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Mountain Skulls MC #1
For Your Sake
Hidden at the northern-most point of the Mountain State of West Virginia was the quiet town of Tippitt, home to less than twenty thousand residents as well as the Mountain Skulls Motorcycle Club. Under a veil of good standing and legitimate business, the 1% outlaws maintain a tight watch on their surroundings while conducting affairs which bring in the ‘real’ money.
Ben Lawson isn’t just the club’s enforcer, but the one called upon when debts got settled. Big, strong and fiercely loyal, his unassuming calm belies a man willing to get his hands dirty for a club who’d been his only family. But when the deaths of two brothers hits too close to home, it cracks that detatched exterior, sending him on collision course which literally lands him in the path Eva Sinclair.
Beautiful and independent, Eva has wrapped her life around her business and new home in an effort to bury memories best left behind. Anyone she ever cared for has either died or left, causing her to emotionally push away anyone who gets too close. But when near-fatal circumstances puts her on Ben’s radar, she finds herself being shadowed by a man as dangerous as his club’s whispered reputation. Before she knows it, Eva finds herself breaking her own protective rules, allowing the imposing biker into her life where his outlaw lifestyle challenges her civilian one. Their attraction is instant and explosive – and one neither one can afford……nor resist.
But when the club finds a connection between Eva and a current threat, it jeopardizes the fragile trust between her and a man who holds no forgiveness for betrayal– and may wind up his target because of it.
Contains language, violence and explicit sex.
Ben Lawson isn’t just the club’s enforcer, but the one called upon when debts got settled. Big, strong and fiercely loyal, his unassuming calm belies a man willing to get his hands dirty for a club who’d been his only family. But when the deaths of two brothers hits too close to home, it cracks that detatched exterior, sending him on collision course which literally lands him in the path Eva Sinclair.
Beautiful and independent, Eva has wrapped her life around her business and new home in an effort to bury memories best left behind. Anyone she ever cared for has either died or left, causing her to emotionally push away anyone who gets too close. But when near-fatal circumstances puts her on Ben’s radar, she finds herself being shadowed by a man as dangerous as his club’s whispered reputation. Before she knows it, Eva finds herself breaking her own protective rules, allowing the imposing biker into her life where his outlaw lifestyle challenges her civilian one. Their attraction is instant and explosive – and one neither one can afford……nor resist.
But when the club finds a connection between Eva and a current threat, it jeopardizes the fragile trust between her and a man who holds no forgiveness for betrayal– and may wind up his target because of it.
Contains language, violence and explicit sex.
373 pages, ebook
First published March 13, 2014
39 people are currently reading
2329 people want to read
About the author
Elayne DiSano
3 books301 followersHi everyone,
Due to time constraints with my job and business, effective 3/23/15, I will be removing For Your Sake and For Her Honor from Amazon. I will no longer be able to write future books and felt it best to remove them as they were part of a series and did not want to leave readers wondering if there will be more.
The data will still remain here on GR if you have one or both books if you haven't read yet and wish to review it.
Thank you for your support and understanding!
Due to time constraints with my job and business, effective 3/23/15, I will be removing For Your Sake and For Her Honor from Amazon. I will no longer be able to write future books and felt it best to remove them as they were part of a series and did not want to leave readers wondering if there will be more.
The data will still remain here on GR if you have one or both books if you haven't read yet and wish to review it.
Thank you for your support and understanding!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 209 reviews
March 28, 2014
4 stars. Review completed March 28, 2014
The heroine is not a biker babe. She's actually quite a lady...
Even though Taz is a nosy gossip I already love him. Not sure but he might have been set up already with
"Your chariot awaits. Keys are inside. Fixed, buffed, polished and shining like a newly, waxed…"
"Shut up," Ben snapped at him.
"What?" Taz feigned ignorance, flashing a devilish smile which made his heavily pierced eyebrows slant up before disappearing.
And Aero…holy crappity crap, that man is sexy as all get out!
