Released (The Nogiku Series, #2)

The story of Sanaa and Jiro continues in Released...
As the city recovers from a violent earthquake, Sanaa is left to deal with her fate.
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Sanaa must deal with her fate.
Left in the desert to recuperate from her injuries, Sanaa Itami paces the floors and contemplates her mistakes. She trusted too easily, and now people she loved are dead, killed at the hands of men coming to assassinate her. Sanaa feels beaten, but life awaits her at home. While her city recovers from the devastating earthquake, negotiations for Sanaa’s future continue. New allies must be made, new friendships brokered, new skills acquired — at all costs.
Life at the top of the chain is complicated and lonely, though. With all her friendships rocky and uncertain, Sanaa must learn to trust others again more than she’s willing. Who is left holding a grudge? And will the new family Sanaa has found with Jiro support or betray her?
Released is the second installment in the Nogiku Series, a saga of post-apocalyptic sci-fi novels set in future Japan.
Genre: Adult Science Fiction / Post-apocalyptic Science Fiction
Publication Date: December 10, 2013
Series: The Nogiku Series, Book #2

Chapters from Released (The Nogiku Series, #2)...
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Released – Chapter 1
Mark Sakai, you are a dead man. I’m still so angry despite living in this house for over a month now.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 3
Jiro escorts me to the bathroom, turns on the shower, and orders me to get in. He’s not taking no for an answer today which I find both stupidly sweet...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 4
I clean myself up and join Jiro in my old bedroom. He’s standing on the chair in the corner again.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 5
At noon on our fifth day together, Jiro and I sit down to have our last meal at the house. I’m happy with how the time has gone by since...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 6
Walking back into Sakai building, I immediately feel like I’m back at home. Home.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 7
6:10am. I can’t sleep anymore. Jiro is passed out next to me. What to do, what to do.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 8
After a week of training in the Itō dōjō, eating four fatty meals per day with Oyama by my side, and getting caught up with all my family and friends,...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 9
At dinnertime, I decide I can sit in this apartment building no longer. “Jiro, let’s go to Izakaya Tanaka for dinner and drinks.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 10
Jiro and I pick up Usagi and then Kentaro the next morning, and he is dressed and waiting for us. Good.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 11
Back at our building, while Jiro and Usagi grab our lunch from Oyama, I stop at Beni and Risa’s apartment and scan my palm at the door. The door opens,...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 12
“Do you want to talk about it. ” Jiro has been watching me pick at the leftovers of my dinner for the last ten minutes and not saying anything.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 13
Another evening with Jiro gone. Since we’ve been back, Jiro has been attending many meetings and dinners with Sakai and Lucy, shouldering more responsibility in Sakai clan and on my...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 14
Beni booked me a salon appointment in a posh and modern place only a few blocks from our building, and we’re enjoying a girls’ afternoon together. She seems a little...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 15
Miko is a little green. I honestly thought she was going to go into this wedding with no qualms or cold feet, but no, it’s not looking that way at...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 16
I’ve never had so many photos taken of me in my life. I’m tempted to swear off of them for good like my mother did, but, damn, I’m going to...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 17
I push away from the table, set my napkin on my chair, and mumble, “I’ll be right back,” to no one in general. Without knowing where to go, I weave...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 18
“Reach a little more to your right, Sanaa. Just two more centimeters, and you’ll have a handhold.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 19
After the dōjō and a shower, I spend lunch with Mariko in her apartment. When she answers the door, she’s genial, almost cheerful, and it’s such a marked contrast to...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 20
“Usagi, call an ambulance. ” Usagi quickly reaches over to the door’s panel and hits the medical emergency button.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 21
Having access to real-time video is a life-changing experience already. Being able to sit in 3B, call up any camera in the city, and witness what’s going on there right...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 22
In Helena’s hospital room, introductions are made, doctors are in and out, and she sleeps peacefully through everything. I sit in a chair next to the bed, just wanting to...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 23
Today is Tanabata which usually takes place on the seventh day of the seventh month every year. Tanabata is a sweet, little holiday, a lovers’ holiday.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 24
When the tea ceremony is finished, we gather up Usagi and Oyama and make our way back to the main street. We had a long lunch and tea with Minamoto,...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 25
Two sweltering weeks go by, and Jiro and I spend them in our apartment. I wanted alone time with him, and I got it, and I’m certainly not complaining.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 26
