Title: Unleashed
Author: CJ Barry
Published in May 2004 by Dorchester’s LoveSpell
Genre: Futuristic
ISBN: 0-505-52573-9
Related Books: (1) Unchained (2) Unearthed (4) Unraveled (5) Unmasked
There is one thing that Lacey Garrett thought she was sure of before this New Year’s Eve, and that was things could get no worse. Her ex-fiancé had taken off with her most recent ingenious creation, and claimed the credit for the program, he has stolen or driven away all her clients, and she was stuck in a house with a leaky roof and a temperamental furnace. The one good thing, if it could be called that, from all these recently past and dubiously good occurrences is she gained a friend, ten pounds of purring furry, but a friend. It seems as though Bob didn’t and doesn’t have anymore care for animals than he does people, and has also abandoned his cat, Oliver at Lacey’s as well. That is ok, Lacey has a soft spot for Oliver, and he is company. Now if she can nail this project and keep this client satisfied, she may have a chance to rebuild the business Bob so carelessly stole, destroyed, or whatever. She has learned a valuable lesson in all of this, and she will not be giving her heart to anyone else to trample over. She would just stick to what she knows, and answer the occasional e-mail message from the tech-net, if she could help. She was also going to write up and stick to these New Years resolutions.
Well, events just proved her first thoughts wrong, and she finds herself in an incredible dream. The man facing her is drool worthy to the nth degree, and she is wondering how he got into her imagination. The last thing she remembers is going outside to check on the dish. Her satellite connection is not working, and she needs the uplink to complete the project for her remaining client. This place, and this man do not figure in her plan, but the strange part is that Oliver is still in her arms. The fact that everything seems so real is disturbing, and the pictures he is demanding answers to are floating in front of her. For a dream, this is really vivid. His insistence she is not dreaming is disconcerting, but it is either believe that or believe she is losing her mind. The latter may be possible, it is not desirable but it is entirely within the realm of possibilities. Life is getting too weird, and the hunk she is quickly coming to believe is real is the answer to her prayers, or her worst nightmare. Zain is every woman’s dream man, so Lacey knows that she definitely must guard her heart very carefully and very well...
Zain Masters is not quite sure what went wrong, but something surely has. First of all, he has crashed on this deserted desert planet, in a crater that is strangely shielded from any and all observation, and with the hulks of other space ships that have possibly stumbled on this same abnormality. If it wasn’t for the unusual makeup if his own ship, and its computer, Zain thinks that he might have suffered the same fate as the others. Heck, if he can’t get out of here, can’t fix his ship, he still may end up dead. Reene, his AI computer can only do so much, and with the unusual power drain, things are not looking up. How this woman and her creature got here, well, that has to be a fluke. All he wants is help to decipher the figures and the odd patterns that appear to be some sort of code. There is an intriguing strangeness about this situation, and the dome that he’s discovered on this planet. The problem, as Zain sees it, is Lacey’s just too much of a temptation, but when bad comes to worse, she turns out to be pretty good in the clinch. The nightmares that have plagued him are lessening under her influence, so until he can restore enough power to get her back home, he will enjoy the respite.
This mapping expedition, while keeping him safe and able to run from the enemies who pursue him relentlessly, has him stumbling into something beyond his immediate sphere of knowledge. There is something about this place in which he and Lacey are not trapped that haunts him, but he cannot put his finger on the inconsistency. That he is a wanted man, has a bounty on his head, and is stuck here on this desert planet without means of escape makes him nervous. She doesn’t deserve this exposure to danger, and even though she is not as vulnerable as he first thought, there are similarities here to a situation that existed foe him once before. The small juvenile world that she comes from has not prepared her for what she is facing now, and for that he is heartily sorry. He never meant to bring her to this place, never meant for her to become stranded with him. The best thing he can do is to see that she and Oliver get home as quickly and as safely as possible. He needs to get them out of here before he is found, and either or both of them get hurt. The planet holds several surprises, and just maybe the key to set him free. To leave this nightmare is the first order of business and to do that, he needs to repair Reene, get power restored, and get Lacey home and himself out of here before he is discovered and something worse happens…
Welcome back to a time and place that could be far in the future, or just around the corner. Whenever, you can be assured that C.J Barry has brought you back to a world where excitement never really ends, and life is always full of surprises. The last thing that Zain Masters expects is for the malfunction of the Virtu-Wav to teleport the woman to him. That was not on his agenda, but no matter, she is here now, and he must deal with her and find a way to get her back home. This mapping jaunt for StarNet has not turned out the way he planned, but has uncovered something much bigger. As for Lacey Garrett, a New Years Eve that started out as a lonely time of reflection, ends up being more than she ever bargained for, and Lacey is not sure that she wasn’t better off just being as limited in her knowledge as everyone else on Earth. After all, life wasn’t really that bad before, a tad dull, but not bad.
Unleashed takes us back to space, to the galaxy wide coalition called CinTerr, and the InterGLax Defense Force. Zain and Lacey don’t know it, but they have a matter of days to figure out what is truly happening on this barren world with the vicious creatures that Lacey has dubbed “Bobzillas” and the little crab-like life-forms calls krudo. The pasts that haunt both Lacey and Zain will be cleansed and burned away in the trials they face, and in the love they find in each other. The accidental transportation by the Virtu-Wav has Unleashed not only a series of destined events, but a passion for all time. You will not want to miss this latest Un-Book by C.J. Barry. Coming from Dorchester’s LoveSpell line in May 2004, Unleashed is the newest addition to the group. If you haven’t read the other two, Look for Unraveled, and the PEARL Award winning Unearthed at a bookstore near you while you are waiting for the May release of Unleashed. Welcome to the World of C.J. Barry. Pick up a good book, and stay awhile!
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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