Review: Blamed (Blood Money #1) by Edie Harris

Born into a long line of spies, sanctioned killers and covert weapons developers, Beth Faraday carried out her first hit-for-hire when she was still a teenager.

That part of her life—the American spy royalty part—ended one year ago, with a job gone wrong in Afghanistan. The collateral damage she caused with a single shot was unfathomable and, for Beth, unforgivable. She’s worked hard to build a new life for herself, far away from the family business.

But someone, somewhere, hasn’t forgotten what Beth did in Kabul. And they want revenge.

As the Faraday clan bands together to defend Beth and protect their legacy, Beth is forced to flee her new home with the unlikeliest of allies—MI6 agent Raleigh Vick, the only man she’s ever loved. And the one she thought she’d killed in the desert.

Goodreads | Source: E-arc provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Review:
I am not a fan of romantic suspense but everyone was raving about Blamed on twitter so I figured I would give it a try because while I don’t enjoy suspense – I really love assassins & spies!

This new series (Blood Money) is about the members of the Farady family. They own Faraday Industries – the first family of spies, assassins, computer geniuses and weapons specialists. When the US government needs a covert group to fix things on the down low they call the Faraday’s. I loved everything about The Farady family. They are complex and badass and I’m looking forward to all the siblings books but Blamed starts with the youngest Farady, Beth’s story.

If you are born into the Farady family it’s a given that you are expected to be part of the family business and Beth Farady was groomed from the age of 16 to become their best assassin. She’s grown wary though after a job gone wrong and the loss of someone she cared deeply for. She yearns for a normal life and her brothers help make it happen for her. She’s happy. Sort of. Until her world is turned upside down and she’s drawn back in to the business and into the arms of the man she’s loved for over a decade but isn’t sure she can trust anymore.

Blamed constantly keeps you on your toes. Beth is in REAL danger. The bad guys are BAD. She’s tough yet vulnerable and I loved her. She keeps a clear head in bad situations. Her brothers are understandably protective of their baby sister but not in a way that they don’t trust her judgment or plow over her. I hate when authors create such a tough female character only to have the men around them treat her like a bratty toddler. That didn’t happen here.

The romance was a little mixed for me. Beth and Vick’s past is told through dual pov and flashbacks, which worked surprisingly well, but I’m not sure I understood how they could be that in love with so few actual interactions over a long stretch of time. On the other hand – the sappy side of me kind of swooned at the amount of loyalty and dedication to each other. I don’t know how realistic it is but it made me happy anyway. Logic be damned! Very steamy sex scenes but that kind of took a back seat for me. I was much more interested in Vick’s motivations and the outcome for Beth and their mission.

This is a really gritty, unique, wild, erotic, intense kickoff to a promising new series. Oh man the set up for the next book – Beth’s brother – was ZOMG.