Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Review and Giveaway: Reaper's Stand

Reaper's Stand (Reaper's MC - Book 4) by Joanna Wylde

Publication Date: 10/07/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Books
Genre: Motorcycle Club
Pages: 336
ISBN-10: 0425272362
ISBN-13: 978-0425272367

(Received for an honest review from Berkley Books)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Indiebound

Joanna Wylde on the WEB: website, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series

Reaper's MC

1. Reaper's Property
2. Reaper's Legacy
3. Devil's Game
4. Reaper's Stand

Coverart: Click the Image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.




Synopsis:

As Reapers Motorcycle Club president, Reese "Picnic" Hayes has given his entire life to the club. After losing his wife, he knew he'd never love another woman. And with two daughters to raise and a club to manage, that was just fine with him. These days, Reese keeps his relationships free and easy--he definitely doesn't want to waste his time on a glorified cleaning lady like London Armstrong

Too bad he's completely obsessed with her.

Besides running her own business, London's got her junkie cousin's daughter to look after--a more reckless than average eighteen-year-old. Sure she's attracted to the Reapers' president, but she's not stupid. Reese Hayes is a criminal and a thug. But when her young cousin gets caught up with a ruthless drug cartel, Reese might be the only man who can help her. Now London has to make the hardest decision of her life--how far will she go to save her family?


Thoughts:

Joanna Wylde is the queen of motorcycle club romances. With the release of the fourth Reaper's MC book, Reaper's Stand, Wylde solidifies herself as one of the greats. This is a series that takes the reader into the brotherhood of the MC. Wylde doesn't sugarcoat anything and readers get a inside look into how bad and how good the MC lifestyle can be. This one isn't for the faint of heart. It is a little darker than previous books in the series and the pace is lightening quick. A great addition to this series!

What I liked:

Joanna Wylde has always impressed me with her take on the MC world. What most readers know about MC's comes from what they see on TV or have heard about with groups like the Hell's Angels. The portrayals are somewhat realistic but they are sensationalized with tons of violence, gratuitous sex and hatred. Wylde however shows that despite the harshness of the MC world, these are still men and women with issues just like you and I have. The realism is what gets me with this series. These are hard men, they often don't care who gets hurt as long as the brotherhood survives. I liked Wylde's take on the leader of Reaper's MC. He was a hard man, with a soft heart.

Picnic is little older than Wylde's previous heroes in this series. He's lived a little more, experienced more and has a seasoned outlook on life. The loss of his wife has hardened his heart to some extent and he uses women to fill the void of losing her. He has issues with trust, outside his Reaper brotherhood. He isn't an easy man to like, but wow what a fantastic character! In Picnic, Wylde gives reader a older hero who has been hurt and despite everything from MC politics to troubles that strike a little closer to home, he still wants to be loved. I found that very endearing. 

London is also a little older. She has her own business. She is taking care of her niece who seems determined to get herself into trouble with the MC. London is very level headed. She doesn't want to get mixed up with the MC but when she does, she doesn't go in blind. She knows what she is getting into and shes willing to face the consequences of her decision. I liked how feisty she got with Picnic. She was in his face and she was able to take what he dished out. There were moments when I wanted to shake her, but all in all she was a great heroine.

The pace of this book is frantic to say the least. The last few chapters will have readers biting their nails and covering their eyes for a minute. This is a darker book than the previous ones in the series and there is bit of violence and reprehensible behavior. I was literally shocked a time or two at Wylde's descriptions of what was going on. She doesn't hold back and readers should be aware of that. Don't expect a fluffy love story with this one. It's dark, it's gritty and it's powerful. Be prepared to hang on for dear life!

What I didn't like:

As I said the pace was like a lightening strike, it's a wonder that the pages didn't catch fire, LOL! Unfortunately, that meant that some of the issues going on in the club were resolved rather quickly with a major dose of testosterone and heroics. It was a bit too easy in some cases when a longer resolution might have been more realistic. I still loved it though.

Bottom Line:

If you like MC books, Joanna Wylde is the writer for you! Reaper's Stand is in my opinion the best of the series so far. The hero and heroine are more seasoned and worldly wise. The chemistry between them is rough around the edges but that is characteristic of men in the MC world. A great addition to this gritty, raw series.

Reaper's Stand is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!




About the Author:


Joanna Wylde has written several erotic romances for Ellora's Cave and lives in Idaho. She is also the author of Reaper's Legacy and Reaper's Property.


Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Reaper's Stand by Joanna Wylde.

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, October 22nd.

1. Please leave a comment about a situation in which you were willing to do anything to save your family.

2. Please fill out the FORM.

8 comments:

krg said...

I have not been in a life or death situation but one time we were out to eat with my mom and siblings and my sisters husband made some inappropriate comments to my college age daughter making her so uncomfortable she started to leave. This is how he is and since my family is not confrontational at all we have let him get away with it for years. This time tho he was messing with MY daughter and I called him out on it and he didn't like it. We were nose to nose for a bit and I think I surprised him and he finally left. My daughter still laughs about it and says never mess with a momma tiger! lol

lag123 said...

We were in a McDonalds in Mew Orleans and a gang of unruly teenagers confronted my daughters and would not let them return to our table. I plowed into the middle of them yelling "Back off!" My daughters were so scared.

lag110 at mchsi dot com

Carl Scott said...

My wife and I were on a ferry in the Mediterranean in a huge storm. At one point the boat almost capsized and we were both thrown backwards across the big room we were in. I remember struggling to catch sight of her as we were hurtling across the room and when I saw her red shirt I grabbed her and wrapped myself around her just before we hit the far wall. I think I may have been lucky enough to save her from a serious injury.

Texas Book Lover said...

Luckily I have not been put in a situation that required me to do anything drastic yet. I know that I would do pretty much anything for my family though no matter the cost!

Unknown said...

my dad was loading a tractor onto the back of his truck and it started to flip over, he fell off and landed under it. i was standing next to the ramp and just pushed the tractor to the side as hard as i could otherwise it would have landed on my dad. all the time i thought i am not strong enough to save him. but i did push it over.

Unknown said...

I ran in front of a car that was speeding in a park to help get the kids out of the way. Then we followed him and had his car towed. (It was the best we could do since it was on private property.)

Unknown said...

I've already done it. I left 2 marriages for my children and in the end I left the one place I knew well as an adult where all my friends were and where I had established myself as an adult and moved my children to an incredibly small town in the middle of nowhere where I am only a child. I am someone's granddaughter and another person's daughter and known as an invalid. Not a robust individual capable of living her own life. It's been great for my kids and extremely difficult for me. But I am very interested in this book and writer.

bn100 said...

hasn't happened yet