Review: Edge Of Darkness (Arrow's Edge MC Series Book 2) by Freya Barker

Edge Of Darkness by Freya Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Tricky Second Book

Sometimes I think I do the second book in a series a disservice, particularly if I really liked the first one. I do this by reading the second book immediately. This is fine if it is a second book with an ongoing storyline revolving round the same main characters, but if it’s different characters I’m nearly always slightly disappointed. I always want to know how the characters from the first book are doing. I really need to disconnect before trying to enjoy hearing about others in the same group of friends. It makes it harder for me to know if I’m being fair and honest with myself about how I actually feel about a book, or if I’m constantly comparing it with it’s predecessor.

This book is part of the continuing story arc from the first book, but told from the point of view of different people. This book focuses on Yuma, Nosh and Momma’s son. He hit 40 and finally woke up to the fact he’s an alcoholic and been throwing his life away.

Lissie is a new detective with Durango PD and has moved into the apartment complex that Yuma has been managing for the club since he returned from rehab. She moved to the area and seems to have ulterior motives that revolve around the club.

Lissie comes from a family of cops and Yuma comes from a family of bikers and it would seem that on the surface they have nothing in common, but it turns out they have more things that connect them than is first perceivable.

One thing I felt was lacking a little in this book is the way alcoholism is depicted. It didn’t really cover very much of the emotional impact of getting treatment and how difficult it is to maintain sobriety in challenging situations. I don’t have personal experience of this, but I know people who have and it seems that it was glossed over a little, which is disappointing.

There’s tonnes of really good plot to follow in this book, and plenty happens regarding the racist organisation from the first book. I don’t know what direction this series is going to take next and part of me wants to read the next story immediately whilst the other part wants to read a couple of different books first!

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Review: Daughter of the Alien Warrior (Treasured By The Alien Series Book 3) by Honey Phillips and Bex McLynn

Daughter of the Alien Warrior by Honey Phillips and Bex McLynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

More Kidnappings

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

In this third book of the series we follow the story of Inzen, the Chief Engineer from the first book. When he chose to move to the planet with the rest of the humans they rescued, he wanted to support Cassie, as she’d had so many problems on Earth. He treated her like a daughter, as he had lost his child and his mate during the plague. He also took on one of the babies that were stolen during the first kidnapping. Separated from her mother, he wanted to raise little Lily and help Cassie and her daughter at the same time, so they all moved into the same building, with Inzen devoting all of his time to raising his precious little girl.

Jade was rich and successful, with a husband and baby when the unthinkable happened. Her husband was out taking the baby for a walk in the park when she was stolen and her husband killed. A year later she has taken self defense and firearms training and patrols the park where her daughter was stolen from. She is determined to stop it happening to anyone else. It also gets her kidnapped by the same race that stole her daughter.

I love both these characters. Jade is strong and determined and fierce in defending herself and others. Inzen is the same. They both have a devoted and tender side and are loyal. Jade also has a bit of a temper!

I enjoyed the push and pull of these characters and the work they all had to do in order to settle into a new life. I really hope that there is another book in this series because I really like the world building and the characters.

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Review: Edge of Reason (Arrow's Edge MC Series Book 1) by Freya Barker

Edge of Reason by Freya Barker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Well Written and Thoughtful MC Romance

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

There are some instances of racial violence described in this book, though not in visceral and emotional detail, but more a reciting of the facts. One of these instances was violence on a child. If these subject matters are triggering for you, then you may wish to skip this book. As I am not a person of colour I can’t say how well these issues are handled from that perspective either. However, it is my belief that the author put a lot of care into how it was handled and the matter of race was discussed thoughtfully. If you have a different point of view after reading this book, I am always grateful to hear from people who have different experiences of life than I do.

Though this is set in an MC, it is not a 1%er club. They have legitimate businesses and also provide housing, care and support for teenage boys. In order to provide that support they hired Trunk, a child psychologist, and when he got hired he joined the MC. The president or ‘Chief’ as they call him, is married to an FBI agent. This gives you some information on the type of characters we are dealing with here. Whilst I like a good MC book, I really don’t like it when the so called good guys are pretty bad so this is the kind of information I like before going into a book. (You’re welcome 😉)

Trunk is a 44 year old black man, who had a pretty hard childhood. He was a street kid for a while and his mother was a junkie. He basically raised his sister, despite being a child himself. He dragged himself out of poverty by getting to college and helped his sister do the same. Because of his experiences he is often able to reach kids that are more closed off. He’s pretty self contained and comes across as a bit gruff and tends to live in the moment. However, he adores his sister and her new baby.

