The Gunrunner and Her Hound

Those Who Bear Arms #1

by Maria Ying

Viveca Hua, arms-dealer

...is driven by three things: the certainty of steel, the need to win, and the compulsion to possess.

Yves, bodyguard

...hunts for the place she belongs, and she might just have found it in the captivating Viveca, who offers her a new organization, an answer—and a collar.
But their world is violent. It is unpredictable. Luck alone will not shield them. Together they must survive assassins, rival gunrunners, and their own lethal attraction.

The Gunrunner and Her Hound is an F/F/F mosaic novella (40,000 words) built from short stories connected by an overarching plot. Part romance (happy ever after included), part thriller, this is a high-heat love story set in contemporary Hong Kong, where passion burns between a ruthless ice queen and an ex-soldier who fled a ruined empire.

Genres: Queer, Lesbian, Romance, Crime, LGBT, Polyamory, Fiction

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 19, 2021

About the author

Maria Ying is both a fictional character and the joint pseudonym of Devi Lacroix and Benjanun Sriduangkaew, who have challenged themselves to write fiction with no speculative elements for once.

Devi Lacroix can be found at

Website: devilacroix.com

Twitter: twitter.com/DeviLacroix

Benjanun Sriduangkaew can be found at

Website: beekian.wordpress.com

Twitter: twitter.com/benjanun_s

Reviews

[Netgyrl (Laura) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars - bad ass

If you enjoyed requiem for immortals, then I believe you will enjoy this story as well.

One of the main characters is an arms dealer, so you need to know right off the bat she isn’t a good person necessarily but she isn’t needlessly, violent or sadistic. She lives by her own sort of code. The other two MCs are her body guards. The main storyline is the integration of Yves into the organization, and into Viveca and Fahriye lives. This is not a warm and fuzzy romance. It is broken people finding what they need in each other. And I do believe that by the conclusion there is true and real love involved.

I found the writing style very readable however, I also felt that it holds the reader at arms length from all the characters in a way. I don’t know it’s hard to explain. It didn’t subtract from my enjoyment, but I think it tends to lessen any emotional impact, the story might have.

The near future speculation was scarily possible and I found it very disturbing. America torn apart by Civil War. Militia groups based on radical Christianity. All too easily imagined in my mind. Well done authors! (note: this isn’t a big part of the story at all just background information, but being American it was very impactful to me in my reading)

I am looking forward to reading the next book

shelved: action-adventure, bodyguard, business-mogul, butch-femme, cops-or-criminals, country-china, dystopian-future, falling-for-the-boss, ice-queen, own, read, rich-girl-poor-girl, sapphic-romance, series

[Corrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gunrunner and Her Hound by Maria Ying - being the joint pseudonym of Devi Lacroix and Benjanun Sriduangkaew in their first collaborative writing project. This 40,000 words novella is a high-heat poly-amorous love story/thriller set in contemporary Hong Kong, where passion burns between a ruthless ice queen and an ex-soldier who fled a ruined empire.

In a near-future world where the balance of geopolitical power has shifted along with the world’s climate, arms-dealer Viveca Hua is driven by three things: the certainty of steel, the need to win, and the compulsion to possess. Yves hunts for a place to belong, and she might just have found it in the captivating Viveca, who offers her a new organization, an answer—and a collar. In a violent and unpredictable world they must survive assassins, rival gunrunners, and their own lethal attraction.

From the interview in the back of the book I gleened that Sriduangkaew is responsible for writing Viveca and Yves, and Lacroix for writing Viveca’s older (and much more even-tempered) # one Fahriye. Knowing Sriduangkaew’s work, I’m familiar with her hard protagonists. Viveca might prove to be the hardest bitch yet! Looking forward to the second book in this new series.

f/f/f poly

Themes: Hong Kong, violence, former child soldier, assassins at every corner, dysfunctional relationship, Fahrye is the glue in this threesome.

5 Stars

[JulesGP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book, removed the download, then later that night, restarted and stayed up all night to read. Gunrunner is such a gritty, kick in your face kind of book that you have to be ready.

Dystopian world tale about two powerful sisters who intend to rule this new world together. Viveca is a weapons dealer who heads a powerful syndicate in one of the last bastions of civilization, Hong Kong. Sharp, clear images and crisp dialogue that singe your brain. Bloody violence mixed in with wild time sexiness. It’s crazy times and turbo speed from beginning to end as Viveca and her crew cut a bloody path to the top. Fahriye and Yves are Viveca’s war brutalized bodyguards who love her beyond all reason and who she keeps close to her heart and bed. The second book in this series, the Spy and Her Serpent, tells the story of Viveca’s sister and I am reading that one next.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and it has a different writing style. MC Viveca is the gunrunner and crime boss and she has two hounds or bodyguards, Yves and Fahirye. They are both intensely loyal to her. Each chapter switches back and forth between Viveca and Yves points of view. And it’s a very violent world that they live in with a good bit of action.

[maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A joint project between two authors. I was already familiar with Benjanun's works, so I was intrigued with this.

Ofcourse, this was really well written. The world felt alive. USA has broken down, the Russians are taking the scraps, and the world feels like it's in a precarious situation. Our characters are hardened morally grey characters in a thriving Hong Kong. The book captures the seedy grey dog-eat-dog world atmosphere so well, making the reading experience particularly immersive. Maybe a silly thing but knowing the food they eat made the world in my head more vibrant. (Maybe it's 'cause I've been reading so many stories set in western settings.)

For a moment thought this would turn into a love triangle, but I was really glad that it didn't (not that i would mind if it did). It's a poly relationship between three women. The story focuses more on the relationships and the trials of being in one amidst the violent nature of their professions. We also learned about their motivations, backgrounds, emotions in forms of well written proses.

Between the two perspectives we're given, I find Viveca to be a very compelling character. She is the one I'm most interested in knowing more. She holds you at a distance, she lures, she waits, she's like a rare expensive fatal cat that waits for you to come to her. And the people around her do that exactly. Willingly. The relationship dynamics were always bound to be interesting - as seen between Yves and Viveca while sweet Fahriye is the glue. A really fun delicious read that explores emotional depths of its characters amongst the intense fast-paced gritty setting.

Highly recommend!

[rie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i, as a femme, would also very much like two buffed up butches at my side, always protecting me and accepting me despite my self destructive and isolating tendencies due to trauma. is that too much to ask?

honestly, the only bad thing i have to say is that i wish this was longer because of how much i ended up really loving these characters! (why is it that all the most interesting lesbian books end up not being long enough 😞). also, the prose is so stunning. i would pay these authors to write a book about my life or just about the daily life of a fly. i honestly think the book mightn’t have worked so well if the prose wasn’t so good, the prose helps the book feel so much more intimate. it feels like i’m reading this poetic snapshot of these women’s lives. it’s strangely comforting…?

i can’t wait to read the rest of this author’s works! my expectations are high now that i know the feast i can get <3

[Landice (Manic Femme) · Rating 5 out of 5]

We may have a new autobuy author on our hands…. I actually read this in reverse - starting with the urban fantasy AU version of this story, The Grace of Sorcerers, and I’m kind of glad I did. It’s super interesting to have met the fantasy versions of these characters then relaxed back into the gritty, near future dystopian versions. Will be reading every single thing this collaborative pen name of an author has put out in the near future, their writing is compulsively readable and a bit addictive!

Love sapphic books, too? Let's be friends! Booktok | Twitter

[Carol Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deliciously Devious!

Yves, a bodyguard who feels as if she doesn’t belong, starts working for Viveca Hua, a powerful arms dealer, but an instant attraction between them complicates matters. Everything they know is unpredictable and with a lot at stake, they must not get distracted if they want to survive.

This is the first novella in the Those Who Bear Arms series, an exciting story that delivered on intensity, adrenaline fuelled moments between the characters, and unlikely moment that reminder you they were human under all the notorious moves and devious manoeuvres. I loved the chemistry between Yves and Hua, which was only added to by building in surprise elements to their developing relationship.

The way the story is written, taking into account both sides, gave a very in depth and immersive experience that was quite intimate and personal. There was a lot more to the story, their worlds, and even their characters than first eluded at the start, which had me intrigued. A lot of action, drama, and angst is built into the story, with a fast pace that moves and changes as quickly as the events for the characters would in such a high staked, unpredictable setting, so it suited the story perfectly.

I am really excited for what the future has in store for these characters, and looking forward to finding out how their relationship changes or grows in the next book. A great crime fiction, with erotic hints, and feeling of living vicariously through the dangers surrounding Yves and Hua.

[isa (queenofswordsandwords) · Rating 4 out of 5]

➸ Dystopian/alternate history
➸ Sapphic poly romance
➸ Crime boss/bodyguard

this story has an end of the world feel. they are living with so much death around them, they are giving and receiving violence, to others and to each other. i can't explain it, but I really enjoyed this book.

❝ True power is the lack of consequences even as you engage in the most heinous deed. ❞

the writing is beautiful, very to the point but sometimes i'd be hit by an incredible sentence. it was my first book by this author duo but i really want to try more.

