Unleashed (UN-Forgettable, #3) By C.J. Barry
A hot new voice in romance continues her saga in a futuristic world filled with adventure and passion. Unleashed (UN-Forgettable, #3)
read Unleashed (UN-Forgettable, #3)
Not much happens.
There are aliens that supposedly speak in binary and a plot to rule the galaxy and a talking space ship and a heroine that's described as a software designer. Nothing gets taken quite far enough to be a really interesting story though, I just couldn't make myself care.
Which is unfortunate because it would have been a pretty good book if it could have maintained a little more focus and internal integrity. 9780505525734 Lacy Garrett was trying to recover from her cheating ex and the theft of her software ideas when she found herself sucked off of Earth and beamed across space to another planet. Zain Masters didn't mean to kidnap her and her cat, with his ship failing after a crash landing on an unfamiliar planet, he lacks the energy needed to zap her back to Earth. So she's stuck assisting him with exploring the planet and interpreting images so he can find a way to disarm the shields, restore power and get her off this rock. But they stumble upon a plot to destroy less technological civilizations, including Earth, and Lucy is studdenly invested in Zain's plans to stop the villains. Also, she's not so sure she's ready to leave the guy she's started falling in love with.
This was more of a 3.5 - I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two in the series, but it was still pretty great. Still pretty original in the details of the plot. The ending, with the separation angst and the reason for it is one I've seen before, but it definitely is angsty. I just don't like separation angst - for me it's the worst kind because they have to spend all that time away from each other and heartbroken. ::sigh:: The romance between these two was pretty awesome and they come around to see each other's points of view pretty quickly - it's the rest of the plot that keeps the story moving. Also - the computer/ship as a character was probably my favorite secondary character in this series so far. Although the crabs come in a close second. 9780505525734 Unleashed was a cute and sweet romance. I really liked Lacey and Zain; they were really good for each other. I admired Lacey's tenacity. She was in a situation many would falter in, but she stuck to her guns and wanted to be the decider of her fate. She made some bad decisions in her past and wouldn't let Zain make them for her. Zain was a lonely explorer and suffered because of the death of his partner. Lacey made him realize that maybe he wanted something more for himself. The ending was a nice surprise and left me with a smile on my face. 9780505525734 The blurb and other readers told me this was a funny and imaginative book I was bound to like….
I didn’t really.
I know that most reviwers were telling me they were flabbergasted by how this book was special and inventive.
It was?
Really?
For me the heroin was pretty much the standard issue abused little kick ass.
The hero was right there in my least favorite ‘broken cookie collector’ folder.
What does this mean? Dark brooding and incapable of not feeling guilty about wars, bad guys, and all around misery of people he never met, touched or influenced in any way.
The story itself was adventures and funny at times, but at others I just plain did not get it. I understood what the author was telling me, but I was completely uninterested.
I would have stopped reading it, if not for my slight OCD when it comes to books I already began.
After I did finish it, the overall feeling was one of confusion. I could not remember why I wanted to get an arc of it, in the first place. :/
The book was not bad per see, it wad just unable to really grip me.
I got this book from Net Galley. This is partially a blessing because I was not made to buy it. On the other hand, it was also a curse because I had to read it AND review it.
Utter agony.
9780505525734 Lacey, has recently recovered from being cheated by her fiancee, where he ran with everything she had, apart from his cat, of course. Then she is suddenly beamed onto another planet, and thinks ok...it can't get worse than this....however she is very wrong in that theory. Lacey is surprised to find that she is needed to help Zain Masters, who is stranded on a planet, with not much hope of getting his ship fixed before he gets killed in different painful ways. Lacey is determined to stay and assist Zain, she knows how much he needs her help right now and is willing to face whatever it takes, because there is passion building between them that she doesn't want to deny, one that she craves and aches for, a passion that will lead to her destiny with the one man who holds her heart.
