A review by redhairedashreads
Damage Control by Jess Anastasi

3.0

 

3 stars - I liked it

Captain Leigh Alphin is the captain of the Fighter Force of the battleship Valiant Knox and is known as a hardass. He is an honorable and straightforward man who finds himself falling for one of his new recruits. While he tries to keep his distance, circumstances keep pulling them closer and he can’t resist Mia. 

I expected Leigh to be a stuffy military captain and he was, but he was also surprisingly sweet and open with his feelings towards Mia. He tries to resist Mia but when he realizes he can’t he goes all in with his feelings and is willing to give up everything for her, which was very sweet. Mia was an extremely smart woman who I liked. I liked that she tries to set boundaries and keep them to protect Leigh and her jobs and reputations, even if it doesn’t work in the end. 

My only real complaints about this book are that I think it was a little too easy for Mia to access systems on the Vaillant Knox. While it kept the story moving, I did have a few moments where I questioned how easily she accessed sensitive information and messed with cameras and systems. Also, while I did enjoy Mia and Leigh’s relationship, it still bothered me that this is a commanding officer falling for a new recruit who is only 21. This kind of trope bothers me a little because I know how easy it is for this to be abused, but I think Leigh was an honorable man who wasn’t abusing his situation. I just know I was a little put off by this in the beginning when their relationship was still being worked out. 

This book also finally provides us with the history of this war and why it started. I know after finishing the first book I was left with a lot of questions about why this all was happening and now most of those have been resolved. The CSS definitely should not win but their recent changes in attacking has definitely made it harder for the UEF to stop them. This has definitely made this whole war very tense and makes me very interested in seeing what will happen in the next book. 

Trigger Warnings: on page attempted rape; PTSD; violence and injuries