Synopsis
With the looming threat from the Mancuso Crime Family, the Forsaken Motorcycle Club is preparing for a war that could destroy them. Grady, the club’s Sergeant-at-Arms, knows that love makes you weak, and he has zero interest in adding to his liabilities– especially now. He’s already got his teenage daughter who keeps him on his toes and a beef within the club that could fracture his relationship with a fellow brother for good.
For Holly Mercer, her life is finally getting on track and the last thing she wants is trouble from her hometown’s resident outlaws. Keeping her nose clean is easier said than done, when suddenly she finds herself embroiled in club business. Holly might like the idea of being with a real-life bad boy, but even being in the same room with tough-as-nails Grady flusters her.
When Holly inadvertently finds herself on Mancuso’s radar, she has two choices: trust that Grady will protect her, or continue to refuse the club’s help. Both roads are dangerous, but only one has the chance to damage her beyond repair.
Love is never more dangerous than when it can destroy you.
Review
Holly Mercer has made poor decision after poor decision, so much so that her actions have forced her to return to her hometown to try and figure out how to get her life back on track. Even though she’s broke and living with her parents, she’s determined to make it out on her own and start living her life according to her own rules, fighting off any instinct she has to get involved with anymore needy and self-destructive people. Too bad that’s exactly where she finds herself yet again when she goes out of her way to try and help a wayward teenage girl. Holly’s new job as secretary at the local high school puts her directly in the path of Grady, the Forsaken Motorcycle Club Sergeant-at-Arms. She’s attempting to get his daughter, Cheyenne, back on track so that she can graduate, but there’s not a lot of cooperation on his part, which for some reason infuriates Holly and makes her confront Grady. This is where everything gets complicated – Grady and Holly may appear to hate each other but underneath the nasty comments is quite a bit of sexual tension. When Holly finds herself in the middle of “club business,” Grady has to step up and protect her. As much as Grady fears for Holly’s safety, he also doesn’t know if he can trust her, but when things go from bad to worse, he doesn’t have a choice but to, and as they work together to stay safe and try to figure out who’s behind everything, the connection between them turns into something they never really saw coming, but will it be enough to overcome the horror Holly faces at the hands of people looking for payback against the club?
I love MC books; there’s just something about the motorcycle world that enthralls me. The Forsaken Motorcycle Club’s world is gritty and dangerous. J.C. Emery definitely takes readers into the darker side of this world and doesn’t hold back in describing what happens when people need information or demand revenge. While there are graphic and disturbing scenes in the series, they clearly show the extent that dangerous men go to, to get what they want. I have to admit, though, I had a bit of a hard time with Rev. Not with the events that occurred in the story, but more with the story’s development. There were times when I was reading that I just didn’t feel like everything was clearly explained, and it might just be because not much information is really known until the end of the text, but I was still left wondering about aspects of the storyline even when the people behind some of the acts are revealed.
I liked both Grady and Holly; they gave each other what they both truly needed, but I also felt like I didn’t truly get to see who they really are. Their pasts are a big reason for them being the way they are, and I wanted a bit more insight into their backgrounds besides the small glimpses that readers were given. I did love the relationship Grady had with his daughter and mother. Their interactions were great moments in the book because readers get to see a softer side of the badass biker, which made it easier to understand why Holly feels the way she does about him. It will be interesting what side of Grady comes out when readers get to read Chey and Jeremy’s novella. It will definitely be interesting to see how dear old dad handles it all.
Overall, I enjoyed Rev. I just felt like there were missing pieces that would have given me a fuller picture of the characters as well as the storyline. I definitely will continue with the series and hopefully I’ll get some of my questions answered as it continues.
A complimentary copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 poison apples
Excerpt
“I told you that I won’t say anything. You won’t take me at my word, so if I have to take the money to get you to believe that I’m not going to do anything to get you or your club into trouble, then I will.” And that’s exactly the problem. We deal with a lot of shady as fuck people in our line of business. I learned two things in my last twenty years with his cut on my shoulders: number one, everybody has a price; and number two, that there is no such thing as getting something for nothing. And the fact that she won’t take my money makes me think she’s going to take my freedom. Only, she doesn’t seem to be malicious or deceitful. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that she really just wanted to be left alone. Which is a damn shame because the more time I spend around her, the more aware I am of her presence.
“Stay here,” I say. She is an adult and responsible for own fate, but I can’t help the bad feeling that I get from the idea of letting her walk. She hasn’t told me what exactly went down between her and Mancuso’s guy, but from the way she avoids the topic altogether, I’m starting to worry that it was more than she’s letting on. And if he has taken an interest in her, then she’s screwed.
“No,” she says. She gives me a small shake of her head, and then her shoulders rise in the air, stay for a beat, and fall. “I was an idiot for thinking that it could be a good idea to let Cheyenne think that were sleeping together. Now my boss is asking questions and even Mindy thinks I’m hiding something from her. If I stay here, it’s only going to make everything worse.”
“You won’t stay here because people are asking questions, so you would rather be murdered to avoid a few uncomfortable conversations?” I don’t even know what the fuck to say about this shit anymore. I’ve tried my best to get it through her thick skull that getting dead is a very real possibility here. She shifts in place and looks down at her lap. Her fingers work at the hem of her blouse.
