Ignisar Series by Jess K. Hardy

On this deep space pleasure cruise, love is in the recycled air.Sunastara Jeka is passionate about two things: (1) meeting the needs of the varied species who holiday aboard her interstellar pleasure cruise during the day, and (2) avoiding attachments when the occasional guest meets her needs at night.Sunny’s life is simple, straightforward, and safe until a former one-night stand becomes her newest crew member.Freddie has never forgotten that night with Sunny... moreOn this deep space pleasure cruise, love is in the recycled air.Sunastara Jeka is passionate about two things: (1) meeting the needs of the varied species who holiday aboard her interstellar pleasure cruise during the day, and (2) avoiding attachments when the occasional guest meets her needs at night.Sunny’s life is simple, straightforward, and safe until a former one-night stand becomes her newest crew member.Freddie has never forgotten that night with Sunny. He’s ecstatic to see her again until she tells him she never dates her coworkers. Determined not to lose this confident, sexy, hysterical woman again, Freddie bides his time, pursuing a purely professional relationship with Sunny when they’re on the clock, while he slowly charms her senseless after hours.As Sunny breaks her own rules about workplace romance, her tragic past and a heartbreaking betrayal thrust her orderly life into chaos.When a hostile species holidays aboard the ship, endangering VIP guests and even the known universe, Sunny and Freddie must decide. Will they let the gravity of their pasts keep them apart, or risk it all for love and fight for their future together?Content Warning: Prior to the events of this book, the main character lost a child. She continues to process this loss throughout this story. less

“Once again, Jess K. Hardy delivers the space romance I didn't know I needed."- Ruby Barrett, author of Hot Copy and The Romance RecipeA BILLION STARS, TWO HEARTS, ONLY ONE CAVE.After half-human bionic Elanie installs her LunaCorp hormone upgrade, tumultuous emotions and her changing body complicate her life aboard the deep space pleasure cruise, the Ignisar. Seeking answers, she’s thrown into the path of the ship’s handsome but curt physician, Sem, an empath from the ocean planet Portis... more“Once again, Jess K. Hardy delivers the space romance I didn't know I needed."- Ruby Barrett, author of Hot Copy and The Romance RecipeA BILLION STARS, TWO HEARTS, ONLY ONE CAVE.After half-human bionic Elanie installs her LunaCorp hormone upgrade, tumultuous emotions and her changing body complicate her life aboard the deep space pleasure cruise, the Ignisar. Seeking answers, she’s thrown into the path of the ship’s handsome but curt physician, Sem, an empath from the ocean planet Portis.Knowing empaths typically can’t tolerate being around bionics since AI emotions are unreadable, Sem is worried he won’t be able to treat Elanie effectively. Especially as he finds himself undeniably drawn to her, making a fool of himself every time he sees her. Remaining professional in the face of a massively inappropriate crush becomes next to impossible.When a mysterious voice hacks Elanie’s programming, forcing her to hijack an escape pod and jump through space, Sem follows her to the edges of the Known Universe. Stranded on an uncharted planet together, they must fight to survive deadly blizzards, arctic ice caves, and a secret, hedonistic cult. Navigating their growing feelings for each other might prove to be an even greater challenge than escaping back to the Ignisar. With the fun of an off-ship Star Trek episode, the intrigue of The Murderbot Diaries, and the heat of Ice Planet Barbarians, I, Bionic is sure to please lovers of both sci-fi and romance!“I, Bionic takes us from deep space to an only-one-cave adventure on a Hoth-like ice planet to a Bacchanalic paradise full of secrets. The adventure kept me turning the page but it was the romance that made me want it to never end, hitting some of my favourite tropes: idiots to lovers, sex lessons, and forced proximity. Hardy is expert at creating a cast of found family who would do anything for each other and makes it easy to root for a happy ending for all.“- Ruby Barrett, author of Hot Copy and The Romance Recipe less

A clandestine marriage? Easy. Not falling for the princess before she jumps across the wormhole and leaves him forever? Impossible.Rax Varon, head of security on the interstellar pleasure cruise the Ignisar, loathes the Royals of his home planet, especially House Lysero, the palace lording over his home city. The last thing he expects returning from a visit to his mother is the insufferable only princess of House Lysero hitching a ride on his shuttle... moreA clandestine marriage? Easy. Not falling for the princess before she jumps across the wormhole and leaves him forever? Impossible.Rax Varon, head of security on the interstellar pleasure cruise the Ignisar, loathes the Royals of his home planet, especially House Lysero, the palace lording over his home city. The last thing he expects returning from a visit to his mother is the insufferable only princess of House Lysero hitching a ride on his shuttle.Kateri Lysero is desperate to escape her arranged marriage into powerful and dangerous House Hasantis. Running from her pristine public image, her abusive uncle, and her distant mother, she stows away on the first deep-space shuttle she can find, hoping to vanish among the stars. She never dreamed her survival would hinge on convincing the grumpy green brute piloting the shuttle to hide her away on his infamous sex cruise.Reluctantly playing bodyguard, Rax helps Kateri hide in plain sight while also keeping her out of trouble. But when trouble finds her, he knows the only way to keep her safe is to teach her to defend herself. When a mysterious Royal arrives on his ship, he learns there’s a better way to protect her. He has to marry her.Join Rax and Kateri on a wild, emotional ride through the stars where bodyguard-infused enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience/protection, and steamy training montages never felt so good.Please take care of yourselves and see my review of this book and be aware of the following content notes;- Emotional/magical abuse- Isolation/neglect as punishment- Gaslighting- Mourning loss of parents (occurs prior to events of this book)- Unwanted physical contact (a man in a club puts his hand over Clara's mouth)- Confronting trauma- High spice level (in my opinion and compared to my other books) including spanking less