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Tempered Steele #2
Tempered Steele: Hard Edges
After a nearly apocalyptic earthquake engendered a societal breakdown, visionary Deborah Steele returned to her isolated family farm and turned it into a safe haven for women to escape from the increasingly misogynistic and dystopian world around them. Her fair and open system of contracting labor for food, shelter and security has bound them together and ensured their survival. So far . . .
Outside the farm, however, others are using a contract system as a form of human trafficking. And Deborah's attempts to protect her estranged love, Joanna Davis, will soon bring the women's community unwanted visibility, putting them all in danger and forcing Deborah to choose between the sanctuary she has built and the woman she still loves.
Tempered Steele: Hard Edges is the electrifying follow-up to Tempered Steele: Stoking the Fire.
Outside the farm, however, others are using a contract system as a form of human trafficking. And Deborah's attempts to protect her estranged love, Joanna Davis, will soon bring the women's community unwanted visibility, putting them all in danger and forcing Deborah to choose between the sanctuary she has built and the woman she still loves.
Tempered Steele: Hard Edges is the electrifying follow-up to Tempered Steele: Stoking the Fire.
295 pages, Paperback
Published October 17, 2016
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
M.E. Logan
7 books21 followersA displaced Hoosier who now lives in North Florida, I started writing at a young age. Getting published had to wait quite a few years, but was accomplished. I write strong female characters who don't always have happily ever after endings. Like strong people in real life, they pick themselves up and go on. I have four published books and am working on the continuing sage of the Tempered Steele.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 27, 2017
3.5 stars
November 4, 2016
Loved this one just as much as the first since it picks up where that book ended. The ending is a bit more satisfying but ME Logan most definitely left the door open for another in the series. Can't wait to see what happens.
October 26, 2016
I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Deborah Steele has never been never an easy person to live with, but as a contract holder following the Great Earthquake five and a half years ago, she strives to be fair to those who labor on her farm and to provide them with a safe haven. Survival is the name of the game. It isn't always easy, though, with some of the women under contract resenting her authority, ACTS seeking to abolish contracts entirely, and Consolidated looking for a way to take advantage of the less fortunate.
And then there’s Joanna. One of the founders of ACTS—Against Contracted Temporary Services—Joanna was shanghaied on her way to Canada, then passed from contract holder to contract holder, experiencing the worst of them. She has attempted escape enough times that now she is at risk of being jailed. And Deborah, her lover before Joanna left to become a television reporter, is the latest holder, having won her contract in a poker game one night at the snowed-in diner.
Joanna has no reason to trust any contract holder, so she finds an opportunity to escape with the help of another woman on the farm. Unwittingly, Joanna has made her situation worse. After she is captured and returned, she fears retribution. The most immediate consequence, though, is that now Joanna and Deborah are bound together by a legal obligation, and Deborah must monitor Joanna 24/7.
Eventually Joanna settles down to life on the farm. There is plenty of work, there is community, and there is Peg, who gives Joanna love and a sense of security. Other women are not so sure anymore, though, now that they know who Joanna is. Three of the women terminate their contract and leave, but two return after one is found dead.
It seems there are more threats off the farm than on. Consolidated is looking to build a center, which could mean jobs and infrastructure, or it could mean more exploitation of workers. There is growing resistance to Consolidated’s plans, some of it destructive, as Deborah finds out when she visits their headquarters at a nearby campground. The nearby commune is raided, forcing the residents to reluctantly seek an alliance with Deborah. Meanwhile, Holly, a military veteran, has appeared seemingly out of nowhere to offer self-defense training in exchange for room and board.
The ACTS leadership wants Joanna to try again to get to Canada. Deborah, as her contract holder of last resort, would need to take her there, requiring her to leave the farm. Their reignited passions, though, may not be so easily left behind.
Wait a minute. Deborah and Joanna are running off to Canada together? Would Deborah really leave the farm, the life she has built, and the women she is responsible for in search of a happy ending?
