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Cold Victory
Futuristic Science Fiction/Space Opera
Intergalactic warfare has not been kind to humans. Convicted pilot Zoya Scott has the chance to avenge her family, redeem an act of desperation with that of sacrifice. She’ll end this war if she betrays the man whose touch burns through her soul, the man whose ship and crew she must destroy. The man who is her bloodmate.
Commander Galen Stark never expected the convicted pilot on his ship to be anything more than a good looking inconvenience. A small brush of their hands grips him with vicious lust, a need he can’t control. She is his bloodmate--a biological reaction burning through his veins.
Except his bloodmate carries an explosive. And Stark may have to give the order to destroy them all.
Publisher's This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find Dubious consent.
Intergalactic warfare has not been kind to humans. Convicted pilot Zoya Scott has the chance to avenge her family, redeem an act of desperation with that of sacrifice. She’ll end this war if she betrays the man whose touch burns through her soul, the man whose ship and crew she must destroy. The man who is her bloodmate.
Commander Galen Stark never expected the convicted pilot on his ship to be anything more than a good looking inconvenience. A small brush of their hands grips him with vicious lust, a need he can’t control. She is his bloodmate--a biological reaction burning through his veins.
Except his bloodmate carries an explosive. And Stark may have to give the order to destroy them all.
Publisher's This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find Dubious consent.
- GenresScience Fiction
ebook
First published January 1, 2010
7 people want to read
About the author
Fiona Jayde
61 books16 followersFiona Jayde is a space pilot, a ninth degree black belt in three styles of martial arts, a computer hacker, a mountain climber, a jazz singer, a weight lifter, a superspy with a talent for languages, and an evil genius.
All in her own head.
In life, she is an author of kickass, action packed, steamy romances, possesses a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do and blue belt in Aikido, a web developer, scared to death of heights, loves jazz piano, can bench-press about 20 pounds — with effort, was taught English by Nora Roberts and Growing Pains, and when not plotting murder and mayhem enjoys steamy romance novels, sexy spy thrillers, murky mysteries and movies where things frequently blow up.
She can be contacted by emailing her through this website or at fiona [at] fionajayde [dot][com]
All in her own head.
In life, she is an author of kickass, action packed, steamy romances, possesses a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do and blue belt in Aikido, a web developer, scared to death of heights, loves jazz piano, can bench-press about 20 pounds — with effort, was taught English by Nora Roberts and Growing Pains, and when not plotting murder and mayhem enjoys steamy romance novels, sexy spy thrillers, murky mysteries and movies where things frequently blow up.
She can be contacted by emailing her through this website or at fiona [at] fionajayde [dot][com]
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 12, 2011
Galen Stark is the commander in mankind’s latest battleship, preparing to continue the war with an enigmatic species they’ve been fighting for years. Resources are stretched thin. Personnel is short. He’s forced to take on pilots with no battle experience, trained exclusively in holofights. Not all of them are so inexperienced, though. One in particular has flown extensively before, but Zoya Scott is a convicted thief who was caught stealing supplies from the military. He doesn’t want her around. When he confronts her on her first day, however, he’s shocked at the intense physical reaction both of them have to each other. Zoya is equally dismayed at the reaction, though for different reasons. She has ulterior motives being on the ship. One of the few survivors of a planet that was sacrificed in the war, she has been tasked with a suicide mission that will hopefully put an end to the war, once and for all. Nobody onboard knows about it, especially Stark. But she can’t keep her physical response to him under control and quickly discovers, neither can he.
Something about the way this author writes gets to me. Her stories aren’t perfect. She often sacrifices world-building for expediency, and keeping choreography straight – either of action scenes or ensemble dialogue scenes – isn’t her strong suit. But her lush hand in evoking emotion compels me to ignore a lot of my normally critical assessments in favor of getting lost in what she describes. This novella is no exception. In all the more intimate scenes, I was completely and utterly enraptured. For instance, there’s a scene midway, after one of their pilots has died in an attack, where Stark and Zoya come together. For her, it’s meant to obliterate her grief. For him, it’s meant to help him forget. It ends up being so seductively sensual I was breathless by the time it ended. Every time he whispered, “Will you come for me?”, it ratcheted the heat up another twenty degrees. It sold me on Stark as a romantic hero far more than any of his macho posing prior to that (especially since Zoya keeps describing him as too muscled from all his implants, for too much of the book I kept picturing over pumped weight lifters which did not work for me at all). It’s the push/pull of their attraction and mistrust of the other that fuels the first third of the story, but it’s all so much hotter and better once they indulge in it and start letting the other one in. It’s an honest emotional core to an otherwise vague sci-fi story and helps it overcome its other shortcomings.