Unleashed is the third installment in the UN Forgettable series...and I did overall enjoy Unleashed but it wasn't my favorite, probably my least favorite of the series. There were some amazing moments where I was enthralled to say the least in part of the story, captivated by the suspense and the romance...however it took a while for me to really get into the story, but when I did, I definitely had a good ride. There was also a taste for unrelenting adventure and sizzling romance that had me at the edge of my seat at times. Although I felt like at times there was something missing, it was a enjoyable read!
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The overall rating for the series is 4 butterflies. I had a great time reading these books, I had fun, I got a healthy dose of smutty galore, and I was very, very glad I got a chance to read them.
If I were to say what genre they’d go in, since people are always big on tags and stuff like that, I’d think these are romance with a sci-fi-ish twist, and not the other way around. There is a lot going on in each book, and there’s a whole universe weaved for them, but I feel the main element is the romance. So I’d disagree with some reviews I read up on Goodreads, that slightly bash them for not being solidly sci-fi. I don’t think they were meant to be; and I don’t think I would have liked them more if they would have been, honestly. Buuut then again I’m not a sci-fi buff, I just like the occasional sci-fi because the book was very well written and the writer is very talented, not because of that genre. Anyways…
Unleashed (UN-Forgettable #3)
Now this one I loved the most out of all 4 of the books. This one I’d love to reread anytime I’ll have the chance.
The plot is, like with book #2, more sci-fi-ish then the first. But what really makes this awesome are the characters, Zain and Lacey, and their chemistry. It felt to me like they had the most intense connection out of all the pairs, and I loved them separately and together. Of course, I may be also influenced by Lacey’s cat in this…it shall remain a mystery.
The entire book felt fast paced, and it kept me on the edge of my seat basically from start to finish; I loved it so much, I read it in one go. It felt to me like in this book there was the most humor, and it’s all thanks to Lacey, she’s super smart, and funny, and a pleasure to read. And Zain was the awesome partner for it.
Lacey and Zain rock!!
This one was more like a 4,5 butterflies, it was close to 5, but not quite there for some reason. But it’s one awesome and fun romance book, and I say you should read it, totally. 9780505525734 I was a little worried about starting this book after reading some of the reviews on this series, but I was pleasantly surprised and thought it was a fun, light read. Zain gets trapped on a barren planet and beams Lacey and her cat to him after she saw something in his help transmission. But the ship then loses power and can't send her back. They have a very limited time to figure out how to save themselves.
What I enjoyed:
* Lacey was a fun heroine. She had just been badly used and dumped, but was determined to make her life better. She had a bad habit of running away, but eventually got over it. Plus, not everyone can pull off saving the universe in PJs and purple fuzzy slippers.
* The krudo were great. I'll never think of crabs the same again.
* Reene was awesome, especially when he was talking about the cat.
What I thought could have been better:
* Zain. He was pretty cookie-cutter. Good looking, loner, takes responsibility for everything. Willing to bring a complete stranger aboard, but not willing to ask friends for help.
* I never did understand the countdown. Why it was so important that the bad guys would be safe after that time.
* Bobzilla was over the top. 9780505525734 Very enjoyable read, loved the characters! 9780505525734 Fantastic! 9780505525734 Shamelessly Addicted to this Series
Interstellar fugitive and planet mapping guru Zain Masters is in a bit of a sticky spot. He has crash landed on a planet that has some fairly impressive, if oddly curious, self-defense mechanisms that both prevent his escape and make it impossible to get traditional help. Stuck in a huge crater with his artificially intelligent and sentient ship damaged and losing power as time passes, he's forced to take some wildly risky...and more than a little presumptuous...action if he has any hope of getting off that blasted rock.
If he can't get out to get help and it's too dangerous for a ship to come to help him, he'll have to bring help another way, and after some intensive searching across the galaxy, surfing tech posting boards and calling for aid, he locks onto a human from the planet Earth, the only one who had been able to make heads or tails of the images he'd sent out, and teleports her to him.
