Strictly Need to Know

Maji Rios #1

by M.B. Austin

When covert operator Maji Rios returns to her sleepy Long Island refuge after years of being anyone the Army needs her to be, all she wants is a quiet summer. Saving a gorgeous stranger from Russian mobsters on her first night home was not in her plans. Nor was waking up with her the next day, inside the notorious Benedetti family’s estate, already on the clock for her next mission.

One brush with danger can't scare Rose diStephano away from her last weeks with her favorite cousin, Angelo Benedetti. How hard could tagging along to Maji's martial arts camp be? Even if it means pretending that Maji is Angelo's girlfriend, rather than the woman she is falling in love with.

Maji will do whatever she must to complete her mission. Infiltrate enemy territory? Check. Protect civilians from blowback? Check. Keep Rose from getting too close? Ouch.

Genres: Lesbian, Military Fiction, Romance

328 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2017

About the author

MB Austin, a mild-mannered civil servant by day, spends her discretionary time writing, reading, and raving about badass women in love and danger.

MB's first series, featuring Maji Rios, is inspired by real people, in and out of uniform, who work to make their communities and the world safer for all. And by the people who feed them.

MB lives with her fabulous wife in Seattle, an excellent town for coffee-fueled writers who don't need too much sun.

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Joc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I was chucked into the deep end in this story and left to sink or swim. It is a compelling thriller but not much of a romance. Nothing is handed to you on a platter and everything you learn about the characters comes out in small increments as part of the story. Maji Rios is part of a covert operation to bring down the mob. She's a translator and fluent in at least five languages, skilled in combat and martial arts and in spite of no longer being enlisted full-time, she is expected undertake operations when required. Doesn't leave much opportunity for love.

Well-written and for the most part easy to follow, I enjoyed reading it and I'm desperately hoping there is more romance in the second installment.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. There were some issues with this first book by this author. However, I thought the author really did such a good job in other areas the little things were very forgivable. Like other reviewers mentioned, I was confused in the beginning trying to keep a LOT of names straight. But once she started into the meat of the story...it was really good.
The chemistry between Maji and Rose is great. The slow burn is fantastic. While the ending was not what I would have wanted....it was satisfying in some ways and definitely left me wanting more!!
Can't wait for book 2!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Agirlcandream · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Penelope · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[jules revel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s moments where I’m totally confused but that feels intentional. There’s so much happening and so much secrecy it only makes sense that the reader is forced to live with a bit of ambiguity. Fun read. Interesting characters.

[Jane Shambler · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Omi Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strictly Need to Know is an incredible book with a very strong plot but it can also been confusing and a little bit boring at times however if you can move past those small snags and finish the book you will not be disappointed.