Review: Chef (Tenillo Guardians Time Served MC Series Book 3) by Cee Bowerman

Chef: Time Served MC, Book 3 by Cee Bowerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two Ex-Cons In Love

I’d probably give this book 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This book is the third in a continuing series that intersects with the Tenillo Guardians Ares Infidels MC, which starts with Sin's Enticement by Ciara St James. Each series alternates to progress the timeline in a single story arc, however, there aren’t really any cliffhangers.

This book is about Chef and Brea, both of whom we’ve met in previous books. Chef is a high school science teacher who went to prison when he killed the dealer/pimp that helped his daughter die of an overdose. They call him Chef because he cooked up a toxic chemical smoke bomb that killed him and his associates. He’d lost his wife, his high school sweetheart to illness before the death of his daughter which probably helped him go off the rails.

He’s a huge guy who used to play American Football but is gentle and kind with the people he cares about. He really cares about Brea and Sis her daughter. He’s loved Brea since he met her around 5 years ago whilst she was still married.

Brea is also an ex-con. She was a drug addict who stole to get her next fix. She’s been clean for quite a while now and lives quietly and reasonably happy in Tenillo. Her husband died a few years ago and she’s scared to get involved with anyone again to get her heartbroken. She’s loved Chef for over a year but won’t act on her feelings because of her fear.

I felt like the plot was a little weaker in this book than in the others. Brea and Chef already knew and loved each other so they didn't have to make their lives mesh awkwardly, in fact, it didn’t take much to persuade her to take a chance on being with Chef at all.

There was very little progress made on the story arc that goes over the whole interconnecting series and though some drama came from it, it didn’t feel very impactful. The events should have been, but the emotions felt muted.

There were some spicy scenes between Chef and Brea that were quite enjoyable but didn’t feel natural in their set-up.

I feel that this book missed the mark for me, which is unusual for this author, so I’m sure that future books will be back to their usual enjoyment levels, so I’m unlikely to walk away from this author for a slightly lacklustre enjoyment of one book.

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Review: Coyote (Hawks MC: Next Generation Series Book 1) by Lila Rose

Coyote by Lila Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aussie MC Fun

This is the first book of series that is a spin-off from the Hawks MC series. This series targets the younger generation that were children in the first series. This means there is a backstory that isn’t discussed in this book, but I think you could probably get away with starting with this book and not missing out too much. It would definitely make it a richer experience to read the first series though.

Cody ‘Coyote’ Marcus is the son of Talon, the president of Hawks MC. When we last saw him he was a young teenager. Now he is 28 years old and a successful business owner. He’s also a fully patched member of Hawks MC.

Channa is a 22-year-old business owner. She runs the bakery she and her mother opened a few years earlier and she has continued with it after the sudden death of her mother. She knew Coyote when she was in high school, and he rescued her from one of the most humiliating incidents of her life.

They come into contact again when Channa helps a friend of the Hawks MC, who is being attacked outside her house. In order to protect her from retaliation, Hawks members are to guard her round the clock. Coyote is one of those members.

This is actually quite a slow burn romance and I really enjoyed it. Coyote has always wanted the kind of relationship his Dad and Step-Mum have, and he knew his Dad had to be very patient in order to get that. He’s willing to put the work in for someone special. It’s so refreshing for an MC romance to not be insta-love, but actually have the couple spending time getting to know each other before jumping into bed.

I love the way Lila Rose writes her characters. They are always fascinating and multi-layered. You believe they could exist and they become very real to the reader. This is true not only of the main characters but also of the characters that surround them. In this case, I particularly loved Stanley the 60-year-old ex-army guy who decorates Channa’s cakes for her business. He’s just fabulously grumpy and also sweet and protective of Channa.

Old favourite characters from the original series make appearances, which is always fun, but they also stand out from the page just from how they are written in this book, so you don't need experience of the original series to enjoy them.

The plot is fairly predictable, but not completely, so it’s still entertaining. However, with this series, it’s all about the people and their relationships and the fabulously funny banter. I laughed out loud many times in this book. My partner kept looking at me strangely as I don’t often do that.

It’s a warm and inviting read, with plenty of spice later on. If you haven’t read any Lila Rose this is a good place to start if you don’t want to go all the way back to the beginning, though I can confirm that the beginning book was pretty good too and a really enjoyable read.

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Review: Executioner's Enthrallment (Tenillo Guardians Ares Infidels MC Series Book 2) by Ciara St James

Executioner's Enthrallment by Ciara St. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

More of a Bulldozer Than An Executioner

I’d probably give this book 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This book is the second in a continuing series. That series is also set in the same world as Cee Bowerman’s Tenillo Guardian TSMC series, the first book of which is Boss: Time Served MC book 1, and the two series alternate with some timeline overlaps. You can read either series on their own, but it makes more sense if you read both series.

Executioner is the club enforcer for Ares Infidels MC, an MC set up for ex-servicemen. He is ex-Marine Force Recon, 6’6” and pretty scary. He also loves his friends and his family and would do anything to protect them.