"Air Force," MaryLynn hummed. "I'd like to ride his cock pit."
Eva glanced away from the window. "Says the married woman."
"Pfft, details," her friend said with a wave of her hand. "I'm an attorney. I can temporarily divorce myself."
"You're a real estate attorney, Mar."
"Well, you're a fantasy buzz-kill. And, looks like Mr. Air Force has a friend with him…holy shit!"
In 1987 when little Eva was only six years old, her mother left without bothering to explain her actions. Now twenty-six years later, Eva is back in Tippitt, West Virginia after she attended business school in Pennsylvania. She took over a card and gift shop and bought an old Victorian house which is in need of some renovations. One night when Eva As it later transpired, the mountain of a man is the Mountain Skulls Motorcycle Club's enforcer. And when Ben takes care of they meet again. Eva can't get the quiet and rock-solid man out of her mind anymore and Ben starts to dig around in her background.
"Could've done it the old fashioned way and ask. Would've been easier."
"Yeah, but not as fun. Plus, you could always lie."
"About what?" I don't know what else you found, but I'm sure it wasn't much."
He nodded. "True. Actually, it was quite dull."
She narrowed her eyes "I prefer…uneventful."
Told in third person POV, I enjoyed For Your Sake very much. Above all, I appreciated that Eva wasn't the expected stereotype of a biker babe. Kudos to Elayne who accomplished to write a very likable and grounded heroine among the shallow pond of hysterical and screeching biker babes. In today's romance books they are few and far between, after all. The only thing that she shared with Eva, heroine of Undeniable, was the first name. This Eva here was mature and intelligent; she wasn't a hysterical bitch who threw a screeching fit over and over again. She dressed tastefully and didn't use filthy language all the time. And to top everything off, she wasn't one of those women who run through men like underwear. Granted, some will say all those attributes will make her look somewhat boring or plain but I didn't mind. If anything, I could relate to her much better than to all those other old ladies I had the pleasure or displeasure of meeting in the past. I also appreciated the fact that Ben didn't really outshine Eva in this story.
That leads me to another satisfying aspect of the story. I really liked the slow-burning romance. The attraction between Ben and Eva was pretty obvious from the get-go, yet they didn't hit the sheets right in the beginning of the story. In fact, the reader has to wait for a long time to actually experience their first real kiss but what do they say? Good things come to those who wait. While the sex was all right it didn't really knock my socks off. However, my favorite part of the entire book was the f@ck-tastic scene at 74 % which could make it easily on my favorites shelf. Whew. No, scratch that. Double whew. Lots of sparks were flying around and the chemistry and tension oozed out of their pores. Ben can go all dominant and pissy on me anytime! Geez, where the heck was my darn fan when I needed one?
Needless to say that I liked the tortured hero very much. Six foot and six inches tall, ripped and adorned with a goatee and dirty blond long-ish hair are good enough to make me drool. At first sight Ben was pretty scary but when he smiled he was quite the stunner. This gorgeous hunk of a man and ex-con with his quiet and unassuming demeanor who was not afraid to show his vulnerability was a welcome change. It's very rare for him to lose his cool but when he does then you should brace yourself for a shitstorm of emotions. I enjoyed seeing Eva's (uneventful) civil world collide with Ben's outlaw world. Slowly yet steadily their lives entwined with one another and they worked towards their HEA. What I loved very much about For Your Sake was Eva's old Victorian house. I felt like I was face to face with yet another secondary character. All the descriptions of the building, the stained-glass windows and the old clawfoot tub were so heart-warming and felt vivid and blissfully domestic. All the work that Eva and Ben put into that home gave this story an extra shiny touch. I think the author did a fine job at bringing all those details to life. Knowing that Ben had never lived in a house before, I was so glad that Eva could offer him a precious gift. A real home filled with love.
