In a hidden desert lab compound, unwilling subjects are held for experimentation with an unthinkable goal—the genetic mutation of human beings . . . All Amara knows is that the complete lack of freedom, the endless experiments and personal indignities have tested the limits of her sanity. But nothing prepares her for being locked away—naked—with a sexy ex-cop . . . The department shrink … The department shrink always told Nick Gregory he had a hero complex that was going to get him killed one day, or worse. This is definitely worse. Even drugged so that his most basic animal instincts are uncontrollable, he is driven to protect the beautiful female with whom he’s supposed to mate. One way or another, he will escape this hell . . . and take her with him.
“Jacquelyn Frank is a fresh new voice, a stunning new talent. I look forward to the next book.”
—Sherrilyn Kenyon
“Jacquelyn Frank knows how to write an intense, rip-roaring good read!”
—Cathy Maxwell
more
Original review: myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2018/06/17/the-phoenix-project-jacquelyn-frank/
Yes, I promise that is the blurb of the book. Honest!! That meager paragraph was enough to make me curious. I wanted to know how the author was going to deal with those animalistic instincts for her characters, I mean, that is a loaded gun. You can make a really hot book that makes you thirsty while reading. Or you can have a sex festival that makes you dizzy in all the wrong ways. This book is not one thing, nor the other. It’s a simple: meh!.
The story is about Amara, a woman with no resources who was kidnapped by mad scientists. They perform experiments on her on a daily basis. And she is not the only one. The baddies have a huge on-going operation that is hard to believe is a well kept secret. Nick is a cop that is investigating weird disappearances and he founds himself kidnapped for the same project as Amara. The doctors change their DNA and put them together to see what happens. They become morphates. Kind of a mix between a vampire and a shifter…
Some of those changes are: enhanced senses, strength and stamina, much greater sexual drive, claws, fangs and even penis enlargement… They become ferals in all the possible meanings. Which is the goal of such a change? No idea. The author never explains it. Do they want a supersolider or a sexual slave? The mix doesn’t make any sense… The mad doctor says they are getting closer to the ideal result, but I’m incapable of seeing how can the morphates be profitable. No one wants a lover so rough that could break your bones by accident… Or a soldier whose sexual appetite could make him mindless at any moment. So, no idea what this Pnoenix Project wants to achieve.
90% of the book is just plain sex. Very boring sex if you ask me. It’s too primitive, too rough and aggressive for my taste. There is not an ounce of eroticism in all the sex scenes of the book. And there are plenty… They weren’t bad per se, except for the last one. The author should have ignored the epilogue. In that last chapter, Nick has sex with Amara against her will. Yes. he rapes her. There is not another way to describe that. She didn’t want to have sex because it was period time and didn’t want any kid. Nick, to show that Amara can trust him, forces himself into her and rape her… I couldn’t believe what I was reading… The worst part is that Amara accepts Nick’s motives and forigves him… The epilogue ruins the book.
Even though it lacks story development everywhere, the book has some interesting foundations that could make the next books bearable. I would love to know more about the Dark Cities. It seems that in the future, a wall-loving politician decides to put walls around several cities of the USA to lock criminals from the rest of the country. Those are called the Dark Cities and the morphates are now the ones in charge to keep them in check. Why do I have the feeling is going to be a free buffet for them?
I know I was going to find something simple and blunt, but I guess I wasn’t prepared for such overwhelming lack of sweetness… I still don’t know if I will read the next books of this saga. I must admit I’m still curious…
3.5 stars–THE PHOENIX PROJECT is the first instalment in Jacquelyn Frank’s multi-genre sci-fi/paranormal/urban fantasy/dystopian/post apocalyptic MORPHATES erotic romance series focusing on a scientific experiment known as the Phoenix Project that resulted in a hybrid human known as the Morphate. This is former federal agent Nick Gregory, and Amara’s story line.
NOTE: THE PHOENIX PROJECT was originally released in the 2010 Nocturnal Anthology.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Amara and Nick) THE PHOENIX PROJECT follows federal agent Nick Gregory as he is thrown into a world of he knew nothing about. Investigating the disappearance of a number of people Nick finds himself one of the many, a part of a scientific experiment that goes horribly wrong. An anti-aging protocol has somehow been modified such that the victims are turned into hybrid beings of man and beast. To ensure the survival of the fittest, the new creations are thrown together in an effort to ferret out the weak and the strong, as well as forcing the interactions between potential mates. Enter Amara, Nick’s alpha mate, and the woman with whom he will fall in love. In order to survive Nick and Amara must prove they are worthy of the title of alpha, as well as ensuring the survival of everyone involved. Escape is the only option in the hopes the government will come through with a mandated policy in order to prevent the destruction of the beasts known as the Morphates.
THE PHOENIX PROJECT is an action packed, entertaining and intriguing story line that looks at the possibility of scientific research used for nefarious purposes. The premise is provocative and dramatic; the characters are charismatic and strong; the romance is erotic, intense and fated by DNA- the relationship between Amara and Nick is highly sexual and animalistic. I do have a concern about the origin of the Phoenix Project and how potential life-saving research resulted in hybridized DNA-some background information is warranted. There is no mention of the how and why. I am hoping for more information in the upcoming sequel.