A month ago, Ex hooked up with a girl when he was out of town visiting his old teammate who was in the hospital. He was smitten but never knew her name and she left before morning. When he bumps into her during the course of his club duties he pounces and finds out her name is Skye and she’s 10 years his junior, at 23 years old. She works in her mother’s flower shop and also does books on the side. She has two younger brothers who she helps look after.

I have mixed feelings about this book. At first glance, it’s sweet the way Ex bulldozers over all of Skye’s hesitations to make sure she knows he’s all in for her. He’s constantly texting her and turning up on one pretext or another. On one hand, this seems sweet because we know Skye actually likes him, on the other hand, this is the behaviour of a stalker. He ignores her statements that she doesn’t want anything to do with him and manipulates the situation so he’s with her all the time and can wear her down. His behaviour is manipulative, but it’s all ok because we know Skye likes him really she just doesn’t trust men not to hurt her. It’s typical ‘I’m a man and I know best’ behaviour and I don’t like it, even in fiction.

I also don’t like how incredibly insecure Skye is and how she loses her mind with Ex on a regular basis without getting any facts. She jumps to conclusions and doesn’t let him explain. It’s typical insecure 23-year-old behaviour and I don’t like this either, even in fiction.

If I put those two things aside I can say that it’s actually an ok book. The plot is interesting and there are lots of hints about where the long term story arc is going, but little is resolved, just enough to resolve the story contained within in this book.

I will warn that there are some grisly scenes in this book, with explicit violence described which could upset some readers. There is also a lot of hot and explicit sex, which may either offend or excite them!

Like I said above, I had mixed feelings about the book, but it is well written and is an important part of the overall storyline, so I’ll carry on reading this series and just put a pin in my reservations.

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Review: Blackhawk: Heat (Badass Security Council Series Book 15)

Blackhawk: Heat (Badass Security Council Series Book 15) by L. Ann Marie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another Generation Begins

This is the latest book in a vastly long series. Don’t start here, you won’t understand anything. Go to the beginning and start with The Baxters.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Blackhawk clan and the book where Cloud and CJ got together is a firm favourite. So reading a book about their son Mase finding the love of his life was always going to be something I would enjoy. Mase was the youngest in his family, and the rest of his siblings were adopted by his parents. He’s close to his family and has a good dose of the ‘freaky’ genes. He moved to BSC West with the younger Princes kids and has found his home at Honor Rising, as VP, where he feels a connection to the land that his Native American heritage relishes.

When Mase meets a woman it starts as hookups and very rapidly changes into something else when he finds out she has been keeping secrets and on top of that she is connected to Badass.

This story touches on child abuse and sex trafficking and though it doesn’t have many details, it is a main subject of the book and could affect you adversely if you are sensitive around this subject matter. However, as this subject has been handled many times in this series you are probably aware of the level of detail you will be exposed to.

The last book I read in the series was heavily detail orientated and left me a little cold, whereas this book returned to the heart of the series which is all about the connections between the various families and clubs and how they all help each other to do good that helps communities, country and the world.

There are a few moments that were quite emotional and sweet as well as the usual fun sexy times. As always the kids and Alpha-Bits steal the show with their cuteness.

This book is the reason I keep reading this hugely long and sometimes unpredictable series because for every slightly dubious book, there are a few of these ones. Really enjoyable reading.

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Review: Nova: Cred : Alpha Series Book 3 (Badass Security Council Series Book 14) by L Ann Marie

Nova: Cred : Alpha Series Book 3 (Badass Security Council Series Book 14) by L. Ann Marie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Complicated

I’d probably give this 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This book is about a million in a continuing series. If you haven’t read the others, don’t bother starting here, you haven’t a hope of understanding it. I’ve read all the others and I struggle to follow the complex knot of plot twists and character interactions across the series.

This book follows Nova at the Alpha Rising club. He’s ex-military and served with the VP of another club, so was introduced through him to BSC. He messed up in a previous book and it’s nice to see his character expanded and finding redemption as he takes over as SAA for his club. When he takes over he is stuck with problems made by his previous SAA and some of the people he brought in.

Nova is also taken by surprise to find he has a brother he knew nothing about. Parker was brain damaged as a child and it has left him developmentally challenged in some areas, but he’s still pretty bright. This part of the story was really sweet, but I don’t think it was really explained enough. Everyone just accepted that “oh, look these guys look a bit like each other, they must be related so we’ll do a DNA test.” Then it was accepted and no one followed it up to find out how it happened or why. It felt like a bit of a hole in the plot.

The other main character in this book is Mikey, who was raised at the Mass club with the Princes of Prophecy. Her Dad was an officer, so she got the same education as the other Princes of Prophecy kids, even though she had no special abilities. As a result, she has always been pushed to excel and succeeded at it. She moves to Alpha Rising because after her father died, her mother ran off within weeks of his death and left her behind. She wanted to get away from all the pity and reminders of her situation.

As usual, there is insta-love involved, a bit of external relationship drama and the rest is focused on how happy they are together and working within the club. This is the pattern for all the books, so you shouldn't be surprised. It’s one of the reasons I like them because they are sort of predictable in some ways and totally random in other ways.

As always the plot is complicated, slightly obscure and leaves you scratching your head at times wondering if you missed something. There are often big leaps and you have to struggle to catch up. However, I still love these books and will continue to read them.

