This book was first published around 2005, and I first read it about that time. I think this is the third time I've read it. I wasn't aware of Goodreads at that time (if it was around then), so keeping up with stuff isn't an exact science with me.
This time I am reading the series in the 'new series order' and all at once, not as they were being published.
This book is more serious than the first two. There isn't much ditzy ruminating by the h. There isn't much POV from the two Hs trying to figure out what in the hell is going on. There isn't the funny arguing between the guys and only minimal scuffles. Basically, there are two guys, but they aren't a cohesive unit. In short, most of my favorite attributes of a Kaitlyn O'Connor book are absent here. It's not humorous, but that's not saying the story isn't pretty good. The part about the baby care is pretty funny, though.
There are several inconsistencies between this book and Book 2, 'Total Recall', and even between this and Book 1, 'The Awakening'. Obviously, this book takes place a few years after 'Total Recall', and none of the previous characters in those books appear in this one.
I thought the most glaring problem was the set up of Reuel's life. In the beginning of the book, he's spacing around the universe, doing all sorts of things such as rescuing/capturing cyborgs, getting his DNA surreptitiously implanted into Dalia, setting up ambushes, and so forth. Still military as in the previous books. Then he gets back to the homeworld, and that all goes away and he's a planter. Huh... yet they are just now coming up with the Contract stuff?
It seemed to me that there was something about the number designations in their names that didn't jive with the military designations in their names in the earlier books. There's no mention of how most of the earlier cyborgs were mostly soldiers.
I can understand some of this because these books weren't originally written in the same series order that the author's website now says is the correct order, and at times they seem a little out of sync, but sometimes also better in sync, if that makes sense. I guess I just think that a writer who says a group of books are a series should storyboard the whole thing (or outline it, or whatever) like they do with movies so that it's consistent across the books. That way nitpickers like me don't bring up the fact that things are inconsistent. There were a couple of other niggly things I noticed, too, but I primarily read on a Kindle Voyage (easier on the eyes), so unless I highlight something or make a note on paper, it's a pain in the butt to go back to find something... that's the only good thing about print vs e, imho. The original series order still seems to be the one Fictfact is using, and I think that is how I originally read them. It causes problems, though, between the book about kidnapping the lady doctor and this book where they have no OB expertise yet at their clinic. In several aspects I see that the original publication order isn't the most intuitive order.
Anyhooooo, I'll likely read this again in a few years, but I reduced my rating by 1 star this time around.
05/21/2019 Read Again.
Boosted the rating 1 star.