Trunk’s sister is a writer and her PA is Jaime. Jaime is a 38 year old white woman and has a 6 month old son. Her ex-husband is in prison after it was discovered he was a white supremacist who planned to do very bad things. Jaime is definitely NOT a racist and was surprised to hear her husband was as he managed to hide it well.

Jaime and Trunk are very attracted to each other but neither really wants to act on it for various reasons. Obviously they finally get their act together after a few false starts, but it is a gradual build up, which is always fun.

The book has a lot of interesting plot twists and I was kept on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was going to happen next, and alongside that there was the sweet love story and the gentle relationship between Trunk and River, Jaime’s son as contrast.

I really liked that this was an MC book about people who weren’t in their twenties. The characters have lead interesting lives and had experiences that have altered them. I liked that Trunk was aware of his flaws and addressed them head on and tried to work on them to protect his relationship. They had arguments as they are both strong willed and independent people but those disagreements were handled well.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it will not be the last. I will definitely be downloading the next book in this series.

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Review: A Son for the Alien Warrior (Treasured By The Alien Series Book 2) by Honey Phillips and Bex McLynn

A Son for the Alien Warrior by Honey Phillips and Bex McLynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Search For Family

This is the second book in the series and it follows on after the first. However, you don’t really need to have read the first book to follow the story, it just helps establish the scene in which it’s set.

Mariah’s sister and nephew went missing exactly 12 months ago. She travelled to the site of their last known whereabouts to mourn their loss. Whilst there she sees a space ship and smuggles herself onboard, sure that this how her sister was taken.

Luckily she is discovered by the one person on board who wants to help her, as he is there to try and stop the slave trade himself. He keeps her hidden until he can find a way to get her off the ship and to find someone who can help her.

Mariah finally finds help in the form of ship’s captain, Cestov, who is looking for his own sibling, who left after an argument 5 years earlier. Mariah and Cestov’s connection is instant, even if they both know they have to put their siblings first.

This book is a little more plot heavy than the first, because a lot of the world building had taken place in the first book. This gave the authors space to explore a bit of a ‘whodunnit’.

There are some really sweet moments in the book, and any sadness isn’t overwhelming, it just provides a counterpoint to the sweet so it doesn’t get too sickly.

There is one more book out at the moment, I don’t know if more are planned, but I will definitely be reading that third book soon.

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Review: This Time Is Different by Mae Woods

This Time Is Different by Mae Wood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gentle, Warm and Sweet

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

This is a really lovely book. It’s real, warm, painful and funny. It’s not filled with vast excitement or hot and steamy passion, but it’s filled with tenderness, delight, Dad jokes and negotiating the minefield that is dating with grown up children.

Amy is a dentist. She’s 38, has a 17 year old son and has been divorced for 3 years. She has a slightly awkward relationship with her ex-husband but there is still genuine affection between them and they navigate co-parenting well.

Thomas is a COO at the local hospital. He’s 52 and was widowed 8 years previous. His children are all in college and are starting to move onto living their own lives without him. He’s very focused on his career after his kids have achieved independence.

Amy and Thomas meet when Thomas gets hit in the face with a softball bat at a work function. He gets hopped on pain meds and is awkward and adorable. That doesn’t change the fact that he is captivated by the wide smile of his Doctor Dentist Angel.

This story is fairly straight forward, there are no ups and downs, dramatic splits and passionate make up sex. It’s about liking each other, making each other laugh and wanting to spend time together both in bed and out of it. It’s about making time for each other and understanding that kids come first and careers are important. It’s about a very grown up relationship and all the joys that they can bring.

This book is beautifully written and perfect for when you are in the mood for gentle, sweet and warm narratives. It’s perfect for having characters you’d like to spend time with and be friends with because though they’ve had the normal difficulties in life they are not ‘broken’. It’s about watching two nice and interesting people find each other and make space for each other in their own worlds even when it’s a little uncomfortable doing so. It’s a perfect portrait of having a second big relationship in their lives and doing it differently this time, even if the first time round was wonderful.

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