❝ Maybe that's what she chases, to have me because I'm as deeply unwell as she is, metting in the middle with our individual wrongness. ❞

the first chapters, we see the events through the eyes of a chracters just to see the same events through the other character. i'm not sure what that brought to the story but the narration got more straightfoward after that.

❝ All wounds scar over, eventually. ❞

CW : Death, Violence, Physical injury, Murder, Past loss of a parent, Child soldiers and more.

[Aster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer I've read book 2 before this one but in my opinion they cam be read as standalone BUT work best in order 😅

This work was described as:
🥶 ruthless ice queen and the bodyguard she'll tame : Viveca is such a good ice queen
🪢 femme top/butch sub: eheheheh
👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 F/F/F polycule: femme/butch/butch btw!!
🔫 guns, knives, and the violence of being known
😬 so much trauma (and healing!)
💕happily ever after!!!

And we have all of that! Viveca recruits Yves to be her new bodyguard under the supervision of her second in command Fahriye. All three are very different and although we only get Viveca and Yves' POV Fahriye isn't treated as a side character. She is the steady old butch who contrast Viveca' inner turmoil and need for a therapist and Yves' needy side.

After reading two works by the authors I need to say that they have an unique way to write sex scenes: it's always hot, but the scenes aren't extremely graphic or crude but rather rely on dynamics, need and talk and I do appreciate that.

[Alsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down due to being a bit rough around the edges in terms of the writing. The brutality of the plot, the hints of some very cool world-building, and the delicious love triangle were greatly appreciated. Alas, some clumsy mannerisms—like repeating conversations from multiple points of view and overly verbose language from characters for whom that’s out of character—brought my appreciation down a smidge. I might have forgiven that if the story were longer, but it’s also shorter than I expected, including a wince-worthily fluffy epilogue. What’s good was very good! I just have a wish list of improvements. Looking forward to the next one.

[3DKing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, violent, a little poetic.

[Anja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was crazy 😳

The political situation and the implications of the fall of the American empire was really fascinating. All references to that and how the world was restructured in its aftermath were really cool.
I love that it played with these really bold speculative themes while still being a romance— it walked a really delicate line.

I liked some of the vignettes more than others. The part that would traditionally be a third act breakup in a standard romance novel was almost too much for me to get over. I would not have been mad at more emotional development. But I liked this book a lot.
It just forced me to consider that Viveca is truly monstrous in many ways, and Yves and Fahriye are absolutely not. This made for some very jarring new moral landscapes. I’d definitely read the next book because these authors are doing something truly unique.

[Eive · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just some discretion though, this book has a polyamorous relationship (I didn't know of it until I read to the parts where there were some scenes involving three characters). But it's clearly stated in the synopsis of the book that this is a F/F/F mosaic novella, so yeah, my bad.

Anyway, whew! I don't even know where to begin because all I know is that this book was sizzling hot!! We get the POVs of Viveca and Yves. And I loved that all characters were well-fleshed out and well-versed. We don't really get detailed sex scenes but given the fact that the characters were well-fleshed out, even their simple banters and dialogues were enough to make me fangirl over them. And I think that in relation to that, it's pretty much rare for an author to be able to do such thing.

And as I've mentioned before, since this book is F/F/F, the third character's name is Fahriye and she's also Viveca's second in command. Fahriye doesn't really have a POV in this story and so I think that she's the supporting character since the story mainly focuses on both Viveca and Yves' POVs.

This book was really well-written and I didn't really mind the polyamorous relationship because it somehow worked in the dynamic of the three characters. And I also liked how Maria Ying was placed within the story and acted as a secondary character. I wasn't expecting that for sure and I loved it.

I'm so glad I discovered this book because it's so worth the read! And I'm excited for the second book coming on March next year!!

Can't wait to read more from these amazing authors 💕

★★★★★/5
5/5

[SSA · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

I know this is a novella but the story and the relationship was so fast paced that it was hard to understand how people that were so emotionally unavailable and damaged caught real feelings for each other. And I didn’t appreciate how many of the scenes were repeated but from the other main characters POV.

[Shé M]

I missed the "mosaic" novel in fine print. While I like mosaics in theory, this did not do it for me. Rather than using the structure to explore the world or different characters, instead it read as a series of vignettes with the same three characters.

[Ashley Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at pg 71. Not written well. Reads like hard cold facts. No emotion. No real character explanation or development. Feels cold.

[Dan Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOLUTE BANGER

In every sense of the word. I read the series in reverse order, I think--I've plowed through all the available Those Who Break Chains books and I've jumped back to read these, and honestly, more people should read this book because it's fantastic. All the more so because many characters from the two series share names and personality traits but they're...different characters in different worlds? Almost like alternate dimensional versions of themselves?

