A review by jje121579
Loved in Space Anthology by Mina Carter

5.0

5 is not enough stars!

KISSED BY THE ALIEN MERCENARY takes us back to Lathar, I love the mythology that the Lathar seeded Earth and we are like distant cousins. The thing I don’t like is their Caste system, I mean the universe has enough haters. Lizzie’s presumptive higher class makes her out of Saal’s league. But the heart wants what the heart wants. Their story is a sweet romance with a couple of twists for angst and action and a heartwarming short read.

In Chance of a Lifetime the Drift welcomes an unusual cyborg. Chance Smith is not a soldier, doesn’t know how to fight, and is a veritable youngster. When she catches the eye of Nova Club security guard Erik this could be very bad, because she has secrets. I LOVE the Drift, the cyborgs, the humans, and all of the funky aliens. I’ve read about it so much I feel at home in these stories. But instead of the usual fast passed action, this tale is a sweet sexy falling in love story with just enough angst and some cool sci-fi twists.

Krash brings us back to the Drakonian world and the Intergalactic Dating Agency, but neither Krash nor Cyan are really looking for a mate. Two broken hearted people and fate takes over. I really like the integrity of the Drakonians. They’re just looking to rebuild their world and do the right thing. And this tale makes us a part of that journey.

Ash 297 sort of wraps up the Cyborg storyline of Dr. Kyra Winters and Peyton313, who had been trying to find all of the cyborg soldiers to reintegrate them into human society. The heart of this tale though is a second chance love story that is so moving I just wanted to sob at one point. Dia is so well portrayed I felt her pain. For a short read this sci-fi story checks all the big story boxes.

The title Mate Abduction is somewhat misleading. Clarabelle’s Awakening might be more accurate, because when Clarabelle goes looking for a human boyfriend she finds maybe human is not what she needs. I love these characters. Clarabelle is a bad@$$. Thyos is tough, sensitive, honorable, gorgeous even if he has a tail, and everything Clarabelle needs but doesn’t know it yet. This story has some action, so much angst, and made me laugh out loud. Great read.

In Betraying Ko’ran Terrans, having created cyborgs called Altorians to protect Terra, now want to get rid of them. Like they’re not sentient living beings. When Ko’ran meets Bethany, while on the run, both of their worlds are turned upside down. The storyline has some intriguing twists. The characters are well developed and steal your heart. I hope we get more of this world.