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Mercenary Instinct

(The Mandrake Company #1)

Ruby Lionsdrake (Goodreads Author)

3.75 · Rating details · 2,535 ratings · 284 reviews

Skulking around in the ruins on a planet swarming with treasure hunters, slavers, and bounty hunters isn’t good for one’s health. 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. Unfortunately, she has no sooner collected her Skulking around in the ruins on a planet swarming with treasure hunters, slavers, and bounty hunters isn’t good for one’s health. 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. Unfortunately, she has no sooner collected her samples than she’s captured by a band of brawny mercenaries. 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. 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.

Captain 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. But Ankari Markovich is trouble from the start, nearly eluding his elite forces, then fighting and tricking his people left and right. He finds himself admiring her spirit, but according to her warrant, she’s a criminal. 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.

But the situation grows more complicated when other bounty hunters show up, wanting to claim Ankari for themselves. 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. He’s either going to strangle Ankari… or fall in love. Either scenario could get him killed.

Mercenary Instinct is a full-length, stand-alone novel of 90,000 words. 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). ...more

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Kindle Edition, 248 pages

Published October 10th 2014

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Lists with This Book

An Accidental Goddess by Linnea Sinclair

SFR-NON EROTIC

81 books — 44 voters

SF Romance for picky readers

338 books — 226 voters

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Community Reviews

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3.75 ·

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· 2,535 ratings · 284 reviews

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Apr 30, 2015 Mei rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sf

Captain Grumpy... LOL

A really, really fun and action packed story!

Ankari, an enterprising girl, with her two friends/business associates, is captured by mercenaries after a bounty issued by a Finance Lord.

The leader of mercenaries is the hot grumpy captain, Victor.

As we came to expect from SF romance stories, Victor is attracted to Ankari. He’s a honorable man trying to remain honorable even in his new profession and he “rules” his crew with the same attitude.

Ankari is a very determinate to mak ...more

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Feb 07, 2019 Melanie A. rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle

3.5 STARS!

"Letting you go when there's such a sizable bounty on your head would be . . . problematic."

Lots of fun! If you like sci-fi adventure, you should check this one out. It made for some entertaining, easy reading - and best of all, Ruby Lionsdrake is a very decent writer.

It was maybe a little too long in parts, and with all the 'adventuring', the romance took a bit of a backseat, but overall a very decent read.

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Dec 26, 2014 Jacob Proffitt rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, sci-fi, steamy

If you take Romance as the main genre and Sci-fi as a qualifier, you'll do okay with your expectations of this story. I had a bit of a cheat going in, as I already know I liked the author from a separate penname and thus had my expectations set more or less squarely. And I wasn't disappointed.

I liked Ankari pretty much immediately. She's determined, courageous, and capable and a good leader for her mismatched team. She's trying to turn an idea into a business and willing to take some risks along ...more

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Dec 09, 2017 Mara rated it it was ok

Shelves: romance, futuristic

Definitely a meh experience. A very thin plot, cardboard characters, evil mustache-twirling cartoonish villain, instalove.
Skimmed a few paragraphs.

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Nov 30, 2015 Laura (Kyahgirl) rated it really liked it

Recommended to Laura (Kyahgirl) by: Mei

Shelves: romance, new-to-me-author, sci-fi-fantasy, humour, part-of-a-series, action-adventure

3.5/5; 4 stars; B+

This was a fun kind of space adventure with humour, romance and action. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. I am looking forward to reading more in the series.

Thanks to my GR friend Mei for the recommendation!

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Dec 25, 2014 Beth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scifi, kindle, own, fantasy, action-adventure, adventure, aliens

New series for a favorite author under a new name...Lindsay Buroker is now writing adult alien scifi fantasy under the name Ruby Lionsdrake. Come to find out I had already owned 2 of the books, so I decided to check them out and am loving this new series.

The Mandrake Company is a mercenary ship for hirer. In Mercenary Instinct, Captain Viktor Mandrake collects the bounty on Ankari Markovich and her fellow crewmates. But Viktor quickly discovers that the women in his care can't be wanted for the ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Gwen (The Gwendolyn Reading Method) rated it liked it

Fun space opera romp. But some of the early half of the book was a little uncomfortable on the whole how to treat female prisoners front.

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May 04, 2015 Sunny rated it liked it

Shelves: a-scifi-dystopian

This book is sci-first light. No deep emotions, no deep mystery, no deep explanations, simplistic world-building. It is superficial which makes it difficult to care very much for these characters.

