#TheMaverick by @Jen_Valenti

By Pamelascott

Jane Valiante had put so much of her life on hold to care for her father and little brother back in Florida since her mom died, that she'd all but forgotten she once had ambitions of her own. She had nearly resigned to a life of ordinary when the hottest tech company in the world offers to fly her to New York for the job of her dreams.

After what shapes up to be a whirlwind of an interview, Jane starts to feel overwhelmed and insecure about her chances. Feeling defeated, she's surprised to receive an invitation to the holiday party from the CEO and Founder, Peter Wright, planned for that evening. Hoping this could be her opportunity to seal the deal, she happily accepts. That's when everything in her world turns upside down as she finds herself back in her hotel room with Peter after the party. What started as a drunken misunderstanding leads to a brutal sexual assault that leaves Jane shattered.

Torn by the violence of what happened that night and the shocking choices she inevitably makes, Jane embarks on a precedent-setting journey to right the wrongs she has endured that could ultimately define the fate of a generation.

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I read somewhere that blacking out from drinking is caused by the effect alcohol has on the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain responsible for memory. CHAPTER ONE, THE INTERVIEW

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(Broken Arrow Books, 7 December 2020, 349 pages, ebook, copy from the publisher via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)

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This is an impressive debut and I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next. It's not an easy book to read by any stretch of the imagination and can get pretty intense at times as the subject matter includes PTSD and sexual assault. I read the book in smaller chunks than usual as I found it very emotional and hard-going at times. I cried a lot. This packs an emotional punch. It's a pretty fantastic read. Jane is a great character and her strength and strong will really comes across. I can't wait to read the follow-up.