Title: Unmasked
Author: C.J. Barry
Published in June 2005 by Dorchester LoveSpell
Genre: Futuristic
ISBN: 0-505-52562-3
Related Books: (1)Unchained (2)Unearthed (3)Unleashed (4)Unraveled
Beautiful, headstrong, and the well protected daughter of the Masters Shipping Empire, Torrie finds herself a captive, the ship overrun, and her crew sent off into space. Well, so much for this run, her maiden voyage, and this life. Boy is her brother Carmon, head of the Masters family, going to be pissed, but then waht can she truly expect? She has wanted this for years, worked for it, and was not to be denied her positon in the Masters Empire. What is not expected is the attraction she feels for the oh so bold masked pirate who has not only disabled her ship and sent her crew running, but whose cold, hard, silver gaze can stop her dead in her tracks. Torrie struggles with her growing fear, and attraction to this man, and realizes she must gain his trust in order to gain her freedom. To that end, she must find out how he thinks, and why he thinks that way. She knows she has only one shot, and she has to make it good. To escape is the goal, to save her ship and her cargo the only thing on her mind.
Trust is a moot point, as he has already discovered her deception of flying under an assumed name. Now the question becomes one of whether or not he will hold her for ransom. Her unexpected release, the return of her ship, and her attempts to track her cargo hold nothing but more trouble for the courageous captain. Her subsequent capture by a notorious slave trader, and her extremely uncomfortable position now as a slave to the pirate, a man known as Quaade, brings into focus the slave trade she was aware of, but denying to her self for years. The inescapable fact that the pirate, Quaade now owns her, and can do what he wants with her brings an even greater fear to her and finds possibilities in the alliance with a cause she has no information about, doesn't believe exists, yet finds he supports. To Torrie, these are signs of hope. The questions remain, can she capitalize on them, does she want to capitalize on them, and the biggie, IF she does, what will happen to her, her family, Masters Shipping, and to Quaade…
To Quaade, the name he has made for himself is a shield, a mark and a mask as black and forbidding as the one he wears on his raids. The traces of his former life, the dreams of a future, are only faint memories to the life he escaped. That day, one which gleefully and without compunction destroyed his family, his hopes, and his little child dreams, led him to his quest. He is known as the Ghost Rider of the Dead Zone for a compelling reason, and the merchants hate him with a passion, and fear him even more. The cargos he plunders are varied, the whispers that he deals in slaves are loud, and yet to the underground he is known as Laghato, Savior. His mission is to find the family scattered by the slavers so long ago, and to save as many from becoming enslaved as he can. His own experiences as a child of being enslaved not withstanding, he has gathered a crew of freemen, former slaves, and unruly pirates to his cause.
Rescued from an abusive master by pirates, he knows there is a miniscule chance to find his family, but somewhere they have to exist, and if they do he is determined to find them. Circumstances are not looking up for him though. There have been a series of recent setbacks in his plan, and he finds that Slipstream is not as safe as he thought. Somehow, and enemy has emerged and is stalking him, endangering the freedom of those he has stolen from slavery, and the operations that can lead even more to new lives. Convinced the woman is involved, he rescues her from Wyrth Spaceport, and the clutches of Horg, one of the most ruthless slavers in space. It has cost him dearly, the total of the stolen goods from her ship, but it can’t be helped. Something in her proud stance, her self-assurance, in her defiance begs to be broken. Just how, Quaade is not sure. At this point, he doesn’t even know if he wants her broken. Bent maybe, but the feisty captain could provide the very necessary cash and equipment his underground freedom network, Slipstream, so badly needs. The remaining question is, when it comes down to her, to Captain Torrie Masters, what does Quaade truly want?
C.J. Barry again takes us to adventure through the stars, with Torrie Masters, the brave and headstrong captain of Masters Shipping, and the pirate know as Quaade. Joining these two in an interplanetary adventure of magnificent proportions is a wonderful chemistry that both fight to the very end. The trouble Torrie has with Quaade's distrust flows from her experiences with friends who have been at the mercy of unscrupulous officials. There-in lies the rub. For although she has found some in whom trust has been rewarded, her challenge is to prove to Quaade that her trust is not unfounded, and her apparent betrayal is a boon to all. From beginning to end, the depth of this man will never cease to amaze her, or you either. C.J. has seen to this point quite easily by weaving a surprisingly simple yet hidden beginning to Quaade, his beliefs, and his loyalties. Until she unmasks the truth behind the man, Torrie will be left floundering in a vacuum, and that is one place she is quite determined not to be...
Unmasked brings two headstrong lovers together, and then allows us to go along for a ride into the dangers, desires, and the mysteries surrounding them. Someone is playing a game, a very dangerous game, and Torrie and Quaade are not about to let him win. All the stops ae pulled out in this rousing and very smart and exciting adventure. C.J. hasn't disappointed as again we find ourselves flying into danger, suspense, and an out of this world experience which only she can bring to us. Dismissing the romance factor, C.J. takes the futuristic one more step, and provides is with a book of depth, passion, and delightful imagination. Add the romance, and you have an unbeatable read in my opinion. Unmasked is a truly exciting book, one of the best to date, and as with Unearthed and Unleashed, it leaves you wanting more. Well, smile my dear readers, because the "UN Books" are all here for now, so if you happened to miss any, look for Unearthed, Unleashed, Unraveled, and Unmasked from Dorchester’s LoveSpell books online or at a bookstore near you.
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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