This one of those books where you're not sure if you liked it or not. Maybe had I read them in order my opinion may have been different.

I like this author's style. The only downside is she takes to long to get to the point for me.

This book for me was a mystery. Because I wasn't entirely sure who the good guys were. There is some romance but the story line didn't really warrant a passionate romance. But there is definitely a connection between two of the main characters. It is a sink or swim kind of story line.

Yes I would recommend this book. It definitely has its merits. I do recommend you read these books in order.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2492731645

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2966PC5PPCMTG/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

I’m not sure how to categorize this novel. A crime drama? Romantic Intrigue? We do have a solid romance brewing but the majority of this first book in the series focus is on Maji Rios, a kick ass ex-military expert helping a friend with some family business.

Maji, recently returned from Fallujah with some of her team is working with Angelo, an old friend and comrade, to infiltrates the Benedetti crime family headed by Gino and his slimy right hand man Ricky. It's all rather complicated and I found it hard to focus on what was going on and keep the main players straight. All is revealed in time and the reader is rewarded with a pretty impressive sting operation and lots of action hero final scenes.

The secondary story (or main story for romance fans) involves Angelo’s cousin Rose. It doesn't hurt that Maji saves her from an abduction which cements their relationship. Rose brings out all the positives in the reclusive Maji helping the reader understand her strengths and loyalties. Along the way Maji’s scenes with Rose lighten a dark tale of crime lords and mob related dealings.

A lot of people to get to know and a very complex lead in Ariela Rios/Ri/Maji.
Tough going at times with the crime family storyline. I did enjoy the dramatic ending and found myself rooting for both Maji and Rose and cousin Angelo too.

3 stars

ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.

The first few chapters of this book are quite confusing because there are many characters and all of them from different countries and different backgrounds that it is hard to remember all of them. After that it is a great crime - action story with some. Romance in it. The chemistry between Maji and Rose is coming off the pages. The beginning is a bit slow and was hard to stick with it but once the story starts picking up it gets really good and interesting.

This book didn't quite hold my attention the way I had expected or wanted. To me, the storytelling had a peculiar pacing that I wasn't a fan of. It's difficult to explain without giving away spoilers. The chemistry was a bit dull between our heroes even though the action and plot were good. OK story but I wished there was more depth.

I appreciated that the book was very similar to a hetero action/thriller/romance. Equal opportunity and representation is important. So I'm glad this book exists, but the heroine Maji goes by several different names in the book which made dialogue confusing. The chemistry was fine, but there was too much soap opera drama between many of the side characters which was a bit boring (so many side characters). I found myself skimming to get through some of it. The sex scenes were surprisingly discreet, with several fade-to-blacks and only one mildly descriptive scene towards the end which felt overdue.

Initially, Strictly Need to Know is a story that is hard to follow with the introduction of many characters and their background information kept hidden, but alluded to by their actions and dialogue. However, as the story slowly unfolds, the reader is given bits of information as to why the characters, especially Maji, react the way they do in certain situations. Once all the characters and plots are in place, the story moves to a faster pace.
The romance between two of the main characters , Maji and Rose, simmers and boils throughput the story. Theirs is a different type of relationship in keeping with the characters’ career and personalities
The secondary characters add depth and intrigue to an already complex plot. Overall, this is a good read, once the story with all its elements come together.

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This was a great read, the mission and romance brought me on a journey. I was very surprised at how much I loved this book. I did feel as if we were left hanging at the end. I did want some more background with Hannah, she was such an interesting character, but all we got was the surface which disappointed me. The chemistry between Maji and Rose was flying off the page throughout the book.

This has been a really complex book for me to read. There are so many characters from so many different services, different countries even, that following the plot has resulted quite difficult for me. Also the romance between Ri and Rose is complicated between all the situations happening. Definitely I have missed some facts in the plot, for sure, some didn't make many sense t hrough the reading. Because of that, I have had some ansiety for finishing it. I recon that it has become rather long. All in all this is an elaborated thriller that will be enjoyed by intrigue fans.

A standard genre publication with echoes to early Radclyffe in the "Honor" series and aspects of the Cain Casey novels by Ali Vali. The novel often suffered from too great an exposition into the daily activities of the characters, but there was sufficient chemistry between Maji and Rose to warrant at least one additional volume to their story.

3 1/2 Stars. This was a pretty good action-crime-romance book. This is a debut by Austin and she definitely shows some promise as an author. The book has some bumps, but overall I enjoyed it more than I expected to.

Maji Rios works as a covert operator in the Army. Thinking she is at home for a break, she soon finds herself tasked to help her best friend take on the Russian and Italian Mafia. One of her main jobs is to protect the beautiful Rose, who is an innocent in her connected family. Will she be able to do her job or will her attraction to Rose get in the way?

This book gave me a little bit of a similar feel to Ali Vali’s Cain Casey series. Of course they are very different stories, but all the mobsters and excitement is similar enough I think fans of that series will enjoy this book.

I do have to say at the beginning of this book, I was a bit confused. There are a lot of people and how they are connected, to remember, so it was throwing me. Also, I had a little trouble totally understanding our main character Maji’s past. Luckily, once the book got going, things fell into place, became clearer, and I enjoyed the story more.

While the attraction is instant, this is a slow-burn romance. I was actually pretty impressed by the chemistry. It was absolutely there, and built and built as the book went on. The sex scenes in the later part of the book were well done and steamy. While I did not care for some of the secondary characters, I really liked both Rose and Maji and was rooting for them to be a couple.

My biggest complaint for this book was the length. It really was longer than it needed to be. There were too many times we were just watching day to day activities, or rehashing things that had already been gone over before. This book could have easily lost 75-100 pages and have been perfectly fine. This book had some great action scenes, and then it would slow down to a snail’s pace. This slower filler stuff really should have been edited out and I would have rated this book higher.

As I mentioned, I liked this better than I expected too. I was not crazy about the ending, but a book 2 is coming out next summer, so I’m hoping Austin will improve on things. This is a debut book and you could tell that with scenes and filler that was just not needed. But the bones of the story were good, and the romance has potential. I will absolutely be reading book 2, and I look forward to seeing how Austin improves as an author. I think action/romance fans will find this an entertaining read.

An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.