Rescued from alien slavers, the only place she feels safe is in the brawny arms of a big, gruff cyborg.Astrophysicist Dr. Jayna Lennox’s life imploded the day her ship was attacked by aliens. Through months of captivity, she’s survived by shutting down and not feeling. Then she’s freed by the House of Rone cyborgs and finds herself in the arms of huge, tough Mace. Struggling to heal, Mace is the … Struggling to heal, Mace is the only thing that makes her feel safe. The only person who makes her feel like she isn’t broken. But there are more of her crew members imprisoned in Carthago’s desert, and Jayna will have to delve into her darkest memories to help save them.
Born to fight and bred for rage, Mace barely survived his gang-ridden homeworld. Thanks to Imperator Magnus Rone, he’s found a place at the House of Rone. Unlike the other cyborgs, he feels, but only anger and annoyance. When a small, wounded human woman works her way under his skin, Mace finds himself feeling things he’s never felt before…along with a powerful need to keep her safe.
Jayna vows to help find her fellow humans, even if it means revisiting her nightmares and being part of a dangerous mission into the desert. But as the passion between her and Mace explodes, she finds herself with two battles on her hands: the battle to free the humans from their captors, and the war to win Mace’s scarred heart.
Includes a preview of Edge of Eon (Eon Warriors #1)
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Q & A with the Author
Q – How would you describe the Galactic Gladiators and House of Rone series?
A – Gladiators in space! The desert planet of Carthago is home to the Kor Magna Arena: it’s a mix of low and high tech. Think the Colosseum of Ancient Rome with a touch of professional sports and a side of Las Vegas glitz and temptation. You’ll see a lot of action-packed romance as women abducted from Earth clash with tough cyborg gladiators fighting for love, loyalty, and freedom.
Q – Why did you want to write the series?
A – It’s no secret that I love action, adventure and romance. And I love science fiction romance and all the endless possibilities. The House of Rone series is a spin-off of my bestselling Galactic Gladiators series. We see glimpses of the House of Rone cyborgs in the first series (Imperator Magnus Rone’s story, Cyborg, is a part of the first series). These emotionless but loyal cyborgs intrigued me and I wanted to know more!
Q – Do I need to read Galactic Gladiators to read House of Rone?
A – All the Galactic Gladiators books are stand-alone romances set on Carthago and focus on the rescue of people abducted from Earth. We also see so much of the planet, from the Kor Magna Arena and the vast desert sands.
You don’t have to have read the Galactic Gladiators books in order to enjoy House of Rone, but characters from the first series do make a lot of apperances in
Q – What order do I need to read the House of Rone books?
A – The first book is Sentinel. Each book has a stand-alone romance, although there is an overarching plot across the series.
Here is the reading order:
Sentinel
Defender
Centurion – coming soon
More cyborg gladiators on the way!
The Galactic Gladiators Science Fiction Romance Series: Science Fiction Romance, Action Adventure Romance, Space Opera, Futuristic Romance, Fantasy Romance, Military Romance and Paranormal Romance
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Defender is book two in the Galactic Gladiators; House of Rone series by Anna Hackett.
This is another amazing story in the series. Hackett delivers another action-packed and fast-paced read. In Sentinel, book 1, we rescued another human women, Jayna, and in Defender we get to see her and Mace’s romance.
Mace can’t stop thinking about Jayna after rescuing her. Jayna is broken. She’s been beaten down, but she’s not broken. Mace is so sweet with Jayna. He pushes her to come out of her shell. Their romance is so sweet and endearing. I loved seeing how Jayna changes Mace and vis versa.
As is the way, we get new information on the missing humans and the hunt for Edull City is on.
Defender is engaging and so much fun! The world keeps expanding and more characters are introduced. Their is no shortage of action and romance.
Rated: 4 Stars
Another great one from Anna Hackett! Love this cyborg series!
Astrophysicist Dr. Jayna Lennox’s life imploded when her ship was attacked by alien slavers. After months of captivity she is freed by the House of Rone. But she has spent so much time hiding in her mind that she isn’t coping with the new changes well. The only person who seems to help is the grumpy cyborg Mace.
“Healing is rarely clean and tidy. It’ll be messy and hard, but keep trying and you’ll get there.”
