The book begins with the author talking about being a sexual assault survivor and how this book is inspired by her story. I admire the author for wanting to do this, however the writing style chosen for this book didn't work for me, so I am unwilling to continue reading. (DNF)

Jane gets a job opportunity of a lifetime, in the city of all cities, New York. But what happens when you're faced to work on an everyday basis with the man who has raped you?

We follow Jane, just an ordinary woman, like any one of us. Her guilty pleasure is keeping up with gossip blogs. She has OCD. Has a profile on multiple social media profiles. Lost her mom to cancer, and loves her dad and brother more than anything in the world. She has a good group of friends. She can be a bit awkward and shy but lets loose with a little bit of liquid courage. Jane is just a normal person.

If you are triggered by stories involving sexual assault, this may not be for you. We follow Jane through it all. The moment of getting raped, and the aftermath. We dive deep into all of her feelings - the guilt, the shame, the pain. The courage it takes to admit what happened. To deal with it all. To learn how to move on. To find a way to move on.

You get to see what victims of sexual assault feel, and what they go through. Open your mind and be ready to understand and learn.

I would recommend it to all those who want to maybe read something out of the norm. To get a glimpse into real life and how that life may look like for someone who has gone through something as horrible as sexual assault.

Jane Valiente, is head hunter by a tech startup and interviews for the job. The outside looks stylish and the inside offers a look into a culture innovation and design. Jane worries if she will fit in and in an effort to do that accepts an invitation to the company party. The drinks flow and Jane finds her inhibition dropping. She invites one of the cofounders to share a cab and subsequently her invite turns ugly and ends in assault. Reeling she is surprised to be offered the job, a job she really will not have come her way again. Reluctantly she accepts and finds her footing in her dream job, rising to the occasion. An opportunity for the company to go public has Jane heading a division critical to their success, when an unwanted overture by her boss finds her not only rejecting him physically but Jane returns to her job to find herself jobless and adrift. As she navigates her options a pattern has emerged among female employees that Jane can no longer ignore. A battle with serious consequences ensues and while I won’t spoil the outcome I will say, it is a moment both satisfying and altruistic. Happy reading

Sometimes we make stupid decisions and they stay with us for a very long time leaving their imprint on our mind, heart, and soul.

Jane Valiante, twenty-seven year old, has felt a duty to her brother and he father to stay with them after her mother's death. Now, however a dream job opportunity might possibly be in the offering in New York City, and Jane heads from Florida to her interview. All seems to go well, and surprisingly she is invited to this company's holiday celebration. There's lots going in at the party, lots of drinking and indulging and Jane goes in for the drinking part quite heavily.

She unwittingly and drunkenly invites one of her soon to possibly be bosses, Peter Wright, to share her hotel room with her since he was so drunk he couldn't get home. He accepts and this sets in motion a tragedy for Jane that she didn't anticipate.

When she returns to Florida, reeling from the experience she keeps everything to herself, telling no one, not even her best friend. Jane thinks the job opportunity will be gone and is ever so surprised when she is offered the position with the allure of a large paycheck and many advantages but there is one disadvantage ...her new boss, Peter. Jane accepts the position and from there sets in motion Jane's ability to seek retribution and the ability to find out who she really is.

I applaud the author for broaching a topic that she herself was involved in. The criticism I have is about the writing. The dialogue often felt stilted and juvenile, although I do recognize this is a debut author. I hope in the rest of the books in this series, that Ms Valenti develops her writing style for she has much to say about the way our world works.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this story due out December 7, 2020.

This is a “did not finish” for me. The writing is simplistic with similes and metaphors that were over the top. There’s a lot of unnecessary details that felt like filler.

Also, for such an important subject it would have been helpful to have a more likable main character.

I wish the author all the best but this was not for me. I will not be leaving reviews on any social media sites since I was unable to finish the book.

This was a great read by Ms. Valenti in her debut book. Jane was a very relatable character with the challenges she faced. In the era of #metoo, this book should be a must read with all new hires. It shows that office parties and alcohol do not mix but also, women should not be afraid if anything happens.

The maverick is the first book in the series and I must say it is an amazing start to the series. It is an eye-opener which provides us with insights into the life of a sexual assault victim. And even though some of the topics covered in the book were not pleasant at all, I enjoyed reading the book.