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Jan 02, 2015 Marlene rated it really liked it

Originally published at Reading Reality

Some of the reviews compare Mercenary Instinct to Firefly, and it's a pretty fair starting point. Possibly an alternate universe Firefly. It's not that Mal Reynolds couldn't end up as cynical and universe-weary as Victor Mandrake (he pretty much did) but that I can't imagine Mal creating or leading a successful mercenary company with 200+ people on its payroll. He wasn't that organized, nor did he want to be in charge of quite that much. (Zoe, on the other ...more

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Jan 27, 2019 Laz the Sailor rated it really liked it

Shelves: scifi, smut

This was a fun adventure where a group of feisty woman intersect with some guns-for-hire with unexpected results. There was a good amount of snark, and a fair bit of smexy scenes too (could have been hotter). The intrigue and fighting scenes were above average, and no one did anything stupid - except the bad guy, he was a bit lame.

This is the first in a series from an author I enjoy, so I'll be reading the next one.

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Jun 27, 2015 Hannah rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, romance

This is actually a fun, frothy sci-fi romance, but I would have enjoyed it far more if I hadn't read just about every single thing Ruby Lionsdrake had written under her other name, Lindsay Buroker. I'm not sure whether it's fair to the book or not, since the bulk of my criticisms have to do with its similarities to the author's other works under a different name, but I simply can't avoid the comparisons.

The fact that I've loved almost everything Lindsay Buroker had written is why I tried this d This is actually a fun, frothy sci-fi romance, but I would have enjoyed it far more if I hadn't read just about every single thing Ruby Lionsdrake had written under her other name, Lindsay Buroker. I'm not sure whether it's fair to the book or not, since the bulk of my criticisms have to do with its similarities to the author's other works under a different name, but I simply can't avoid the comparisons.

The fact that I've loved almost everything Lindsay Buroker had written is why I tried this despite sci-fi romance/space opera being a genre I usually avoid. Her trademarks are here - and therein lies the problem. Ankari is a strong heroine with a sense of humour and a talent for persuasion, running her own self-recruited team only to find that she has a bounty on her head (she's basically (view spoiler), but with considerably less character). She has an interest in scientific research and works in the field (much like (view spoiler)). The hero, Captain Viktor Mandrake, is a stoic mercenary who has a few question marks over his relative morality (in essense, a more socially-functional, less dangerous version of (view spoiler)). All the action in this book, from the heroine being captured due to a bounty, plotting escape and dodging captors left and right with the goal of clearing her name - all these elements are central to the above-mentioned books under the Buroker name as well. It was difficult to enjoy Mercenary Instinct as its own story and as something that's supposed to be a bit different - an expectation based on the author's explanation that it's why she chose to use a pen name - when it's actually composed of bits and pieces of her other books. Watered down bits and pieces, as well, since the space of one novel hardly did justice to the elements that took time to develop and grow in the other series.

That aside, Mercenary Instinct is enjoyable as a light romance novel in sci-fi clothing. Don't expect serious depth to the characters, plot or world-building, but Ankari is likeable, there's plenty of humour and it's easy to just get swept along for the ride. I'll be the first to admit that disappointment over a favourite author producing same-same under a different pen name has heavily coloured my reading experience, so I'm sure other readers who're less familiar with the author's work would likely enjoy this more. ...more

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Feb 08, 2015 Gwynn White rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015-reading-challenge, sci-fi, adventure, romance

This was a fun read and I did enjoy it, but I found a few too many similarities between Akarai and Mandrake and some of the author's other characters written under her other pen name. Also, some of the settings and the action seemed familiar. I guess when one has devoured every other book an author has ever written that it is inevitable that there will be some crossover of plots. I will read the rest of the series.

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Dec 07, 2014 LAB☺ rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebook, freebie, a2z-2015

This was probably the best free book I've ever downloaded. I don't read a lot of scifi but not for any real reason other than I don't hear of too many. I loved the H in this book. Viktor was a complete badass. The h, Ankari, was full of surprises and definitely wasn't a weakling waiting to be rescued. I plan on continuing with this series.

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Jan 09, 2016 Summer rated it it was ok

Shelves: did-not-finish, sci-fi-romance, romance, science-fiction

I'd seen quite a few good reviews of this and I'm a big fan of sci-fi with a strong romance angle. This however did not work for me. I didn't really like the characters and I found myself putting it down and not really interested in picking it up again.

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Jun 07, 2015 Lyndi W. rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-star

A fun read, but a whole lot of build up for a kinda meh ending.