The action driving these two toward their goals is vaguely formed. Zoya is working with another survivor on this suicide mission, but the details about it and her physical well-being aren’t clearly delineated until far too late into the story. Without that solid basis, it feels very nebulous. I understand it was probably a deliberate choice to create tension, but its ultimate effect was to dilute it since I never really understood the risks that were being undertaken. I can’t appreciate the sacrifice if I don’t see what the potential loss might be. The ending itself, too, is incredibly anticlimactic. There’s a sense of fatality that pervades the last quarter of the story, but then the resolution ends up coming so abruptly and so…cleanly that I didn’t buy it. I felt cheated, in fact. Especially since Zoya and Stark get one more page of post-climax time together, and then poof, the story’s over. It dragged down my overall enjoyment of the story, because even in spite of my other niggles, I was committed emotionally to what was going on and to the characters. After the disappointing climax, that commitment was lessened.
Still, I can’t say it puts me off this author, because in the end, even with its flaws, this was a superior read to much of what I’ve consumed lately. The emotional truths she roots out with her characters call to me. For any romance reader, that’s worth it’s weight in gold.
Something about the way this author writes gets to me. Her stories aren’t perfect. She often sacrifices world-building for expediency, and keeping choreography straight – either of action scenes or ensemble dialogue scenes – isn’t her strong suit. But her lush hand in evoking emotion compels me to ignore a lot of my normally critical assessments in favor of getting lost in what she describes. This novella is no exception. In all the more intimate scenes, I was completely and utterly enraptured. For instance, there’s a scene midway, after one of their pilots has died in an attack, where Stark and Zoya come together. For her, it’s meant to obliterate her grief. For him, it’s meant to help him forget. It ends up being so seductively sensual I was breathless by the time it ended. Every time he whispered, “Will you come for me?”, it ratcheted the heat up another twenty degrees. It sold me on Stark as a romantic hero far more than any of his macho posing prior to that (especially since Zoya keeps describing him as too muscled from all his implants, for too much of the book I kept picturing over pumped weight lifters which did not work for me at all). It’s the push/pull of their attraction and mistrust of the other that fuels the first third of the story, but it’s all so much hotter and better once they indulge in it and start letting the other one in. It’s an honest emotional core to an otherwise vague sci-fi story and helps it overcome its other shortcomings.
The action driving these two toward their goals is vaguely formed. Zoya is working with another survivor on this suicide mission, but the details about it and her physical well-being aren’t clearly delineated until far too late into the story. Without that solid basis, it feels very nebulous. I understand it was probably a deliberate choice to create tension, but its ultimate effect was to dilute it since I never really understood the risks that were being undertaken. I can’t appreciate the sacrifice if I don’t see what the potential loss might be. The ending itself, too, is incredibly anticlimactic. There’s a sense of fatality that pervades the last quarter of the story, but then the resolution ends up coming so abruptly and so…cleanly that I didn’t buy it. I felt cheated, in fact. Especially since Zoya and Stark get one more page of post-climax time together, and then poof, the story’s over. It dragged down my overall enjoyment of the story, because even in spite of my other niggles, I was committed emotionally to what was going on and to the characters. After the disappointing climax, that commitment was lessened.
Still, I can’t say it puts me off this author, because in the end, even with its flaws, this was a superior read to much of what I’ve consumed lately. The emotional truths she roots out with her characters call to me. For any romance reader, that’s worth it’s weight in gold.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2010
Zoya Scott has seen her share of war. When her small colony is ignored and left to be invaded, she has to watch her sister and young nephew died, and for what, did it stop the war? Then, when she tries to right the wrong committed, help those who can't help themselves, she's convict of stealing. Now, she's being controlled by the one thing she has come to hate.
Commander Galen Stark is desperate for pilots, he has to take the green pilots without any real training under the belts. When he's forced to accept the convicted pilot, Zoya Scott, it's the last thing he needs. His ship is being held together with patches, he has a real shortage of supplies and ammunition, and now an undisciplined convict pilot, can his luck get any better?
