Overview

Aidan Headly never wanted to be the man giving orders.
That's fine with the Democratic State Force base he's been assigned to command: they don't like to take orders. Nicknamed the Wildcards, they used to be the most effective base against the seven Corporations owning the former United States in a war that has lasted over half a century. Now the Wildcards are known for creative insubordination, chaos, and commanders begging to be reassigned. Aidan is their last chance. If he can pull off his assignment as Commander and yank his ragtag crew of dreamers and fighters together, maybe they can get back to doing what they came to do: fighting for a country worth living in.
Life's a bitch. She deals off the bottom of the deck. But you play the hands you're given.

Review

"Romance adds heart to this dark, character-driven SF debut, set in a dystopic 2155 where the United States of America has been replaced by the all-controlling seven United Corporations. Outside the Corporation grid that spans Colorado and Wyoming lies Base 1407, home to the Wildcards, a group of resistance fighters struggling to regroup after the death of their commander, Paul Taylor. Two awful commanders have tried and failed to get the Wildcards to shape up. When Aidan Headley reluctantly accepts the command post, the Wildcards' Logistics Officer, Kevin McIllian, expects another brutal tyrant; instead he gets gentle, compassionate Aidan. As Aidan and Kevin bond during movie nights, their developing relationship heals deeper personal wounds in both men, freeing Aidan to reveal that he's transgender. Themes of bigotry and past trauma make the Wildcards' journey occasionally painful to read, but the found family forged by these lovable characters is worth sticking with. This is a lovely paean to the healing power of respectful personal connections among comrades, friends, and lovers."
-Publisher's Weekly

"I'd recommend this to those who love futuristic dystopian stories where the oppressed fight back the best way they can, where love is discovered, where a family is rebuilt, and where something precious can be built in a desolate Country."
-MM Good Book Reviews

"Stories about groups of misfit heroes fighting the good fight are usually an easy sell for me, but what caught my attention especially with The Hands We're Given is the honesty and sincerity in the characters of the story. I didn't just see that Aidan had insecurities he was dealing with - his transitioning body, finding his feet as the new commander of a highly unconventional military unit, etc. I felt it in all of its beautiful, squirming awkwardness with him throughout the story. And the disillusionment, anger, fear, concern, even, the unit felt as they wrestled with how to treat Aidan was genuine. Their tight-knit group was on the edge of being disbanded was something I felt in my gut along with them.
Some of the world-building elements in this story were fantastic as well. With the current political climate here in the U.S. of A, I can easily see partisanship ripping the government apart and sending the country into chaos. As large as some corporations have become, I can see them stepping in to 'bring back stability' and creating their own governing systems in the process. Other elements like technologies that physically keep undesirables out of certain areas or mend security fences, heavy drone usage, and extreme targeted marketing create a societal framework that could be considered nightmarish.
I also really enjoyed getting a glimpse of a different type of misfit than I normally see in these types of stories.
Reading books outside of your norm can be challenging, but worth it. I'm invested in the Wildcards now, and I plan to add the next volume of this series to my reading list."
-Cat Pollock, Cat Pollock Writes

I was anxious about this one right from the start. I'm not really a dystopian fan (and yet, I've really loved some of those). Also, with the author's "alert" about the romance arc in the story, I gulped. The plot centers on a gay romance, in which one of the couple is a trans man. How would Tearmann handle this? How would the characters be presented for a reader like me, who has come a long way, but maybe still struggles? What is most remarkable about this story is the gentle skill that the author brings to their handling of that key question for me (and, presumably, for others). The author helps us open our minds and hearts, to embrace unfamiliarity. Tearmann makes us care about all the characters, and that makes their job all the easier. Aiden Headly is a young officer in the Democratic State Force, which has for the last sixty years fought against the United Corporations of America. We are in an America divided into heavily-guarded, high-tech corporate zones known as the Grid, and Force-controlled military installations known as the Dust. We are in a world where climate change and political deadlock have resulted in a nation that is isolated, only engaged with the rest of the world because of its technological and medical power; a world eerily recognizable to the modern reader. The world that Tearmann has created is strange and intense. The goals of the Wildcards are, in this book, specific and short-term. It is hard to fathom how the Force plans to beat the Corporation in the long run and take back America for its people. For now, the author is happy to introduce us into the world they have imagined, and to help us get accustomed to its unnerving realities. The major plot arc here is the relationship between Kevin and Aiden, and ultimately the way in which these two men, each with a potentially damaging secret, will establish the groundwork for their base's larger actions in the books to come. Without a cliffhanger, Tearmann leaves us yearning for whatever comes next. The Wildcards have so very much to do. - ULYSSES DIETZ, MEMBER OF THE PARANORMAL GUILD REVIEW TEAM