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Review: Expired (Sundance Series Book 3.5) by CP Rider

Expired by C.P. Rider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Urban Fantasy At It’s Best

This is a sort of spin-off from the main Sundance series as it focuses on Chandra rather than Neely and Lucas. You really need to read the rest of the series to understand the characters and history, but if you miss it I don’t think it will disrupt the main storyline, but you miss out on some amazing writing, and some key character development.

I love this series so much. The characters are vivid and engaging. Their histories are fascinating and their personalities are fully explored. In this book we learn more about Chandra’s failed relationship with Cynthia when she comes to her ex's rescue after her niece goes missing. Chandra reluctantly helps out with help from Fiera and Neely, and of course in the final showdown Earp and Lucas help too.

In this book we meet Cynthia and her family and people from the leadership of the pack her niece belongs to. It gave an insight into what a pack could be if they weren’t run by someone evil, just someone a little self-centred and focussed solely on his species to the exclusion of everyone else, whether they are married to or children of pack members. I think this is a common attitude in their world which is why Blacke’s Group is so unusual in that it accepts everyone.

I love how this author carefully constructs storylines that explore the people as much as the events. There is no lack of urgency when it’s required, but she also spends time exploring emotions too.

I love that Chandra is now running the Dusty Saloon. She’s a perfect fit as an ex-assassin, second alpha, bar owner. This book really shows her moving on with her life and working out what makes her happy rather than simply doing what is necessary. I also love her friendship with Earp, who is a wonderful character. It's so refreshing that this author has a rich catalogue of characters who are over 60 and still enjoy life to the fullest, with adventures and love lives of their own. These older characters are friends with the younger characters rather than having to fulfil the mentor role that they normally are forced into.

This is such an enjoyable read, so I recommend that you start the series if you haven’t already and if you’ve started it, read this book rather than ignoring it because it’s an aside to the main plot. You’ll be missing out if you ignore it.

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Review: Stoffer (Texas Kings MC Series Book 14) by Cee Bowerman

Stoffer: Texas Kings MC, Book 14 by Cee Bowerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hilarious and Sweet with a Touch of Violence For Spice

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is part of a continuing series but the book can probably be read without reading the previous books in the series. However, if you don’t read the previous books you will miss a lot of the jokes and backstories of the characters.

This book is about Isabelle, Ella’s sister. She is older than Ella by 11 months and they look like twins. Isabelle has been working as a cook and nutritionist up in a drilling camp in Alaska. After a traumatic experience, she decided to move back to Rojo to be with her sister and niece and help the family when the new baby is born.

Stoffer is part of the Texas Kings MC and works as a mechanic at Daughtrey’s garage. He wound up in Rojo after quite some time wandering the US after his mother died. With the Texas Kings, he found a family that he had been lacking.

When Grady, Ella’s partner, asked Stoffer to pick up Isabelle from the airport they met and though sparks flew, Isabelle laid down the law and said they were going to be friends, which is exactly what they did. For the first time in his life, Stoffer wondered what it would be like to actually have a relationship rather than hookups.

I liked how the relationship took time to build and they had time to learn each other’s secrets. I also really liked that Isabelle became really close friends with Luke and Clem. They became almost like brothers to her and helped her when she really needed it.

Both Isabelle and Stoffer had a journey to make before they could get it right. Isabelle had to deal with her insecurities and Stoffer had a fear of losing himself to love. All the way through they were surrounded by family and friends.

There were so many funny parts to this book but I can honestly say one scene had tears streaming down my face as I was gasping for air it was so funny. I love the way Cee Bowerman looks at the world. Rojo is a wonderful place to visit and I’ll keep going there as long as this author will let me.

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Review: Shadow Keeper (Shadow Riders Series Book 3) by Christine Feehan

Shadow Keeper by Christine Feehan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sexy Shadow World

Once again this author manages to write a sexy paranormal romance I can’t put down. I don’t know what it is but there is some quality to her writing that makes it hard to step away from the intensity she writes between her main characters. The insta-love/lust she has going on *should* make her books chomp down, easy read, throw away things to make you happy, but the characters are usually going through some kind of traumatic time and the insta-love thing is the only thing keeping them sane and safe. This is exactly what happened, again, with this book.

As this is the third book in the series most of the world-building has gone on before, so if you don’t read the first two books you probably will have a very hard time following the story.

Giovanni was shot in the previous book and has his leg pinned together in two places. This means that he is unable to go through the shadows because only very special select materials can travel the shadows and survive, so they would rip his leg apart if he tried. He’s been told he’s been sidelined for longer and he’s fed up with being the designated party time playboy that distracts the world from what the rest of his family are doing when they are out on assignment.

When Giovanni meets Sasha she is working as a waitress in one of their clubs that happens to be in their home town of Chicago. He is instantly drawn to her and he can’t stop watching her as she works. When they finally meet he’s in the middle of humiliating himself as being the total playboy character he plays and she is disgusted by him.

Sasha is from Wyoming and lived on a ranch until her parents were killed in an accident and her brother was injured and needed a residential care facility. They moved to Chicago where he could get the best care possible and Sasha is killing herself working two full-time jobs to pay for that care. She is beautiful, radiant and loyal. She’s also playful and charming, forthright to the point of being blunt and stubborn. She’s an awesome character I want to be my friend. When she meets Giovanni the last thing she wants is to become involved with a rich playboy who doesn’t know the meaning of hard work. But she is drawn to him despite herself.

