Forced Mate by Rowena Cherry
by Rowena Cherry
(Bloomfield, Michigan, USA)
Forced Mate is a chess term for when two rival Kings compete. The first to make a pawn into his Queen wins. But Djinni is no pawn.
"He's found the mate of his dreams. She hates him. What is a god-Emperor to do?"
If you love Historical Romances involving intelligent and articulate noblemen who either abduct a politically desirable bride, or are forced into a long journey with a reluctant lady, you might enjoy this light-hearted spoof of the genre.
In a futuristic take on the Greek myth of Persephone who was abducted from Earth by the dark god of the underworld, a lovely and thoroughly modern heroine is abducted by an alien from outer space.
Author: Rowena Cherry
http://www.rowenacherry.com.
ISBN 10-digit :0-505-52601-8
978-0-505-52601-4
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing, LoveSpell imprint
www.dorchesterpub.com
Genre: Futuristic
Heat level:
Mildly hot (but one man, one woman) ...
Release: November 2nd 2004
Pages: 326
Excerpt:
A battle for her heart…
"She's a fighting Saurian Knight." He put a slight emphasis on "fighting" and smiled self-deprecatingly. "Getting her into bed is more work than turning a Gravity-class war-star."
"Are you telling me that she fought you? You?"
"My Imperial Machismo forbids me to confirm or deny something so damaging to my reputation," Tarrant-Arragon replied with a mocking twist of his lips. "I will admit, she doesn't know what she's up against. I'm conducting an experiment to see whether I can get a virtuous girl to love me—not the next Emperor, but me—for my sweet nature and sense of humor."
His half-sheathed-weapon smile became a sudden chuckle.
"My fierce little Saurian would probably try to castrate me if she knew who I am. She cheerfully toasts my impotence."
Madam Tarra knew the toast to which he referred. "How very provocative of you to choose one of the Saurian Dragon's Knights for your carnal experiments," she replied.
"I didn't take her because she's a Knight." He threw back his head, half closed his eyes, and tapped his upper lip with two fingers. No doubt the wicked boy was deciding how much of the truth to tell her. "Ah... I think I've fallen in love."
FIVE STARS! Well done and very romantic... a true page turner!
~ Cindy Lynn Speer, AFFAIRE DE COEUR
This futuristic romance is one that you won’t want to miss!
~ Cy Korte, eBookIsle.com and PNR REVIEWS
FIVE ANGELS! Rowena Cherry has crafted a fantastic tale of political intrigue, action, and humor that had me whipping through this 320 page novel in one night. I laughed so hard I cried.
~Izzy, FallenAngelReviews
FIVE ANGELS! This book is long and complex and I loved it.
~Jean~FallenAngelReviews
5 Blue Ribbons. FORCED MATE is one of the best science fiction romances I’ve read all year.
~ Nicole Hulst, romancejunkies.com
Wow! What a book!
~Kathy Boswell, The Best Reviews
Vice President, Reviewers International Organization (RIO)
5 Stars. FORCED MATE is a terrific science fiction tale.
~Harriet Klausner, Sime~Gen, www.simegen.com
5 Roses! FORCED MATE absolutely ROCKS!
~Brenda Thatcher, EscapeToRomance.
5 Roses. This is fantasy on a mega-scale.
~ Celia Merenyi, A Romance Review
Bonus Excerpt
Checkmate
The truth could wait. She had given him an idea...
Sex was a serious matter, a grim pleasure, or so he'd always thought. It had never been an occasion for laughter or irreverent conversation—until Djinni accused him of fishy mating habits, and since then he hadn't taken sex seriously at all.
Lovemaking had never been such fun. Much as he'd longed for her to know and accept the truth about him, he didn't want this blissful intimacy to end.
The truth could wait. She had given him an idea. A very wicked idea. A perfect excuse for the remaining rut-raged days and nights of debauchery and deception to come.
"I want to do it all," he breathed. "I want to make love to you according to the ways of every sexually reproducing species in all the Communicating Worlds. Every one. From frogs to Great Djinn. After that, we'll work up to thrusting Tantric sex."
"Oh, Stars," she gasped.
"And I take that as informed consent."
FORCED MATE Awards
2004 Romantic Times AND Dorchester Publishing's "NEW VOICE IN ROMANCE" Finalist
2006 Eppie Finalist (for the electronic version)
2005 PEARL Finalist, Best SF Romance or Futuristic
2005 PEARL Awards, Honorable Mention, Best New Author (ie award winning second place)
2005 Affaire De Coeur Readers/Reviewers Choice Awards, Finalist
2004 JADA Press Book Of The Year Awards, Honorable Mention
2005 Desert Rose Golden Quill Awards, Finalist
2005 Beacon Awards, Third Place
FORCED MATE QUOTES
4 Stars. FORCED MATE is a highly unique, funny and sexy read. This is an author with a bright future
~ Jill M Smith, reviewer Romantic Times
"A total hoot…one of the best and funniest Sci-Fi Romances I've read."
~Linnea Sinclair, RITA award-winner
How to sum up this delightful novel? Okay, here’s the Hollywood pitch: think Beauty and the Beast meets James Bond, only funnier, and with aliens.
Meet Tarrant-Arragon, heir-apparent to the interplanetary Tigron Empire. His “Great Djinn” royal family is on the verge of alien extinction, and the poor seven-foot-tall “beast” is hard-pressed to find a suitable mate.
Enter Djinni-vera. She’s half-Djinn and half-human, hidden on Earth by her father, the Saurian Dragon and mortal enemy of the Emperor, to protect her from the “bad” side of the family. Thus the romance begins.
It’s a timeless “beast meets girl” tale. Alien prince beast kidnaps his father’s enemy’s half-alien royal daughter. Alien prince beast must woo the lady without revealing his true identity because said half-alien princess is also a Saurian Knight, trained from birth to kill alien prince beast and overthrow his empire.
Mayhem ensues.
Meanwhile, the lady’s clandestine fiancé is a spy within the imperial ranks and one of alien prince beast’s most trusted officers. Commander Jason will stop at nothing to get his promised half-alien princess back.
And the princess is one of the last royals to possess the famous psychic abilities of the ancient line, making it all the more difficult for alien prince beast to hide his identity, not to mention his emerging feelings for this feisty, head-strong captive.
As our hero becomes more and more desperate either to prove himself to the princess or to trick her into marrying him, whichever he can manage first, time is running out.
The Saurian Knights are plotting against him, the fiancé is closing in, his own valet is pulling for the girl, and the girl is meeting his every heavy-handed demand with the negotiating savvy of a UN ambassador.
What’s a seven-foot alien prince beast to do?
This delightful romp has everything a romantic heart could hope for: a powerful but tender prince, a wily warrior princess, enough imperial intrigue to confuse even the CIA, and a British mercenary valet who ranks among the funniest characters ever to grace the written page.
Better yet, it has a sequel…
~ Em Sky, mindunbound.com
This novel is available both as a paperback published by Dorchester publishing, and also as an e-book available from rowenacherry.com
You would not want to buy both versions!
