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Review

“I used to wonder how two people – one broken girl, and one broken boy – could ever move on from their dark and tortured pasts. But now I know. Together, that’s how. They fight their way through…together.”

4.5 stars

Damn, Tillie Cole writes an intense book! I was after a book that would make me feel, and I chose right! The Hades Hangmen series is a no-holds-barred look into two very different worlds – a brutally violent MC, and a fanatical religious cult (two settings you wouldn’t think blended together well, but trust me – it works). But more than just a ‘biker book’, Maddie and Flame’s story is about facing your demons, healing from the past and being brave enough to move on and find happiness. It’s an incredibly emotional love story and I was absolutely captivated from start to finish.

Maddie is the youngest of three women rescued from a cult where she and her ‘sisters’ were kept as sexual slaves. Brutally and repeatedly abused since childhood, they have been brought into the violent, confusing and sometimes terrifying world of a Motorcycle Club. Maddie has watched her sisters find love and happiness with wild men of the Club, but Maddie has endured pain and abuse that her sisters have not, and she is incredibly withdrawn and incredibly guarded with men – with the exception of the man that she sees as her saviour, Flame.

Flame is the most volatile member of the Hangmen. Quiet, brooding and covered in tattoos and piercings, the man cuts himself almost constantly, and is absolutely psychotic when released on his enemies.

“I am darkness. I am pain. I am motherfucking death.”

Over the last two books we have seen Flame form a strange connection with Maddie – strange in the extent that they have barely interacted, but their connection is there all the same. Flame was part of the team that rescued Maddie from her imprisonment in the cult, and was the one to kill her tormentor, and since that moment he has been her self-appointed bodyguard. Being near her soothes him in a way that he has never experienced with anybody else, and in a world that is entirely new and terrifying to her, Maddie sees Flame as her only safe haven.

He was still the man who protected me. He was still the silent shadow that kept me safe.

When a violent trigger sends Flame deep into his own mind, becoming lost to the torment of his demons, we see just how consumed with anger and self-loathing he really is, and it is when he is at his lowest point that Maddie finds the strength to come out of her shell and be there for the man that means so much to her.

“I am staying,” I emphasized.
Mae got to her feel. “Why, Maddie?”
I turned to my sister and said, “Because that is my Flame in there. And he needs me. No one else. Me.”
“Your Flame?” she whispered, and her head tilted to the side.
I felt a blush coat my cheeks and I shrugged. “That is how I regard Flame. As mine. From the moment I was able to touch him, and he touched me, I was claimed. I have been his this whole time.”

The development of this relationship is beautifully and emotively written. It’s a lot slower than the previous books in the series, but because of who Maddie and Flame are, it has to be. These two both have so many demons, and the focus of their relationship is very much on overcoming that and finding peace together. I loved the intensity of the slow build, it makes each little moment between them incredibly special.

“What are words? Sometimes the flick of a pair of eyes or the flush of skin reveals everything you need to know. Words can wound. Silence can heal.”

Despite all that they have been through, there’s a beautiful innocence about these two coming together. They both have so much fear, but every tentative step is full of anticipation and beauty as they open up to each other completely, with nothing but honesty between them and it was so gorgeous to read.

“Are you scared?”
Flame’s jaw clenched and he nodded his head. “Yeah,” he rasped out. “I’m fucking scared I’ll hurt you.” He released a pent up breath, adding, “But I want to know what you feel like. I want to know what your hand feels like on mine.”

We’ve all read books about tormented bad boys, but holy hell, Flame’s story will break your heart! All we really know about him up until this point is that he’s been destroyed by his past, and in this book all of that is explored in hideous detail. What the man has been through is absolutely horrific, and as we come to understand what has made him the way he is, my heart shattered for him. The cruelty and unfairness of it all is absolutely devastating. But that makes his story all the more amazing when he is able to embrace all that Maddie offers him.

And similarly, Maddie’s past has impacted hugely on who she is, and I love the strength that she finds by being there for Flame. The way that she gives everything of herself so willingly to him, putting it all out there for him is beautiful.

“You are my anchor. You are the one I was meant to find on this Earth … You are the only one for me. Only you can understand me, Flame. No one else. You have spent your entire life lost, not understanding what people want, but with me, you always know how to make me happy. How to make me feel safe.”

If two characters ever deserved a happy ending, it’s these two, and I loved watching them find it. Obviously it’s not an easy road, but I really liked the way the book focussed on the relationship between Flame and Maddie and didn’t throw too much other drama at the couple. Yes, there is still trouble brewing outside of the Club, and the cult forms a part of that, but for the most part, this story is a beautiful exploration of these two incredibly broken characters as they find the strength to deal with their pasts and find their happy ever after.

We are Flame and Maddie. And we have survived … We have found each other, and we are never letting each other go.

Again, this book contains some really dark themes and the Tillie Cole has held nothing back. Aspects of this book are horrifically graphic and descriptive, featuring sexual assault and abuse, pedophilia, torture, and murder. It is not for the faint-hearted, but props to Cole for being brave enough to give us a gritty read that gets you right into the heart of the story. Not always pleasant, but damn, it’s intense!

I loved this book. I loved being back in this world, seeing the other couples who have featured so far and getting to know more about some of the other boys of the MC. I am beyond excited at the direction of the latest story arc, and can’t wait for Rider’s book coming up next.

4.5 stars.