MARSHALS' MOST WANTED by Raina James

Publisher: Siren Publishing
Date published: January 2010
ISBN: 1-60601-697-0
Sci-fi, menage, erotic
E-book
Reviewed by Rebecca
Obtained via publisher


CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE! Stev and Tarik aren’t just Galactic Marshals, they are also bond brothers. They were bound psychically as teenagers to be two-thirds of a mate triad. This strong link enables them to speak telepathically to each other and gives them a valuable edge over the intergalactic bad guys they hunt. Good thing, too: the Rogan Gang is planning a heist on Joker’s Wild, a world where the ancient wild west isn’t so ancient. There’s a high stakes poker game in the works and it’s up to the bond-brothers to take out the gang’s ship so they can’t get away.

Hope just knows this isn’t going to go well. Her brothers came up with a scheme to lure tourists to their working cattle ranch in an attempt to keep the family ranch from going under and being sold off. She wanted nothing to do with the plan but got stuck playing tour guide for the travel journalists her brothers lured into coming when one brother breaks his leg a few days before the dudes are due to arrive and the other’s wife is about to go into labor. There’s something about Stev and Tarik that makes her think they maybe more than what they claim, though. Or is that her hormones are telling her it was past time for her to start a family of her own?

This story is an interesting blend of futuristic sci-fi, old west cowboy, and shoot ‘em up thriller. It is roasty-toasty with the action starting up in earnest by the end of chapter three. The author did take the time to set the storyline first so the story keeps moving along after things heat up. I did notice a few inconsistencies, mostly shifts in names and slight personality variations, nothing that was overly drastic. For example, in chapter one, the author addresses Tarik as “Rik” several times but does it nowhere else in the book. There is some dirty talk, anal sex, one scene where the trio gets found naked after the fact but no out-right voyeurism.

The plot was very interesting. We have two sexy, strong heroes who are easy to like. We have one strong-willed woman who isn’t sure she appreciates being the bound mate of two off-worlders, though they help her past her reservations fairly quickly. The author has one heck of a hook to bring the three together and is very skillful at keeping both the pace and the sexual tension ramped up. I particularly liked that as some erotica, once it gets physical, fails to keep the sexual tension running high enough to keep me wanting to keep reading or forgets to keep the storyline moving along.

I am giving MARSHAL'S MOST WANTED three and a half stars. The plot is believable, the chemistry is good, and the characters are engaging. The story line would have been worth reading on its own. As an erotica, it was both romantically satisfying and sizzling.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.