Somehow this author manages to make it believable that these two characters, the ridiculously wealthy and dangerous Giovanni, with a whole warehouse of secrets and the smart, stubborn, poor and honest Sasha can find their way to each other in such a short time. I don’t know how she does it, but every time, she manages it.

On top of the whirlwind romance, the care for her brother and two full-time jobs, Sasha has to contend with a stalker. Overwhelmed, she allows Giovanni to take over until she recovers enough to start to show her true colours and she regains her fight. It’s fabulous to read as she picks herself up and starts to really show herself.

The characters are rich and wonderful and the plot is intriguing and exciting. It was hard to put down the book and it was a good chunky satisfying read, filled with enough heat and passion to make you need a glass of iced water. You don’t need much else for a decent Paranormal Romance and Christine Feehan really is the master at this type of book.

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Review: Erupting Shadows (Artemis University Series Book 10) by Erin R Flynn

Erupting Shadows by Erin R. Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fae Shenanigans

This book is part of a continuing series and cannot be understood if read separately from the preceding books.

Tamsin is getting ready to go back to Artemis for her Junior year and is getting pressure from both sides of the fae spectrum. Surrounded by elders and ancients who criticise constantly Tamsin has to find a way to achieve her goals of freeing all fae before all the political nonsense drives her to drink.

At the same time as some fae are causing problems, others are providing guidance and support, helping with her fae education. However, as usual not all her men are providing the support she needs and are being selfish in their needs. It seems poor Tams can’t have all four men act in a kind and caring way at the same time.

As well as romance problems and fae problems she also has the normal supernatural problems of the councils all trying to get her to reveal what race she is so they can control her.

This book doesn’t have masses of interesting plot. Everything moves along but it’s not the usual breakneck speed. There are some rescues but not many. The book is mainly focused on Tamsin’s promises to free the fae and the ramifications that has on her role as an Heir. That it wasn’t so breakneck did not spoil my enjoyment, in fact, it gave me more time to appreciate the story. I’m looking forward to what happens next.

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Review: Gunner (The Devil's Angels MC Series Book 1) by Lola Wright

Gunner by Lola Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Baker and the MC Prez

Someone in the Cee Bowerman Facebook Group recommended this series and I can definitely see the similarities between the two authors’ works. I will say I’m not usually a fan of cutesy anthropomorphised pets, but these aren’t too bad, even if the mini pig has a skateboard and insists on wearing pyjamas. To be honest that’s pretty much it for the cutesy part of this book.

Ava is a 28-year-old woman, who has her own bakery. She was abandoned at birth and spent her early years in the foster system. She’s been through some pretty awful stuff but she’s still upbeat, friendly and strong. She has problems letting people into her heart and she always maintains a certain distance from people but she is still a good person. She also has a bit of a pet menagerie, with a large dog, huge cat, macaw (who is ridiculously chatty in a way that is quite unbelievable) and a mini pig.

She has a neighbour, Petey, who is part of an MC, but she hadn’t spoken to him until another neighbour gets a bit crazy and she ends up chatting with Petey's friend. His friend is a very gorgeous Gunner who is the president of Petey’s MC and he asks her to keep an eye out for Petey because he's broken his leg and she kindly agrees to look in on him and feed him.

Ava’s introduction to the MC lifestyle is sort of sideways, with meeting Petey and becoming friends with him and his son Axel, the VP of the MC, and other members of the MC at the same time as slowly starting something with Gunner.

Gunner is in his early 30s and never wanted to settle down. He loves the freedom that being single gives, especially when he’s a gorgeous specimen of manhood who can get a woman without any hassle. Then he meets the strong and beautiful Ava who looks after his friend Petey and slips into his MC family so easily.

I like how Gunner is trying to get the MC into legitimate businesses at around the same time he meets Ava and starts reevaluating his life choices. He wasn’t magically turned into boyfriend material by meeting Ava, she just nudged him over a line he was already standing on, even if he didn’t know it.

I also like how Ava makes friends with the other members of the MC, so her only role isn’t as Gunner’s woman. She stands up for herself but doesn’t automatically hate all the club girls. She’s basically someone I’d like to have as a friend. She’s not great at everything, just the things she’s passionate about and has invested time and energy into.

The plot was interesting, but basically, it was the same old rival MC, kidnapping, shootings etc. you see in most MC books. Though the plot was predictable it was pretty well done.

The stand out for me in this book was the character creation and their relationships with each other. Not just the main characters, but all the supporting characters seemed to have distinct and interesting personalities. You can see the next books in the series hovering over their names by the way the author writes them. I’ll look forward to reading about future adventures, as this was a pretty easy-going MC without too much violence, or at least it wasn’t explicit and gory!

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Review: Holding On (Cascadia MC Series Book 1) by Mia Malone

Holding On by Mia Malone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Middle Aged MC Romance

I love how Mia Malone writes beautiful, sexy romances about powerful and interesting people in their middle years. This book is set within the Cascadia MC, dealing with Finn, the Sargent At Arms, a man in his 50s who still works out and is a force to be reckoned with. This MC is tied to Thor MC, which was the last set of books written by this author, and there are some cross overs with characters.

