Lunar Uprising: Rogar

A little bit of everything is thrown into this enjoyable sci-fi romance story. Misconceptions, betrayals, social media and intrigue. Rogar knows for a fact that Marisol is his. But subtly persuading her may be a different matter when it seems like she is constantly immersed in danger. Will his outward calm be put to the test? Will her political savvy be stressed to the breaking point? Will their passion have a chance to explore the boundaries?

I enjoyed this book. Marisole is a diplomat whose career is impacted by her stand on aliens. Taking a job with said aliens starts an engrossing story. It has a great ending too.

Cyndi Friberg has given us an excellent space adventure with plenty of romance as well as heart pounding action. This is the second installation in the Lunar Uprising series and while I have not read the first book the action and the lore are easy to follow. The conflict in the story starts immediately with our heroine in a dangerous situation as she is traveling to Lunar Prime. Marisol is saved by Rogar, a Lunar raider who helps protect Earth. Earth is in the middle of a conflict between two Alien groups (the Pylorians and the Morax}. While Marisol feels a marked connection to Rogar, he KNOWS that she is his mate. I really enjoyed their acceptance of their fate and the easy acknowledgement of the love that it entails. Now that I have discovered this wonderful series, I look forward to the next chapter. I also intend to read Cat and Zorak’s story!
I voluntarily read a copy of this book from Netgalley and this review is of my honest opinion.

Lunar Uprising: Rogar
Lunar Uprising Book Two
by Cyndi Friberg

I received a copy of this ebook arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It is the second book in this series and while it can be read as a standalone - the primary couple reaches an HEA; the over arching plot continues throughout the series and so the ending for that plot ends somewhat abruptly and obviously continues on to the next book however I would not necessarily categorize it as a cliffhanger.

This is an alien - fated mate scenario but our heroine is also intelligent and has her own job to do and goals and strengths which can sometimes be lacking in this genre.

There is mention of the cities and ships themselves being biological, autonomous and able to communicate. That was somewhat glossed over and I hope is explored further in a later book - because what a unique concept.

I enjoyed the characters, the banter and the world building. This is an open door steamy romance but there is more plot involving adventure and political maneuvering than steam.

I did catch 8 typographical errors. Largely just misuse of similar words - what/want, if/it, etc. Not horribly distracting but as I believe this is not an uncorrected copy - could have done without. Therefore 4/5 stars.

ROGAR is the second instalment in Cyndi Friberg’s adult LUNAR UPRISING sci-fi, romance series. This is lunar raider/ munitions class commander Rogar Kazal and human female, former UN advisor Marisol Conti’s story line. ROGAR can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as there is an ongoing premise throughout.


SOME BACKGROUND: Eight years earlier, six Pylorian spaceships arrived on Earth asking for asylum claiming they were fleeing their immortal enemy, the wolf-like Morax, but in the ensuing years, the Pylorian began to take control, using their considerable powers to force the governments of Earth to do their bidding. In an effort to protect Earth, the Pylorian’s claim to have cultivated aka created the lunar raiders, a hybrid of three alien species (Morax, Pylorian, Dox Tory) one of which reacts instantly when their destined mate is near.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Rogar and Marisol) ROGAR focuses on the building and fated romance and relationship between lunar raider/ munitions class commander Rogar Kazal and human female, former UN advisor Marisol Conti, and the need for the lunar raiders to claim the moon aka Lunar Prime as their home base of operations. Rogar knew instantly the human female Marisol Conti was his mate but bided his time in the aftermath of an attack against the ship in which Marisol arrived. With the Pylorian and Morax having declared war against the lunar raiders, Rogar and the ruling council on Lunar Prime struggled to ensure Earth understood their need for autonomy but their enemies refused to back down, throwing the lunar raiders head first into a potential war with the human race. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Marisol and Rogar, and the fall-out as the Pylorians attack Earth, laying blame on the lunar raiders.

Marisol Conti left her position as an ambassador to the UN in the wake of a hostile working environment but never expected to find herself head first on a journey to the moon, and into the arms of her potential future. Rogar Kazal bided his time before claiming his mate but with the possibility of war, Rogar’s need to protect his mate is constantly thwarted by the targeted attacks against the woman with whom he is falling in love.

The relationship between Rogar and Marisol is one fated by DNA and fate. The lunar raiders are a hybrid species, developed with the combination of Morax, Pylorian, Dox Tory DNA, and in this the lunar raiders get the best and worst part of each underlying species. Desperate to claim Marisol as his mate, Rogar sets about to seduce his female in the ways of human dating. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

Once again, there is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including lunar raider / guardian Zorak Savoy, and Catriona Barco (Marisol’s friend), Rogar’s guardian Lokiz; lunar raider Prime Commander Vosic Parso, recon-class commander Leko; medic-class commander Benlon, infantry class Dracus, Secretary of State Danielle Schweitzer, UN Security council member Abigail Brighton, and DC One’s Olarra Kreth.

ROGAR is a story of discrimination, specieism, hatred and intolerance reflecting much of modern day Earth’s inability to cooperate with one another. The character driven premise is fast paced, complex and inventive; the romance is tender and seductive; the characters are lively, spirited and charismatic.



THE READING CAFÉ: http://www.thereadingcafe.com/rogar-lunar-uprising-2-by-cyndi-friberg-a-review/


GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4197406081


AMAZON. COM: https://www.amazon.com/review/R3149EIB17RL19/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8


BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3209900583

While on her way to her new job assisting the newly liberated lunar raiders, Marisol's shuttle is attacked by the Morax -- a species of Aliens seeking to take over the Earth and make it into their new homeworld. After a fierce battle, Marisol is rescued by Rogar - one of the commanders of the Lunar Raiders. He's nothing she's ever wanted in a potential mate. He's bearded, buff, and sports a man-bun. So why is she so attracted to him?

Rogar knows Marisol is his fated mate as soon as he meets her. But rather than announcing it, he plans to court her. Let her fall in love with him naturally. He's a good boy like that. But as we all know, plans have a tendency to go awry. What's a lunar warrior to do?

--

This is the second book of the Lunar Uprising series but you don't need to read the first book to understand this one... although I will admit it will help.

The plot follows on the heels of the events of the first book which includes dealing with the Morax, finding a traitor in their midst, establishing their independence and sovereignty in regards to Earth. Unfortunately that means that the romance does take a bit of a backseat to all of this.

Marisol was a good character. A successful negotiator and diplomat, I liked that she was Latinx, wealthy, and intelligent. It's not the typical portrayal of Latinx characters in fiction. I also liked that her family life was strained but in a realistic way. Marisol is competent and compassionate. She's also able to think for herself, which I liked.

I found Rogar absolutely adorable. I wanted to pet him on the head like the good boy he was. Like he was an alpha personality, but he wasn't about to shove his will onto Marisol. He wanted her to be happy with him, but at the same time he wanted her to make her own choices. Even if that choice didn't include him. I honestly loved that and there needs to be more of this in books like this.

That said, I didn't love some of the technical aspects of this book. There were a lot of wrong words, missing words, and other Spelling/Grammar/Punctuation errors in this book that I kept being thrown out of the book. The book needed a good copy edit - and I checked my arc against the published book and the errors were still present. So this is why the book loses a star.

There were some twists and turns and there's a pretty devastating plot point later on. So I need to give some trigger warnings too. Triggers for suicide, suicide by cop, violence against civilians, parental neglect, parental abandonment, medical trauma, mind control, and more that I might be forgetting.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this book.

Four stars

I received an ARC of this book Via NetGalley