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Review

Awwww hell yeah! Back with the badass boys of the Reapers MC – and this time with Club Prez himself, Reese ‘Picnic’ Hayes.

Picnic is the strong, no-nonsense, hardass biker that you would expect him to be as MC President. He has dedicated his life to his club and to raising his two daughters after the death of his wife left him shattered. And in the six years since he lost her he has become somewhat of a slut. Now, with both of his daughters out of his house, he is pretty much happy living his manwhorish life. He doesn’t want another old lady, thinking that nobody could live up to the ghost of his wife. But there is something that he wants badly – and that is London Armstrong.

She was too nice, too clean, and way the fuck too grown up. Ms. Armstrong was a regular citizen walking the straight and narrow, and she had no place in my world. She’d run off screaming in the darkness if I cut loose with her…
To make things worse, I sort of like her as a person, too.

This bitch and her gorgeous rack had been making my life a living hell for the past six months, because she was the last think I needed in my life and I’d never wanted to fuck anyone more…
And that was a problem.

London is 38 years old, and is the owner of her own successful cleaning company. She is also raising her cousin’s daughter, Jessica – an 18 year old wild child with medical and psychological issues – and has no time for a personal life of any kind. Holding the cleaning contracts for a number of the Reaper’s properties, she is aware of the club, but with her strong sense of right and wrong, she tries to disconnect herself from its seedier side. But she cannot deny that she is drawn to the Club’s enigmatic President.

I don’t know what bothered me more, his inherent scariness or the fact that his scariness sort of secretly turned me on. (Pathetic, I know).

From completely different worlds, the attraction between Picnic and London is sizzling from the very start, and despite a shockingly awkward start to things…

“You got shit timing.”
I didn’t respond, because what the hell would I say? So far as I knew, Hallmark didn’t make a “Sorry I Interrupted Your Oral Sex” card.

…the attraction continues to grow as they start to see each other more and more. And when London starts to get drawn into Picnic’s world, the man doesn’t hold himself back.

“If you look at me like that for even one more second, I’m gonna throw you down on that bed and fuck every part of you, starting with your tits. Unless that’s on the menu, you need to grab your shit and leave while you still can. This is the only warning you’ll get.”

I love the early flirtation/UST part of this relationship! It’s dirty, it’s blatantly sexual, and it had me bouncing up and down in my chair with the anticipation of it all.

“Reese?”
Her voice was tense, but I still liked the sound of my name on her tongue. Of course, it’d sound sweeter if she was screaming it into a pillow while I pounded her from behind. Funny how that works.

I love that they’re both older, more mature, and apparently much more forgiving of each other’s questionable behaviours (Pic’s slutty ways for one). The book is written in dual POV, and their inner monologues are hilarious as they deal with their everyday lives, as well as the growing chemistry between them. They are also fully aware of what they want so although London is hesitant to get involved with Pic in any way, when it all eventually happens, she throws herself into it.

He shoved up my shirt, exposing the red satin bra I’d decided to wear while cleaning his house for no particular reason I cared to acknowledge.

And oh, holy God. Watching Pic release his nasty side is all kinds of hot. His dirty mouth is just the start of the steaminess, but he also has a beautifully protective and soft side, which absolutely melted me.

“Just let me be strong for you for a minute, okay?” He said softly. “You’ve held on for a long time, sweetheart. Nobody can say you haven’t been strong. But it’s been a hell of a night, so why don’t you let me hold you and help you right now, okay?”

So here I was, all caught up in the romance and the sex and the pure awesome that is Picnic and London together, when I suddenly remembered the scarily ominous prologue, and damn. When that all came out, I have to say I was pissed. Once again, a heroine that I loved and had been thoroughly enjoying pulled an epic stupid that had me screaming out loud… WHAT THE EFF ARE YOU DOING?!?!?

Granted, London’s actions are a HUGE part of the story. It’s not like she pulls a stupid, and then all is forgiven and they live happily ever after. No. London’s stupid is EPIC, and has massive repercussions for Picnic, the club, and the rest of the story. And it helped that Picnic was just as pissed off as I was…

Spoiler

even though my heart broke when he realises the extent of her betrayal.

London knew what she was about to do was wrong, and she knew she didn’t want to do it…yet it still didn’t occur to her to reach out for help. … I even got that she was confused and frightened. But what really sucked in this situation was that she didn’t trust me to save her.
…
I’d have done anything to help her, but she couldn’t even bother asking.

Oh Picnic! *sniff*

I did feel a bit better with the way the whole thing got handled, and the follow on from there helped me move past it. And while London did somewhat redeem herself in my eyes, I don’t think I would have been able to forgive what went down, but it’s a different world that they are living in, so I try not to judge too harshly (but still…. grrrrrrr).

But I must say, I did like the way that it’s all cleverly tied in with the story and the intensity of the big finish. The last few books have been building up to a big confrontation, which finally comes about, and the big climax is brutal and violent, but also a bit awesome with all of the action going down.

I loved being back with the Reapers and the Jacks, and seeing the rest of the boys – both the ones already featured in previous books, and the ones we haven’t spent much time with yet. There are some surprising twists in this one, but it all ties in beautifully with the story. This is a fantastic bunch of guys, and the banter and camaraderie is gold.

“Is this the point where I sing the little song about Pic and London sittin’ in a tree?”
“Only if you want the tree shoved up your ass.”

It also looks like there are a couple of set ups beginning for future books, and whoever gets the next book, I can guarantee that I’ll be diving straight in.

Once again, Joanna Wylde has delivered a fast-paced, exciting, dirty, sexy romance with lots of violence, badassery, and bad boys doing bad things, but also a great love story. If you are a fan of bikers and haven’t started this series yet, I encourage you to jump on board – you won’t be disappointed.

I loved it – 4.5 stars.

An Advanced Reaper Copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.