Addie is in her early 50s and over the last couple of years has lost everyone she ever loved. She’s also running hard from some very unpleasant people. She ends up in Alaska where she meets Milo, a old grizzled mountain man, who decides he is going to teach her how to stay safe in the wilderness.

When the people Addie is running from catch up with her again, months later, Milo makes her run until he can find her again. Addie finds her way to Cascadia MC, just as she starts to run low on cash, so when a cook’s job opens up at the MC’s roadhouse she jumps on it.

This is a really great story. Both Addie and Finn are very interesting characters who have lived fully before meeting. They both have rich pasts that give them real depth. Though they are instantly attracted to each other they don’t act on it immediately, there is some dancing around whilst Addie learns to trust Finn and the MC.

As with all Mia Malone stories, the supporting characters are really strong and fascinating. They provide a rich backdrop on which the story is laid. This author understands that romantic love isn’t the only thing that drives a person, they need friendship and family too.

What I particularly love about this story is that Addie isn’t a traditional damsel in distress. She’s strong, intelligent and skilful. She is capable of mostly keeping herself safe, except in the situation she’s in, where there are overwhelming odds set against her.

Though the plot is fairly straightforward, this story is captivating because of the characters and the world in which they live. Though predictable, there is nothing wrong with the plot, which is still interesting, despite it’s direct route from start to finish. There weren’t any real surprises to me, but sometimes I enjoy the sense of restfulness a straightforward plot can bring, so you can relax into the people and the world they inhabit. Mia Malone excels at this.

I can’t wait for the next book in this series, as the teaser at the end of this book looks great. I’m so glad we get to hang out with this interesting group of people for a while longer.

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Review: The Heir of Shadows (Underestimated Series Book 4) by Candice M Wright

The Heir of Shadows by Candice M. Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not a Relaxing Read

**Just a quick warning that there is sexual and physical abuse featured in this book. If you feel that this subject matter might cause you to experience emotional distress, you should probably skip this book.**

Ava is the daughter of Garrett, a serial killer cop who went undercover at Kings of Carnage for years. Garrett is obsessed with his daughter and his abuse of her started early on. Though she managed to escape for a while with her uncle, under witness protection, she was forced out into the light when Garrett found a perfect replacement victim in Reign, who Ava’s uncle had come to care for.

After Ava emerged from witness protection she was abducted by Garrett and her uncle was killed. She has been subject to his obsession for a year and a half, whilst her newly discovered brother, Saint, and the rest of the Kings of Carnage hunt for her.

The story starts just before Ava gets away from her father and the book gets going with quite traumatic events. You don’t get eased into this book. In fact, I didn’t really ‘enjoy’ this book. There is quite a lot of difficult subject matter, and it doesn’t have much in the way of levity to counterbalance it. I also found it difficult to connect to Ava, and I think that is because of the trauma involved which subjugated a lot of her normal personality and that a chunk of the book was more about how she was viewed than what she was experiencing. I understand why the author made this choice, for plot reasons, but it didn’t help me actually empathise with the character much until towards the end of the book when more of her actual personality was allowed out.

I felt that the author took some shortcuts on character development for the male characters in this book because they had appeared in previous books in the series. It meant that they didn’t really show themselves properly in this book, which I felt was a bit of a shame, as they are all interesting characters.

This felt like a necessary book for the series as a whole, but as a stand-alone book, it didn’t work for me as much as the other books in the series. However, I will still be downloading the next book in the series as soon as possible because I really want to know what happens next as there was a tiny bit of a cliffhanger at the end of the book.

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Review: Grady (Texas Kings MC Series Book 13) by Cee Bowerman

Grady by Cee Bowerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mayhem and Motherhood

There’s a distinct theme to this book, the absolute ruthlessness and strength of the women in this MC, especially when it comes to motherhood. Whether that means protecting their offspring or facing down mothers who didn’t live up to the job specifications.

This story deals with Grady, who is a few years younger than the main guys running the MC. He’s a really interesting guy, who adores his ex-stripper Mom to pieces. He owns part of his mother’s company, which is a range of clothing and beauty treatments that have been a roaring success. His Mom put herself through college and got two degrees whilst stripping and raising her son without support from her family or Grady’s father. As Grady learnt from his Mom, he got a degree which he uses to help his Mom run her company, but he also works as a mechanic and a bouncer at the MC strip club. Basically, he barely sleeps!

Whilst working at the strip club he met Ella who he becomes smitten with. He does nothing about it for a year until she comes into work beaten up by her ex. He and Hank (his boss and surrogate father) step up and take her to the women’s shelter which is supported by the club. Grady makes his move after falling even more head over heels for her and her four-year-old daughter who he adorably calls Squid (Cydney).

Ella’s very smart and tried to get away from her abusive mother by going to college but had to drop out when she got pregnant and lost her scholarships. There are a lot of parallels between Ella and Grady’s mother in the way life hit them both which only enhances Grady’s admiration for Ella.

Ella is great fun. She’s strong, determined and loving. She’s also pretty funny and adores her daughter who is just so cute it’s not true.