Jayna is beaten down but not broken. She struggles to overcome the trauma of being a slave and experimented on. Mace is the one person who isn’t babying her or treating her as broken. He helps her realize she will never be the same person she was before being kidnapped but you take it day by day until you are better. I really loved how caring Mace was. He may push her but he realizes it’s the only way she will get past her fear. Mace is just a big grumpy cyborg who has been hiding a squishy heart. I really liked him.
As with all books in this series, this was nonstop action and romance. The Edull are a fascinating and terrible alien species. Hackett always does an amazing job at creating fascinating and disturbing villains in her books.
Overall, this was a great addition to the series and I can’t wait to jump into the next book. I love reading about these emotionless cyborgs fall in love.
Wow, wow, wow. What a fun ride. Once the action starts she just keeps it going without skipping a beat. Absolutely Perfect. Not a thing wrong with this story. Just wow.
This was a great read and I was cheering for these two the whole way.
Home run on this story. Look forward to more in this series.
L
Now it’s time for big, badass Mace to get a slice of some Earthling love!
Jayna should fear the huge, deadly and not alltogether humanoid Mace. But he swooped in and saved her when she was at her lowest and she has felt nothing but safe with him ever since. But she can’t rely on him babsitting her forever. She has to get back on her feet, find some kind of job and make peace with the fact that she is never going home to Earth.
Mace is more than the sum of his parts. He may be part cyborg but he is still a man and the man most definately wants Jayna. He might not think he deserve a HEA like Jax and Magnus but fate is a fickle mistress and she says he’s getting one!
The Edull are back in all their heinous glory and are making life hard for Jayna. But she is also getting to know the large extended “family” of House of Rone and learning that the other Earthlings have made a home for themselves. Mace and Jayna are a bit of a matched pair, they are both as broken on the inside as the outside, but neither are as irreparable as they think.
Well paced, intriguing world, engaging characters and brimful of passion! Bring on Acton!
From beaten and broken to beloved and empowered
The House of Rone is famed for its gladiators, but the elite cyborgs who founded and now operate the enterprise don’t fight in the arena – they fight for freedom. Their mission is to find and free the enslaved humans from the research ship Helios. Jayna, lead astrophysicist of Helios, is rescued first, and while recovering and healing at the House of Rone she is befriended by Mace. He’s an elite cyborg, a refugee rescued from dying on a brutal fight-club infested planet. As the mission to save another human, Sage, ramps up, so does Mace’s attraction to Jayna, and hers to him. Healing and hope lead to trust and touch, tenderness and affection. Tzhe rest is pure Anna Hackett fireworks as the amazing pair fights and finesses their way to Mission Accomplished – and to love. Parts of the book get a wee bit repetitive, but on the whole it’s excellent entertainment, cyborg romance style.
Anna is one of my go to authors, her stories are unique, interesting and never, ever lets me down. Mace and Jayna’s story is heart breaking, action packed and is a one sit read. Cyborgs, the women who love them, bad alien duds oops dudes grab my attention each and every time. Awesome work as per usual Anna!
While on a search party to rescue an other human, can two broken individuals find a way to the other heart.
Mrs Anna Hackett is part of my candy for the brain authors list. When I am tired, overwhelmed or sad, her stories help to cheer my mood, and much more when I am not.
I do love her resilient never weak heroines and her broken but caring heroes.
The pattern of the story is often similar from one book to another, a recovered heroine partnering with one of the hero from the rescue party teaming up to save an other of the lost humans, but each character has its own challenge and past hurt.
Each new installment is packed with actions, steamy scenes and witty banters.
Jayna appears as a very damaged woman, which is normal after months of tortures as a lab guinea-pig. But soon she finds in her inner self the strength to cope from her ordeal, to fight for the other humans kidnapped, all with the help of the cyborg Mace.
Mace is one of the rescued fighter from the To-death-arena fights. He now returns the favor by help save other unfortunate like he was.
As they are drawn to another, will they be able to let their past hurt go.
A 4.5 stars for this fast and entertaining read.
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I loved this one! Lots of action and steamy scenes.
I read all of this authors books. Ms. Hackett’s books are excellent.
Maybe that’s why she is always debuting at Number One?
Carthagio is a barbarian world with some amazing people and some tech.
