Reaper’s Property
A really good bad-boy biker book!! Exactly what I’ve been looking to read, since loving Kristen Ashley’s “Motorcycle Man” and Madeline Sheehan’s “Undeniable“. And the fun part? The author is one of our very own fellow readers that we all talk to on a daily basis. Surprise!! She’s been an author with books published by Ellora’s Cave for awhile now. Who knew!? Well, I sort of did, but I just recently found out. And she’s one heck of a biker-book enthusiast, so we really lucked out when she decided to take our plea for “more motorcycle club reads” into her own hands.
Gotta thank you for this one Joanna!!!
It had just enough of everything to keep me entertained, while not freaking me out, too much. A nice mix of my two favorites, you know… club members with a real biker “feel” with the attitude and dirty mouths to go with it (er… well. As far as I know. LOL! I don’t actually know any real bikers). But you know, from my “biker-lessons” that I get from Sons of Anarachy, I’d say this was about right. 😉 And while these guys were super scary, and definitely had bad-guy blood running through them (there was talk of “missing shipments”, paper trails and you know… making people “disappear” etc… 
) they seemed redeemable. Almost as if we could overlook their possible criminal activities, because… come on! These are kind of “good guys”, too. They just live life their way, and take the law into their own shady hands.
When I’d first met them, the MC had seemed like a gang of thugs, but the way Horse described it was more like a family. A crazy, loud family that fought a lot and occasionally went to jail, but still a family.
*shrug* Heck, what do I know? After all, I was just the “old lady” in this one, and was not gonna ask too many questions, ya know? Go with the flow. I’ve (I mean she) has been warned many times to not ask “club” questions.
“That’s club business babe, and not the kind we talk about. Enough questions.”
Got it. *nod*
So what’s it about? Marie has just left her abusive husband and is living with her brother. Over the course of a few weeks, she gets to know his “friends” (a motorcycle gang that she has been warned not to talk to, not to look at, and to avoid at all costs). Believe me… these are not your weekend warriors. Afraid at first, but she eventually gets close to one of ’em. “Horse” (*ahem* try to guess where he got that name). *giggle* The attraction is undeniable, although their personalities and different worlds keep clashing.
Horse had blown me away, first with his gentleness and then his skill. But he’d followed it up by scaring the crap out of me, not to mention doing some serious damage to the room. Which one was the real man? Would I ever see him again?
Did I want to see him again?
And well… her reactions get the best of her.
And soon Marie realizes that her brother’s friends are not so friendly to him anymore, either. He has gotten himself into quite a mess. Being a computer genius/hacker, he was hired by the Reaper’s Motorycle club. He’s made ’em a TON of money. And… he’s siphoned off a ton for himself while he’s been at it.
I looked around the room, unable to believe that these men – two of whom I’d cooked for, one of whom I’d done a lot more than cooking for – were actually threatening to kill my brother. Could this really be happening?
Ruh roh, Jeff. What were you thinking? That’s okay. He can pay in blood. His own blood, or his sister’s. Yep. Marie is offered a “deal” to keep her brother alive, and she needs to get on the back of Horse’s bike ASAP and do what he says. NOW. ALWAYS. Or of course, she can leave… and Jeff will pay his own dues.
“You steal from the club, you pay in blood. You’re his blood. We take you, he pays. F&%king you is just a bonus.”
And the biker fun doesn’t stop there. Things you’d expect to see or experience at a true MC “clubhouse” well… there’s no lack of it here. Plenty steamy and erotic, often crass and obnoxious, sometimes angrifying, and terrifying. And even at times… sad and wistful.
I really enjoyed it! 4 stars!
Thank you so much for sending it my way, Joanna. Will there be more? As you can see below, many of us wanna know! *fingers crossed*
Tracy: Ladies….I just finished Joanna Reads book *Reaper’s Property* and it was fan-effin-tastic!!! Seriously, y’all have to go get this book right now! Horse is a badass hot biker that you have to meet! Joanna, You rock!
Ruth: 5 stars with out a doubt. Hope it’s continued.
Shannon: Yup LOVED it!!!
Tracy: I was just thinking the same thing Ruth! She has got to make a series out of this..maybe a book for Cookie or Em
Tiffany: I said the Same thing Tracy , Series with Em or Cookie!! Loved it too!! … Maryse posted that Joanna Wylde’s book release Reaper’s Property was Live on Amazon this A.M. And I Immediately bought it because Joanna Always is dead on about her Reads!! So I knew her book would be AWESOME!!! I read it Straight thru …no Breaks..because it was THAT GOOD!!! Holy Joanna..You Rock!! Hope your gonna keep on with This SERIES because you made it real…Not Comparing you to K.A.. But you made this Story REAL and You made your Characters come ALIVE..LOVED HORSE!! Yep..And your other Characters need a Story!! Picture…Cookie…Em..Get it done GIRL!! I have a KEEPER shelf that I put books that I would Read AGAIN..Reaper’s Keep in on it..YaY for YOU!!! 😉
Kristie: Loved it!! Read it in a day!! I want more!!!