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Mar 24, 2019 Leigh Kramer rated it it was ok

This was the inaugural pick for the Smart Podcast Trashy Books book club. Let's hope the next selection is a better fit for me. Lots of plot holes, poor character development, and the world-building needed more development. Power dynamics desperately needed to be addressed and never were. And I could have done without the sexism and gender stereotypes. I ended up doing a lot of skimming because it either didn't make sense or it wasn't holding my attention. If you're able to completely suspend di ...more

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Jul 11, 2017 Shanna Matheo rated it it was ok

Mehh... Didn't really dig it. Although the characters al seemed to have complicated back stories, they themselves seemed one dimensional.

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May 31, 2015 Spuffed rated it it was amazing

Shelves: another-world, authors-to-read-other-books, steamy, genre-romantic-suspense, paranormal-scifi-fantasy, dramarific, favorites, kidnapped, hero-alpha-male, heroine-tough

Wow! This book is action packed! I actually had to put it down at about the 70% mark because it was getting too intense for me and I needed a mindless historical romance for a bit. Two weeks later, I remembered that I needed to finish it and I was on the edge of my seat for the remainder of the book. I was afraid of a cliffhanger but they did wrap things up pretty quickly after another big, intense action scene.

Quick Rundown: In a future where other planets are now inhabited and Earth no longer Wow! This book is action packed! I actually had to put it down at about the 70% mark because it was getting too intense for me and I needed a mindless historical romance for a bit. Two weeks later, I remembered that I needed to finish it and I was on the edge of my seat for the remainder of the book. I was afraid of a cliffhanger but they did wrap things up pretty quickly after another big, intense action scene.

Quick Rundown: In a future where other planets are now inhabited and Earth no longer exists, Kick Ass Chick who has hustled her whole life to get away from the poverty of her youth has gathered two other ladies to create a company that will harvest ancient alien shit (literally) into a microbiotic treatment for those many who have weak immune systems due to all kinds of current day health problems. All three get picked up by bounty hunters and learn that a exorbitant amount of money is on their heads to be delivered to a super rich asshole for reasons unknown to them. Dude runs his own mercenary outfit and trouble begins when his group is ambushed many times by other mercenaries in order to steal the prisoners for reward money. Heavy action is the name of the game in this book and some connections are made by Chick and Dude (or course).

Characterization: Really impressed. With all the action going on in this book, the author still managed to show us who the characters were as the book progressed. There was no character info dump in this book. It all intertwined together with the plot. The Chick was a bad ass and was always thinking ahead and not making dumb girl decisions. She was proactive and sneaky along with some great fighting skills. Dude was more of a mystery as he wasn't the type of person to share his feelings and I didn't find him lacking because of that. That's just who he is. Secondary characters were just fine. The Big Bad's motivation is shown at the very end and while the action scenes surrounding that reveal were great, the actual reason was a bit of a let down. There was not a whole lot of romance in this book. There was a decent amount of really good sexual tension and I think only two sex scenes, the later of which was very abrupt so that was a bit disappointing as I love my smut:)

Plot/Writing: The basic plot was nothing new, I suppose but there was something about it that made this book different. It had layers and again, a ton of exciting action scenes. The writing was great. Everything made sense and despite all the troubles in the book the characters had to go through, there was only one detail in the end of the book that was over the top for me. But, this author ended up making that detail worth it in the end.

Overall: I do wish there was a bit more romance and smuttyness in the book but I can't fault the book for that. It was a really great read and I thank Celestine for recommending it to me! I will certainly be reading more books from this author! ...more

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Jan 21, 2016 Andre Dias rated it really liked it

It was a fun surprise, how much I have enjoyed this book. It was fun, packed with real-life like characters, well defined from the get-go coupled with an interesting plot.
Ankari and the rest of the group are truly interesting characters and the addition of the Mandrake Company crew just make it all more remarkable.

But it does come with some caveats:
- I felt like the way they dealt with the antagonist, albeit spectacular and with a bit of a twist, was slightly rushed. I admit that this is due t ...more

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Jan 22, 2015 Mary B. Grove rated it it was ok

Interesting premise, problems too easily resolved

I liked the setup - three women from a microbiology startup falsely accused and grabbed by bounty hunter, and the fact that the hero and main heroine were both from doomed planets. Most everything after that was too easy - her attraction to him, the constant escapes by the three women, the mercenaries agreeing to go after the evil overlord type who offered their bounty, and the destruction of said overlord. No big problems, no real cost, only two ...more

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Jul 10, 2015 Tami rated it it was amazing

This had everything. It was well written, had a likable heroine, an absolutely great hero, a solid story, atmosphere, interesting and funny side characters, romance, action and humor.

What I especially loved: the development of the romance part. This was so well done!
It had some attraction, but the progress of this was shown in increments - no stupid misunderstandings, no insta-something.

And it made me smile - it had that kind of dry sense of humor that I love most.

I am very happy right now, ...more

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Feb 11, 2016 Mandapanda rated it liked it

Shelves: scifi-romance

Light scifi romance. Enjoyable but not much depth. I skimmed a little.

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Aug 01, 2017 kels rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi-flavoured, 2017, romance

Again, I can't help but wish that Goodreads allowed for 1/2 *s. This wasn't quite a 3 for me, but it didn't quite make a 4 either.

I thought the balance between sci-fi action and romance was decent, and I enjoyed how realistically the majority of the characters behaved. I liked that it didn't *entirely* feel like instalove. For the most part, the action plot was intriguing, and I was pretty curious about what was up. Towards the end though, it felt like it switched gears from mostly-serious with ...more

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Sep 10, 2018 Mimi rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-romance, 2018, not-for-me

2.5 stars

Meh. Not bad, just mostly boring and not as fun as advertised. I was told by friends this was a space-opera adventure with a side of romance. What I got was a romance with some space and adventure stuff thrown in for effects.

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Jun 04, 2017 Trish R. rated it it was ok

Seemed like a lot more than 248 pages.

This was almost a good story. There’s just wasn’t enough dialogue. Someone would say something then it would go on and on with the descriptions of the ship they were on or the forest they were trudging through or the mountain that was in front of them or the temple they were heading for. So many descriptions of everything except the characters in the story. I couldn’t tell you what anyone looked like, really.

I know Ankari, Jamie and Lauren were almost indes ...more

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Dec 19, 2016 ˚✧₊⁎ѕαи∂у⁎⁺˳✧༚ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audible

Most fun action packed space adventure romance!

Book synopsis says it all.

This is one of those science fiction romance novels that keep you entertained from the first page to the last; and are hard to come across. It was such a fun read, I had not realized I had the audible. The story has continuous action, romance, space ships, descriptions that would place you in the land, bad guys that aren't so bad but ain't good either. I really had a smile throughout the book. It had some laughs, some exa ...more

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Jan 21, 2015 J.C. Cauthon rated it really liked it

I thought at first that I was not going to enjoy this book. The first three or so chapters were really hard for me to sink my teeth into. I'm not sure if it was the book or me, but I am so glad that I finished it.

First off, I loved the characters. Each one was uniquely different. The Captain was standoffish and aloof from everyone in the crew, but he could not stay away from Ankari. Ankari was sneaky and street-tough, and she was determined to save herself and her friends. Even Lauren and Jamie ...more

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Apr 09, 2015 Cheesecake rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-free-or-on-sale, story-has-great-action, epilogue-is-great, favourites, hero-grovels-just-fine, hero-hides-emotion, heroine-on-the-run, hero-awesome, heroine-practical, love-originally-nemesises

Viktor and Ankari. This is more than a space romance. There is actually some interesting science in it, although not the usual Sci-Fi style science. Viktor is kind of like the futuristic version of retired-turned-merc black ops soldier. He acts on a new bounty to catch 3 women. It's a large bounty so he doesn't really question it. The women in question lead by Ankari are scouring an Alien Archaeological site for Alien poop. Ankari's character is awesome. She's tough, but not hard, resourceful an ...more

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Apr 09, 2015 Tiki rated it liked it

This is more of an overall review for this Sci-Fi Series which I've enjoyed more & more with each book. Book 1 was pretty good, but now that I've read all 5 books in this series, I will definitely continue. Book 5 is another adventure that's based around the 2 main characters of this book 1, and was much better. Advise reading in order- characters & stories are linked and continue to build, getting better & better.

Not a surprise since this is actually author Lindsay Buroker and she ...more

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Jan 12, 2015 Ann rated it liked it

Shelves: ebooks, romance, scifi

For a science fiction romance, this book was difficult to rate for sure. The plot was fast paced, action-filled, with believable technology, a world building that was both - believable and done without info-dumping, and acceptably described sex scenes. In addition that characters were funny, quirky, and with good chemistry. However, two things cost the fifth star (and even removed the fourth):
First, the characterization in the sex scenes felt different than in the rest of the plot, to the point ...more

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