We’ve celebrated Sakai and Lucy, and now the real fun begins at Izakaya Tanaka — a night of endless drinking. It’s such a happy occasion for me.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 27
“Mark. Yoichi!" Jumping over the mess on the floor, I dive straight for Miko.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 28
My mind and body wake of their own accord at nine. Five hours of sleep is not enough to accomplish the kinds of things I have to do today, but...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 29
We don’t get anywhere with the constant surveillance, so I tell everyone to make plans for a night out at the casino, and I mean everyone. I have called in...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 30
Jiro and I break off from Sakai and Lucy, and he takes me around to all the areas of the casino. I’m careful to watch each area I’m introduced to...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 31
Jiro and I have a lot of correspondence to go through for two whole days after the casino. First, I deal with Maeda and his permits.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 32
I close my eyes and meditate, standing in the darkened hallway with Jiro and Usagi behind me. I can do this.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 33
I spend the weeks all the way through the middle of October packing, packing, packing. Once we’re all settled on Yūsei, I swear I’m never moving again.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 34
Everyone pours out of buildings to the streets, reuniting with loved ones, looking for people they can’t find, and trading stories of what fell over inside. Kentaro and I run...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 35
Nishikyō lays low the next day while the city shakes with aftershocks, some strong enough to knock things over and shut down the transitway once more. Sakai sends security to...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 36
I wake in the middle of the night in my own bed, curled into the fetal position, facing the wall, with Jiro wrapped around me. He’s so solid and warm...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 37
Jiro comes back forty minutes later bearing crepes filled with fresh berries and whipped soy creme on the side. “This is such a lovely breakfast.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 38
Jiro takes me out for more food since our lovely breakfast ended up on the floor. We have an early lunch at the ramen place across the street with Oyama...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 39
We climb back down the fire escape quickly and motion to Usagi. Hopefully Kentaro figures out we’re about to attack.
Read NowReleased – Chapter 40
Over the course of five days, the glue stitches I received after the fight slowly dissolve every time I take a shower, and my wound starts to heal. The cut...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 41
A few weeks ago, Jiro asked me what we should do for his birthday, so I suggested we have a big party in Little Italy. When we enter Oyama’s pick...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 42
Kazuo told me to enjoy my last five days, and I just can’t. I drunkenly reported to Jiro and Sakai about our confrontation, but all we could do was shrug...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 43
Turns out that twelve hours of fasting, even in space with an amazing view, is pretty boring. We’re all changed into one-piece flight suits with short sleeves so IVs can...
Read NowReleased – Chapter 44
“Sanaa, it’s time to wake up. ” What. “Sanaa, open your eyes slowly and try not to move too much.” “Jiro?” Open my eyes? Is he kidding me? I just...
Read NowPraise
“Released continues Sanaa and Jiro’s journey of love and discovery. Their relationship has grown a lot in this book and it’s a lot of fun to be a part of that growth. To listen in on their private conversations, to spar with them in the dōjo, to join them on their dates – it makes for fun reading and dreaming!” – Heather McCoubrey, Author of To Love Twice
“Released was amazing, I fell even more in love with this series and I couldn’t put this book down. I liked where the story went and I liked meeting the new characters and getting to know others better.” – Lola, Lola’s Reviews
“I read the first book of this series, Removed, as part of a read-it-review-it for a book club. Removed was so good, I purchased Released as soon as I was able. You never know what you will get with the later books in a series. Rest assured, you get a whole bunch of awesomeness with this book. It was everything I wanted and then some. I absolutely loved it.” – JulieK, Amazon Customer
“Released, S.J. Pajonas’ second book in the Nogiku series, did not disappoint. In fact, having already been familiar with the construct of the world in which Sanaa lives, I found myself jumping right into this new story and hardly coming up for breath. Exciting action, sensual love, and intriguing but light sci-fi combined to captivate me as a reader.” – Katie L Carroll, Author of Elixir Bound
“I loved that Jiro and Sanaa still talked things out, and when they didn’t, I never got annoyed with Sanaa because you feel everything she does. You understand the motives for her actions. I loved the action scenes too, and not all of the mysteries have been solved yet. On the contrary, this book ended with even more questions, and I really wish I had book three right now.” – Brianna, Biblio Belles
“While the science fiction isn’t as predominant in this book as it was in Removed, it’s still an important and well-done piece of Pajonas’ writing. The book certainly ends leaving me wanting and waiting for book three with a huge, unexpected twist that I really loved.” – C. E. Kilgore, Tracing The Stars
“Nogiku Series is definitely one of my favorites right now. I love how Sanaa has grown into a formidable female lead. Without giving out a lot of info, her skills training definitely gives her an edge. This book will definitely leave you wanting to continue on with the series.” – Dre Wolf, Sporadic Reads
S. J. Pajonas is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