Jane Valiente is a data scientist in an insurance company in Florida. Her family consists of her dad and her 13-year-old brother. Jane’s mom died of breast cancer and her father is recovering from a stroke. Jane gets a wonderful opportunity to interview for her dream job. The job interview is for a tech start-up company. She prepares for the interview. And then something happens which she had not even imagined in her wildest dreams. Despite the horror of what happens, Jane accepts the job offer. And then, while working for the company she gets to know that she is not the only one. Circumstances get dangerous and now it’s time for Jane to take a decision. Will she take the right decisions and get justice? Or will she prioritize her dream job?

Characters are so well developed and written that I felt as though I knew them and that I actually live with them. I loved Jane’s friendship with Carmen. Carmen is that person in Jane’s life who is always there to help no matter what. And then there were some characters in the book towards whom I felt so much hatred.

The book is really very well-written. The story kept unfolding bit by bit. I loved how the character Jane developed throughout the book. She dreamed she prepared, she got attacked, she cried, she healed and it eventually made her stronger.

The book is heartbreaking. But it is very well written. I loved the writing style of the author. Her narrating style is amazing. It keeps the reader on the edge till the end. The book is full of brilliantly written narrations and twists & turns.

A timely novel set against the backdrop of assault (both sexual and mental) in the modern day tech community.

A much needed trigger warning is front and centre at the start of the book. Being a male reader who has never been sexually assaulted it was easy to blow by this warning but given the fantastic writing I found myself thinking back to that warning upon my completion of the book and being more appreciative that it was there.

Jane is like many young people today: burdened with student debt, dealing with aging parents, feeling pressure to become “something”. She is given the opportunity to interview for a job at a company she admires in New York City that is run by men she considers to be somewhat inspirational. After a day full of interviews, she is invited to a party the company is throwing that night. Seeing an opportunity to further ingratiate herself, she gladly accepts the invite. After a boozy night for all concerned, an assault occurs and the emotional rollercoaster of The Maverick takes off and barely lets go.

Not only is this novel well written and engrossing, to me it was educational. Yes I have friends who have been sexually assaulted but I’ve never had the nerve to really pry into their thought process after something so raw. The Maverick has given me the opportunity to learn and understand through a likeable main character and the right amount of supporting cast, all of whom with distinctive background stories.

Jane’s story, handled with equal parts heartbreak and humour, will stick with me. Admittedly parts of the book slowed for me when it dove a little too deep into the technical aspects of her job, but that may not be the same for others as it allows a peek behind the curtain of what happens during a hackathon. Also, being so enamoured with her, I felt the ending came up quick compared to the tempo of the rest of the novel. That said, it was handled well and features a cool little twist.

A great read and, dare I say, a good one for any male looking to do a dive into an assault victims psyche for a better understanding of what a friend, co-worker, or relation is fighting through.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Broken Arrow Books for supplying a copy of this work for review.

“I thought it ironic that in times of great trauma, the responsibility to comfort seemingly lies on both the shoulders of those we support as well as those who support us. I could tell finding out what had happened to me cut her to the core.”

TW: rape, sexual assault

I wanted to put a warning before my review because of the triggering content in this book, but I also want to mention that this is the first book I’ve ever read that came with its own trigger warning at the beginning. I really appreciated that. As someone who’s been assaulted (not sexually, but nonetheless), I’ve come to learn that mental and emotional prep for such content is imperative. So I want to thank the author, Jennifer, for being so thoughtful.
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It’s easy to assume what we’d do in the situation of rape, sexual assault, or any assault; it’s easy to say you’d think fast and land a nice throat punch or kick the attacker in the sac. But anyone who’s been in the situation knows that’s bullshit—and that’s exactly what Jane Valiente learned.
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Since her mother’s passing a few years ago, tech-savvy Jane Valiente has put her dreams and aspirations on hold in order to care for her father and younger brother in Florida. However, after scoring an interview at a startup in NYC run by a Silicon Valley idol of hers, she decides it’s time to focus on her own life. After a long day of interviews, Jane is invited to the staff holiday party to mingle with who could be her future colleagues. But the work-hard/party-hard culture gets the best of her immediately, and she finds herself in a horrifying situation back at her hotel room. With her prospective boss.
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This is a story about manipulation and control, and it highlights how much we, as women, have to toughen up and go through a stupid amount of prep and conditioning just to hope to see justice. But like her last name suggests, Jane is valiant, and she won’t stop until she takes him down. She owes it to herself, and to a few others.

