The Surrender

by Terias McKlay

Mariska Cooper is a twenty-two year old student/waitress by day, feared vigilante by night. She and her best friend, Lucas Forsythe, lead the Guardian team, a ragtag group who battle the thriving criminal community in Toronto, Canada. Mariska, grieving the loss of her teammate and love of her life Lisa, throws herself into her work and focuses her mission on keeping the city safe.

Alana Pierce, a savvy businesswoman in a high powered oil company, pulls Mariska from her self-imposed exile and brings light back into Mariska’s life. But Alana holds secrets of her own that can endangered them both.

Genres: Lesbian, Superheroes

254 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 18, 2014

About the author

Born in Montreal, Quebec and having had her fill of infant poutine, Terias moved to various locations in Alberta where she tipped cows, joined the army, and learned to drink beer. In an attempt at higher education, Terias headed back east to Toronto, Ontario to attain her bachelor’s degree in Sociology Honours. When working a research job didn’t produce the expected results of creating a league of super villains, Terias moved on to more physical ventures. She currently holds a personal training certificate and spends her days moulding her clients to be her personal super soldiers.

Enjoying the adventures in her mind more than attending class, Terias caught the writing bug in high school and never seemed to shake that monkey from her back. After a few failed starts, she’s now ready to unleash her first novel, ‘Guardian: The Surrender’, on an unsuspecting world. Terias’ non-writing time is divided between playing rugby for the Yeomen Lions, playing Batman: Arkham Asylum, or regenerating in her sleep pod.

Reviews

[Musa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that this could have been a great book if the plot can be re-balanced a little bit. The last 15% of the book when all hell break loose was actually great, it's fast paced, it's angsty (though subtly) and left me wanting to read, feel and know more on what's installed in the future for Mariska and Alana. Reading rest of the book, I find it a little bit difficult to understand what Alana sees in Mariska, especially when she pulls up all those crap excuses on where she's been at night. I actually find Alana an interesting and complex character which I'd like to learn more about.

If you like series such as the Arrow, Gotham, I think very likely you'll enjoy the book. Having said that, I'm still interested to see if there's a book 2 coming and if there will be more to Mariska and Alana or if it's moving onto a different story line.

[Bastonikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read this book, and I still don't understand why it's not more popular. I mean? Badass lesbian vigilante? Check. Badass lesbian villan? Check. Sleeping with the enemy trope? Check. I might be considered biased here because I do have a soft spot for powerful ladies, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story, I believe it's a very important book if you were a kid, like myself, that grew up reading comic books, but always felt like something was missing. Yup, that's representation for you. For 246 pages I felt like we could live in a world where 99% of superhero tv shows weren't all about white cis brooding (boring) guys with daddy issues, and let me tell you, it was pretty good.
I do wish the author had gone a little deeper into a few things, and even if the end frustraded me, I cannot empathize enough how much I need a second book and for Alana to come back in all her villainous glory, of course.
All in all, The Surrender is most certainly an enjoyable read.

[Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a friend's book might feel sometimes like an obligation, but only if it's not good, which is so not the case with this one. My friend Terias wrote it, and I'm so happy it's the first of a series because I kept postponing reading the last few pages because I didn't want it to end. The summary at the beginning bummed me a bit because if I wasn't told who the main couple of this story would be, I might've played a guessing game between Alana and Nina as Mariska's love interest. But never say never, though I love Alana, and I love to hate her. It's complicated, like everything about the world of these characters. But if you like super heroes, especially the kind that's been told from a somewhat realistic perspective, and furthermore if you love kickass women, this is so the book for you. It's funny, and heartbreaking in so many ways, it's well thought and it's so easy to read because it's engaging.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd probably go 3.5 but it was different and interesting enough for the bump.

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Surrender by Terias McKlay: http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwid... 2015 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)