but doesn't overpower the focus of the book, which to me was the story of two men falling in love and helping each other to realize that they are worthy of that love.
I really liked this book, the main characters were wonderfully written and I enjoyed visiting again with the rest of the crew from Off World 1.
December 29, 2019
Me leí Off World hace un poco más de diez años y me pareció bien para lo que era, erótica m/m con un toque de ciencia ficción pero no mucha trama, lo suficiente como para comprarme la segunda parte. Tras releerme el primero decidí que ya tocaba leer por fin la secuela.
En esta segunda parte, cuya acción transcurre unos meses después del final del primero, el protagonista es Sandy D'Abu, que se ha quedado en Doradus mientras el resto de la tripulación del Vigilante está fuera de misión. Pasando sus noches solitarias en el club Durty Nelly, famoso por sus espectáculos de sexo en vivo, Sandy accede a echar una mano a Alex, uno de los camareros que tiene un pasado común con Sarhaan. Alex, que escapó de una terrible vida como esclavo sexual y está intentando comenzar de nuevo, ve con horror que un antiguo amante ha llegado a Doradus y para quitárselo de encima le pide a Sandy que se haga pasar por su pareja. Sandy, que se siente muy atraído por Alex, accede a hacerlo.
Vaughan nos traslada de nuevo a este mundo de ex mercenarios en el espacio con un nuevo romance, en esta ocasión con dos de los personajes secundarios de la primera parte. Si el primer libro era básicamente folleteo con un poco de trama, aquí la cosa está bastante más equilibrada y la historia de amor bastante mejor desarrollada. Alex tiene un trauma muy grande por culpa de su pasado y la sola de idea de volver a intimar con alguien le aterroriza, pero Sandy, que tiene un corazón enorme y se preocupa genuinamente por él, se va ganando su confianza poco a poco hasta que Alex se va abriendo cada vez más al ex marine.
De nuevo ambos personajes tienen unas personalidades distintivas y, a su manera, los dos son adorables, por lo que la forma en la que se van enamorando e intimando con el tiempo está francamente bien. Tanto Sandy como Alex tienen buena química y el desarrollo de su romance es creíble. También se pasan casi todo el tiempo fantaseando el uno con el otro aunque es un poco menos exagerado que con Sarhaan y Caleb, que no pensaban en otra cosa.
El ritmo de la narración es muy fluido y se deja leer muy bien. Además del romance hay un poco de acción porque la pareja se tiene que encontrar con varios obstáculos. De nuevo la autora lo resuelve todo de forma muy rápida y superficial para volver enseguida a las escenas de pareja, por lo que no vamos a encontrar una trama fuera del romance muy compleja.
Después de pasar un fin de semana en este mundo, primero con Sarhaan y Cal y después con Sandy y Alex, la verdad es que le he cogido cariño a los personajes y no me importaría leer más sobre ellos. Hay un par de secuelas más, de nuevo protagonizadas por Sarhaan y Cal a las que seguramente eche un ojo en algún momento, pero me hubiera gustado que Vaughan le hubiera dado un libro también a Kai.
Una lectura muy entretenida, con una historia de amor muy bonita y escenas de cama muy sexys que satisfará a los lectores de romance m/m que quieran evadirse por unas horas.
En esta segunda parte, cuya acción transcurre unos meses después del final del primero, el protagonista es Sandy D'Abu, que se ha quedado en Doradus mientras el resto de la tripulación del Vigilante está fuera de misión. Pasando sus noches solitarias en el club Durty Nelly, famoso por sus espectáculos de sexo en vivo, Sandy accede a echar una mano a Alex, uno de los camareros que tiene un pasado común con Sarhaan. Alex, que escapó de una terrible vida como esclavo sexual y está intentando comenzar de nuevo, ve con horror que un antiguo amante ha llegado a Doradus y para quitárselo de encima le pide a Sandy que se haga pasar por su pareja. Sandy, que se siente muy atraído por Alex, accede a hacerlo.
Vaughan nos traslada de nuevo a este mundo de ex mercenarios en el espacio con un nuevo romance, en esta ocasión con dos de los personajes secundarios de la primera parte. Si el primer libro era básicamente folleteo con un poco de trama, aquí la cosa está bastante más equilibrada y la historia de amor bastante mejor desarrollada. Alex tiene un trauma muy grande por culpa de su pasado y la sola de idea de volver a intimar con alguien le aterroriza, pero Sandy, que tiene un corazón enorme y se preocupa genuinamente por él, se va ganando su confianza poco a poco hasta que Alex se va abriendo cada vez más al ex marine.
