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Review

ABSOLUTELY FREAKING INCREDIBLE!

There are weak men; men who run and hide when life slaps them in the ass. Then there are men; men who have a backbone yet occasionally, when life slaps them in the ass, will rely on others. And then there are real men; men who don’t cry or complain, who don’t just have a backbone, they are the backbone. Men who make their own decisions and live with the consequences, who accept responsibility for their actions or words. Men who, when life slaps them in the ass, slap back and move on. Men who live hard and die even harder.
Men like my father and my uncles. Men I loved with all my heart.
Men like Deuce.
– Eva

God, there is so much I want to say about this book! I can’t possibly explain all of the reasons why it is such an amazing read, so I’m only focussing on the main points.

This is a beautiful, complex story about a couple who experience an immediate, life-altering connection that develops into intense attraction and overwhelming love in the face of pain, betrayal, guilt, sacrifice and death.

Set within the world of Motorcycle Clubs (Eva is the daughter of a club President, while Deuce is the President of another club), the lifestyle forms an incredibly important part of the story and this is explored in a very matter-of-fact way that helps the reader understand the nature of the clubs, and the men and women who exist within this amazingly unique world where the standards are very different from the norm.

Eva and Deuce meet when Eva is 5 and Deuce 23. Told from both POVs, we get to watch them through the years, and witness the hold that they have over each other. And as they get older, I loved seeing Eva fall deeper and deeper for Deuce while he battled with his feelings due to her age, but also because he thought she deserved so much better than him. But he couldn’t resist what was between them.

“Naïve, darlin’,” He murmured. “I stole you a long time ago. Round the time you fuckin’ stole me.”

At the same time gorgeously swoony and utterly dysfunctional, Deuce and Eva’s relationship swings from blissful highs (with a whole heap of steam) to gut wrenching lows, but there is always an undeniable bond and an incredible passion between them.

My heart broke numerous times for Eva. Despite what her heart wanted, she resigned herself to the life that she had to lead and the brutality that that would involve. She endures so much as a result of being tied to another man who “fucked me up so badly that I didn’t know who the fuck I was”. Watching her spiral down to rock bottom was just devastating. But through it all she held tight to her feelings for Deuce, and I loved the strength and the resilience that she showed in climbing back and reclaiming her life.

“The most beautiful man I’d ever seen and still the biggest asshole I’d ever met.
And I loved him still. That had never changed.”

Deuce is an asshole, yet I love him. Some of his behaviour is downright deplorable but, as I kept reminding myself, it’s his life, it’s what he knows. How much this justifies his behaviour, I don’t know, but Eva loved him through it all, and he loved her back intensely – “If his girl was broken, someone sure as fuck was going to die for that.” – even if it took him longer to accept it. And I loved watching him come to fully realise the hold she had over him.

“I damn well know a good thing when I see it and babe all I’ve ever been able to fuckin’ see is you. Not many chances a man has in his lifetime to do right, to earn the love of a good woman, and to get a taste of true freedom. And babe, for me, you’re all fuckin’ three. Have been for a good while now.”

The side characters are fantastically real – Eva’s best friend Kami, the guys from the club, and Cage and Danny are all phenomenal. And the bad guys are disgustingly, sickeningly evil.

I read this book in one sitting, unable to put it down and my heart was pounding the whole time. I was absolutely gobsmacked at the life these characters lived, and I was on an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.

An absolutely incredible story which was disturbingly shocking, but beautifully written. I loved everything about it!

5 fucked up, dysfunctional stars