An Amazon Best Book of the Month!“Fast-paced and edgy, high-octane and sexy, I Am Justice is a must-read!”—JULIE ANN WALKER, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Black Knights Inc. series She’s a vigilante assassin. He’s a Special Forces vet running a humanitarian group. Their white-hot passion can change the world—if it doesn’t destroy them first. Justice Parish is ready to … can change the world—if it doesn’t destroy them first.
Justice Parish is ready to start a war. Rescued from the streets by the world-renowned Parish family, she joined their covert sisterhood of vigilante assassins. Her next target: a sex-trafficking ring in the war-torn Middle East. She just needs to get close enough to take them down…
Sandesh Ross just wants peace. He left Special Forces to found a humanitarian group to aid war-torn countries. But saving the world isn’t cheap. Enter Parish Industries and limitless funding, with one catch—their hot, prickly ‘PR specialist’, Justice Parish.
Their chemistry is instant and off-the-charts. But when Justice is injured and her cover blown, Sandesh has to figure out if he can reconcile their missions. With danger dogging their every move, their white-hot passion can change the world—if it doesn’t destroy them first.
Black Ops Confidential Series:
I Am Justice (Book 1)
The Price of Grace (Book 2)
The Cost of Honor (Book 3)
What People Are Saying:
“Diana Muñoz Stewart explodes onto the scene with I Am Justice. It’s witty, dangerous, fun, and smoking hot—the perfect can’t-put-it-down read if you love badass women, honorable men, scary bad guys, non-stop action and steam heat.”—CINDY DEES, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
“Revenge is best served cold, but Justice serves it scorching hot. Spellbinding, sizzling. Takes your breath away. Unsurpassed romantic suspense.”—PATRICIA GUSSIN, New York Times bestselling author of Come Home
“A tense, fiery writing style that drags you in and won’t let go.” —PAIGE TYLER, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the SWAT series
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Intense and sexy romantic suspense, with enough action and heart to keep the pages turning. With a band of righteous women out to save the world, it feels like a story whose time has come, while also being thoughtful enough to raise questions about vigilante actions and the nature of justice.
This is the first book in the ‘Black Ops Confidential’ series by author Diana Munoz Stewart. I have not read this author before, I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed her writing style. I was hooked after the first chapter, heck before I even finished the first chapter. Justice is a strong female character, I loved the relationship she had with all her sisters and her brothers. As with all the Parish kids, Justice was adopted. She grew up in a special home, a home were you are taught to protect not just yourself but others who can’t protect themselves. See all the Parish children were victims as children, seems human sex-trafficking is a past and present to many of the children. Justice and her siblings next job is to take down two brothers who are taking women and girls from the Middle East. But in order to do that she needs a foolproof cover to get close enough to take the brothers out. What better way than to go in with a humanitarian group of ex-soldiers giving aid to victims in the Middle East. Sandesh Ross runs this group called ‘International Peace Team’ and is in need of sponsors with cash to continue his work. Parish Industries and the Mantua Academy for girls has such funds. But if he wants these funds he must hire Justice as his PR rep. and allow her to join him when he goes to Jordon.
The action is non-stop, I really enjoyed the mystery and the suspense in the story. I also enjoyed the hot sexy scenes between Sandesh and Justice. I look forward to reading the next book in this series and hoping it gives us some more background on Mukta Parish (momma) and Leland her closet friend. Would I recommend this book to friends and family? Heck YES! Not only would I, but I’d recommend to you also. If you like strong kick ass heroines and swoon worthy hero’s, this is a must read for you!
***I voluntarily reviewed this ARC for an honest review via NetGalley, this is my honest opinion and has not been influenced by the author, Publishers or NetGalley in anyway.*** Thank you!
A fast-paced, exciting adventure story combined with passionate romance, I Am Justice is Diana Munoz Stewart’s debut novel, the first of the Band of Sisters series.
Justice Parish, rescued from sex-trafficking while a child, is adopted by Mukta Parish, herself a victim of abuse. Mukta has organized a “sisterhood of vigilantes to combat sex trafficking which she runs it under the guise of a boarding school for the wealthy. There is a varied cast of feisty women all with various emotional and/or psychological issues.
The love interest is Sandesh Ross, ex-military, who has established an NGO to counter the effects of war. Sandesh, after years of military service, suffers from PTSD. Justice uses her anger to fuel her battles. Tired of being angry, Sandesh redirects his at doing good deeds. The attraction between Sandesh and Justice is predictably immediate. Though frequently set aside for the sake of their mission, their passion does overflow into some hot sex scenes that sometimes manages to show their real connection.
My problems with this book included rather cardboard characters in bad guys’ organization. Despite occasionally being in the bad guy’s POV, the reader doesn’t get a sense he has any redeeming qualities, and the best bad guys are those that walk a tight line between good and bad. There is also a goodly amount of unresolved backstory, the above-mentioned stilted characters, plot action that occurs so rapidly it’s frequently not well-grounded enough for readers to process, and some plot holes big enough to fall into. Also the sex-trafficking seems to be mere window dressing, and isn’t really addressed. Despite its faults, I had a good time reading it.