De nuevo ambos personajes tienen unas personalidades distintivas y, a su manera, los dos son adorables, por lo que la forma en la que se van enamorando e intimando con el tiempo está francamente bien. Tanto Sandy como Alex tienen buena química y el desarrollo de su romance es creíble. También se pasan casi todo el tiempo fantaseando el uno con el otro aunque es un poco menos exagerado que con Sarhaan y Caleb, que no pensaban en otra cosa.
El ritmo de la narración es muy fluido y se deja leer muy bien. Además del romance hay un poco de acción porque la pareja se tiene que encontrar con varios obstáculos. De nuevo la autora lo resuelve todo de forma muy rápida y superficial para volver enseguida a las escenas de pareja, por lo que no vamos a encontrar una trama fuera del romance muy compleja.
Después de pasar un fin de semana en este mundo, primero con Sarhaan y Cal y después con Sandy y Alex, la verdad es que le he cogido cariño a los personajes y no me importaría leer más sobre ellos. Hay un par de secuelas más, de nuevo protagonizadas por Sarhaan y Cal a las que seguramente eche un ojo en algún momento, pero me hubiera gustado que Vaughan le hubiera dado un libro también a Kai.
Una lectura muy entretenida, con una historia de amor muy bonita y escenas de cama muy sexys que satisfará a los lectores de romance m/m que quieran evadirse por unas horas.
September 6, 2012
Sequel to Offworld, this was a really enjoyable m/m aci-fi adventure romance about Sandy, the chief engineer on the spaceship Vigilant, whose unofficial job of watching over Alex (an escaped sex slave now working as a bartender) turns personal and far more complicated when they start falling for each other.
I enjoyed Offworld, but I think I liked this sequel even more--partially because I think the plot was stronger and felt more evenly spaced out through the novel. (It's also very tense! Lots of cliffhanger chapter endings. I had read 70% of this almost-300 page book in one night because I just HAD to know what would happen next!)
I'm also a sucker for characters like Sandy, strong, steadfast, and who so unconditionally love characters like Alex, someone who sooooooooooo needed that love and an anchor to hold him to earth after everything that happened to him. I thought the author did a great job with Alex's character. After years of abuse, imprisonment, and drug addiction, he was constantly struggling to accept Sandy's love and believe it was real, always doubting that it couldn't be true, or that Sandy would figure out how messed up he was and leave him. That struggle with inadequacy and fear felt very realistic and really resonated, and made that eventual HEA very meaningful.
I also liked Vaughan's writing--her straight-forward style was always easy to picture and never kicked me out. Also great dialogue between character. My one beef was that sometimes there were a few things in the story that confused me. () But overall, I really enjoyed it. And the Sexy Times were also good, and again has the extra layer of meaning as they try to connect and readjust around all their respective baggage.
Even though I thought Sanctuary was a little stronger, Offworld is also a good read, and I recommend reading that before this. You'll get more out of the characters involved if you read the first book.
As a heads-up, the publisher Torque sells the e-book version. Places like Amazon only sells the paperback version.
I enjoyed Offworld, but I think I liked this sequel even more--partially because I think the plot was stronger and felt more evenly spaced out through the novel. (It's also very tense! Lots of cliffhanger chapter endings. I had read 70% of this almost-300 page book in one night because I just HAD to know what would happen next!)
I'm also a sucker for characters like Sandy, strong, steadfast, and who so unconditionally love characters like Alex, someone who sooooooooooo needed that love and an anchor to hold him to earth after everything that happened to him. I thought the author did a great job with Alex's character. After years of abuse, imprisonment, and drug addiction, he was constantly struggling to accept Sandy's love and believe it was real, always doubting that it couldn't be true, or that Sandy would figure out how messed up he was and leave him. That struggle with inadequacy and fear felt very realistic and really resonated, and made that eventual HEA very meaningful.
I also liked Vaughan's writing--her straight-forward style was always easy to picture and never kicked me out. Also great dialogue between character. My one beef was that sometimes there were a few things in the story that confused me. () But overall, I really enjoyed it. And the Sexy Times were also good, and again has the extra layer of meaning as they try to connect and readjust around all their respective baggage.
Even though I thought Sanctuary was a little stronger, Offworld is also a good read, and I recommend reading that before this. You'll get more out of the characters involved if you read the first book.
As a heads-up, the publisher Torque sells the e-book version. Places like Amazon only sells the paperback version.