I love M.E.’s writing, and I can always count on her for a good story. But Hard Edges fell a bit flat for me. The suggestion of a rekindled romance between Deborah and Joanna distracted from the main theme of women surviving on their own in an unfriendly dystopian world. There could have been more tension, more focus on loose ends, more buildup of conflict between the groups struggling for power. I know there’s another book in the series because so much is unresolved, because Deborah is a determined woman, and because Joanna has a passion for justice. I’ll be interested to see how M.E. pulls everything together.
Deborah Steele has never been never an easy person to live with, but as a contract holder following the Great Earthquake five and a half years ago, she strives to be fair to those who labor on her farm and to provide them with a safe haven. Survival is the name of the game. It isn't always easy, though, with some of the women under contract resenting her authority, ACTS seeking to abolish contracts entirely, and Consolidated looking for a way to take advantage of the less fortunate.
And then there’s Joanna. One of the founders of ACTS—Against Contracted Temporary Services—Joanna was shanghaied on her way to Canada, then passed from contract holder to contract holder, experiencing the worst of them. She has attempted escape enough times that now she is at risk of being jailed. And Deborah, her lover before Joanna left to become a television reporter, is the latest holder, having won her contract in a poker game one night at the snowed-in diner.
Joanna has no reason to trust any contract holder, so she finds an opportunity to escape with the help of another woman on the farm. Unwittingly, Joanna has made her situation worse. After she is captured and returned, she fears retribution. The most immediate consequence, though, is that now Joanna and Deborah are bound together by a legal obligation, and Deborah must monitor Joanna 24/7.
Eventually Joanna settles down to life on the farm. There is plenty of work, there is community, and there is Peg, who gives Joanna love and a sense of security. Other women are not so sure anymore, though, now that they know who Joanna is. Three of the women terminate their contract and leave, but two return after one is found dead.
It seems there are more threats off the farm than on. Consolidated is looking to build a center, which could mean jobs and infrastructure, or it could mean more exploitation of workers. There is growing resistance to Consolidated’s plans, some of it destructive, as Deborah finds out when she visits their headquarters at a nearby campground. The nearby commune is raided, forcing the residents to reluctantly seek an alliance with Deborah. Meanwhile, Holly, a military veteran, has appeared seemingly out of nowhere to offer self-defense training in exchange for room and board.
The ACTS leadership wants Joanna to try again to get to Canada. Deborah, as her contract holder of last resort, would need to take her there, requiring her to leave the farm. Their reignited passions, though, may not be so easily left behind.
Wait a minute. Deborah and Joanna are running off to Canada together? Would Deborah really leave the farm, the life she has built, and the women she is responsible for in search of a happy ending?
I love M.E.’s writing, and I can always count on her for a good story. But Hard Edges fell a bit flat for me. The suggestion of a rekindled romance between Deborah and Joanna distracted from the main theme of women surviving on their own in an unfriendly dystopian world. There could have been more tension, more focus on loose ends, more buildup of conflict between the groups struggling for power. I know there’s another book in the series because so much is unresolved, because Deborah is a determined woman, and because Joanna has a passion for justice. I’ll be interested to see how M.E. pulls everything together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2016
Death of me
This going to be one of those series that is going to be the death of me at the end of each book. Mmmm I assuming there more to come. This definitely a nail biter. I love the storyline/characters of Deborah and Joanna. If there is another book coming out hopefully it will be soon. I definitely recommend this book.
This going to be one of those series that is going to be the death of me at the end of each book. Mmmm I assuming there more to come. This definitely a nail biter. I love the storyline/characters of Deborah and Joanna. If there is another book coming out hopefully it will be soon. I definitely recommend this book.
April 30, 2018
31/2 stars.
I really hope there is at least one more book coming as there is still some unresolved things.
Enjoyable read though.
I really hope there is at least one more book coming as there is still some unresolved things.
Enjoyable read though.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews