Maggie Blackbird

No one in the universe is more determined than a cyborg warrior tracking his female.

Blurb:  Grudge, a C Model cyborg, has been assigned a mission – safeguard a Humanoid Alliance space station for his kind. Honor was once all he had, and he is determined to fulfill his duty.

That resolve is tested when a tiny human female enters the space station and sets the prettiest little explosives the warrior has ever seen. She is Grudge’s genetic match, the one being manufactured for him. He wants to touch her, kiss her, claim her in all ways, but first he has to stop her from blasting him into the next galaxy.

Taelyn has a self-appointed mission—to destroy every battle robot the Humanoid Alliance has ever manufactured. A huge gray-skinned, blue-eyed cyborg warrior with mismatched arms won’t prevent her from achieving her goal. She’ll escape him, leaving destruction in her wake.

Before she departs, she’ll experience one toe-curling moment of hatred-edged passion with her handsome foe. She’ll show him how skilled with detonations she truly is. He will have his universe rocked.

Then she’ll disappear.

Her cyborg, however, has no intention of ever letting her go.

Note:  Baring Grudge is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.  It features a determined, damaged warrior, an equally resolute human female, and an explosive game of predator and prey played across galaxies.

Baring Grudge is the third of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.
Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

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Grudge looked down the barrels of her guns, yearning to draw her into his arms, to kiss the fury off her face. Instead, he attempted humor, hoping to ease her anger.

“You left this in an alcove.” He held one of the bombs out to her.

It had been deactivated…as had the others she’d set. He regretfully couldn’t allow her to blow up the space station. Not until Cadet and his brethren had moved the warships from its docking bay.

“F**k you, machine.” The sparks in his female’s eyes multiplied.

He projected those smaller detonations were building to a big boom.

Frag. He was in danger.

Grudge dropped the defused bomb.

His female tapped the triggers of her guns.

He veered to the right, moving at cyborg speed. A projectile carved through his cheek, leaving a trail of pain on his skin…and a surplus of admiration in his heart.

His female was clever. She realized if he was gripping the bomb with both of his hands, he couldn’t grasp a weapon, was vulnerable, easier to kill.

There was no time to explain he wasn’t a threat to her, would never damage a hair on her gorgeous head.

She had shifted her weapons, was tracking him.

Grudge dashed forward, not wanting a projectile in the skull.

His female shot at him. He circled her, sprinting faster than her human visual system could track. She peppered the walls around them with projectiles. The gunfire echoed in the narrow space. As he accelerated, he climbed the panels until his form was horizontal.

His intelligent female corrected her aim, pointing her guns where she projected he’d be. A projectile whizzed by his forehead. He altered his speed and his patterns, zigzagging, becoming more erratic, less predictable.

Predictability killed warriors. Solar cycles of battle had taught him that.

“I’m going to hit you, you f**kin’ machine.” Determination edged his female’s voice.

“I’m not a machine.” Many humans and humanoids held that faulty perception about his kind. “And there’s only a 4.1245 percent probability you’ll hit me.”

He brushed his fingertips across his female’s nape as he passed her. Her skin was decadently soft. Awareness surged up his arms.

She must have been affected by the contact also. His female quivered. The scent of her intensified, teasing his nostrils.

Her rage escalated with her passion. “4.1245 percent isn’t zero, f**ker.” She shot faster.

“It isn’t zero.” He laughed as projectiles pinged all around him. This was the most fun he’d had in planet rotations.

****

The Humanoid Alliance not only took Taelyn’s arm, but also stole her trust when they obliterated her planet and everyone she loved.  As for Grudge, he’s also lost limbs to the Alliance.  Both are wounded beings out to destroy what almost destroyed them.

I enjoyed the backstories of the hero and heroine.  Taelyn is angry and intent on revenge.  Grudge also wants his revenge.  Neither is aware what the other is up to, though.

There is talk about fated mates and “his female” that I didn’t quite understand.  Maybe this concept is mentioned in the other books in the series, but it wasn’t explained here, so I was a bit lost with this since I don’t read sci-fi romance that often.  I simply knew that Grudge had found his “one” and he wasn’t letting Taelyn go.

I enjoyed the world building.  The author did a great job creating a galaxy and structure of war, cyborgs, and armies that blended seamlessly with everyday feelings the modern human experiences in the twenty-first century.  Well done.  The author left me feeling as if I was there, a part of the society she’d created.

The character arcs of Grudge and Taelyn was also well developed.  I’m a sucker for character arcs so this part of the story is what I truly enjoyed.

There is also a child brought into the scheme of things.  I found Jansy a wonderful addition to the pair, especially since she shared the same backstory as Grudge and Taelyn.

All in all, the author did a great job painting a new world and society with a big helping of romance, action, and three-dimensional characters that makes this book a pleasure to read.  She’s an excellent writer with fresh descriptions, and makes a tired and over-used plot brand new.  I recommend Baring Grudge.  Grudge is a true alpha hero and Taelyn is as feisty and independent as they come.