Pleasure Raiders

Checkmate by Katherine Kingston

Devonne cannot believe her eyes! Someone else has beaten her to the prize she desperately needs, not only that, but it’s Raje, the man she once had serious feelings for.
In Checkmate, we are treated to a trip down memory lane to a time that Raje and Devonne had to work together to survive the ten tasks the Sangari gave them in order to stay alive.

This was an amazing start. The ingeniousness of the tasks and how they needed to complete them was fabulous. I really enjoyed the interaction between Raje and Devonne. This was a well-written story and a continuation of Ms. Kingston’s line of great releases.

Concubine’s Revenge by Arianna Hart

Triona is the captain of Bunny’s Revenge, a junker with a singular crew.
Drake is a Traminian captain who never gave a thought to what the lives of concubines may be like. Until he became one.

This turnabout was great. The mighty captain with nothing but sex on his mind and the ex-concubine bent on revenge, how absolutely wonderful! Arianna Hart captured the angst of Triona’s previous life and really turned it into a great story.

Crash Course by Dawn Madigan

Val is the inhabitant of a man-free world, when she and a companion find one unconscious in the desert, they are understandably curious. The man regains consciousness and Val’s companion abandons her to whatever fate awaits her.

Chiliad cannot believe his luck, bad luck that is. He has crashed on a distant planet and while exploring lost contact with his ship, now he’s been prodded by a she-devil and shot! Enough is enough; he will find his ship with or without the she-cat’s help. Hopefully with, but he will employ all of his talents to return to his ship.

I found Val to be an intriguing character, both innocent and jaded at the same time. She was training to be a trader, one of the toughest callings on her planet, yet completely unaware of male/female relations. Now Chiliad is a whole different story. He reminds me a little of Han Solo, which is definitely a good thing. I really enjoyed the byplay between these two characters and had fun watching their relationship. The world that Ms. Madigan created was fascinating and would be fun to continue to explore.

Pleasure Raiders more than lived up to its tagline; ‘Cause it’s all about the booty. This was an anthology full of daring pilots that were not afraid to live their lives on the outskirts of civilization. A thoroughly entertaining read.

Reviewed by: Serena