An Amazon Best Book of 2017 and Romance Writers of America® RITA® Finalist! “Raw. Smart. Quick-witted. Mouthwatering. Just a few adjectives that describe this exquisite tale. Do not let this unforgettable story, or its incredible cast of characters, slip by you.” –DARYNDA JONES, New York Times bestselling authorA rip-roarin’, sexy new sci-fi romance series with the perfect balance of humor, … perfect balance of humor, heat, and heart. Now that Texas has seceded and the world is spiraling into chaos, good guys come in unlikely packages and love grows in the most inconvenient places…
Rogue scientist * technologically enhanced * deliciously attractive
Heron Farad should be dead. But technology has made him the man he is today. Now he heads a crew of uniquely skilled outsiders who fight to salvage what’s left of humanity: art, artifacts, books, ideas — sometimes even people. People like Mari Vallejo.
Gun for hire * Texan rebel * always hits her mark
Mari has been lusting after her mysterious handler for months. But when a by-the-book hit goes horribly sideways, she and Heron land on the universal most wanted list. Someone set them up. Desperate and on the run, they must trust each other to survive, while hiding devastating secrets. As their explosive chemistry heats up, it’s the perfect storm…
Wanted and Wired Series:
Wanted and Wired (Book 1)
Perfect Gravity (Book 2)
More praise:
“Wanted and Wired delivers a high-octane adventure with riveting twists and turns, fresh yet gritty characters, and miles of sci-fi sizzle. I loved it!”–Amanda Bouchet, award-winning author of A Promise of Fire
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A fascinating start to a new series. If you ever played Shadowrun, this is the book for you. Near-future sci-fi with a hint of cyberpunk, an awesome badass heroine, an intriguing hero… Get this one today.
I loved the post-apocalyptic setting in both the western states, in orbit, and Texas. Such an interesting world Jackson has built here. I really want to know how it all works and what people do to get by. Mari and Heron’s relationship was engrossing, too. They seemed to have a give and take, a push and pull, and the tension kept the story moving at all times. There was a lot here to digest, both for the world-building and the characters, but it never felt overwhelming.
The sexy scenes were blistering hot but never went too far. There’s nothing that bothers me more than sci-fi romance that skips all the heat of flirtation and goes right for the sex and/or there’s sex every other chapter. I’m in it for both the world and the relationships, and WANTED AND WIRED had both. There was a fantastic twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. Loved it!
Have you ever picked up a book, fallen in love with it, and then became mad at the world because why the heck didn’t anyone tell you how awesome it is? That’s how I feel about this book.
Plot in a Nutshell: an assassin is hired to take out the clone-mech husband of a politician, only to find out she killed the politician’s real husband. The assassin goes on the run with her super hot, super awesome, enhanced partner who can’t want her like she wants him.
This book smolders from page one, you guys. If you don’t like reading steamy romance, then this isn’t for you. But if you DO like it, and you love books that have just as much high-octane plot as it does edge-of-your-seat romance, read this.
The world the author created was pretty intriguing. Most people are technologically enhanced in some way. Our assassin, Mari, is not. In fact, she kind of pushes back against all the enhanced people. Except for her partner, Heron, who has All of the Enhancements.
I loved these two together! Heron had mad tech skills, and it was awesome seeing how he worked, how efficient he could be, how much power he could harness. Mari was a good, strong character too who didn’t sit on the sidelines and let other people solve her problems. She knew she was in deep shit, and she was dealing with it.
This was one of my favorite reads of the year. Go read it, then come back and tell me what you think.
I’m very hard to please when it comes to finding a great science fiction romance story, but this book was PHENOMENAL! The writing was sharp, witty, fresh, imaginative and often emotional, and shot-through with many brilliant turns of phrase. The characters were unique–some of them VERY unique as only a great SFR can deliver–and the technology was awe-inspiring. Nothing was predictable and as the story unfolded, the world around these characters just kept getting bigger, more awesome and more tangled.