“The more time I spend with you, the more that guy is going to think I matter. It’s better for you and Cheyenne that I stay away. If he thinks we know each other then he can use me as leverage. You have enough to worry about with Cheyenne and your club. You don’t need to worry about me as well.”
“Stay,” I say again, quieter this time.
“I don’t fit in here.”
“Yes, you do,” I whisper.
“But, I don’t.”
“You’re insane, and ballsy, and you handle your shit. You fit in here alright.”
I sound like a pussy.
Her silence is unnerving. She doesn’t react to my fucked-up attempts at getting her to stay for a long moment, then she says, “But I don’t want to be those things.”
I don’t give her anything for a good minute or so. I’ve nothing to give. She doesn’t want this and I won’t force it. On one hand, she makes sense. Her staying here could make it look like she means something to me, which she doesn’t. Well, more than I want her to, anyway. Still, that doesn’t address the fact that she’s already had words with this guy and apparently the asshole pulled a gun on her. But she’s made her choice, and I’m not the kind of man who begs.
Novella Cover Reveal and Synopsis: Crush – Jeremy and Chey’s Story
Young love is always perfect. Until it’s not.
Cheyenne Grady is a total daddy’s girl to her bad-ass father, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Forsaken Motorcycle Club. She’s funny, and kind, and she just wants that deep, earth-shattering love like her dad has with her school secretary, Holly. But Cheyenne’s been looking in the wrong direction, because the only good that can come from the way she looks at Jeremy Whelan is a lesson in heartbreak.
Jeremy always wanted to prospect for the Forsaken Motorcycle Club and wear the same patch as his father. When a life-long dream becomes reality, Jeremy realizes that the outlaw lifestyle is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it easy on relationships. He wants to be a good man, but temptation is everywhere.
Cheyenne is beautiful, and strong, and exactly what Jeremy could have forever. As long as he doesn’t screw it up.
Love is never more powerful than the first time.
Other Books in the Series
Ride Blurb:
Death comes in Armani. Salvation comes in leather.
Principessa to the Mancuso crime family, Alexandra knows a thing or two about living outside the bounds of the law. Suffocated by the future her father has laid out for her, she makes a choice she can’t take back, changing the entire trajectory of her life.
Thrust into the dark and dangerous world of the Forsaken Motorcycle Club for her own protection, Alex finds herself faced with the last thing she needs right now: the man of her dreams. He’s sex in leather, the devil incarnate, and one hell of a kisser. But he’s also off-limits. Ryan Stone can be her friend, but he’s forbidden to be her lover.
Third-generation Forsaken, Ryan knows nothing other than life on two wheels, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He enjoys the many privileges that come with the patch, and the only laws he recognizes are the ones set-forth by his club. That is, until who he wants more than anything isn’t allowed on the back of his bike —or in his bed. Balancing his desire for her body, and need to keep her safe, Ryan tries to keep Alex at a distance. Finally having made a choice for herself, she’s done hearing the word “no” and will push boundaries even Ryan himself doesn’t dare cross.
Love is never more tempting than when it’s forbidden.
Thrash Blurb:
Loneliness suffocates the heart. Acceptance breaks down walls.
As a Lost Girl to the Forsaken Motorcycle Club, Nicole Whelan knows how to party. She’s not cut-out for relationships and her life is way too complicated for anything more than casual encounters. But one night when she falls into Duke’s bed at the clubhouse, he sees something in her that he can’t let go of—no matter how many times she tries to run.
Having been left to raise her teenage brother, Jeremy, she’s already got her hands full and isn’t looking for anymore complications. But Duke’s just watched his best friend fall for the only girl he couldn’t have, and then almost lose her so shortly after, shaking him to his core. Faced with his own loneliness, he’s more determined than ever to break down Nic’s walls and show her that he can be good for her; but he’s got a bad track record and she’s got a bad temper. Changing his ways isn’t easy when he’s not sure what he’s even changing for.
The violence and turmoil are at an all-time high, and Forsaken is in a vulnerable place when a twist of fate breathes new life into the club. It’s a much-needed beacon of hope for the embattled biker family, even if everyone’s not exactly on board. With Duke and Nic’s relationship already on shaky ground, and something even more important at stake, the Forsaken Motorcycle Club will fight like hell to keep their family together and whole.
Love is never more precious than when it’s new.
GIVEAWAY
About the Author:
As a child, JC was fascinated by things that went bump in the night. As they say, some things never change. Now, as an adult, she divides her time between the sexy law men, mythical creatures, and kick-ass heroines that live inside her head and pursuing her bachelor’s degree in English. JC is a San Francisco Bay Area native, but has also called both Texas and Louisiana home. These days she rocks her flip flops year round in Northern California and can’t imagine a climate more beautiful.
JC writes adult, new adult, and young adult fiction. She dabbles in many different genres including science fiction, horror, chick lit, and murder mysteries, yet she is most enthralled by supernatural stories– and everything has at least a splash of romance.
Website:
Twitter username:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-JC-Emery/301706559938830
Fairest Of All Book Reviews 
Thank you for participating in my blog tour!
xx JC