November 3, 2012
Has some holes, but I liked it a little more than the first one
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 7/10
PROS:
- The romance moves at a very slow pace physically, which I loved. Alex recently escaped a long-term imprisonment where he was forced to act as a sex slave, so he’s understandably wary of being touched, and Sandy is incredibly gentle with him.
- Because the sex scenes first appear so far into the story, they’re lovely and intimate.
- Vaughan does a good job of portraying a sci-fi setting that’s foreign but is still contained and similar to reality. The reason I say “contained” is that the action of pretty much the entire book takes place on a hollowed-out asteroid (rather than dozens of different planets), so this has a more grounded feel to it than many space stories.
- One of the things that struck me repeatedly as I read was how perfectly the author captures the behaviors and attitudes of bartenders. I got the impression that either she’s been a bartender or she’s been close friends with one (or several).
CONS:
- I didn’t love the ending. It’s not unhappy…and it’s not even just “Happy for Now.” I got the feeling that the guys were together for the long haul, but the characters have just gotten all their major problems ironed out when they have to separate for several months. And then we jump ahead to the time when they’re together again, and we get about 4 pages before the book ends.
- The plot is wrapped up so quickly at the end that parts of it aren’t described in much detail at all. For one thing, the climactic “good guys vs. bad guys” scene is over almost before it begins. For another, we never learn exactly what kind of torture Alex had to endure when he was a pleasure slave. I’m not saying that I WANTED to hear about his past horrors, exactly, but pretty much all we get is “It was bad. It was really, really bad,” and there’s very little to back that up.
Overall comments: I liked the romance in this book, especially the hurt/comfort aspect to it. The plot and setting are decent too, but I’ve read others that I found more gripping, if only because the ending of this story is so abrupt. It isn’t necessary to read Off World before reading this; the characters from the first book appear here, but not all that often.
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.
Rating: 7/10
PROS:
- The romance moves at a very slow pace physically, which I loved. Alex recently escaped a long-term imprisonment where he was forced to act as a sex slave, so he’s understandably wary of being touched, and Sandy is incredibly gentle with him.
- Because the sex scenes first appear so far into the story, they’re lovely and intimate.
- Vaughan does a good job of portraying a sci-fi setting that’s foreign but is still contained and similar to reality. The reason I say “contained” is that the action of pretty much the entire book takes place on a hollowed-out asteroid (rather than dozens of different planets), so this has a more grounded feel to it than many space stories.
- One of the things that struck me repeatedly as I read was how perfectly the author captures the behaviors and attitudes of bartenders. I got the impression that either she’s been a bartender or she’s been close friends with one (or several).
CONS:
- I didn’t love the ending. It’s not unhappy…and it’s not even just “Happy for Now.” I got the feeling that the guys were together for the long haul, but the characters have just gotten all their major problems ironed out when they have to separate for several months. And then we jump ahead to the time when they’re together again, and we get about 4 pages before the book ends.
- The plot is wrapped up so quickly at the end that parts of it aren’t described in much detail at all. For one thing, the climactic “good guys vs. bad guys” scene is over almost before it begins. For another, we never learn exactly what kind of torture Alex had to endure when he was a pleasure slave. I’m not saying that I WANTED to hear about his past horrors, exactly, but pretty much all we get is “It was bad. It was really, really bad,” and there’s very little to back that up.
Overall comments: I liked the romance in this book, especially the hurt/comfort aspect to it. The plot and setting are decent too, but I’ve read others that I found more gripping, if only because the ending of this story is so abrupt. It isn’t necessary to read Off World before reading this; the characters from the first book appear here, but not all that often.
September 29, 2013
I really liked Sanctuary. Normally I wouldn't look at a book like this (hate space ships) but I enjoyed Off World and wanted to read about Sandy. I loved how Sandy treated Alex. Often in books with trumatized characters they find the One and then all their fears disappear. It wasn't like that in this book and I think that is a more(never thought I would use the word normal when I'm thinking about something that takes place in outer space here it comes...)normal reaction. Then you just have to love a big protecting man.
June 6, 2011
I've been remiss in not rating some of my favorite reads that I finished years ago. After tearing through Off World #1, I remember waiting somewhat impatiently for the followup and see what happened to some intriguing secondary characters. Off World #2 - Sanctuary, didn't disappoint, and once more I found myself flipping page after page, riveted by the tale. Bravo Ms. Vaughan. Great story.
February 18, 2021
2.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews