One bad boy biker. One determined good girl. And a love that could destroy them both…again.
They’ve been friends since they were small. They had two blissful years in high school. Both of them knew they’d be together forever—until one night changed everything. They were in his car. They crashed.
He left her there alone, broken, bleeding on the rain-soaked pavement and never contacted her again.
Now, Britton Ramirez is all grown up and working undercover for the FBI. Her task is to land the notorious leader of the outlaw motorcycle club, the Harbingers of Sorrow. His name is Jagger Stromm—and eight years ago, he left her for dead at the side of the road, in the wreckage of his car.
But she still can’t help what he makes her feel. After all these years, she’s never been able to let him go.
Jagger doesn’t feel anything these days. His dark past has forced him to make terrible choices, and the worst was having to leave her alone on that fateful night. But he’s always watched over her and her family from a distance. And even though he’s had to bury his emotions to survive in his brutal world, he’s never stopped loving her.
When she shows up as a dealer at the Vegas casino he frequents, Jagger can hardly believe it. He has a second chance to prove how much she means to him. It’s always been her—and he’s shocked to find she still wants him, at least in bed. Over and over again, in lust and anger and ecstasy. But she’s hiding something, and trust doesn’t come easy for someone in his position. Anyone could bring him down…even Britton.
She’s determined to make the climb to success and leave her broken past behind. He’s in too deep to escape the world of crime, where his gang has become his family.
They can’t stay together…but now that they’ve found each other again, they can’t bear to part.
He’s a criminal. She’s the law. And short of a miracle, there’s no hope for them.
This contemporary biker romance contains graphic sexual content, violence, and strong language. It is intended for mature readers. Crushing Beauty is a complete standalone novel in the Vegas Titans Biker romance series. No cliffhanger.
Celia Loren is an author of gritty Contemporary Romance. She’s always been an avid reader and growing up she devoured books by the truckload. Now she spends her time working toward finishing her MFA and penning the romance stories she always wanted to read. Excited to be a member of the Hearts Collective Publishing team, she brings her incredible imagination, unparalleled work ethic, and sassy personality into the mix!
3,5 Stars!! It wasn't a masterpiece.. Actually it carried too many flaws but i liked the story nonetheless.. Oh well what can i say!!
It's certainly juvenile and amateur.. The writing has many issues.. The POV changes with no indication and it needs some editing.. BUT.. i liked the story and i enjoyed the idea behind the book..
Jagger is crazy, rough, jealous and his age doesn't match up with the position he holds on his MC.. He is so protective towards Britton and her family and mostly everyone we meet in the book.. He is too cautious and and an insane jerk in many parts..
The story starts right before the accident takes place and it turns their life upside down..He hurt her so badly.. Even if he had his reasons.. And she run away to save whatever was left of her..
Britton is a woman in crisis.. After working for years in order to end up in a place to take Jagger down once and for all he can not stop the feelings that creep up on her.. She still loves him but everything is so messed up..
The story telling was disjointed and yet after a point it gets better.. I was so happy with the ending.. And i cried with the letter.. I thought of the whole twist and my mind drifted to a no HEA place.. Well that didn't happen.. woohoo..
THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK - No five year old talks like that.. - This MC is not like the ones we are used to.. - I liked their backstory.. - It was nice seeing Britton with her sister again.. - I liked Dom and his family.. - David was a good guy.. - Multi-POV.. - I wanted to know more things about their past..
IMO the author just stuck the MC label in there to get the interest of the growing MC reader club. The author writes in a stiff, formal manner that totally kept me from taking the book seriously or associating with the characters. There were very few cuss words, the smex was a basic vanilla description, and the writing was so basic. SPOILERS H and h have bad family backgrounds, abuse and neglect. They meet as children and have a long standing romance. The H joins a MC at age 17. H and h leave a party when they are 18/16 years old, end up having a wreck and the H leaves her laying in the road to escape possibly being arrested for DUI/drug use. He calls the ambulance for her. They have no contact for 10 years. She disappears, abandoning her 4 siblings who had been abandoned by their parents. The h returns 10 years later as an undercover FBI agent who's goal is to bring the H down because of his nefarious MC illegal activities, which were never really described in detail. She has spent the last 10 years hating him for leaving her at the scene of the wreck. The "MC" is made of young 20 something individuals that the H has taken off the streets and saved. After reconnecting with the H, the h learns he has taken her 4 siblings under his wing and paid for all their educations, in effect taking care of them when she abandoned them. The H says he left her on the road because the previous MC prez threatened to kill the h if the H continued to see her (no explanation there - so confusing). In any case the book has an HEA for the H/h, no cheating and definitely no public sex. Too many threads left hanging. A caution to all authors trying to get into the MC romance genre, at least make your story believable. Don’t’ write a vanilla romance and try to stick some bad a** MC club members in there if they come across as sissies.
I think this author just used a flimsy MC romance basis for the title of her book. Even if she hadn't, it would still be a stilted romance that I reluctantly give 3 stars and will not read again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
DNF - Just can't do it. Interesting idea, but the writing is just awful. It switches points of view from H to h from one paragraph to another, feels like you are missing bits of the story, the story doesn't flow at all. I had high hopes for this one as the idea of the story was intriguing. I'm returning this for a refund.
Although my heading says it all, I will explain for those who want more information.
CAUTION .... THIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
First, the writing was horrible. POV changes from paragraph to paragraph, and in some instances, sentence to sentence. You would often have to re-read sentences to figure out who's POV you are reading. The same was true with a lot of the dialogue. The author never told you who was talking so you had to re-read an entire conversation over to understand it.
Second, the characters were ridiculous. Jagger was abusive and controlling (and not in a good, alpha male way). And the heroine was a weak basket case. There were a few times he grabbed her out of anger hard enough to leave bruises, and even slammed her up against a shower wall, leaving her back bruised. And what did our tough FBI heroine do? She forgave him. And not just to maintain her cover. She clearly made excuses for him and forgave him. Although, she did tell him not to do it again; but we all now how well that works with abusers.
Last, the plot was a bit unbelievable. I have a hard time believing the circumstances surrounding Britton's assignment to the investigation. Nor can I believe for one second that Britton's supervisor would just end an investigation that was pending for almost two years because he was worried about Britton's safety. REALLY?!?! Of course she's in danger. That goes with the territory of being an under cover federal agent!!!!
Sorry, this book just didn't work for me for a lot of different reasons. It's definitely in the top 5 of my worst reads.
It's difficult to write a review for this without giving spoilers. But I may have to give some so you may not want to read further if you don't want to know. What I will say first is, this is not well laid out. The POV switches constantly sometimes in the same paragraph and even in the same sentence. The plot has more holes than a string vest! The reader is supposed to believe that the heroine Britton has been sent undercover to infiltrate the Harbingers of Sorrow MC. Ten years ago Jagger the MC's president and Britton were an item. But after a road accident he left her at the side of the road. She left town she never tried to contact him, or her family her younger siblings were left to just get on with it. As her parents were neglectful. Back then Britton had been 16 to Jagger's 18, ever since that time Britton has been an emotional wreck, vowing to have her revenge. So Britton ran away to join the FBI.
Right from their first meeting after ten years Jagger suspects her. He grabs her leaving bruises, he ties her up and threatens her, he's a real peach! His physical abuse continues further into the story, and Britton has more TSTL moments than I care to mention. In the ten years since she's been gone Jagger had taken her siblings under his protection, her brother is a member of the MC a fact she didn't know. Really the FBI wouldn't have had that information at their fingertips. This didn't do it for me at all. Jagger was way too possessive and abusive, and Britton was a complete idiot.
2.5 I don't know... it was awesome storey if you think about it... badd ass FBI agent undercover
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and bad ass MC biker president..
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but at the end it wasn't what I expected to be...it was like missing something, wasn't fluid... and then there is hot asshole and abusive asshole and I think the line here was very thin, like paper thin...even the ending was good but again, it was just put weirdly together...I don't know...
so yeah, will I continue read? yes, I will give another chance and see after second book...
I think it's best that the book and I part at this point. Really unfortunate as I thought the whole premise was interesting. Interesting enough that I gave it a shot to Ch 13, I am patient after all. But I knew if I keep reading, the madder I will get at the MC's.
Really sorry but the writing did not work for me, esp the random and/or frequent switch in POV. It just confused me. Then there's the MCs who acted/talked like adults when they were children, and acted/talked like children when they were adults O.o
I loved this book and I look forward to the next book in this series. For me or for anyone who loves a good MC love story, well, this is it! This story read pretty quickly and I would have liked to see more of an extended "ending" to the story, an Epilogue in particular because I for one LOVE and NEED a great EPILOGUE but this was my only minor issue. It wasn't as gritty and raw as some of the other biker books out there but for me personally I was fine with it, sometimes a change is good!
** I received an ARC from the author for an honest review **
"One bad boy biker. One determined good girl. And a love that could destroy them both…again.
They’ve been friends since they were small. They had two blissful years in high school. Both of them knew they’d be together forever—until one night changed everything. They were in his car. They crashed.
He left her there alone, broken, bleeding on the rain-soaked pavement and never contacted her again. "
Oh hell yeah! I absolutely LOVED this book so much!!! It was so very different from the usual biker romances I have read because it wasn't really about the biker lifestyle as much as it was about redemption and the bonds of family and long lost love. A big misunderstanding has separated and kept Britton and Jagger apart for 10 long years...giving her time to become a different person and let her misguided hatred for him simmer to a boil. She is now an undercover FBI agent and of course, Jagger is her first big case to crack and bring down. I won't spoil all the cool twists and turns that make up this story but I will say that it is full of some hot and very sexy romance, mystery and suspense with a strong leading lady who happens to have a weakness only for her family and her bad-boy former teenage love. This book was so entertaining and the action flowed from scene to scene that I was flipping those pages as fast as I could to get to the next one...it was a really quick read and did not once make me lose interest...I had a hard time putting it down to do anything else! I was very pleased with the way it ended and really happy this was a complete, standalone novel. Awesome new book by a writer that was before this, unknown to me. I can't wait to read the next one in this series!
*****5***** "getting back to where you belong" stars =)
Crushing Beauty (Harbinger’s of Sorrow MC) Vegas Titans Series By: Celia Loren
4/5 stars
The story of Britton & Jagger goes back to high school when they were just young sweethearts. But after a terrible car accident, Jagger takes off and leaves an unconscious, bleeding, broken Britton on the side of the road. She calls out for him; she waits for him, and still nothing. Finally she decides that she has to move on with her life because her friend/boyfriend/lover has truly abandoned her. She leaves Vegas and a nasty childhood behind for college and then training at the FBI Academy.
Later, an undercover assignment finds her back in Vegas, getting back in with Jagger and trying to take down his motorcycle club. The young boy that she loved has been replaced by a motorcycle club-life hardened president. She is finally in a place to exact revenge, which is all she has been able to dream about, which is what pushed her to get through college & into the FBI. She’s spurred forward by hatred, and she’s ready.
But what hasn’t changed are their feelings for one another. They still are deeply attracted to one another and have explosive chemistry in bedroom. But Jagger isn’t trusting at all, and Britton starts to feel guilty about her assignment as she realizes that their feelings for each other are one true thing. There are some other complications along the way, but I’m not giving spoilers!
I'm a little surprised at myself for liking this so much. Usually indies that I take a chance on with an unknown author (to me) tend to disappoint. What I loved about this book is it kept me guessing. Would Jagger(love the name btw) find out and what would he do to Britton once he learned the truth? The dynamic between Britton and David was a little weird though. He's her boss,but he's clearly in love with her. All the pretense going on, I just knew someone would crack. This book is for MC "biker romance" &romantic suspense lovers, but I must warn you there isn't a lot of club members/ hanger-ons interaction except with Dom of course. Most of Jagger's "operation" is kept secret because of the Feds/cops/ rivals/etc.The only "warning/trigger" I can think of is that Jagger does get a little rough with Britton(nothing too serious like black eyes or rape). He does feel guilty, grovels& apologizes to Britton every time he thinks about what he did. I gave this 5* because the story kept me interested in these two peoples lives. Their loving past together,finding each other again after 10 years.I literally read it in a day. FYI there are some editing issues, but they never detracted from the story imo.
Britton and Jagger had a love that all their friends envied. Childhood sweethearts that found a home within each other that they couldn't get with their own families. One fateful night Jagger crashes and leaves Britton on for dead on the side of the road. For ten years poor Britton still can't comprehend why Jagger left her like he did. They were supposed to be together for the rest of their lives but Britton is so hurt from being deserted that she has spent the whole of their time apart with no thoughts other than to bring Jagger down and put him in jail. What she didn't plan on was falling even more in love with him.
I couldn't understand how Britton could go on with the charade as long as she did when she knew how much Jagger loved her. Britton had spent the last ten years hating Jagger but all he'd been doing was hoping that she would come back to him. He made a life for himself and had everything in place for her return, not even considering that it just may have never happened. This man adored Britton and so after everything she found out he'd been doing for her while waiting her return she was still going along with the plan to bring him to arrest. I'm glad she finally found her heart and chose the right thing and I'm really glad Jagger got the love he deserved.
Okay it was a nice short MC story. You have Britton and Jagger who grew up together were a couple. However on what awful night Jagger cashes the car taking off to leave Britton alone on the side of the road. After 10 years apart not really sure what happen to Jagger. Britton returns to take him down as she is now an FBI agent. But what she didn't expect was to still be in love with Jagger after all these years. Jagger is a great guy even though he maybe apart of some questionable things.
I kinda knew what has going to happen in this story after the first couple of chapters but I just couldn't put it down. I had to know what happen and how it was going to end. I’m torn with the ending. I don’t want to give anything away but I would really like to see a second book on Jagger and Britton see what they are up to now that all the secrets are out between them and the chargers were dropped. I’ll definitely check out more book from this author.
I actually adore this book. Why? Because the idea of 'hurting' the one you love then begging for her/his forgiveness is always appealing to me.
But I don't think I can really love this one, mostly because I find both Jagger and Britton are ridiculously stupid. Well, Jagger left Britton alone, bleeding to death in the middle of freaking road and Britton, years later, not exactly clear about her feeling towards Jagger. Does she hate him? Does she want a revenge or just hate him a little, I don't really get it. Because her 'inside' talks are happy when Jagger hurt but then in a blink of an eye, she's sad because Jagger's hurting. I was like, get a grip girlie!
Not to mention Jagger's off attitude. He left bruises on Britton's body, apologize for it yet made another. Seriously, this guy's not appealing to me anymore.
I enjoyed the major plot, but I did get annoyed a lot. Not sure if I'm going to read the sequel. But overall I enjoyed it.
What would you do if the love of your life left you to die after a car accident? Well Britton runs away and becomes a sexy FBI agent and her first undercover case is to bring down Jagger, her first love! How will she react seeing him after 10 years? I loved these two characters together! Jagger has done many bad things to survive, he is dangerous but underneath it all he cares about his family! Will Jagger be able to break through Britton's walls and prove to her that he loves her and always has? Will Britton realize she still loves Jagger? What will happen when truths and betrayals become known? I loved everything about this book. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made no matter the consequences. Don't miss out, get it now!!
kinda young adult. I love a rough, possessive, protective, all that jazz male mc...but bruising almost every time he touches her is lame...especially when it was done in a lame way to begin with. Seemed like all he had to do was touch her, and she bruised.
And she was way to childish to be a fbi agent. jmo
Disappointed. Biker books are usually my safety net to read m/f...but I don't know that I'd qualify this as a biker book.
I almost bumped it up to 3 stars, seeing as it held my attention long enough to actually finish it. But since I'm sick in bed with Pneumonia...I'm thinking a textbook would hold my attention at this point.
What to say about Jagger and Britton......hmmmmmm. I LOVED their story.
You could feel Britton's frustration of having to do her job, trying to get past what he did to her 10 years earlier, and still loving Jagger.
You could feel Jaggers distrust of her sudden appearance back in his life, his draw to her, his guilt of what he did to her 10 years prior, and his love for her.
How the story unfolded I did not expect, it was a totally different scenario that played out which was refreshing to me. I loved the action, there wasn't a sickingly amount of unrealistic sex, and it kept my attention.
Jagged and the love of his life Britton were together since she was 5 years old. When he was 18 and she was 16 they were in a bad wreck that he was driving drunk in and he abandoned her lying badly injured in the road. Fast forward 10 years and Britton is an FBI agent who is about to resolve her need for revenge by taking down Jagged who has become the Prez of the Harbingers of Sorrow MC and a master criminal. But Britton didn't count on the fact that things aren't as they seem and her feelings for Jagged never died....but what can she do? And what will Jagged do when he finds out the truth about Britton? Really really liked this book!!!
This book had a lot of promise, yet it did not live up to expectations. The plot was there but failed to deliver.
Without giving too much away - really a big bad biker, head of a club no less, would not forgive that sort betrayal. Also the speed with which the heroine forgave a betrayal that had shaped her life for 10 years is not believable.
Also for the price ($3.57) I expect a bit more to a story
I love alpha male bikers and when they really aren't airbags. This story made ma fall in love with Jagger! I'm so glad Britton found out the truth about why Jagger left her 10 years earlier. So many misunderstandings and hurt feelings between the two. Truth shall set you free. Loved this book and can't wait to read the next book in the series! I'm going to read it right now!
I really enjoyed this book. Had a awesome story line. But got confusing at times when it jumped to different characters in the middle of chapters. Also I thought the relationship was a bit rushed, more story before they just jumped into bed together considering there past! But apart from that really enjoyed it, finished it in 2 days :)
Pleasantly surprised & loved it!! Wasn't a hard core MC book no complaints - loved what you gave us! It kept me intrigued! Dam near fell out my chair when she saw Hank! Oh lawd & when David showed up at the MC location - REALLY!! Swooned when Dom & the family arrived & their he was - Jagger......❤️
I finished the book because I hate leaving books unfinished. but this has been one of the worst written books I have had the fortune of reading. It's absolutely all over the place. The actual premise of the book and the idea is really good but it was all over the place. I just couldn't get a handle on it.
3.5 stars, I enjoyed the story. I loved how they bonded and became each others family because of the abuse and neglect they suffered as kids. I really wished there wouldve been more to the ending...maybe an epilogue?
(3.5 stars) Quick read, very mild for a biker romance genre, though. Wish it had a little more roughness, but still a good book. Jagger and Britton's story is sweet. It's definitely for a younger audience.
I actually really enjoyed this story. I know some reviews complained about the different POV's but I had no trouble with them. I'm a sucker for second chance romance and this one certainly filled the bill. I will definitely read more of this series.
It's rare that I not finish a book and while this one was a great idea it felt far, FAR from an MC book. Very different and not in the best way. Wasn't horrible just kind of... there. Frustrating when that happens. Such a bummer.