At first glance, this feels like another case of insta-love but actually, it’s taken a while to brew, it’s just we didn’t get to see Ella thinking Grady is hot and nice and way too good for someone like her. We don’t see Grady thinking she’s awesome and gorgeous. We just see the final stages of their falling for each other feelings.

This couple/family is lovely. I just want to pick them up and hug them. They deserve each other and to have a good life together. It’s certainly not all plain sailing, but things get taken care of with the usual club ruthlessness and Ella fits into the same mould as the other MC women where she will do anything to protect those she cares about.

These are not sweet and innocent people which is what probably saves it from being too saccharine sweet, though there is a certain insouciant approach to violence which makes it much less traumatic in the moment but with hindsight is kind of chilling, but then these are MC people.

As always this author provides a fun and easy read that entertains. I’ll always read her books because they are a great pick me up.

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Review: Black Sheep (Flight of The Javelin Series Book 1) by Rachel Aukes

Black Sheep by Rachel Aukes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fast Paced Space Opera

I do love a good space opera, and this is a great example of a good space opera. I listened to the audio version, narrated by Emily Woo Zeller, and enjoyed her storytelling skills as much with this book as I have with others.

Throttle is a captain of a cargo ship that has been converted into a colony vessel. She and a handful of crew, including the man she loves, an ex-pirate, take it in turns to sleep on the 15 years of the journey so far. The colonists are all in cryogenic sleep and they are all looking for a fresh start away from their star system that has been riddled with wars.

The ship is starting to fall apart as it was not designed for deep space long term journeys and eventually there is a system-wide failure. The crew decide to take the ex-pirate ship they have in the hold to try and find help, not really expecting to find any, except they find a ship, lying dead in space with no one aboard.

When they take the ship back to the colony ship to rescue all the colonists they find a hole in space and evidence of pirates having stolen the vessel. Throttle has made a promise to get those colonists to a safe new home and she is determined to keep that promise.

I loved Throttle so much. She is a paraplegic who wears leg braces to ambulate most of the time, but a wheelchair when the braces are not possible. It’s not often you have disabled characters in Sci-fi because usually, they have miraculous cures or cybernetic limbs that are better than the originals. To have a disabled main character, who also has a successful and loving relationship is fantastic for someone who is also disabled. I particularly loved how much she enjoyed floating in zero gravity because I can imagine how freeing it would be.

Apart from being disabled, Throttle is a gifted leader. She is strong, fearless and will do anything to get the job done. She’s called Throttle because of her incredible skills as a pilot. She’s also a crack shot and great at hand to hand combat, even in leg braces. The other characters were as well rounded as Throttle, but she is the main focus of the story, though there are other points of view.

The story rockets along at a cracking pace and I really enjoyed the notion of two different branches of humanity’s colonisation efforts meeting centuries after the fact and finding a divergence in law, technology and social structure, but who still have a common language.

There were a few plot twists along the way, especially toward the end, that knocked me askew. They made me very likely to read the next book in the series but didn’t leave me gnawing my nails to the quick in frustration about the way it ended.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the audio version, I will definitely be reading/listening to the next in the series.

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Review: The Rowan (Killian Blade Series Book 1) by Stella Brie

The Rowan by Stella Brie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Promising Start To A New World

I’ve never read anything by this author, so I was going into it blind pulled by the blurb that kept drawing me back. As it was a KU book it was a no brainer about taking a risk on a new author with a new series.

The book starts with the MFC, Arden, arriving at The Abbey, a sanctuary run by five very powerful members of the supernatural community, the Imperium Cadre. In her pocket she contains a letter from her guardian asking for them to look after her ward, educating and protecting her, in return for discharging a life debt. Arden has been in hiding since her birth over 300 years ago because of her mother’s prophesies and now the final sign has come to step out into the light and find her place in the world, only she’ll need help to do it.

The world-building in this book is fascinating. I love the idea of the different factions and how they interact in mixed cities with humans, which includes the witches. The immortal races normally live in their own places but they all come together at places like The Abbey to interact in safety, which is ensured by the Cadre.

The author has obviously put a lot of time and planning into creating the races and the magical systems they use and the societies in which they live. It feels seamless and complete. I really enjoyed how the author revealed the world-building slowly and as that is revealed we also get to know all the characters better, in particular Arden.

Arden is strong physically as well as magically and emotionally. She is self-reliant but is also excited to be making friends and allies after being stuck in a pocket realm for 300 years. She also is excited to be finally starting to unravel the secrets of her existence.

I like that the men involved are hesitant to get emotionally involved with this strange woman who has been foisted on them. They are all well over 1000 years old and have been hurt by people in the past, which is going to make them hesitant. I liked that they all got to know her at their own rates and in their own ways.

I really enjoyed reading this book and diving into Arden’s world. I can’t wait to read the next one.

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Review: Edge of Tomorrow (Arrow's Edge MC Series Book 3) by Freya Barker

Edge of Tomorrow by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Making a Truly Blended Family

Lisa is raising two children that are not her own. They are her grandchildren. Her daughter abandoned her kids when the youngest was just a baby and died a couple of years later, leaving them completely reliant on her. She got a job working for a rich family and ended up in a horrific situation, as a black woman trapped and enslaved by white supremacists. The MC helped Lisa and the kids get free and have helped Lisa by giving her a job and a home on the compound.