Maryse’s Book Blog: I’m halfway through and really enjoying it! Love the detail in her perspective of things. Love the shopping, the house… I’m all cozy, yet… Titillated. Hehe. His voice is just right.
Sara: Reading it now. You need to start a “what to read after Undeniable” list. This will be #1!
Paige: You’re gonna love it!! this book!!
Julie: Oh it’s soo good!! So excited you’re reading it Maryse! It has everything… And then some! I need to do my review of this one as well , loved Horse!
Emma: I LOVE Horse! I can’t wait to get back in the saddle…*uhhmm*
Danielle: Read it this weekend and loved it! Now I want more bikers!
Suzanne: Loved it!
Melanie: thank for posting this!i read it in one night and i loved it.so awesome.
I was sooo Happy and Excited to see your review of Joanna’s Book!! Loved your Review!!! Loved this book!! It must give you a Great Feeling when someone who Loves your Blog writes a book and its so Great and YOU know Her!! Joanna is a Sweetheart and Im so Glad that her book is gonna be a HIT!! Thanks Maryse!! Love your Blog!!! AWESOME!!! :)))))
Have you read Wilde Ride? Thats a really good one too.
I just bought it!! You bet I’ll be reading that one soon.
I just now finished this and I loved it. Great review, Maryse!
Thank-you to Jo for writing such fun characters! 🙂
Just read this last night and loved it! It is right in the middle of Motorcycle Man and Undeniable for me story wise. Well written, great dialogue and characters. Hoping for this to become a series, would love to see a story from a Prospect’s perspective, Painter, maybe, hint…
Just finished it and loved it!! Hope she has some more books in the works 🙂
Half way thru it and I had to go to bed so I could get up early and go to that pesky thing called a job. Now I have to suffer through 8 hours until I can finish it. Did not want to put it down. Loving it! More MC books please!!!
Sometimes I don’t know what gets me more excited about a book; the way you review them, or the book’s synopsis. 🙂 Either way, this just got added to the top of my TBR stack!
I read Phoenix Rockstar by Bec Botefuhr. It has bikers AND a rockstar!
I finished last night and I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! Like Ruth, I personally, give it 5 stars!! I love Horse and Marie’s love story. I loved their banter with each other and their sexual chemistry is over the top. 😉 This book has it all, sexy Bad Boys (uh, really, really bad biker boys), humor, suspense, some angst, grief, HOT erotica, and a superior story line.
I agree with Jen: “It is right in the middle of Motorcycle Man and Undeniable” and I would love for Joanna to write a story about Painter. I really had a crush on him. 😉
I would also love a story about the MC president, Picnic and Em and Cookie and maybe everyone in the club that is single…..a whole series about the Reaper’s MC would be great Joanna….just saying… 🙂 🙂
Maryse, great review and thanks for recommending another exceptional book. 2013 is starting off great!!!
Also, does anyone know the name of the male model on the book cover? I have seen him on a lot of book and think he is HOT!!! Great choice for the book cover Joanna, I pictured him as Horse the whole time I was reading. **blush** **sigh** 😉
What do you know, I get my biker lessons from Sons of Anarchy also, lol!!
Tack, Deuce, and now Horse. My favorite motorcycle bad boys. Loved the book. Like everyone else, I hope it becomes a series, cuz, then we can (hopefully) keep tabs on Horse and Marie!
Yeah Patrice, sounds good!! If remember correctly, Reaper’s MC has 125 members, as well as, other support MCs. Although some are already mated, that should give up more than enough stories to keep tabs on Horse and Marie. He He He 😉 Now we need to convince Joanna to keep us informed!! 🙂 Please Joanna, Please!!! 🙂 🙂
Hey there! Thanks for your nice comments, when I saw the review last night I pretty much fainted, LOL. I will be working on more stories, definitely. I had no idea if this book would be read by anyone, let alone whether they’d like it, so I didn’t make any real plans. Now I’m planning lots 🙂
Thanks again – I’m just all smiles right now.
Thanks Joanna, You are very talented and we love “Reaper’s Property”!!! So excited to hear that you are ‘planning lots’!!! Woohoo!!! Can’t wait!! We’re all Smiles TOO!!! 🙂 🙂
Also, who is the hot male cover model??? Hmmmm??? 😉
I know that I am gushing, but I really really loved this book. In my opinion, Joanna’s fantasy world of an outlaw MC is brilliant. I found Joanna response to a letter discussing “Reaper’s Property” online and wanted to share: (it’s really interesting)
“Hi, I’m Joanna Wylde (the author) and I loved your letter to me, LOL! I appreciate that you put your time and effort into reading (and writing about) my book. It’s an amazing thing to have someone send you a link to a place where people are actually talking about your stuff.
I didn’t want to butt in, but I wanted to respond to J*** W’s question about community property and distribution of assets in an OMC (outlaw motocycle club).
Before I go any further, I want to offer a caveat: I am not living in the life and wouldn’t dream of implying I am. I am a former journalist and have done a ton of research into club life (including interviewing many MC members, including several one percenters, reading books, articles and even academic works) and think I can offer some clarity (not just about my book, which is obviously a fantasy set in a background that was as real as I could get it, but still within the bounds of my fantasy world). Please note – this is only about 1%er or outlaw clubs. The vast majority of clubs are just groups of people who like to ride together.