I Highly Recommend It.
A great story, it is filled with action, intrigue and adventure. The interaction and chemistry between Jayna and Mace is wonderful! I can’t wait for more from this author. I received this book as a FREE ARC copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review
I know when I’m in the mood for a romance that’s action packed and fast paced that this author will deliver. This the latest in her sci fi series about humans trapped on a planet that venerates Gladiators does work as a standalone as the author manages to seamlessly drop background information in . I do feel though that the series as a whole adds just so much fun if the reader can read in order.
Whether you start here or not this story has romance, vile aliens and wickedly cool cyborgs who make Arnie seem terribly out of date ! I applaud the authors imagination because the things her Cyborgs can do are truly amazing. Perhaps for this reader the romance wasn’t my favourite but as usual it’s a plot that brings together a couple who both deserve love and happiness and there’s nothing I enjoy more than a happy ending !
This voluntary take is of an advanced copy and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
Mace is a cyborg alien and Jayna is an astrophysicist who was abducted from her spaceship when Thraxian slavers attacked them. She was taken prisoner and tortured and experimented upon by the Edull aliens in the desert. She survived, but not without scars—both internal and external. Mace had a tough beginning, so he’s not afraid to tell it like it is with Jayna. He doesn’t baby her and he prods her with words to get her riled up and mad, so she will fight for her own healing.
This story was enjoyable and fun to read; however, this story was somewhat predictable. Although each cyborg/human love story contains the unique elements of setting and characterization, there is a similar structure to each story. They are still worth reading, and watching the friendships and relationships blossom is a delightful by-product. These stories are fun to read and to visualize. Ms. Hackett has a wonderfully creative mind, and her readers benefit from this!
This can be read as a stand-alone, but it is more exciting when the series is read in order. The author excels at making each book exciting and fresh no matter how many stories are in the series. This story offers lots of action, high and low tech, aliens, humor, suspense, twists, romance, and a thrilling HEA ending. You will be routing for the hero and heroine as well as enjoying the appearances of secondary characters that enhance the story.
Defender (House of Rone #2) is Mace and Jayna’s story. Mace is gruff with a truely dark history while Jayna has gone through hell and come out the other side with some lasting scars – on the surface as well as inside. Together they are a force to be reconded with. This has all the romance, action and suspense that Anna Hackett fans look for in a page turning package. Enjoy!
DISCLOSURE; Strictly on a volunteer basis, this is a pre-release review via the author.
“Defender” has loads of thrilling action, spine-chilling danger, suspense, steamy passionate romance, heart-melting moments and a fabulous romantic conclusion.
Jayna the newest, earth woman rescued by the House of Rone, is dealing with lost memories of her time with the evil Edull aliens. She still has bursts of anxiety and only feels safe when Mace is near. Mace is a powerful muscled cyborg with a haunted past. Mace’s feelings for Jayna blaze with heat, but he keeps them at bay. The House of Rone has a dangerous plan to rescue another earth woman from the vicious Edull. There are quite a few obstacles to conquer before reaching their happy ending.
Fantastic roller-coaster read that entertained me until the end. Jayna and Mace’s chemistry is real. Jayna proves to be a strong, courageous heroine when it comes to protecting who she cares for. Loved this story; I am looking forward to reading the next story in this captivating series.
What a thrilling story!
With an Anna Hackett book, you can always be assured of a fiery, action-packed adventure, and a sweet romance. I loved seeing Jayna recover her inner strength after her ordeal with the Edull. Finding safety, security, in the arms of a huge cyborg helped speed along her recovery. I wish I had a protector of his caliber! Mace certainly wasn’t looking for any emotional ties, but Jayna proved to have an irresistible allure.
I admire his overprotective nature, even as he’s denying his feelings. He looks incredibly dangerous, but with Jayna he’s just a big teddy bear. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this exciting story!
I loved this book! Jayna is a scientist with an analytical mind but she fears her mind my never recover from the abuse she received from her captors. Mace is a cyborg who makes her feel safe. Reading her journey to recovery and the search for her fellow captives is riveting. The insert of the steamy bits is seamless and appropriate for the place Jayna is at. This is a well written story with heart. I received an advanced copy of this book from the author and freely leave this honest review.