Razor Wire in Riptide Publishing

Dec 14, 2014 BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley-reviews, military, ff, arc, romance

Corrective rape is an abhorrent concept yet apparently live and well. In Razor Wire, Ms. Gallagher takes a dark look into the military. Are all military like this no? I would argue that this situation is prevalent in male dominated industries where a woman is not welcome. Kim Lockhoff is the sexy navy officer whose wanted to be in the Navy since she was a kid. Unfortunately her good looks make her prey to men who want to fuck her. In this world, most of the men either want to fuck or kill the wo Corrective rape is an abhorrent concept yet apparently live and well. In Razor Wire, Ms. Gallagher takes a dark look into the military. Are all military like this no? I would argue that this situation is prevalent in male dominated industries where a woman is not welcome. Kim Lockhoff is the sexy navy officer whose wanted to be in the Navy since she was a kid. Unfortunately her good looks make her prey to men who want to fuck her. In this world, most of the men either want to fuck or kill the woman. That's their mentality and it's sickening.

Ms. Gallagher shows the world of the "old boys" club and how they terrorize females and believe they are above the law. What's worse, even the women turn on each other in this book. The characters here exhibit some of the worst flaws in humanity. It's a sad look on how a woman who doesn't put out is called a bitch and one who does flirt will be called a slut. To make it worse, when a woman finds other women attractive, males in this world believe the women need to go through "corrective rape" so that they are no longer lesbians. Ms. Gallagher pulls no punches as she vilifies essentially every male in this story.

This is an interesting look at what women go through and why some women don't report rape. Sexual harassment is alive and well in this day and age. Whilst readers could argue this is just a story and exaggerated into something impalpable to normal human beings, I wonder if that is really true. This story may be a bit extreme in some senses, but it does contain a kernel of truth. This is what makes the story feel real and more distressing. Ms. Gallagher does a nice job of showing character growth. She also does a good job in the conflict. What is surprising is how this story ends up because it really looked like a no win situation.

The F/f piece to this story is really why I read it. It's difficult to find good f/f tales. Usually it's just porn mind candy. This one is a well written story where two women find they have common experiences and bond over it. Hope is not lost. This story is recommended to f/f readers looking for strength and loyalty among women. ...more

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Jan 25, 2015 Molli B. rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-not-m-m, length-novel, 2015-shelved, 2015-read, format-epub, theme-men-in-uniform, genre-f-f

And now for something different! I'm trying to expand my horizons :)

I liked this quite a lot, despite the lack of stand-up men. It was a very different reading experience for me—I spent a good chunk of the story enraged in sympathy for Kim and Reese. I hate that this kind of stuff happens in the military, and I hate that women still have to play games just to be accepted—and that's not just in the military and law enforcement. Maybe that's why I prefer M/M; it's a bit more about escapism. But ma ...more

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Dec 23, 2014 Jody rated it it was amazing

The realities of females in the military is vividly on display in this tale that immerses readers in intense emotions and unrelenting uncertainty and helplessness. It's not always a feel-good story but is a very important one that needs to be told and is done so commendably.

The female characters in this male-dominated world are strong-willed and realistically portrayed to make them easy to relate to and to see yourself in their positions. Surrounding these admirable women are a group of men bond The realities of females in the military is vividly on display in this tale that immerses readers in intense emotions and unrelenting uncertainty and helplessness. It's not always a feel-good story but is a very important one that needs to be told and is done so commendably.

The female characters in this male-dominated world are strong-willed and realistically portrayed to make them easy to relate to and to see yourself in their positions. Surrounding these admirable women are a group of men bonded through the good old boy system. It increased the feelings of helplessness as it seemed there was no one to count on. Luckily there was one shining light that decided to be an officer and a gentleman among all the crude commentary and trash talking constantly heard to make the workplace such a hostile environment. To survive, females either became friends or tore each other down with words.

Both Reese and Kim tried to live up to an image that they thought would keep them safe and help them be a part of the club. Unfortunately, pretending to be someone else backfired for them in a very harsh way. Once they finally chose to be themselves are they able to succeed. Having a connection that's based on friendship also helps and in this story it nicely morphed into more. Their sensual scenes were subtly erotic and reinforced their deep connection through the freeing feelings these interludes brought out. The friends to lovers theme, which is a favorite of mine, was done beautifully here. There was almost a lyrical and dream-like quality to it in fact.

From start to finish this was an engaging read with realistic and well-documented issues that the author didn't sugarcoat. The characters were easy to relate to, made their feelings ours, and dealt with things in a believable way. My only criticism is in how quickly the story concluded. I wish the actual trial and people's reactions to it had been addressed more fully. This story on many levels had a HEA but the reality is that what befell these military women continues to happen and only in speaking out can the tide be turned. On that level this story succeeds even further and I commend Ms. Gallagher on her bringing this serious issue to the forefront in such dramatic fashion. ...more

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Mar 15, 2015 Whitney rated it it was ok

Shelves: cops-crime-mystery, lesbian, abuse-trauma, free-read

I wanted to like this, but I couldn’t get into it and had to force myself to finish. My biggest issue, I think, was that I didn’t really feel any chemistry between Reese and Kim. I can see them being friends and bonding over both being survivors of rape, but I can’t see that turning into the long-lasting relationship.

I know that Reese apologized a million times, but for her to (initially) blame the victim after what happened to her was so gross. But I am glad she changed her tune and that the bo ...more

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