This is one of those stories that whilst it is emotionally hard to read at times, it is also hard to put down. This isn't a story I would normally go for but I have been pushing myself to try new genres and authors and I am so glad I recieved an ARC of this. Every chapter had me gripped.

Jane is such a strong woman and despite what she was put through, she still fought for what was right and for those around her which I found inspiring. Whilst her job was confusing and hard to understand, I also found it very interesting. Jane took her new role very seriously and I found myself feeling very proud of her.

Whilst the topic is a tough one, it is a true eye opener and really helps you understand how someone deals with that kind of trauma and why they may choose to hide it.

Oh wow what a book. The explanation at the beginning that Jennifer was in a similar position to Jane and that's what inspired to her write this novel. Jennifer you are an inspiration and should be incredibly proud of this stunning book.

I have never been in the situation that you and Jane have been in but if I ever was I'm not sure I could deal with it the same way. I know second hand the effects of sexual abuse and it makes me feel sick to think it happens, but it does.

It's people like you having strength to share your story and help people understand it more that will help reduce and one day eradicate it. That's the hope anyway.

I loved the connection between Carmen and Jane, such good friends. Yet still Jane couldn't share with her (understandably) what had happened. I was totally gripped reading this book. I felt so angry with Peter, how dare he think because he is a boss and a man that he can treat someone this way and not just one person, several. He is the epitomy of a (word I won't put in a review).

I was literally punching the air at the end. What an incredible woman Jane is and you are.

The Epilogue made me cry, what a difficult life, but like me you took the bad and turned it into positive. What an amazing novel and an inspiring woman, I cannot wait to read the next one. I felt so empowered once I'd finished this book.

I really enjoyed this book. The story arc was believable and the characters strong. While my initial reaction to a couple of things was different to that of the way the character acted, I did think that the way she acted was more fitting and true to her than if she had made a different decision. I hope there will be others in the series as I'd like to see where the story goes from here.

This book was quite difficult to read, the subject not the writing style. Based on a true story this is an honest and brutal account of what happened. Aside from the major thing that happened it shows that woman are not equals in this world. Even to this day women have to prove themselves to be worthy in this so called corrupt mans world!

I did get upset reading this but at the same time I couldn't put the book down and I stayed up very late to finish the story as I needed closure. I thought it was well written and I ended up on a rollercoaster of emotions, sad, angry, happy. I look forward to reading more by this author.

4.5 stars!!
The author of The Maverick, Jeniffer Valenti uses her own story as inspiration to write this book which in my opinion, made it more meaningful than ever. Books like these are capable of empowering so many people and I think The Maverick was successful in doing that. The author uses first person narrative which I thought was an incredible choice because I could understand Jane and her experiences in a more profound way. The other characters in the book were quite interesting to read about especially Katie which I know might be an unpopular opinion but her intentions and motives really intrigued me. Overall, this book was beautiful and emotional and I loved reading about Jane’s journey. I can’t wait to read the second book of The Jane Valiante Series

A brutal sexual assault by her employer leads to one woman's unexpected journey to shape a generation. The Jane Valiante Series, beginning with The Maverick, examines the modern challenges women still face as they make their way through the post-Me-Too era.

Firstly congrats to Jen on a brilliant debut novel. For using her own experience with sexual assault to write such a great book.

I find it hard to say I liked this book as it's a tough one to read being about sexual assault. Janes assault happens early on in the book and the rest of the book is based around that. The assault is itself hard to read. I was upset reading it and just wanted to give jane a big hug. How Jane feels she needs to keep the assault to herself is heartbreaking. The fact the author is a victim of sexual assault upset me reading about Janes attack. Although this book is fiction, the feeling and emotions are clearly real.

I really liked Jane. Although I didnt always agree with her decisions I did accept them to an extent as she was struggling with trauma from the attack. I loved how strong she was and very likeable. Even Going through such a tough time she was always thinking of how it was going to effect others be it friends, family or fellow work colleagues. I just loved her friendship with Carmen. It was so special and they are both so lucky to have each other.

Imagiene sounded like such a toxic place to work. It had the most intelligent people working there trying to make a difference but controlled by nasty management.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. There was good flow and kept me engaged throughout. It does come with trigger warning: rape, sexual trauma. It is descriptive without being to graphic.

