Steamy Sci-fi Story – Kaela and Lorcan were fun to read about and I wonder if perhaps there is a series in the making for the world mentioned in this quick and enticing read. I want to know more about Zypher, Zoe and Zoe’s brother - all could star in a book or novella of their own.

Kaela and Lorcan SEEM to be on opposite sides of the law and met in the past – their interaction was one reason Lorcan chose to buy her at a slave auction and in buying her he managed to set her plans awry. Will the two of them manage to meet their objectives in spite of the glitches they face? Will their steamy encounters be an interlude or perhaps and introduction to more in the future?

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella and do hope it is an introduction to a series. I would like to thank the author for the copy – this is my honest review. ( )

Review provided by Black Lagoon Reviews:

Enslaved, by Sydney Somers, was a little difficult to get into for me. I'm not exactly sure why either, which is more then a little bothersome. Normally, I have a very defined reason that I can give, but this time it wasn't anything specific. In fact, I thought the story was actually quite good and the premise really appealed to me.

Perhaps it had something to do with the main character of the novel, Kaela. While she is nicely written, I just felt she was a bit underwhelming. Even though she is strong willed, she lacks any true fight and honestly I felt she lacked any real emotions. This was in large part due to her under developed character. Because she isn't given a really defined history and prior experience, it made her emotions seem lacking and thus made it hard to give her a clear definition in my mind. In truth, I was more captured by Lorcan, who was comparatively much deeper. His history is nicely developed as are his feelings towards the Sentinel. His reservations about keeping her and his suspicion of her trying to play him are much more vividly portrayed then Kaela's feined hatred of him.

Really, it was their relationship together that kept me reading. Because of the situation they find themselves in theirs is a relationship that is forged in fire. Initially, it starts off rather bitter with Kaela searching for a way to escape desperate to fulfill her mission, which is another aspect that troubled me due to the fact she never really gives her job more then passing thought. Then she comes to find she is attracted to Lorcan and that ends up building into something more. Lorcan though is the one most evolved in his desire for Kaela. He starts the story with very shallow and spiteful reasons for buying her at a slave auction knowing exactly who and what she is. Yet, his sense of want and desire towards her spurs him on. Throughout the story, he comes to like his time with the feisty woman and becomes enamored with her, not wanting to be separated. In the end, Kaela comes to feel the same way and I loved the timidity of that realization. It was somehow the most honest emotion throughout the novel. Yet, while their relationship is interesting at times it still felt a bit rigid, like it was half formed. For instance, Kaela's loathing of Lorcan is never really explored. She had no real reason other then she thinks he's a criminal because she arrested him. It never really goes past that. She never followed up, just passed the case along and labeled him. So when they are reunited, the feeling of dislike is very faint, like an echo of an emotion.

The world, however, I found to be quite unique and enjoyable. The science fiction elements were interesting and I loved the settings of the story. In truth, this is a world I would love to see revisited. It has an edge akin to 'Firefly' with an adult twist and the aspects of space salvage and space pirate were just plain fun! I would have liked to see a bit more of it explored along with the characters simply because of it's appeal.

This was a good story, but I admit I was expecting something a bit more. Maybe if the novel has a follow up we can see more of Kaela's personality, which I believe would have added a lot to the story, making it a bit more balanced. And honstely, the way the novella ended, I would enjoy seeing the relationship grow because the real spark of chemistry didn't really happen for me until the last few chapters. So much there to be explored!

Overall, this was a quick, fun read, but I was left wanting a bit more from the characters. But, despite that I really did enjoy the world Somers created and would love to see future novellas taking place within it. ( )