Wanted and Wired

Written by Vivien Jackson

Narrated by Johanna Parker

Heron Farad should be dead. But technology has made him the man he is today. Now he heads a crew of uniquely skilled outsiders who fight to salvage what's left of humanity: art, artifacts, books, ideas-sometimes even people. People like Mari Vallejo.

Mari has been lusting after her mysterious handler for months. But when a by-the-book hit goes horribly sideways, she and Heron land on the universal most wanted list. Someone set them up. Desperate and on the run, they must trust each other to survive, while hiding devastating secrets. As their explosive chemistry heats up, it's the perfect storm . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Mar 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781977372598

Vivien Jackson

Vivien Jackson writes fantastical, futuristic kissing books.  Her debut science fiction romance, Wanted and Wired, was selected as an Amazon Best Book of 2017 and a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist. A devoted Whovian Browncoat Sindarin Jedi gamer, Viv lives in Austin, Texas, and watches a lot of football.

Reviews for Wanted and Wired

[thegenreminx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is everything the synopsis promised and more. It was perfect for me! I love science fiction and the idea of technologically enhanced super humans just hits all my yes buttons. This book is exactly what I would find on the Syfy channel—well maybe waaay late night Syfy channel. It has quite the sexy times throughout the story. So not really “prime time” material but entirely enjoyable to read.The setting for this story is a dystopian United States where Texas has seceded. Mari is the daughter of a famous scientist who was supposedly taken prisoner for his crimes. He was a terrible father but he is family and Mari feels that she must find him. Having his whereabouts unknown has put Mari in some shady dealings in order to look for answers. As a gun for hire there are times that Mari would trade jobs for information. On this occasion though Mari has been double crossed and set-up for a capital crimes murder.Heron is a contracted partner to Mari. He has been working by her side setting up her targets for about a year. Heron was hired on to coordinate her contracts and plan her extractions after the job has been completed. He excels at his job because he has been modified with all the latest technology. Heck Yeah! He is more machine than man but he has still managed to hang on to a bit of his humanity.Pretty much from the beginning Heron and Mari are the run. Heron will do anything to protect Mari and on occasions when it is necessary he will merge his consciousness with the cloud, think the internet on an entirely different scale. Through this access he is able to track those hunting for Mari and respond immediately. When he merges with the cloud or anything with a computer he can become one with the object. This makes for some interesting times one Mari figures that little fact out. It also enables him to control machines from long distances. Really freaking cool!This is a science fiction romance, make no mistake. Heron has burned for Mari for quite some time whereas she has only flirted with him because she could. Mari’s character is promiscuous and makes no apologies for her appetite. She has always desired Heron but not for who he is, more that he was a conquest. He had never given any indication of his desire for him and that almost baffled her. Being a cyborg Heron was always in control and this enabled him to hold himself back from acting on his urges. That is until he was compromised, after that his facade of disinterest cracked and wow did the story get steamy!Now the downside. Not everyone is going to love Mari’s character. She has quite the sexual appetite, sounds uneducated and can come off as a little simple at times. I liked her character because I felt that given her background and her opportunities she was spot on, realistic even. Her character develops throughout the story and by the end you are hit with a plot twist that gives you an “ohhh, well that explains a few things” moment. I just loved it!I did not want this story to end. Even though Heron dropped some pretty big secrets he still has more and I want to know! The scientific portion of this story was just fascinating and tantalizing. There was much more that I wanted to understand and explore. Such a great read! I am looking forward to the next book in this series!This review is based on a complimentary book I received from NetGalley. It is an honest and voluntary review. The complimentary receipt of it in no way affected my review or rating.

[carolesrandomlife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I ended up liking this book quite a bit. I was actually surprised just how much I did like it. Once I started reading, I was somewhat mesmerized by this futuristic world. I thought that it was a little different than the books that I usually pick up and I found myself enjoying the originality. I am so glad that I finally decided to pick up this entertaining read.This book opens with a bang. Quite literally. Mari is sent to do a job and things go horribly wrong. Before she knows it, she is on the run with her handler, Heron. It quickly becomes apparent that Heron is more than he appears to be on the surface. I really liked Mari and Heron and thought that the chemistry between them was very well done. I loved the fact that there were a few surprises in the book that I did not see coming which kept things very interesting.Johanna Parker did a wonderful job with the narration. I have had a lot of luck with this narrator in the past and she did not disappoint. I liked the various voices that she used and I thought that she added a lot of excitement and emotion to the story. She has a very pleasant voice and I feel that her narration added to y overall enjoyment of the story.I would recommend this book to others. This book had a lot of things going for it with its futuristic setting, great characters, a lot of action, and a swoon-worthy romance. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.