This is definitely more of a 2.5, but I had to round down because it just couldn't hold my interest and I found myself skimming it a lot. If I had to describe this book it would probably be 'Suicide Squad in Space' but unfortunately, much like the Suicide Squad movie, the end result was just not as interesting as it should have been. There's really nothing 'wrong' with this story and I think that for many people [or maybe even myself in a different mood] it will be a very enjoyable book, but for some reason I just couldn't get into it.

I am pretty hit or miss with sci-fi books and this one I think just had too much going on for me to be able to focus on it. The characters were interesting enough and I liked that most of them were queer, but of course about halfway through something happened to make me focus in on two of them in particular and then they disappeared for most of the book. My curse is to always love the trashiest characters in any given book. There was a really cool character based on the Chinese pirate Ching Shih though so I thought that was cool.

Anyway, if you really like sci-fi stories and don't mind large casts then you will probably like this book. There isn't really very much 'romance' in it at all though, so if that's what you're looking for then you might want to give it a pass.

Six Word Summary: A conflicting and emotional adventure awaits!

My Thoughts: 100% full disclosure: Mercs! is an experience.

Not only is the story a science fiction novel that features a whole range of QUILTBAG characters, but it is an action packed story that will keep you on your toes to the very end. Needless to say, I enjoyed Mercs!

For me, the main draw of this novel are the characters. Do not get me wrong, Mercs! is an action packed adventure but at its heart are characters that make you think and feel. From a transgender bounty hunter to a sentient cowboy robot, Dawes has created a range of characters that somehow, and often despite themselves, make you care about them.

The story itself is told from a variety of POVs, however the main action lies with the bounty hunter Talisha. What separates Talisha from other sci-fi bounty hunters is that she holds the knowledge of a dead culture, has some pretty sweet and advanced tech, and she also happens to be trans. I absolutely adore the way in which Dawes has effortlessly incorporated QUILTBAG characters into their story. The focus is not on her journey of self discovery, no Talisha is past that, the focus is on the story of her shit-show of a job on the planet Archimedes IV. I absolutely loved how the focus of the story wasn’t on Talisha's or the other characters sexualities, rather the focus was on the story

What makes Mercs! so great is that the story features such a range of characters, many of which make you confront tough and conflicting emotions. Without giving too much away, the character Nergal (who had me fondly reminiscing about Dr. Zed from Borderlands) proves to be very conflicting. Over the course of the novel Nergal does some truly terrible things, however his backstory and later actions had me questioning how I felt about him. Did I dislike him? Hate him? Or worse, empathise with him?

Without discussing any spoilers, Mercs! had captivated from start to finish. I laughed, I cried, and I found myself questioning the morality of characters multiple times. Put simply, Mercs! was a gripping sci-fi adventure read.

Best Bits:

* Rogers. Hands down, I was in love with this cowboy robot from beginning to end.

*At one point in the story, there is a handshake between Rogers and Talisha. Rogers takes a moment to comment on how Talisha is still wearing her armour. This small little sentence meant so much to me, felt so right in the story <3 "Sorry. Just... when you've got your armour on like that, your fingers are metal. Just like mine." - Chapter 6.

*Can I just take a moment to say how beautiful all of Nine Star's covers are!

Favourite Quote: 'A strange lot we are... never quite seen such a collection of misfits and freaks.'

Recommendations: Sci Fi fans look no more - this is the action-packed QUILTBAG adventure novel for you.

Put very simply, Mercs! is the queer baby of Firefly and Mad Max, with just a little bit of Overwatch and Borderlands thrown in. So pretty much, if you enjoy any of the above shows and games, you stand a chance of enjoying Mercs! :P

Please note: I received a copy of Mercs! from NetGalley.

3.25 Stars. This was a bit better than okay sci-fi action story. This is not the normal lesfic I read, but it is filled with LGBT characters. I felt that the story was a little choppy in places, but overall it was entertaining.

The main character is a trans woman named Talisha. Talisha is one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy, following in her mother’s footsteps. She has ancient alien armor that gives her a leg up on the competition. When she takes a new contract, she realizes she is going to have to work with a bunch of mercenaries to get the job done. They include an 8 foot tall lesbian, from a race of people that are built like a tank, a gay doctor with a contagious deadly disease that can spread by touch, and an android that thinks he is a cowboy from the old Wild West. Can they all work together to find the missing alien tech that everyone in the universe seems to want?

I found myself enjoying the eclectic bunch of characters; especially Talisha and the 8 foot tall lesbian nicknamed Big Blue. The only thing is I wish we could have dug into the characters past a little bit more. While we know maybe one big thing for each person’s past, I wish I felt more of a connection to the other character besides Big Blue and Talisha.

There is no romance in this book. The doctor does sleep with someone but it is not shown so there are no explicit sex scenes in this book. This is basically a big shoot em up action book. There is plenty of violence and some gross alien creatures to battle.

As I mentioned above, sometimes I thought the writing was a little bit choppy. And there were a few times that I thought the dialogue didn’t make sense. Not that I didn’t understand it, more like I didn’t get why a certain character would say something or act a certain way. It seemed out of character for the character. But overall the story was pretty entertaining, so I can’t really complain.

If you are a sci-fi action fan and don’t mind a lot of blasting, shooting and killing, this book might be for you. I would be willing to read a book by Dawes again.