Kicking off the New Year with a healthy determination to get over the damage done by her lying, stealing, scum-sucking ex-boyfriend, computer programmer Lacey Garrett has comprised a resolutions list to end all lists. Nowhere on that list, however, has she written anything relating to getting snatched from her own yard and yanked across the galaxy, cat in arms, to come face to face with a stunningly attractive...but more than a little cranky...alien. She really should have thought a bit further outside the box on that list, because this particular adventure - if she believes it is an adventure and not just evidence of a fatal brain tumor or something - is really something she would have explicitly crossed off her To Do list.
In one of those rare ironies that makes the possibility of having a fatal brain tumor the less terrifying and not nearly as surreal option, Lacey is now stuck on a planet other than her own. In a ship that speaks. With a ma...er...alie....um...person who, for some ludicrous and highly illogical reason believes she can help him. She, the computer geek from a planet that doesn't even have galactic transport. Help him, the roguish Han Solo type with a spaceship that speaks!
Uh. Yeah. There's just no way this is gonna end well. For either of them.
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Let's forget for a minute that the setup for this plot and the sequence of events that bring Zain and Lacey together strain logic at bit, even for the world of science fiction. Normally that sort of thing bugs me, but to be fair, I don't take this series too seriously in that regard. I'm far too busy being fully entertained by the action, adventure, fun characters, and sizzling romance to quibble overmuch about that. In fact, this series has become somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me and I wish it was longer than four books. I'm a bit addicted.
It's a total romp. An intergalactic, imaginative, fun, funny romp! Zain and Lacey have just enough baggage to make them interesting as main characters and the plot has just enough danger and intrigue to keep me riveted. The sex is hot, the science is plausible enough not to snap my willing suspension of disbelief, and the overall story leaves my romance-loving heart perfectly satisfied. What more can you ask? And I'm not even a big SciFi reader.
I loved following along with the broody and charismatic Zain. He alternated between prickly and protective so well that I quickly got my yen-on for him. Poor, displaced Lacey was also a lot of fun. I don't tend to prefer the lone-Earthling-in-space road - it was a problem for me in the first book in the series, too - but I liked who Lacey is, and thought her response to a massive, life-changing paradigm shift was as believable and realistic as possible, all things considered. And no doubt about it, Barry is excellent at generating, maintaining, and exploding the chemistry between her two lead characters.
I love that. So spicy, with a poignant kick that allows for depth of individual character and a surprisingly authentic level of emotion between protagonists.
Parts of the external conflict weren't as appealing as I would have liked. I was fairly disinterested in anything from the Bad Guy's point of view. He just wasn't all that compelling to me, and he kept interrupting the awesome push-and-shove of attitude, intellect, and intensity between Zain and Lacey. The overall arc of the external conflict was well developed and original, though. Secondary characters, too, always add a bunch of emotional depth to Barry's books and Reene, Zain's sentient ship, was a trip. I enjoyed him. And so much more.
I've really am a total sucker for this series. I love the characters and their adventures are awesome. The happy endings, this one in particular, always fully satisfy, and the attention Barry gives to originality, creativity, and attempts at maintaining plausibility are much appreciated. And lets not forget, the heat and romance are both totally out of this world.
Quotables:
What's wrong with men?
Nothing–except that they suck the life out of women, steal their brains and then leave them for dead. Not that it bothers me anymore, you understand. Therapy took care of that.
I can tell.
I need to make sure you don't have any other scratches.
Why bother? We're going to die anyway.
Are you always so pessimistic?
Only when I get digitized across the galaxy without permission. I'm funny that way.
Are you alright?
I've just never experienced so many degrees of terror in such a short period of time. I can't wait to see what else you've got in store for me.
I'd hate to disappoint you.
Please. Disappoint me.
Freedom doesn't just mean you can run when you want to. It means you can stay if you choose.
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Carina Press via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.
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Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another. 9780505525734