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Review

4.5 ‘HOLY SHIT what did I just read?’ stars

This is a raw and gritty read which is shockingly brutal and totally addictive.

I was intrigued by the synopsis, and once I read the prologue (that actually had me close to tears!) I was absolutely hooked. I have no idea how to write a review for this book, so I’m going to completely cop out and just include the blurb, because it’s enough to suck you straight in and tells you enough to allow you to dive in and just experience it for what it is.

On May 15, 1975, fifteen-year-old Ginny Lemon is abducted from a convenience store in Fort Lauderdale by a member of one of the most notorious and brutal motorcycle gangs in South Florida.

From that moment on, her life is forever changed. She gets a new name, a new identity and a new life in the midst of the gang’s base on the edge of the Florida Everglades—a frightening, rough and violent world much like the swamps themselves, where everyone has an alias and loyalty is tantamount to survival.

And at the center of it all is the gang’s leader, Grizz: massive, ruggedly handsome, terrifying and somehow, when it comes to Ginny, tender. She becomes his obsession and the one true love of his life.

So begins a tale of emotional obsession and manipulation, of a young woman ripped from everything she knows and forced to lean on the one person who provides attention, affection and care: her captor. Precocious and intelligent, but still very much a teenager, Ginny struggles to adapt to her existence, initially fighting and then coming to terms with her captivity.

Will she be rescued? Will she escape? Will she get out alive—or get out at all? Part psychological thriller, part coming-of-age novel, filled with mystery, romance and unexpected turns, Nine Minutes takes readers into the world of one motorcycle gang and inside the heart of a young girl, whose abduction brought about its fall.

This is such a well written story! Told completely from Ginny’s POV, it’s like she is reciting her story for us, but with the benefit of knowing how it will all play out as she reflects back. I think it’s really cleverly done.

And it’s definitely not one for the faint-hearted. This book is set in a ruthlessly violent biker world with all sorts of viciousness, cruelty and criminal activity going on. Seriously, I’ve read a number of biker books and a scene in this book actually made me gag. But it provides an amazing setting for what is essentially Ginny’s coming of age, and the way that she responds to everything around her is really fascinating.

And the characters are so fantastically fleshed out! Some you will love, some you will hate, some will break your heart and with others you won’t know what the hell to think! The majority of these people are the baddest of the bad, but being immersed in their world, you feel something for them.

I love that a writer can make me feel that way.

And whatever way you look at it, it’s a beautiful love story. Unconventional, yes, but given the circumstances, I thought it was very realistic. And I loved the way the love story played out amidst everything that was happening around them. There are some HUGE twists, and a lot of surprises – some that I picked, others that I didn’t see coming – and I thought that the whole thing was put together really skilfully.

“A story about a man who has loved me from the very beginning, from the first glance. The man who always was and still is my soul mate.”

I’m excited to learn that there is going to be more with a follow up book to be published next year. This book does end at a good point, but with all of those reveals in the final few chapters, there is still much more story to be told.

4.5 stars.

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Nine Minutes Trilogy