by
Faith Hunter
Blurb:
Sometimes before you can face your enemies—you need to confront yourself.
Time is running out for Shining Smith and her crew to gather the weapons they need to rescue one of their own. But will they even make it to the ultimate battle? First, they’ll need to hit the road to Charleston—a hell ride full of bandits, sex slavers, corrupt lawmen, and criminal bike gangs looking to move in on Shining’s territory.
Shining’s human allies will do anything to protect her—because they must. But will victory be worth it if she must compel more and more people to do her bidding? And will her feline warriors, the junkyard cats, remain loyal and risk their lives? Or are they just in it for the kibble?
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Excerpt:
JUNKYARD BARGAIN Part ONE
Buck Harlan—my friend, the closest thing I had left to a father—was dead because of me.
Dead protecting me.
My first thought in the morning, every morning.
Before coffee. Before breakfast. Every. Single. Morning.
His face, half eaten away by a swarm of genetically modified ants. His Outlaw Militia Warrior tattoos left untouched. The note warning me, clutched in his fingers.
I deliberately recalled everything, including tossing a half-empty gallon of Maltodine into the old Tesla fuselage, the vehicle that delivered Harlan. The accelerant burned his body to ash, obliterated the mutated ants that were eating him, and destroyed any evidence that might suggest I had killed my only friend in the world.
I studied his face, the position of his fingers, in my memory. Every detail was seared into my soul like a prayer for vengeance. The memories of death and debts owed.
I stared at the ceiling of my office, the smooth metal alloy reflecting the faint lights. So many secrets to hide. And three things to do: carry on my father’s legacy, keep myself hidden from the people who would try to use me, and take revenge on Harlan’s killers.
The weight of all that was heavy, even this early, still in my bed, and my memory darted back to Pops shouting to get me up in the mornings after Little Mama died and the war still raged. “Get your ass outta bed, Little Girl! We got PRC to kill!” Every morning.
The smell of coffee was fresh and potent in the filtered air, the trickle of water into the pot what awakened me. Coffee meant work, weapons to obtain, weapons that could take down my enemy—the queen who killed Harlan and sent his body to me, then followed it here to Smith’s Junk and Scrap and attacked me and mine.
I had won that first battle, but if I waited until that queen, Clarisse Warhammer, attacked me again, I would end up as dead as Harlan. I needed to go to war against her and her thralls. Soon. As soon as I had possession of the weapons to make victory possible. As soon as I found her nest, I’d go to war. For Harlan.
Release date: October 19, 2021
Publisher: Bella Rosa Books
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About Faith Hunter:
Faith Hunter is the award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of several series: Jane Yellowrock, Soulwood, Rogue Mage, and Junkyard Cats. In addition, she has edited multiple anthologies and co-authored the Rogue Mage RPG. She is the coauthor and author of 16 thrillers under pen names Gary Hunter and Gwen Hunter. Altogether she has 40+ books and dozens of short stories in print and is juggling multiple projects.
She sold her first book in 1989 and hasn’t stopped writing since.
Faith collects orchids and animal skulls, loves thunderstorms, and writes. She drinks a lot of tea. She likes to kayak Class II & III whitewater rivers. Some days she’s a lady. Some days she ain't.
Find Faith online at -
Twitter: @hunterfaith
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My review:
3.75 out of 5 stars
Junkyard Bargain by Faith Hunter is the sequel to “Junkyard Cats,” and continues to showcase Shining Smith. Her quest to save a woman being held hostage and tortured leads her to discover more about her allies and enemies, and forces her to confront some of her deepest fears.
This gritty urban fantasy/science-fiction story is dark and somewhat depressing but has very vivid imagery. It was a little difficult to understand this world since this is evidently the second in the series, so some of the background setup (hopefully) occurred in the first book. A little confusing to understand who the enemies are and what the end goals are, but the battle scenes are exciting and the interactions with the cats who are part of the heroine’s team are fascinating. I think it would be better to read the first story in the series to orient oneself and learn about the relationships, how the thralldom works, and the threat from alien bugs. I enjoyed elements of the story, but I was a bit overwhelmed by all of the unfamiliar concepts and conflicts.
A copy of this title was provided for review
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