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Review

4 stars

A novella in Kristen Ashley’s Chaos world, this is the story of Dutch Black (son of Keelie, and ‘adopted’ son of Hound from Wild Like the Wind). I loved Dutch in his parents’ book, and was so excited when I learned that KA was going to tell the story of Dutch and his brother, Jagger. This book was surprising and full of feels with a gorgeous romance, and I really enjoyed it!

Dutch Black grew up Chaos. His father was the heart and soul of the club, and was murdered in cold blood. Hound stepped in to raise and be there for Dutch and his brother, and Dutch now has big shoes to fill, determined to live up to the example set for him by the two men in his life. He is now a patched-in member of the club, but lately, he has been feeling untethered. His heart is Chaos, but his soul craves a deeper purpose, and he meets that by helping out at a shelter for teens run by Jules (from the Rock Chick books.. squee!). It’s a boy named Carlisle that currently has his interest, a 17 year old who is trying to search for his father’s killer, and Dutch can’t help but wade in to help.

Georgiana is not a fan of motorcycle clubs. Her younger sister is dating Jagger Black, but she herself has no time for what she views as a misogynistic ‘boys club’. Until she meets Dutch. At first she wants nothing to do with him, and she makes that clear in no uncertain terms, even though she can’t help but be attracted to the gorgeous biker. But she quickly realises that there is so much more to him, and to his club, than she ever realised. And when she joins him on his quest to help Carlisle, everything between them begins to change.

This is a novella, so it’s a much shorter read than the normal KA books and therefore moves at a much faster pace. So the relationship is all go from the beginning – there’s no messing around, they’re both all in, they talk, they are open and honest with each other about everything, and it’s super functional. And, of course, it’s super sexy! It’s a formula that works for KA and her alpha heroes, so I was easily caught up in it all, and I loved seeing these two fall into a life together.

The storyline with Carlisle fits in well with Dutch truly finding himself within Chaos, and providing direction for the club going forward, and I thought that was beautifully done. The scenes of him reminiscing about his Dad, and about Hound, and about the impact that both men had on his life, are just gorgeous, and there are some truly touching scenes as he and his family mourn their loss and celebrate what they have together now. KA does family dynamics brilliantly, and I loved the scenes with all of them together, there for each other in all ways.

Dutch and Georgie don’t really stand out amidst the wide cast of KA couples. They’re both interchangeable with a lot of KA’s other characters. But at this point, do we really care? It’s KA’s formula, it works for her and for her readers, and I like going into her books knowing that I’m getting a low-angst read with lots of alphaness and sass.

This was a great story, and I’m really excited to read Jagger’s book up next.

4 stars.