She’s shy and timid. He’s strict and cruel.Yon’s past hardened him to the point that he speaks the raw truth without thinking about the consequences. He’s always been that way, but if he’s not careful he’s going lose more than the sweetest female he’s ever known, he’s going to lose a potential mate.Yelena’s past conditioned her to be obedient and silent. She’s always been a loner, but when she … been a loner, but when she meets Yon in the cages of Brica, she’s drawn to him and his strength. If only he’d notice she’s not as weak as he thinks she is.
Yelena has a chance to help find the Numan who turned her skin luminescent. During the mission something goes wrong and she has to rely on Yon once more… or is it Yon who has to rely on her?
Note to reader: This is a slow burn, science fiction romance with a twist of action and adventure. This is the third book in the series. It’s recommended to start at Book 1.
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This is Yelena and Yon’s book who I was excited to see. Yon isn’t easy – it’s safe to say i spent a fair bit wanting to throttle him and yet…he has redeeming qualities. Yelena I thought grew to fit him which I really appreciated- they stay pretty true to their character and yet compliment each other.
This is a slow burn and the main plot takes a bit but it was interesting to see some of the scenes from previous books in a different perspective without it feeling forced.
Now if only I had patience to wait for the next book!
I pre-ordered this book then got an ARC copy for a review
Book three in the Unexpected Series a well written story that kept me turning pages. This is Yon and Yelena’s story of suspense, drama, twists, turns, and romance, I enjoyed reading. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I love how this series is being developed. The bigger arc which spans the series develops continuously and without pause while each book focuses on a set of characters and their own development. This instance is Yelena’s quest for freedom after being rescued from the mines and the connection she shares with Yon who strives to make only honourable decisions to honour part of his DNA and supressing his other side. it’s a great story about Yelena finding her steonger self, and Yon learning to balance his cold, calculating and sarcastic side with the softness necessary for dealing with feelings.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Yelena had been kidnapped and experiments conducted on her at the Numan lab, but she had no idea why. Now she and others were being herded off a transport onto a barren, rocky, desert-like planet with no explanation. They had made her skin luminous and a side-effect was that she was internally cold constantly, shivering and unable to get warm. Her sensitive skin also bled easily if she got injured. They were herded into an underground auditorium.
She soon found out why she was cold all the time. The captives were now going to be miners. The rare mineral rock they would be gathering, Phosephenite, is temperature-sensitive and at ninety-one degrees, it explodes. So each miner must stand 5 feet apart or the increase in their combined temperature would cause an explosion and they would die. For 50 years she had lived in a cramped cave with 9 others, constantly cold. Now they had mined the last of the mineral and Yelena was hoping they would return them all home. But the next day, they learned they would be going to another mine, not home. And her best and only friend, Cami, was put in the sphere with phosephenite with another person and exploded to death because she was getting old and slowing down. Yelena never spoke for 9 months after that – until they were preparing to move everyone to the next mine.
A Yunkin Federation warrior, Yon, asked if her skin was actually glowing, and feeling drawn to him, she responded it was. Her time in the mines had given her fifty years of experience working with airflow, compressors, and generators so that she was perfect for an equipment repair job on the Garna star carrier. Her life was changing yet again.
Two of Yelena’s mated friends, Vivra and Pax, invited her to go to Lotus Adaamas for a fun evening. Pax was friends with Commander Yon and invited him to join them, although Yon hated the noise and hated Lotus Adaamas where his druggie mother still lived. Yon heard Pax call to Yelena. He remembered her and was concerned the locals would swarm her and take advantage of her. According to Pax, they were already bothering her. She was too sweet and innocent to leave her there without protection. Several hours later, he was still worried and went down to check on her. Pax said she went with Clalls to a jewelry district – but he spotted Clalls in a corner with someone else! Yelena was unprotected and by herself somewhere! He told Pax he was only trying to keep her safe – but his crew knew it was more than that.
This was a slow-burn romance that I thought was done well. It seems that both Yon and Yelena have problems relating to others due to their histories. Yet Yelena took immediate notice of Yon when she was in the cage in preparation for transport to a new mine. He likewise was intrigued by her and worried about her safety. He even put aside his strong dislike of Lotus Adaamas to head there and confirm her safety – which turned out to be a wise choice! These two have more adventure coming up as Yelena pursues a mission that goes wrong. Will they give in to their attraction and find love through their adversity? I really did like the character of Yon, seeing his concern for Yelena, and understanding how he keeps his feelings so guarded. Grab your copy and see how everything works out for them.
The story picks up with Yelena and Yon. Yelena is grieving over loss while Yon tried to ignore his attraction to her. As with all the Unexpected stories, unexpected and/or exciting things happen along the way to love. Read the whole series – you won’t regret it!
JERKS NEED LOVE, TOO
As always, Layla Stone immerses us into a fully realized sci fi world, with crazy useful tech that is used by the characters with the same off handed familiarity as we would a toaster or smart phone. This book, while part of a series, can be read as a stand alone, even though some of the characters overlap.
But let me say this up front, Yon (the Commander in the title) is a jerk, and pretty much STAYS a jerk throughout the book. The romance that built was, as the author herself called it, a “slow burn” and the real story took a little while to get going.
Yon and his love interest, Yelena both seem a bit puzzled by their attraction to each other, and see-saw quite a bit before their love story hits it stride, so much so that it take a major event (no spoilers) for them to just surrender to it. I would have loved to get a bit more into Yelena and Yon’s heads during their “slow burn” to really understand their struggles.
The twists at the end were interesting, and I would have liked to see more of (name excluded)’s transition, and the inevitable screw ups that would follow.
All in all, an enjoyable read by author who is getting better with every book, and as I said before, Jerks need Love, too.
I thought that this was a good read. Lots of emotions and drama are mixed with action and intensity in the interesting story line. As for the characters I liked Yelena more than Yon, but honestly I had a hard time connecting with either to the level I would have liked.