But don’t worry – I’m going include a plot summary just before we start our conversation.

Our hope is that you read the book, too, and can follow along and respond to our discussion. We can’t really talk about the book in detail without sharing the details, right? We have a lot to talk about, and I have a few notes for you before we start.įirst: TW/CW for discussion of threat of rape and sexual assault off and on throughout the episode. It is part of the “Mandrake Company” series of science fiction romance stories and is recommended for readers who enjoy space-based adventure (such as Firefly) and steamy love stories (in the style of Linnea Sinclair).It’s our first book club episode! Amanda, Elyse, Carrie, and I discuss a suggestion from Holly in our Patreon: Mercenary Instinct by Ruby Lionsdrake. Mercenary Instinct is a full-length, stand-alone novel of 90,000 words.

He’s either going to strangle Ankari… or fall in love. Thanks to this woman, Viktor’s ship is in danger, his crew members are going missing, and he’s fighting enemies he never asked for in a jungle in the middle of a hurricane. The safest thing is to keep her in the brig and ignore her until she can be handed off to the man who wants her.īut the situation grows more complicated when other bounty hunters show up, wanting to claim Ankari for themselves. He finds himself admiring her spirit, but according to her warrant, she’s a criminal.

But Ankari Markovich is trouble from the start, nearly eluding his elite forces, then fighting and tricking his people left and right. If she can’t figure out a way to escape before she’s delivered to the lord’s home world, she could be forced into a life of indentured servitude-or worse.Ĭaptain Viktor Mandrake doesn’t usually take on piddling bounty hunting gigs, but when his intelligence officer informs him of a criminal on a nearby planet, he decides it wouldn’t hurt to take a shuttle down to collect the woman. The captain might be handsome, but he’s intent on turning her over to some finance lord who has, for reasons unknown, put a bounty on her head, a ridiculously large one at that. Unfortunately, she has no sooner collected her samples than she’s captured by a band of brawny mercenaries. But Ankari Markovich needs a few archaeological samples for her latest business venture, a venture that might prove lucrative enough to move her family off the impoverished planet where she grew up. Skulking around in the ruins on a planet swarming with treasure hunters, slavers, and bounty hunters isn’t good for one’s health.