I enjoyed listening to this audiobook it was actually quite good my only real problem with it was I do like when the story involves a main female character and a main male character if they were voiced by a male and female actor but otherwise it was great the recording was great the story was great I look forward to reading more and I hope that the interweave the characters into other books as well thank you for your fantastic writing and I look forward to reading more.
A friend said I would enjoy this series. It’s just a ridiculous book. I enjoy romantic suspense, but I found it to be just simplistic. One minute the main character is talking about killing and saving people, the next thinking about jumping the bones of the guy her mom has partnered her with. Then the guy is thinking about doing the same thing to the girl. I like romance, but this was a little much. Also, I found sentences were letters were left out of words. I don’t think the book is very creditable with what really goes on in these situations. Just my opinion, you may like it, but I will pass on the whole series
I Am Justice
Band of Sisters #1
Black Ops Confidential #1
Diana Munoz Stewart
Sourcebooks Casablanca, May 2018
384 pages
Romantic Thriller
Purchased for Kindle App
I really like the cover. It sends the message that this is a gritty, fast-moving story with a fabulous looking woman at the heart of it. And it is all of that.
She’s a vital part of a secret band of sisters working internationally to stop crimes against women, such as sex-trafficking. She’s a highly-trained warrior, an assassin. Her name is Justice. She doesn’t have much use for men other than as tools or targets. Then she has to play nice with Mr. Ross and his humanitarian group for a cover story.
He’s former Special Forces and his group brings aid to the war-torn areas where the people are considered collateral damage. Helping is an expensive task, but her family is willing to provide lots of money for his cause so that she has the cover story she needs to do the job she’s there to do. But he doesn’t know that it’s a cover story. All he sees is a fascinating woman who seems to dazzle his senses. The chemistry between them has both a bit off balance and possibly making mistakes when they really can’t afford to make them.
The writing is smooth and flows well keeping the action brisk and the chemistry hot between these two. It’s hard to believe that this is a first-in-a-series book. It has none of the pitfalls of such books. It really just stands up and gives you a great ride. And BTW it also sets you up for the next book in the series. Yeah, without seeming to. The tension is amazing and kept me turning pages right up to the end and onto Amazon to order the second book. I really liked this one and look forward to more in the series as long as they’re as good as this one! Recommended.
Warning: Adult Sexual Content and Subject Matter – which you can skip over and still fully enjoy the book.
A great suspense novel with surprises that for me would have been better if there was no adult sexual content and subject matter. I was enjoying the story fully until the “adult” avenues began. Between the adult verbiage and content, I almost put the book down several times. I am glad I did continue reading as the suspense was great and the twists kept you guessing. I did enjoy the story of Justice, who was rescued and then adopted by the Parish Family. The family is made up of children that have been rescued, adopted and now living in a private area at the Mantua Academy for Girls, and part of Parish Industries. They are trained to rescue victims and do away with the people involved in sex-trafficking rings. While on an assignment, the now adult Justice meets Sandesh who is with a humanitarian group who also rescues victims but of war-ravaged countries. Sandesh rescues Justice and you guessed it they begin to work together.
A dark and gritty, fast-paced romantic action thriller that keeps the reader on their toes.
Romantic suspense is my favorite genre and I read a lot of it, yet this story managed to bring something different, something unique to the table. The multi-cultural aspect is fascinating and intriguing, the 28 adopted siblings of a mega-rich family, Justice being one of them, who really is not the PR person for the school but a female assailant, who is ready and able to kick some serious ass. Setting up the new series takes some time within the story, especially with so many characters, and it did feel a bit overwhelming at times.
She is as contradictory in person as she sounds, she is aggressive, assertive, straight-talking-prefers-action type of person who changes her mind about Sandesh Ross in a heartbeat depending on her mood. The instant attraction was there, the lust was tangible in the air surrounding Justice. First, she goes after him boldly and openly, then she backs off, then she is forward again until life happens and it is off again. The sexy times are steamy, descriptive, and oddly competitive. They are not a central part of the tale, yet they show the developing relationship between Justice and Sandesh. There is a lot of tension between the two, for a good reason there is lack of trust and some anger, yet they never get into it to clear the air and talk about the issues between them.
The writing style is unique with its poignant and direct yet short sentences that tell what is happening. There are over 70 short chapters and third person point of view changes between the characters, from the good guys to the culprits.
The themes are dark and serious, from human trafficking, sex slavery, to violence against women and young girls, including rape. The scenes change from the States to the international locales, from war zone to the luxury hotels.
Justice’s story is a gritty, dirty, dark, and a bit clumsy at times. It has lots of action and suspense, twists and turns, some predictable, some rather impulsive, telling a lot of the person she is. I wished the life and dead serious topics that were introduced in the tale would have gotten a bit more depth in them, and not have been just the background to the adventure Justice was having.