Back to property: There’s very little I can find out about the specifics of real property (as opposed to property as slang for a claimed woman) held communally by MCs. What I have been told (by guys living in club life) is that it’s common for one member to hold it – for example, the clubhouse is often owned/rented by one person, but used and paid for by all (the clubs have regular dues to cover expenses). This is used not only as a hang out, but as a backup place to live when things get too tight at home (not uncommon, apparently – one source was living in the clubhouse with his wife and kids because he’d lost his job). The ties of the club are strong enough that it’s not an issue, apparently. One guy told me that most of the clubs he knew used houses as their clubhouse, because they want them to be residential and they have run into zoning issues mixing businesses with housing. Even bikers have to deal with city ordinances, apparently… I chose an old national guard armory for my book because it happens to be a real building in my community and looking at it has always filled my mind with stories. I figured that since it lies within the county (so business zoning is not an issue, at least around here) and it isn’t commercial, it was realistic enough.
As for business income/property, I can’t find any evidence that very many real clubs actually make a lot of money (this might be why they don’t fight about property much – either that or they’re smart enough to keep it hidden). They’re about riding bikes more than anything, hanging out, partying, camping, runs… Money seems to be more of a means to an end than an end of itself. For most, it’s about brotherhood and bikes.
Some groups are far more organized than others (one size doesn’t fit all in any world, and definitely NOT in the MC world), and many MCs don’t have any sanctioned criminal activity at all. That being said, those same clubs seem to have groups of individuals who are engaged in shady activity to varying levels… How organized that activity actually is is up for question. The cops and ATF seem to disagree, and have gone after various groups under RICO many times (although not usually groups as small as the “Reapers,” which is a decent sized club, but not a big player like the real clubs you’ve probably heard of – Hells Angels, Mongols, etc.)
I decided to make the Reapers a more sophisticated organization financially because it’s a better story. The idea of owning formal “shares” in a club seems completely at odds with what I know of MC culture, although I’m sure if there was a parting of ways, they’d divide things up. I do know that among members, it is very egalitarian. They really do have officers, they have regular elections, they have bylaws, etc. They are notorious for not following society’s rules, but there are lots of rules within their own culture. It’s probably more structured in some ways than the life I lead. The most common businesses I have heard of clubs running are strip clubs.
So, I think if a member and his wife got divorced, they’d probably have to split their assets like anyone else under the law. The question is, how much would they have in traceable assets? A lot of bikers live pretty close to the bone – it’s not a life that mixes well with a career. It’s not uncommon at all for the wife to be the bread winner, especially to get health insurance. Their criminal activity is well documented, but that’s not what they’re really all about (at least for many – I suspect there are plenty of sociopaths out there too). There are family clubs that are far more welcoming to women and children, and clubs that treat women like dogs. One guy shared that he wouldn’t want his daughter to live the life, but that he really hoped his son would. This man is married, batshit crazy about his wife and realistic in his understanding that club life strains the marriage. He actually (with permission) transferred to another, affiliated club because they were more supportive of family life.
I hope that answers the question, or at least addresses it. Lots of people have been asking me about my research, and I’ve done some posts on my Goodreads blog. I am certainly not an expert, but it’s been very eye-opening for me. It’s a diverse, rich, disturbing and impressive culture that varies from club to club significantly, but is still centered around the same common ideals, I think. They definitely see themselves as rebels and heros in a world with too many rules.
Law enforcement disagrees…
Joanna 🙂 “
Okay, did a little research (web stalking 😉 ) and found out who the cover model is: Jimmy Thomas, and he is on over 4,000 romance novels, the most in history!!! You may already know this, but I didn’t until I found his website http://www.romancenovelcenter.com/jimmythomas
Dang, I knew he was a hottie!!! 😉
OH YES!!! I remember seeing his name when I was looking up other cover models. Perhaps I should create a cover model post for him. 🙂
Just finished the book this morning. Loved it! Couldn’t put it down I just had to find out what happened next! So interesting about all Joanna’s research! Maryse I love your blog and read it everyday. Some great freebies I download them all since I can’t buy every book you suggest as much as I’d like to and your reviews of them really make me want to buy them all!!!!
Great idea Maryse!! he he he 😉
I really enjoyed this book. Not as much as Undeniable or Motorcycle Man, but still good. I really swooned on the way he HAD to have her. It killed me when he broke his phone before reading the other texts! I was like WHAAAAT?!?! All in all a good read, felt a little rushed at times (seeing as it wasn’t a very long book), and the brother disapointed me bigtime! Anyway…………steamy + scary biker dudes = YUM! 😉
Thanks for recommending this. This is the first Joanna Wylde book I’ve read and I really enjoyed it. I’m off to find more of her work.
Loved this book!! I need another biker book ASAP!! I’ve read motorcycle man and undeniable and excitedly waited the chaos series from KA!!! Any recommendations for another steamy biker book??
This one is definitely on my list!