Anyway, it's a surprisingly sweet love story between an ice queen arms magnate and her grumpy new bodyguard (and her slightly sunshiny but also somewhat grumpy longtime bodyguard and companion). So grump/ice queen/grumpy sunshine maybe?

The characters are 100% morally gray in the sense that they are arms dealers and hired killers, but they have such strong (if twisted) moral codes in their personal lives that you can't help but root for them despite it all.

It's full of action, both the kind with guns and the kind with women biting and licking each other. The emotional arc is what you might expect from a Maria Ying novel: complex and a little messed up, with characters covered in physical and psychic scars trying to hide their fragile emotional cores and pretending that what happens in the bedroom doesn't mean what they know it means.

Speaking of which.

This book is a bit more visceral in the bedroom scenes than the Those Who Break Chains books, which tend more toward the creative in their depictions of intimate acts. I love both styles, but I have to say I do enjoy a bit of old-fashioned heat, which this book packs in equal measure with its firearms. Without giving away any spoilers, I cheered at one key moment late in the book, and the very last scene is how all romance books should end, in my humble opinion.

I plan to read The Spy and Her Serpent (the other book in this duology) before reading the finale of Those Who Break Chains because I have it on good authority that Spy has some really cool trans worldbuilding and I'm eager to see what that's about, given how amazingly this is done in the Chainverse.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

🤤 This had my favourite thing in FF: handsome, muscled women



🤤 The non-liniar story telling (as in, we'll do a POV switch and wind back time a little) weren't great. It would sometimes be the same conversation repeated verbatim, but now from the other person's pov. It didn't add enough new context to really keep it interesting.

🤤 The B-plot with Cecile(?) didn't feel fully realised. A bit thin, but honestly, it didn't bother me much. Because I was here to be horny for the characters

🤤 The two bodyguards were everything. I liked how different they were, I liked their backstories, I liked the dynamic between them and Viveca. I do feel Yves got a bit more of the spotlight, and Fahriya felt a bit... not flat, but rather I didn't know her as well

🤤 Viveca Hua is the kind of ice queen, porcupine character I love. She's emotionally stunted and hisses at any feelings that dare creep up on her. In short: she's perfect. Mostly because when she finally falls, it is so much more delicious.

🤤 The smut is GOOD. However, in the middle a lot of it his fade to black. But the scenes that aren't, they are so good. The three of them together is just, phew. But I would've loved some more smut. I'm a horny reader, what can I say.

🤤 I'm def looking forward to the second one The Spy and Her Serpent with the sister, and the AU that's urban fantasy The Grace of Sorcerers

[Sena · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars. ended on a strong note, and there was some lovely prose in the middle where i thoroughly enjoyed viveca and yves as characters. not 5/5 due to the beginning; it felt repetitive to see the exact same events from two different points of view that didn't quite differ enough to make it worth reading twice. the stream of consciousness also felt more like telling than showing, and i got the sense of someone trying too hard to portray themselves as a successful businesswoman.

[Weekend Reader_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

🛁

Dual pov of dangerous ploy lesbians. I'm oh there was so much to unpack which characters childhood and it impacted them now. Thank goodness for stable Fayhreih bc Viveca is an unhinged mess who is too powerful for own good. Yves on the other hand found a home in the chaos and was able to use her skills in a more targeted manner. I'm definitely reading book 2.

CN: child soldier, domestic violence, blackmail, torture

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Story!

Very interesting tale of a criminal boss and her bodyguards. I enjoyed the words that Maria Ying used in this book. Some words I have never heard of, but fit the story and added a layer of intrigue to it. Overall great story of finding love on the other side of the law.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

very well written

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. Fortunately, it focuses more on the main characters than their business. These characters are tough as nails but struck a chord with me as being very realistic. I now intend to read every Maria Yang collaboration that I can get my hands on. GOOD BOOK!

[Kirian]

From the topic I was excited to read this book. Unfortunatly I was very disappointed that changing the point of view caused that not only I read almost everything twice, but in those section I recieved almost no additional information. It was also hard to connect at least one of the characters and understand the motivation to be in the relationship. I might try it to read later again.

[Anne, V · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much FUN to read! I loved the characters and was genuinely concerned for them as the book progressed. I loved how they interacted and supported each other. I am really looking forward to the sequel!

[jay]

dnf @ 19%

it’s nothing against the book really I just read it before bed and then had a nightmare about guns so I’m just gonna put it down 😭 not confident I’ll pick it back up because it didn’t reel me in much

[X]

Objectively very well-written but I just couldn’t bring myself to care about the arms dealer protagonist.

[bookster · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

[J Kuria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I support women's wrongs.

[Will Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet again another mediocre genre made transcendent by rampant homosexuality