An interesting book featuring a badass Army vet who stumbles upon a grisly crime in progress. Bad people are after her, but she’s not having it and winds up kicking ass rather than playing a victim. The story weaves her cop girlfriend into the fray, with odd twists and turns including her girlfriend’s penchant for polyamory. It’s a strangely bizarre but thoroughly entertaining story. I’m looking for to more twists and turns in the next book.

3.75 Stars. This was quite the interesting read. I read a couple early reviews so I knew a little of what to expect, but this read still surprised me. I think I liked this book. In fact I think I liked it more than I thought I would, but it’s just not the easiest book to express my feelings on. I guess what it comes down to is that my interest is peaked and I will read more of this series. There were things that bothered me or that I didn’t like, but the overall feel and what the book is trying to do was appealing.

I think the best way to describe this would be with the drama tag. And while the book felt plot driven at times, I think this really is a character study. This book is all about the main character and everything she is going through and has been through. This is a first person story all about Vivian. Viv is ex-military, lesbian, and a bartender. Viv deals with PTSD, anxiety, and anger issues from being in the military, a mother who was unloving and anxiety inducing, and a brother who was her abuser. She has a lot going on and really needs help, but she’s also a total badass and a little morally grey at times. There is something about Viv that reminded me a little bit of Aud Torvingen. If you don’t know that name I’ll just say that I mean it as a complement since Nicola Griffith is pretty brilliant.

There is a potential love interest for Viv but I don’t know if I would call this a romance. Some of those elements are there, and yes, this does have a love story, but I didn’t find it romantic if that makes any sense. One part of it I found really odd was that there is a BDSM relationship, but the sex is fade to black. That was really surprising to me and might actually be a first. Usually when authors want to delve into BDSM they actually want to show it. I’m okay with sometimes reading fade to black in books but in this case I felt like the sex scenes missing were an odd choice and a missed opportunity.

I also have to mention that there is a poly relationship in this book. While I am no expert, I felt like calling the relationship poly was a little off. Only one character wanted an open relationship, and that person wasn’t very thoughtful or very communicative with the whole situation. In the end it seemed more like an open relationship and not a poly relationship. Again, I’m no expert but the whole thing didn’t really sit right with me.

As you might have guessed from reading Viv’s background, this book does deal with some tough subjects. This book is dramatic. On the good side, while there are hard parts, I didn’t find the whole feel of the book to be too heavy. There is a lot going on and even some excitement to keep the book moving forward. In fact, the book had a really nice pace until it hit a bump. There are some great twists and turns in this book that I felt were well done. Anyway, I don’t know what happened but after the well done part, the book really died and kind of limped along to the end. The reason I noticed so much was that the book was flying by until that part hit and just everything slowed way down. And then we get a cliffhanger to make us read book 2. I love series, I love connecting with characters over multiple books but cliffys are such a pain in the ass. I hope book two is coming out soon because if not my patience might be a little short causing my interest to wane.

Overall this was a book that is really different that had some parts I truly enjoyed. I’m a first person fan and I love a badass character who has some demons and might be a little morally grey. While I had issues with this book, I’m hoping most of them were just debut bumps and that Faraim will really hit her stride in book 2.

This one is a hard one to review - I couldn’t put it down, I read it one setting. It’s very well written, especially for a debut author. The subject matter is dealt with sensitively. It’s just over a four star book for me. Yet it’s hard for me to say I enjoyed it. It’s a tough read and perhaps that’s it for me, I appreciated rather than enjoyed, but it didn’t take anything away from the book - I’m fact I’m eagerly awaiting the next instalment.

Viv is ex-army, studying at College and making a living bar tendering. Whilst she’s not completely estranged from her family she is very much a loner - her friendship with another vet Jared being her anchor in a storm. She struggles with PTSD.

She meets Angela, a cop, a vet from the Navy and they begin a complicated relationship, with elements of polyamory.

Viv stumbles on something criminal that brings a lot of issues into her life and shakes things up in ways she’d never have expected.

The topics of abuse from the past, relationship ethics, PTSD, intermittent violence, sex trafficking and some homophobia all mean this isn’t a light read, yet there is something about the way Viv is written that just keeps you reading, wanting to know where this is going to go.

The romance between Viv and Ang isn’t the headline for this book. Viv’s life in general, her friendships and her making her way through life are very much front and centre.

Despite the somewhat darker tone of the book and therefore my review, I’d encourage you to give this a go - just don’t expect an easy light hearted read, or a neatly tied up ending.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

To say that I was flying through this book would be the understatement. It has been a while since I've been reading a fem-love story and this book was absolutely perfect for bringing me back there. I love books featuring characters with a military background and the execution of this book and it's characters was absolutely amazing. There was not a thing I didn't like about it, except maybe the cliffhanger at the end and the fact that I have to wait for the next book, though. I loved that we had flashbacks about Vivian's past and how it left its imprints on her. I loved her strong character - a former veteran, an out and proud lesbian, but still human with human flaws who makes mistakes.
Well, one small issue comes to mind - Ang calling Viv "Sir" during their BDSM scenes instead of "Ma'am".
Otherwise, this was the book I didn't knew I wanted until now. I had a tough but still human character, dealing with actual trauma, I had military background, I had crime and plot twists which I was absolutely not expecting, I had a character that stood up for herself and took no bs, not even from her "family" and, most importantly of all, this was the first time I've ever read of an all female poly relationship.
Sadly, adding up the cliffhanger and Ang calling Viv "Sir" during sessions, I have to take half a star, otherwise it'd have been a perfect Five. I am looking forward to the next book, that sneak-peak was not enough and my interest is more than peaked!
Thanks again to Netgalley for giving me an ACR!

A start of a new series and I don't know... The cover is stunning, the writing is excellent, but I don't know how I feel about the story.

Vivian is an army vet who is dealing with PTSD, an abuse history, and anxiety. She covers this all up with fake bravado and swagger. When she is out on her motorcycle one day she stumbles upon a crime. After she fights off the criminal she gets home all back and blue with a target on her back. While she is recovering and trying to stay safe she falls in love with her neighbour Ang, also a vet and currently a policewoman. Ang seems to be giving Vivian the love and safe place she has been wanting her entire life, but the relationship turns out to be a toxic one. Vivian is aware of it, but she can't let go.

This book is such a tough read because of the subject. Vivian is a very likable, but also very much troubled character. I can't say I really liked the book, but it was so captivating and I just wanted to read on. Flashbacks in the book are a bit all over the place. I could have done without them. They are there to have you understand all that happened in Vivian's past but for me, they somehow seem to detract from the current story. I really want to know what happens next for Vivian and the few people she keeps in her life.