While a fun and entertaining read, with deep, grim and gloomy situations, the story left me a bit dazed and baffled, since I can’t decide if I loved it or not even liked it. I go back and forth, loving some parts of it, like the strong heroine, and lovable complex hero, or not being a fan of the way Justice handles herself in some situations or wanting more depth and intensity from the issues, and less intensity from the flimsiness of the main characters…
Yes, it did entertain, it made me think, it made me form an opinion and wanting to stand up to some very timely world issues we are currently facing while being a messy and murky, loud and filthy, rapid spaced story filled with conflicts, battles, and fighting for the human rights.
~ Three Spoons with a teaspoon on the side
I am Justice is a new series by a new to me author, Diana Munoz Stewart. There were some great things about the book. First, I loved that its a group of vigilante sisters. These ladies are badass. Any book that features women who are just as deadly as men is a plus in my book! I also thought the focus on stopping human trafficking was brilliant. This is a very real issue in today’s world. Finally, the diversity in the book was much appreciated. I loved getting to read about characters from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
The action was on point, but the book felt lacking somehow. Justice felt robotic at times and I had a hard time connecting with her. I couldn’t really believe the romance either because she seemed so mechanical.
Despite my struggles with Justice, I think the series has potential. I will probably keep reading to see where Stewart takes these characters!
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Sarah –
This story reads like a Clive Cussler adventure aimed at a #metoo audience. It’s the start of a series about a wealthy and secretive family of female vigilantes. In this first book, the Parish family has their sights on a human trafficking organisation preying on refugee women in the Middle East.
Justice Parish is the family’s black-ops style badass warrior. She has a short temper, a passion for saving vulnerable women, and a desperate need to get revenge for her sister’s death. She’s a brilliant action hero leading lady.
Sandesh Ross is a former soldier running a humanitarian organisation. Initially, the Parish family uses his organisation as a cover for Justice’s assassination mission, but he is quickly drawn further into family business.
I have really mixed feelings about this book. It’s an exciting story with some fantastic new female characters. I love the racial diversity in this story. I love the feminist take on the classic American Vigilante storyline. I love that the story highlights the many forms of ongoing violence against women and girls. But I also recoil from the insidious right wing American values behind the story. The Parish family lives in an armored enclave. There is a firm message that guns and violence solve problems. I like that women are recast from victims to vigilantes, but I’d be more comfortable with a more considered #whatif response to violence against women.
I’m similarly conflicted about the romance in this book. I’m still not sure Justice needs a romantic partner. There are a few hot scenes between Justice and Sandesh, but the romance detracts from the action, and the courtship to wedding storyline doesn’t quite feel right for such a fierce character. The family’s uniformly heteronormative relationships are also problematic for me.
Avid Reader –
3.5 stars
M/F Thriller Romance
Triggers: Human trafficking, murder
Justice Parish is not a woman whose bad side you want to be on. She is a tough as nails, what I would consider, black operative who knows what needs to be done and will complete her mission no matter the costs. She comes from a league of incredibly strong women who are all similar. Justice’s sister was taken from her and Justice has revenge in her heart. But Justice is also aware that she can’t save them all, even though she wants to. I loved her character but felt that the romance that this story offered was almost an afterthought. It didn’t really mesh with Justice’s character – she was so strong, yet needed or wanted a partner, which didn’t really fit with who she started as in the beginning of the book.
Sandesh is a former soldier who has had to do too many morally compromising acts. He’s trying to atone for those acts by doing humanitarian work. However, that work requires money and when he partners up with Parish, not only do sparks fly, but danger follows. He is a hard character for me to know. While I can understand why he wants to do humanitarian work, it was tricky to see past that aspect of him to the hardened soldier we were supposed to believe he was. When he’s pulled into the Parish family, not only does his world change, but his protective instincts kick back in.
Overall, this was a fast-paced, amazing thriller. The romance aspect was a much weaker part of the story and I think the book could have done without it and been just as great, if not better. However, I am looking forward to seeing what comes next.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of I Am Justice (Band of Sisters #1) by Diana Muñoz Stewart to read and review.
The Band of Sisters series is off to a great start with the first book – I Am Justice.
Justice and Sandesh are strong, compelling characters that easily draw readers in to their story and ensure that readers want to get to know them, they have great chemistry and a relationship that is full of intense chemistry, sizzling attraction, smoldering passion and is a very turbulent one that is full of emotional turbulence that adds depth to the characters and also has readers empathizing with them.
Suspense and anticipation builds throughout the story with lots of twists and turns that keeps readers on the edge of their seat while keeping the characters in a series of dangerous events during a mission that includes lots of thrills and excitement including explosions.
The author certainly made it easy for me to picture each and every scene of the story and she brought her characters to vivid life and while I enjoyed the story from beginning to end, I am still wondering if this series if for me, though I am not sure why, the only thing I can think of is that some of the story seems to move at a slower pace which is really surprising since there is lots of action happening (this could totally be on me and not the author), so while I recommend giving this book a try, I will have to wait until the second book to make my final judgement.