Alright, I'll admit it, I saw the cover and hit the request button without reading the blurb. I didn't even read the blurb after I was approved for it. 

Why would I do such a thing? Well, I have a little cover lust problem, and I thought this cover was freaking bad-ass. 

This is not my typical read. This is not a romance. This is a balls-to-the-wall, revenge filled, graphic, bloody, crime novel. 

Mila Zago, who is she? She is a bad-ass, katana swinging, gun shooting, punch throwing Italian chick with the biggest balls I've ever seen. She is awesome. I think I may be in love with her. 

When you get right down to it, this story is Italian Mafia vs. Chinese Gang vs. Mila Zago. 

I have so many thoughts running through my head where this book is concerned. I really did enjoy it. It was bloody and violent and I did do some cringing. Despite all of that, I still liked it and I didn't want to stop reading it. This is supposed to be the first in a series about Mila and I think I may continue on with it. Its a good break from my usual. 

I did have a couple of things that bugged me with it. One being the racial slurs in the beginning. They did seem to die off and I wasn't really sure what their purpose was. The other thing was all of Mila's "matrix-like" skills. The author explained her strength and all with the training she had but some of it just seemed unreal. Those were my only gripes. Other than that, I really did enjoy this. 

If you're looking for something with a kick-ass heroine and you can handle the violence you will ultimately like this. 

*Copy received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Racial slurs, anyone???

Page 19 and I've counted 3 definite and 1 maybe. 

Rather disappointing on the whole.

http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2014/02/its-like-that-time-you-trained-up-to-be.html

Two rival gangs fight for control of northern Italy's underworld and at the center of it all is a mysterious redhead named Mila. Will anyone be left standing when Mila is finished?

I got this from Netgalley and Exhibit A.

The Ballad of Mila reads like a combination of Fistful of Dollars and Kill Bill. The story is that of a wronged woman who trains for years, arranges for her mortal enemies to nearly annihilate one another, then swoops in to finish things up. Sound pretty good?

Mila is a deadly heroine from the Lisbeth Salander school of ass kicking. Not only is she a fearsome martial artist, she's also good with swords, knives, the Colt .45 and sniper rifles. That's what you get when you're raised by your WWII veteran grandfather after you see your father murdered, I guess. 

The villains are suitably vile, though both are attached to their families. I almost felt sorry for them given how they had no chance against Mila. And therein lies the rub. Mila is such a bad ass that I was kind of bored. While the blood and gore was fun, Mila escaped almost without a scratch.

This book feels like more like a Hard Case title than an Exhibit A one. Hell, it feels more like a Hard Case more than most of the recent Hard Case releases as well. It's a fun pulpy action story. As long as you're not expecting the second coming of The Big Sleep, it should make for a few enjoyable hours of reading. 3 out of 5 stars.