Brick is a member of the MC that helped free Lisa and her grandchildren. When they first met he was immediately drawn to her but has spent the last two years waiting for a sign that she might be ready for a relationship, especially with a white man, after her experiences. He has cared for and supported her and the kids ever since they arrived. He has only just started making his move and realising Lisa might be willing when the earth drops out from under his feet.

Lisa and Brick are thrown together by circumstances when a baby needs their care. Their relationship is stepped up quickly by the needs of that baby but as they have spent the last 2 years getting to know each other, it goes a lot more smoothly than it might have.

So we end up with a truly blended family of a man and woman raising three kids that are not their own and it’s a lovely family, only it’s not that easy. Life becomes very dangerous and the MC steps into the fray to protect what’s theirs.

I loved this story, I particularly loved Brick and Lisa together. Lisa is a proud and determined woman who bends for no one, including herself. Her kids come first before anything else. Brick is a grizzled biker who lost his family when he went into prison and has been alone ever since. He is a bit brusque, stubborn and above all, kind. He adores Lisa and is determined to protect her, even from herself.

I love how this author creates families. They are filled with unique personalities and the characters of the kids also shine. The children are not cookie-cutter cute and precocious. Some are sweet, others are withdrawn and their personalities are dependent on many things. I love that the author pays as much attention to those details as she does the adult personalities.

The other thing I love about this author is that she writes hot bedroom scenes that are believable. These people are both well past their twenties and their knees are starting to go and that doesn’t stop them having sex, it just determines their positions! They don’t throw each other around the bedroom, but that does not reduce their passion for each other.

Once again this author writes an enjoyable and engaging book, that makes you fall for the characters just a little bit.

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Review: Ford's Rise: Party time with Ford Brothers, Alpha-Bits and Alexia (Badass Security Council Series Book 11) by L Ann Marie

Ford's Rise: Party time with Ford Brothers, Alpha-Bits and Alexia (Badass Security Council) by L. Ann Marie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Web’s Story

For those of us who have been on the long journey through the BSC books, you will probably feel like I do about Web. He’s a wonderfully empathetic character. He’s kind, sweet and enormously intelligent. He’s also sacrificed everything willingly for his young charges, the Alpha-Bits. I love that he finally gets his ‘One’ in this book.

Web is not exactly a straight forward understandable guy. He’s highly intelligent but grew up in a orphanage and therefore didn’t really learn how to make family connections because he was outside of the normal parameters of the other inhabitants of his group home. He has always stated that when he took on the care of the Alpha-Bits he learnt about family from them and he has always put them before his own happiness, though much of his happiness has been derived from their happiness. It’s no surprise that his ‘One’ is slightly atypical.

We first met Alexia in her role at EROPs, with the FBI. She is neurodiverse and diagnosed as having Asperger’s Syndrome, or high functioning Autism (which are basically the same thing). She has lived a life of isolation and hasn’t really had any support from her family, in fact she didn’t believe she had any. Becoming involved with BSC was the first time she felt really part of a family, though she had friends that she worked with in the past. It’s only once she joins BSC that she starts to form true connections.

As is often the case with these books, Alexia and Web getting together is pretty straight forward. The romance part of these books often takes a back seat to personal growth. The relationship is part of that growth and this is why it’s important. Learning to be part of a community and family is just as important as forming a romantic bond.

In this book we see Web really grasp hold of his family of blood and choice and accept that his role is important to many people. We also see more of the Alpha-Bits come into their own, especially Alder who really steps up into his role as Little Pres.

I enjoyed the slower pace of this book, as it was much less high octane than usual, but I did find it difficult to process some of the speech patterns that the author often uses for the Alpha-Bits and also, in this case, for Alexia. The choppy way of speaking with incorrect grammar is definitely a stylistic choice, but it is sometimes hard to process, especially when the majority is written in this way. However, I do love the Alpha-Bits so waded through it and still found pleasure in the book. I just wish that the author could accept that highly intelligent Alpha-Bits would learn how to speak more fluidly several years into being found and become more active socially.

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Review: Game Over (Gamer Girls Series Book 7) by Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox

Game Over by Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Rollercoaster Ride

Wow, this was an emotional and adrenaline fuelled ride from the start. I loved this series so hard that I was kind of worried about how it would all end. I shouldn’t have been because I’ve never been disappointed by the last book written by these authors. They know how to pace and plot like masters of the craft.

There are a few hairy moments in this book that could trigger someone. Please read the warnings at the start of the book if you experience emotional difficulties surrounding a subject matter that could be covered in this book. I found some scenes difficult even though they didn’t have any kind of resonances of difficult issues in my past. These authors write incredibly well about difficult subjects. They face the hard things with unflinching honesty and emotional truth and that can sometimes be overwhelming if it’s about something that’s difficult for you.

There are so many twists and turns in this book that has your head spinning. You won’t guess who the ultimate bad guy is until his reveal, which is a rarity in a series this long. Usually there are enough hints dropped, obviously enough, that you can begin to guess. This isn’t the case in this book, until the reveal and then you go ‘oh yeah, now I get it!’.

This book is all about team work. Everyone works together and plays to their strengths to prop up each other’s weaknesses. It’s a definite theme, without being rammed down your throat. This is very obviously a feminist series and I love that the men in the gamer girls group are feminists too, even if some of them need an education in the language to use and require some enlightenment as to how to be the best kind of support to women. This book is a really good recipe for how to teach men about what women go through. I will probably be stealing some of the language the gamer girls use to explain things to the men in their circle, to explain things to the men I know. It’s an excellent primer!

As well as the great plot twists and the high action sections there is also the wonderful emotional conclusions as everyone gets their HEA, even if they don’t come in the shape others think they should do. I love how each person gets the HEA they want and it doesn’t matter what is traditional or expected, it just fits with them.

I am so delighted that there is going to be a spin off series about Knock and his polycule. I know it’s going to be good because the characters are fantastic and these authors are superb at plot and emotional development. It cannot fail to resonate with the fans of this series, of which I am definitely one.

By the way, I know I’m a total Auryn fan girl. I admit it. I also have a reason for being that way. I don’t think she’s capable of releasing a bad book. She might be capable of writing one, perhaps, but she would never release it. Basically I’d be saying all the same things about this book/series if it was another author. I try not to be prejudiced either for or against a book by it’s author, so please believe me when I say, this is brilliant, read the whole series now and then read it again in a few months time because you’ll love it even more after you’ve read it once.

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Review: Deadly Vows (Lizzie Grace Series Book 6) by Keri Arthur

Deadly Vows by Keri Arthur
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lizzie’s Husband Returns

I’ve been hoarding this book like a dragon hoards it’s gold. I didn’t want to read it too soon because I knew it would make me crave the next book. I was right, it has made me crave the next book. Hopefully because I waited so long to read this one, the wait won’t be so bad.

In this book Lizzie faces a lot of difficult emotional and magical events. Not only has the Reservation attracted the attention of an evil entity that kills without remorse, but Lizzie has to face the return of the husband who was forced on her when she was 16. Not only has the husband tracked her down, but her neglectful and dismissive parents are now interested in her and her affinity to wild magic.

On top of rehashing all the old trauma, created by her parent’s belittlement and being drugged and spelled to marry a man she didn’t want, she has to reach a decision regarding Aidan. She has to decide whether to jump head first into a full time relationship, whilst knowing that it may only be temporary because she is not a wolf.

As always, this book is filled with mystery, magic and bonds of friendship and love. Lizzie and Belle have created a wonderful circle of friends and formed their own version of family in their home on the Reservation.

Lizzie goes through a lot in this book. She grows as a person and as a witch as she is placed under the greatest of pressures. This author understands that the damage received when a child can often be the hardest to face as an adult. Lizzie’s responses to the situations she finds herself in are believable to anyone who had a less than perfect childhood.

I loved this book and know it’s one I will read again because there is so much crammed between the covers. There are bound to be details I missed as I got swept in the story. Sometimes books like these are even better the second and third time around because you can savour the book as a whole rather than get distracted by the main plot line.

I’ve loved this author for years, as she was one of the first urban fantasy writers I discovered, and she just keeps getting better and better. I think she’ll always be a one-click author for me.

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Review: For the Win (Gamer Girls Series Book 6) by Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox

For the Win by Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book

The header says it all. I did. I loved it. From the first page to the last I loved it, every paragraph and every conversation between the characters and every description of gaming action. It was awesome. What was even more awesome was the way the authors had very obviously seriously researched what is like to transition from male to female. They had spoken to people who knew what it would be like for Rhaven to come out, from the physical to the emotional. It was handled sympathetically with honesty and humour. I can’t profess to know what it’s like to transition but I do have friends who have questioned their gender identity and have been open and honest enough to discuss it with me and this book rings true to me.

I love Rhaven. Her character has always been interesting, sort of 'in' with the main characters but always on the periphery. In this book we dive completely into Rhaven’s life and it is a fantastic journey. It starts in a complete contrast to how she is seen in the other books, a darkly glamorous women who kicks butt in FPS games. We meet her working at the GasNGo in her uniform with her deadname 'Ethan' on her tag.

We meet her Dad and her brother who are loving and kind, but don’t really understand her and know her only as Ethan. We see small town America in all it’s glory, where everyone knows your name and your business and think they have the right to comment on your life choices.

We also see Braden decide to visit Rhaven, who has a massive crush on, because he’s only a couple of hours drive away for business reasons. His presence triggers a lot of things for Rhaven, both good and bad.

This book was enthralling as I got sucked into Rhaven’s world and saw the whole ‘main table’ group work together both in game, and out, to protect the vulnerable and stand up for equality.

I believe that the authors originally planned that this book would be the last in the series but Rhaven got away from them and lead them to have to write another book to finish it all off. I can only say that I so glad that they let Rhaven have her way because this was an excellent book, with drama, emotion, laughter, love and steaming hot sex. This entire series is a fantastic journey and I can’t wait for the next book, which I’m sure I’ll read on release day, like I did this one. But I also know I’ll be sad when it’s over because this journey has been epic!

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