I'm so happy I got to be part of this book tour. Thanks love tours and Jen for my ARC copy and amazing extras that came with it. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series

The #MeToo movement has done much to increase public outcry regarding the mistreatment of women by men. I applaud Jennifer Valenti on writing this book and speaking out about her own experiences as the survivor of sexual violence. Women are so often judged as being deserving of such behavior. This book reveals the behavior women have learned over eons: we are unworthy of love; we deserve to be treated badly; sexual assault is our fault because we asked for it by dressing provocatively, by not dressing provocatively, by being to outgoing, by being too shy—essentially just by being female.

Unfortunately, I found the depth of emotion to be somewhat lacking in a book I had hoped would be gut-wrenching. The writing was dry, even the dialogue between two best friends, Jane and Carmen. I would have expected a more suspenseful approach to Jane’s treatment within Imaigene.

As you can tell from the synopsis, there are some trigger warnings needed in regards to rape and sexual assault. This part of the story happens quite early on, and the majority of the book focuses on the aftermath for Jane. I felt so much for Jane. The descriptions in this book of the assault itself and the feelings Jane felt afterwards felt so real. And that's because Jennifer Valenti herself is a victim of sexual assault. She has used her experiences to write The Jane Valiante Series. As I knew this going into the book, it made it that bit harder to read, knowing that in a way, although the story is fiction, what I was reading was true.

There were times that I found it so hard to read on, I wanted to shout at Jane, encourage her to change her mind on some of her choices. But then I thought to myself, I'm reading this as an outsider, as someone who luckily has never gone through what she has, so who's to say how I would react if I were in her shoes? It's easy to say what to do or how to react from the outside looking in, but how do you know how you'd actually be afterwards? And I had to keep reminding myself of that every time I felt frustrated with Jane for her actions.

I loved Jane's friendship with Carmen, I feel like every woman should have a Carmen in their lives. Someone who has always got your back no matter what. Other characters in the book though, not so much. I felt so much hatred towards some of them and their sneaky ways. It's been a while since I've felt so strongly against a character like these!

I think this book was really well-written, with detailed descriptions throughout, especially when it came to Jane's career. Jane has such a complex job, it definitely seemed like a one of a kind type of job to me. I won't lie, I found some of the work vocabulary and sections quite hard to read, not because they were boring or anything, just because I had no idea of the field of work she was in, so some of it went over my head a little. To be honest, that is the only reason I didn't give this one 5 stars and gave it 4, and that says more about me than the book itself.

It's hard to say "I loved this book" when the topics covered are so awful, but I did really enjoy reading it. It opened my eyes and made me question situations. It is such an eye opener into the world of someone who has suffered a sexual assault.

I want to thank Jennifer Valenti, Kelly from Love Book Tours and the people at Hyde Park Press for gifting me this book, I will definitely be reading the future books in the series when they come out!

*Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Valenti and Broken Arrow Books for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review*

The Maverick is Jennifer Valenti's debut novel and wow what a debut! This book was amazing. Jane is offered the opportunity of a lifetime to interview with Imagiene, a tech company using science to diagnose Stage 1 Breast Cancer. She flies to NYC but the interview does not go as planned. There are parts that are difficult to read but ultimately truth prevails and justice is done. Ms. Valenti has done a wonderful job developing Jane's character from an interviewee more on the meek side to a dynamo with self confidence to move forward. As a reader, I didn't always agree with Jane's decisions and sometimes, I just wanted to shake her, but in the end, she became someone I could admire.

I gave this debut novel 4 stars because there is a scene at the very end of the book that I thought didn't fit with the rest of the book and was almost "silly". In most of The Maverick, I found the silliness did well in balance with the heavy subject matter but the last scene felt gratuitous.

The topic of this book was really hard to read, but ultimately it's a story of a strong woman overcoming a terrible situation and using her experience to help others. Jane is a likable character who's easy to root for. The way the story is written feels like sitting down to coffee with a friend and being caught up on what had happened to them. Even though it's fiction, I highly recommend it to anyone who has been a victim of rape, sexual assault, or sexual harassment as a reminder that they are not alone.

i had a lot of fun reading this book, it was a great start to a series. I found the writing wonderfully done and the characters were unique.