Maryse's Book Blog

Outlaw
In the mood for an “easier” biker romance read? This one pretty much satiated my by biker sweet-tooth. It had a bit of that bad-a$$ thing going on, which is a must. I think it meant to have more, considering the initial subject matter and how they “handled” things, but it wasn’t quite to that gritty level. Still though, a touch of Kristen Ashley’s bad-boy speak, some drama a la motorcycle club (you know… territory issues, bad apples, witnesses… and “you don’t belong here” kinda stuff. ;)) and a whole lotta love. It had a bit of everything that some of our favorites had, but not quite enough to proclaim it a favorite. However, I was enjoying it and wanted to finish the book and can think back on it as a good “in-between” read.

I loved how it started, and thought it’d be that raw, throughout. Kidnapped girl is purchased by someone in an allied biker gang and by the time she is found by our biker-hero, she has been abused in every way.

He was not a man who usually got involved in other people’s problems. He stayed clear of what didn’t directly concern him, having learned in this life that he couldn’t afford to let himself be affected by a lot of the sh!t he saw, but this? F&@k. This he couldn’t stomach. As he looked down at her, something twisted painfully in his chest.

He “deals” his way into taking her into his possession, and plots his revenge against the bad apple. Except ’cause he’s kind of a bad-a$$ sweetheart, she fights him tooth and nail,

How many others would she be traded to? They all made her sick, and she let him know it the only way she could think of.

She spit in his face.

His eyes flashed for a moment as his head jerked back slightly. She realized her mistake immediately. Oh, God. Why had she done that?

… and he mostly lets her. Ahhhh I hearted him. So patient with her, and such a sweetheart.

“Godd@mn, woman! That’s twice now you’ve tried to kill me.” He stared down into her eyes. “I told you I wouldn’t hurt you. But you can only push a man so far, Angel.”

Poor thing. LOL!  Except it’s bad when you think about her circumstances. She was in a much better situation, mind you, but who could blame her outrage?

“”You’re gonna live through this, and you’re gonna get past it.” Her head was tucked under his chin. “The pain that you’re feelin’, I swear, baby, it won’t stay.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m not gonna let anything more happen to you.”

*sigh* He’s her knight in shining leather. Truly, he made me swoon at times.

And so for the first half of the book, bad things happen, and bad things are retaliated against. And all the while, the two are getting attached BIG TIME and his MC leader is warning him that he’s losing his focus. So you know… stuff. 😉 But I kept wondering, considering the crazy stuff that was happening, where was it all going?

Second half of the book made me go… ohhhhh okay, I see. And it really shifted gears. It was pretty good. I was kind of excited about where it would go, but… not quite mind-blowing enough for me to get over-excited.

Touching… yes, but biker-type danger stuff that could have really put me on the edge of my seat… didn’t go as far as I would have liked. Romantically, there were some angsty touches that I enjoyed (a certain claiming ritual… and other misunderstandings that had tons of potential), and were explored but not in enough personal detail for me to feel it. The story was there, but more like “told” vs. “lived”.

*shrug* So, I’d pin my good “in-between-read” proclamation on that. And while I mostly believed the bad-boy biker guy, sometimes I found him too be a bit too… affectionate? Overly wordy about it? Extra-expressive? He would go from hot to cold and back again. Less like an outlaw bad-a$$ and more like a love-struck poet. LOL! Okay maybe “poet” is pushing it, but you know. Right? Sometimes he was deliciously “UGH!!! OH NO HE DIDN’T!!!”

“I can’t promise you a thing. You understand?”

… and sometimes I’d think to myself, “Really? Would a guy like this really say this much… already?”

I dunno. Still a fun biker-read if you’re in the mood for a quick and easy romance read that delves into badder-than-bad-boy territory, without it getting too intense.

“You gonna touch me with your hands, the way you’re touchin’ me with those eyes, sweetheart?”

*blush* Okay!!! 😉

3 stars

P.S. This book review is brought to you from my newly summer-fied deck! LOL! Where the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming and I’m smiling away! 😀 My new favorite reading/blogging spot, and this was the very first review I’ve written out here.