If you could lend a voice for your imagination to the person of Rebecca Keane in Ask, Tell, then this is it. Rebecca’s tell all, bear/bare all account.

Readers who have read Ask, Tell would know that Sabine Fleischer went through a whole lot in the period while DADT was in force. In If I Don’t Ask; through Rebecca’s telling, it was highly gratifying and fulfilling to know how she felt about Sabine’s experiences and misgivings. As the CO, Rebecca was the voice of reason, she was supposed to lead, she needed to be respected and to not crack under any circumstances, and to never reveal an ounce of her attraction or desire.

Through Rebecca’s inner thoughts and workings, you see someone who was bound by duty but struggling to maintain the veneer of control. Merits have to be given to E.J. Noyes’ writing again, for not only did she pair the two books perfectly, she dropped much more on what transpired behind the scenes. One of the most significant event in Ask, Tell was The Incident and I was dying to learn Rebecca’s point of view and though I expected the reactions, the emotions were on a whole other level for me (these were some serious hand squeezing moments). On a side note, Sabine’s sister, Jana, who was mentioned in this book, is another favourite of mine and you should not miss her story in If The Shoe Fits.

I just reviewed If I Don’t Ask by E.J. Noyes. Thank You NetGalley and Bella Books for the ARC.

Rebecca Keane finds herself in a tough position after falling for Sabine Fleischer from afar. It’s 2009 and they are in the Army, still under DADT, and currently deployed in Afghanistan. Worse yet, Rebecca is Sabine’s commanding officer. This book is a retelling of the events in the prequel to this, Ask, Tell but from Rebecca’s POV instead of Sabine’s. This has been a series that I’ve read several times over so it was an easy choice for me to pick up this new one. I was a bit scared though as I’ve read other books attempt to retell the story in a different POV and not been thrilled with the result. I should have known better than to doubt EJ Noyes would be able to pull this off without a hitch. I feel like this type of book would be incredibly hard to write but the draw of getting to know characters you have already fallen in love with in a new light is exciting. If I Don’t Ask was just the right mix of old familiarity and exciting newness. It was a lot of fun reading about Rebecca’s feelings during the early years of their relationship. This book is one of the many reasons that I will read anything that EJ Noyes writes in the future, it is a guaranteed hit. Her work is consistently good, characters always entertaining and full of heart. I’m definitely a reader for life.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review E J Noyes’s “If I Don’t Ask”.

I loved the first book in the series “ Ask, Tell” which tells the story from Sabine’s point of view.
"If I don’t Ask" is their story from Rebecca Keane’s point of view and not only does it offer a fresh perspective to their story, but it is everything it should be - outstanding story, wonderful, layered characterisations, great pacing, fabulous spoken and unspoken dialogue of both Rebecca and Sabine, and more insight into other secondary characters. Rebecca’s best friend Linda offers a deeper insight into Rebecca’s character and as a literary device works fabulously well to bring out Rebecca’s personality and background.

It could have easily fallen flat, but not a chance in E J Noyes’s capable hands. It's such a delightful read, the storyline flows, and am reminded on each page just how good her writing is. It’s the book I didn’t realise I needed. It’s the book that enhances its earlier three in the series and cleverly I am now desperate to reread the others. For anyone who hasn’t yet discovered this series or indeed the author’s impressive novels (not one dud amongst them), this is a wonderful must read. I can see my rereading this series over and over.
Brilliant. Thank you. 5*

Book 4 has arrived of this beloved series and I have a feeling that readers are either going to really like it or really dislike it. For those that are going to pick apart this book about what they wanted to expect from Rebecca’s point of view I assure you they are missing out on the true meaning of the title, “If I Don’t Ask”. How’s that for cryptic? What I mean is, while I was well versed in much of the plot when it was originally told through Book 1-Sabine’s POV, I didn’t have to remind myself that this was Rebecca’s story. That is exactly how I was hoping this book would be. It had to be incredibly difficult to weave together their feelings, hopes, and fears with the facts of the timeline through a completely different set of eyes and emotions. There is no contest for which point of view I like better. That’s utterly ridiculous considering I completely adore both women. I look forward to reading this again to see how many more layers I can unpack from this amazing story. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am love with this story. Seriously as a lesbian it's always difficult for me to find a good book that has sapphic women in that is to my taste. This was. So thank you.