I won’t spell out the entire plot here, because I want to leave that for other readers to discover. What I will say is the romance is a slow burn and the relationship takes time to build on many different levels. The sparks between Mari and Heron are definitely there–and have been since before the story opened–but these two complex characters need to work through a lot of emotional red tape before they can give in to their cravings. They have deep-seated misconceptions and misunderstandings that need to be overcome before they can build genuine trust. When they finally do, the depth of the bond they share, along with some pretty high-energy lust, results in love scenes that are dreamy, lush, intense and often surprising.
But as much as I loved the sci-fi elements, this story will also satisfy the hardline paranormal romance readers, because some of the tech clearly takes bold steps into the paranormal realm, while still remaining bonafide science fiction.
I also want to comment on the prose, because it’s wonderfully crafted, beautifully edited and completely seamless. No stumbling over misspelled or missing words. It was as close to technically perfect as I’ve seen, and that’s important to me as a reader. In today’s market, where even professionally edited books are fraught with errors, it was wonderful to fully immerse in the reading experience without tripping and stumbling along.
Great cyberpunk environment and well-developed characters. A fun read!
Loved it
This was one of those books that I just didn’t want to put down. The writing was decent, but honestly, it was the chemistry between Heron and Mari was electric and the slow build of tension and inevitable snap that kept me reading like a speed demon. The world building could have had more depth, but it was a good introduction and has the potential to be built up further as the series continues. Mari, while occasionally frustrating me, made me so happy with her inappropriate comments in tense moments. I’m not sure how Heron can feel what happens in the interior of the batmobile but I’m willing to sweep my disbelief under the rug for the time being to enjoy the ride.
Wanted & Wired was a revelation! It’s an incredible sci-fi romance. SO MUCH YEARNING but also funny and clever. Heron is easily one of the sexiest heroes who is also part robot. (That might be too simplistic of an explanation but he’s human who also had technology implanted, which ultimately saved his life.) His fingers have sense tips, which give him data but also adjust to give Mari the ultimate pleasure. Those scenes were sexy as hell! The characters’ voices were so distinct, particularly Mari’s voice. I loved what a badass she was but also how she was loyal and fiercely protected those she loves. There was a game-changing twist I never saw coming, which upended my whole reading experience in the best way.
3.5 stars
Even though I don’t read a lot of sci-fi romance novels the blurb of this book sounded really good. It seemed like it had a very original story-line, which I find very important in my books. I was intrigued as soon as I started Wanted and Wired. The author did a very good job at creating a whole new world that had me wanting to know more about it.
Mari is a gun for hire and she sometimes shares contracts with Heron, who is post-human (someone with implanted tech). Mari’s usual contracts involve thieving, demolition, and corporate data smuggling. But this time she took a assassination job. With Heron as her backup this should’ve been a very easy job, but the moment the hit is done, she realizes something is wrong. They are put on the most wanted list and have to run. Mari had been lusting after Heron for a while now. Heron himself isn’t without feelings for her either, but he knows of Mari’s dislike for post-humans so he never initiated anything more than a friendship. They normally don’t spend any time outside work but know that they are on the run together, they are forced to deal with their feelings.
I really enjoyed them discovering that they both felt something for each other. Mari is a very fierce and strong woman who gets things done. Heron was very mysterious and the more I got to know him, the more interesting he got to me. There are secrets that are revealed and I really loved the twist the author added towards the end, because I didn’t see it coming. Things I didn’t like were the heavy use of sci-fi terms, they made it difficult for me to get fully into the story. I understand that this is the first book in the series and world-building is very important but it really slowed the pace for me. Also a couple of scenes could’ve been shorter, this way there would be more room for story and character development. However I am looking forward to the next book in the series, I have no idea if it will focus on the same main characters. There are a couple of side characters that are intriguing and I hope that the next books will focus on them.