ARC Review of I am Justice

I am Justice
Book One of the Band of Sisters series
by Diana Munoz Stewart
Publishing Date 1 May 2018
by Sourcebooks Casablanca

Justice Parish was rescued from a brutal childhood and adopted into a loving family. But the scars from her past cannot be forgotten, and she vows to protect and avenge others who haven’t escaped the cruel hands of injustice. She becomes a skilled assassin—a vigilante. Her next target: a sex-trafficking ring in the war-torn Middle East. She just needs the perfect cover to get close and take them down…

After years of witnessing the destructive nature of war, Sandesh Ross leaves the Special Forces and puts his heart and soul into founding a humanitarian group. Saving the world isn’t cheap, and when Justice walks through his door, claiming to be a PR agent who can help with donors, he thinks his prayers are answered. They’re both too busy saving the world to get involved with each other. But they might not be able to help themselves…

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I received an advanced copy of I am Justice from the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. The following review consists solely of my own personal opinions and mine alone.

I enjoyed reading I am Justice and I'm interested in reading Book Two of the series, but to be honest, it was kind of unrealistic and a bit all over the map (literally and figuratively). Again, I liked it but it was a little too off for me to love.

Justice experienced a childhood of hellish trauma (please be advised, content can be triggering to those with a history of sexual violence) and was rescued and adopted by her 'mother' who has all the money in the world and all the pull that goes along with it. Together with innumerable adopted sisters (no, really, innumerable) and brother (just two), Justice works to eradicating sex trafficking worldwide. A noble goal and something I wholeheartedly support, but still fantastical. Now this is a bit of a revenge mission for Justice since her sister got the full brunt of their childhood trauma and was killed by a big bad. After she and her brother shut down a sex slave massage parlour type establishment, Justice recruits one of the freed girls and then goes off to protest her desired mission's (killing her sister's murderer) cancellation and runs into hunka-hunka Sandesh in her mum's office (after doing a lovely vault routine over her mother's secretary - what?). We're told over and over that Justice dislikes men, they're for sexual use only, but at the same time, Justice gets the hubba-hubbas for Sandesh. I actually thought we were finished it much sooner than the story actually finished, but we had more and more loops pop up. I kind of got tangled up in them. I enjoyed the actual final show but, at the same time, I couldn't see the dots connect on the final twist. Things just seemed really forced all over the book.

I'd like to have been able to give this book 5 stars, but it just didn't seem very believable. So I'm giving I am Justice 3 out of 5 stars. I'll be looking for book 2, but I won't be holding my breath waiting for it.

Diana Muñoz Stewart is the award-winning, romantic suspense author of the Band of Sisters series, which includes I Am Justice and I Am Grace and I Am Honor (Sourcebooks Publishing). She lives in eastern Pennsylvania in an often chaotic and always welcoming home that—depending on the day—can include husband, kids, extended family, friends, and a canine or two.

When not writing, Diana can be found kayaking, doing sprints up her long driveway—harder than it sound—practicing yoga on her deck, or hiking with the man who’s had her heart since they were teens.

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Diana is represented by the wonderful Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary Agency.

I'm not really sure what's going on right now, but I'm trying to catch up to my review schedule since it ran away last month. Until next time, dearest readers, have a happily ever after!