But when Galen brushes against Zoya, his blood sings, his body demands hers, Bloodmates. Zoya never thought to make a Bloodmate connection, and it's so not what she needs, a DNA complication. Bloodmates always know one another and the connection never lies.
Heat Warning Level: Back away from the flames, sure to get singed.
Cold Victory by Fiona Jayde is an exciting paranormal/scifi fantasy romance that rocks through and through. While the title of the book, Cold Victory, gives the reader an opportunity to understand the psyche of the heroine Zoya (she has to remain detached, unfeeling, cold if she going to complete her mission), but the story within the pages is anything but cool. It is bound in strong emotions. While our hero, powerful alpha male Commander Galen Stark, isn't looking for any more complications in his life, he hasn't counted on the red-headed beauty who is assigned to his faltering ship either. From the moment his fingertips touches hers, he longs to see the lush red hair unbound and heat burning in her eyes. If only they weren't in a fight for their lives. Zoya, our fiesty heroine, is being asked to complete a mission that goes against just about everything she believes in, but maybe the deaths of a few can bring an end of the killing of the many, bring an end to the Godless war, and relieve her suffering and guilt she feels at letting her family die. She isn't counting on making a Bloodmate connection with the one man she has to use if her mission is to succeed. Cold Victory is also about what happens when war drives people to the brink. A war that was started by an unknown enemy with an unknown cause that won't end until one side can no longer annihilate the other. Something has to be done to stop it.
Cold Victory was anything but cold. From the moment the hero and heroine encounter each other, the pages heat up, and not only do the characters bring heat to the story, but find themselves inexplicably drawn together beyond their ability to stop, even when they know the situation may lead to their own deaths. Galen is such a strong figure, but not opposed to sharing his strength and gaining strength from Zoya, they fit together perfectly. Fiona Jayde is a new author for me, but this won't be the last on her stories that I pick up. I love finding new authors, especially ones who capture my attention completely. Cold Victory was a very quick, intense read that I found difficult to put down, read in one sitting. I recommend it for readers who like some red-hot romance and space fantasy readers, well worth your time.
Commander Galen Stark is desperate for pilots, he has to take the green pilots without any real training under the belts. When he's forced to accept the convicted pilot, Zoya Scott, it's the last thing he needs. His ship is being held together with patches, he has a real shortage of supplies and ammunition, and now an undisciplined convict pilot, can his luck get any better?
But when Galen brushes against Zoya, his blood sings, his body demands hers, Bloodmates. Zoya never thought to make a Bloodmate connection, and it's so not what she needs, a DNA complication. Bloodmates always know one another and the connection never lies.
Heat Warning Level: Back away from the flames, sure to get singed.
Cold Victory by Fiona Jayde is an exciting paranormal/scifi fantasy romance that rocks through and through. While the title of the book, Cold Victory, gives the reader an opportunity to understand the psyche of the heroine Zoya (she has to remain detached, unfeeling, cold if she going to complete her mission), but the story within the pages is anything but cool. It is bound in strong emotions. While our hero, powerful alpha male Commander Galen Stark, isn't looking for any more complications in his life, he hasn't counted on the red-headed beauty who is assigned to his faltering ship either. From the moment his fingertips touches hers, he longs to see the lush red hair unbound and heat burning in her eyes. If only they weren't in a fight for their lives. Zoya, our fiesty heroine, is being asked to complete a mission that goes against just about everything she believes in, but maybe the deaths of a few can bring an end of the killing of the many, bring an end to the Godless war, and relieve her suffering and guilt she feels at letting her family die. She isn't counting on making a Bloodmate connection with the one man she has to use if her mission is to succeed. Cold Victory is also about what happens when war drives people to the brink. A war that was started by an unknown enemy with an unknown cause that won't end until one side can no longer annihilate the other. Something has to be done to stop it.
Cold Victory was anything but cold. From the moment the hero and heroine encounter each other, the pages heat up, and not only do the characters bring heat to the story, but find themselves inexplicably drawn together beyond their ability to stop, even when they know the situation may lead to their own deaths. Galen is such a strong figure, but not opposed to sharing his strength and gaining strength from Zoya, they fit together perfectly. Fiona Jayde is a new author for me, but this won't be the last on her stories that I pick up. I love finding new authors, especially ones who capture my attention completely. Cold Victory was a very quick, intense read that I found difficult to put down, read in one sitting. I recommend it for readers who like some red-hot romance and space fantasy readers, well worth your time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews