Warrant (A Righteous Outlaws novel) by Savannah Rylan

ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Aubree Marie Harrington returns home from college to a life of trust fund douchebags and dinner parties. Despite her parent’s disapproval, she’s giving herself one year to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. To celebrate her return her best friends bring her to a bar on the outside of town where she meets Cash, a tattooed, opinionated, completely beneath her standards member of the local MC. 

Cash Logan just wanted a beer, but when the prissy drunk bitch that was next to him gets herself into a situation he can’t help but to step in. If there’s one thing he can’t resist it’s a damsel in distress even if this damsel is anything but. 

When two people from opposite sides of the tracks collide, lives will be changed, places will be threatened, tempers will be tested and everything they thought they knew will be questioned.

"You saw me take my first breath , and I saw you take your last. "

The male and the female characters are completely the opposide. We have a 100% bad boy biker who pretty much doesn't give a damn about anyone , except for his club brothers. And we have our typical rich girl , spoiled princess who dreams of freedom.  Sick and tired of living in a glass ball , Aubree turns down William's proposal and decides to spice up her dull rich life.So one night while drinking at a bar with her friends she runs off with our hero. What was supposed to be a one night stand , a relationship between the two of them slowly builds up - not because Cash was swept off his feet  ,  more because Aubree went looking for Cash and insisted that she can handle more - more of Cash and his dangerous club life.

At first there wasn't really  " love " in all this, Aubree was looking  for something more exciting and Cash - well for him it was pure physical. But the characters took their time and they slowly developed strong feelings and emotions for eachother - without realizing it.

But then the club business gets out of control and Aubree ends up pulling a bullet through someone's skull. At this poin Aubree wakes up to reality and she wants out.  

.

A few days later they meet again , only this time Aubree's father discovers them and she had to chose between her family and a peacefull, luxurious life and Cash and a violent enviorment. Aubree tried to keep her family together and she returns  to her old life , thinking that this might help her gain her father's forgiveness. But little did she knew that her perfect life was about to crumble right before her eyes .

"He was my father after all and always given me the best of everything. But it was all a lie. I lived a life of luxury built on lies and deceit."

"By telling Aubree the truth, I betrayed my club."

For a short book I really enjoyed the story and in the end I started to like the characters too. There is something about Cash and Sunshine that made them pleasant.

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Dark Needs (The Dark Light of Day # 1.5) by T.M. Frazier

"A revenge kill is the best kind of kill.
But a revenge kill for your family, with your woman's permission?
That's borderline erotic."- Jake, The Dark Light of Day.

Jake has come back home to Abby after violently disposing of the man who almost destroyed his family. With blood literally still on his hands, the only thing on Jake's mind is making up for lost time with the woman he loves.

Dark Needs is a companion novella to The Dark Light of Day and won't make much sense unless you are already familiar with Abby and Jake's story in The Dark Light of Day..

I strongly recommend you to read The Dark Light Of the Day first ! I had the honor to read it a year ago and it is officially one of my all time favorite books ! Dark Needs won't fill you in on what happened in the first book. But it is more about Jake's revenge and about Abby and Jake's relationship afterwards. Also in the prologue we are introduced to King . A good way to introduce a new series.

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Ruthless (True Brothers MC #1) by Gillian Archer

ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Every girl needs a guardian angel—even if he wears black leather. In the first novel of her scintillating True Brothers MC series, Gillian Archer introduces readers to a sexy-as-sin biker . . . and the woman wild enough to tame him.

After dinner with the most arrogant man in the world, Jessica Miller is shocked when her blind date tries to maul her in the parking lot. Enter “Zag”: the brooding, bruising alpha male who jumps off his motorcycle and teaches the jerk a lesson he won’t forget. After getting one taste of a bad boy who lives on the edge, Jessica’s hooked. Zag’s willing to give her the ride of her life. But she needs to wrap her arms around his powerful chest and hold on—tight.

Zag knows firsthand that the True Brothers MC isn’t for the faint of heart. He only intends to show beautiful, innocent Jessica a few cheap thrills to satisfy her curiosity. But the more he lets her in, the more Zag comes to depend on her gentle touch to help heal the wounds that he’s been denying for so long. Now, a rival gang has set its sights on Jessica, and Zag must step up once again. He just hopes he can go the distance to protect the woman he loves.

As much as I tried to "get into " the story, the storyline was too rushed for my taste. The writing was too fast and chopped . Almost the entire book is about keeping Jessica safe and finding Preacher, then Preacher appears , Jess ends up in the hospital and the next thing you know Preacher is being taken care of...by Zag alone. .Plot was somewhat predictable.

This was just one of the times where I had the feeling that I'm missing a part of the story.

About the characters... Jessica is too easy and too desperate. Now she is almost getting raped , the next minute she jumps in bed with the big bad biker ( whom she just met like 10 minutes ago) .

Another thing that irks me - if this is the first book from the True Brothers MC series , Zag and Jessica's story...basically we don't know anything about Zag, about his past, childhood , just bits and pieces here and there. Nothing solid to make the reader "feel " the character.  We know more about Jessica than we know about Zag. If you are going to dedicate a book  to a certain character but keep him in the shadows , under a veil of mystery, then I don't see the point of it.  

I had the feeling that the story was more about Jessica , I connected with her better than with Zag. 

And the MC....well the MC....

Overall the book was ok. It gave me the feeling  that this was the author's first book about an MC and I know that she can do better than this. I hope that her writing and storyline will improve with the following True Brothers books.

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His Light in the Dark by L.A. Fiore

ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

My first memory was of a slap, hard across the face: the sting on my cheek and the jarring of my bones as I slammed back into my bed. It was my dad who had hit me.

I had been four.

Most of my memories were much of the same and no one ever saw, no one ever fought to help, no one ever cared.

Then we moved.

My new neighbor cared, rescued the twelve-year-old I had been from a beating. Always thought I'd suffer the nightmare alone, I was wrong.

Mace Donati saved me that day in all the ways a person could be saved.

And his daughter, Mia, she became the friend I had always wanted, my conscience when my own faltered, the light that led me home when I had lost my way.

The girl who grew into the only woman I would ever love.

But when you realize you're more like your father than the good people who took you in and gave you a home, the only way to return their kindness is to let them go.

I let them go, got so far lost in the shadows I couldn't remember who I was anymore. Mia never gave up on me. She fought for me, kept the light on so I'd find my way back.

And when I did, life threw us a curveball. I had to hurt Mia in order to save her.

But when my past comes back to haunt me and I almost lose her, I'm ready to fight for her...fight to find a way back into her heart while keeping the demons from my past from finishing what they started.

Cole Campbell

Holy smokes !!

"But it was his pretty blue eyes that looked the worst.There was no light in them. [...] they were dark , like he was lost and couldn't find his way. Being lost in the dark was my biggerst fear and Cole seemed to be living that nightmare."

Having  an alcoholic as a father and being constantly abused, Cole's childhood wasn't by far innocent or filled with love. As the two of them move in a new neighbourhood , Cole meets his guardian angel, a tall scarry man brave enough to step between Cole and his abusive father.

Ever since then Cole becomes like a third member of the Donati family. 

But then something happened and Cole ends up in jouvie. And from here Cole chances. A lot. When he gets out he no longer feels worthy of being part of Mace's family. 

"And every time I took my fists to someone , a little piece of my soul died because I was becoming him. "

Mia grew up as daddy's princess , and even if she was just seven years old when Cole came into her home she felt something for him from the start. Grewing up she couldn't understand why Cole stopped  being her friend and why he was avoiding her like plague 

Slowly she tries to rebuild their relationship  and even if the attraction between them was visible, Cole continued to keep his distance and keep an eye on her from the shadows.

"A man who's willing to change himself, to deny himself what he wants , all in the name of wanting what's best for the woman he loves , he's more than good enough."

But then Cole's.... unorthodox past comes and bites him in the ass.  Mace is in trouble, Mia is at risk and Cole is the one who needs to protect her and find the truth about Mace's accident.

This story goes from romance to suspense / mystery.

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Playing pretend by Tamsyn Bester

ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Kadence Kavanagh has spent the last two years trying to rebuild her life. When a job opportunity presents itself, she can’t say no, even if it’s with the man who’s life was ruined by her father’s indiscretion. It’s been years since she last saw Caleb Callahan, and she’s not even sure he remembers her, but she’s determined to give herself a clean slate no matter who she has to work for.

In the unlikeliest of circumstances, Caleb becomes her savior – if somewhat reluctantly - and she discovers that the man she’s read about in the gossip columns is nothing more than a smoke screen. Kadence knows that keeping her distance is for the best, no matter how difficult, but when Caleb proposes the unthinkable, she finds herself caught between what’s real, and what she wishes was real.

Caleb and Kadence lose themselves in a lie, and when reality comes knocking, they realize that all they were doing was playing pretend… 

"You have to stop that"

"Stop what? "

"Saving me. You've been doing that a lot."

"Oh, sweet Kadence, I'm afraid my intentions  as far as you're concerned have always been too depraved for me to save you.But I have the feeling you're going to be the one to save me."

When Kadence took the job opportunity she never thought that she'll end up working for Caleb, the man she secretly loved every since she was a little girl.  More than that, when she faced hard times Caleb was the one to help Kadence out. To return the favour, Kadence agreed to  play the "girlfriend" role when the great CEO faced some issues of his own. Al cotton candy and rainbows, seems like our heroes decided to put aside their sad past.

"For the last two years, I've been running from a family I'm ashamed of. You think your family was the only one that suffered, but mine did too. You've been so focused on making me feel small ,that you didn't stop to think maybe , just maybe, you weren't the only one who got hurt."

At first Kadence knew that their "relationship" was all lies and pretend but she never expected to actually  play a big part in Caleb's revenge plan. Of course that in the process Caleb loses his mind and heart - but it's a little late for real love or for quiting his foolish plan. It was only a matter of time until Kadence found out the truth behind Caleb's generosity and "good  intentions".

"We're not over."

"We are , Caleb. There are no happy-ever-after's when you play pretend."

Caleb  screwed up big time , not puting the past to rest wasn't the smartest thing to do. As a consequences he lost Kandence and possibly a great new mom for his daughter.. 

And speaking  of Braelynn and horrible decisions, I fail to see why Caleb allows Natalia back into their life . This man continues to make his life miserable .

On the other hand I just love how Aaliyah and  Macy were all like -

It takes lots of courage for Caleb to make things right. Our girl isn't really the kind to get over a broken heart that easily .Twice.

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