Major issue
I predict that all "Grammar Nazis" will happily whip out their red pens. Elayne, for your sake send your book to a professional editor/proofreader who will fix that shoddy job. A few examples:
Situation as per March 21, 2014
he fingers ---> her fingers
Eva watched his unfold ---> Eva watched this unfold
palpatations ---> palpitations
No by a long shot ---> not by a long shot
it must have broke his heart ---> it must have broken his heart
had lept forward ---> had leapt forward
Detatched, detatch, detatchment ---> detached, detach, detachment.
There are many more mistakes, so I think the book could benefit from better editing/proofreading.
Overall For Your Sake is a very good book that accomplished to hold my attention from start to finish. I really hope this is going to turn into a series because the potential is there and I'd love to see a couple characters again (Nosy Gossip Taz and Aero need their stories told). This may be only a biker story 'lite' because it's neither hysterically crazy nor overwhelmingly gritty and yet I appreciated the depth of the characters as well as the author's appealing storytelling skills. More please.
Recommended read.
http://baba.booklikes.com
The heroine is not a biker babe. She's actually quite a lady...
Even though Taz is a nosy gossip I already love him. Not sure but he might have been set up already with
"Your chariot awaits. Keys are inside. Fixed, buffed, polished and shining like a newly, waxed…"
"Shut up," Ben snapped at him.
"What?" Taz feigned ignorance, flashing a devilish smile which made his heavily pierced eyebrows slant up before disappearing.
And Aero…holy crappity crap, that man is sexy as all get out!
"Air Force," MaryLynn hummed. "I'd like to ride his cock pit."
Eva glanced away from the window. "Says the married woman."
"Pfft, details," her friend said with a wave of her hand. "I'm an attorney. I can temporarily divorce myself."
"You're a real estate attorney, Mar."
"Well, you're a fantasy buzz-kill. And, looks like Mr. Air Force has a friend with him…holy shit!"
In 1987 when little Eva was only six years old, her mother left without bothering to explain her actions. Now twenty-six years later, Eva is back in Tippitt, West Virginia after she attended business school in Pennsylvania. She took over a card and gift shop and bought an old Victorian house which is in need of some renovations. One night when Eva As it later transpired, the mountain of a man is the Mountain Skulls Motorcycle Club's enforcer. And when Ben takes care of they meet again. Eva can't get the quiet and rock-solid man out of her mind anymore and Ben starts to dig around in her background.
"Could've done it the old fashioned way and ask. Would've been easier."
"Yeah, but not as fun. Plus, you could always lie."
"About what?" I don't know what else you found, but I'm sure it wasn't much."
He nodded. "True. Actually, it was quite dull."
She narrowed her eyes "I prefer…uneventful."
Told in third person POV, I enjoyed For Your Sake very much. Above all, I appreciated that Eva wasn't the expected stereotype of a biker babe. Kudos to Elayne who accomplished to write a very likable and grounded heroine among the shallow pond of hysterical and screeching biker babes. In today's romance books they are few and far between, after all. The only thing that she shared with Eva, heroine of Undeniable, was the first name. This Eva here was mature and intelligent; she wasn't a hysterical bitch who threw a screeching fit over and over again. She dressed tastefully and didn't use filthy language all the time. And to top everything off, she wasn't one of those women who run through men like underwear. Granted, some will say all those attributes will make her look somewhat boring or plain but I didn't mind. If anything, I could relate to her much better than to all those other old ladies I had the pleasure or displeasure of meeting in the past. I also appreciated the fact that Ben didn't really outshine Eva in this story.
That leads me to another satisfying aspect of the story. I really liked the slow-burning romance. The attraction between Ben and Eva was pretty obvious from the get-go, yet they didn't hit the sheets right in the beginning of the story. In fact, the reader has to wait for a long time to actually experience their first real kiss but what do they say? Good things come to those who wait. While the sex was all right it didn't really knock my socks off. However, my favorite part of the entire book was the f@ck-tastic scene at 74 % which could make it easily on my favorites shelf. Whew. No, scratch that. Double whew. Lots of sparks were flying around and the chemistry and tension oozed out of their pores. Ben can go all dominant and pissy on me anytime! Geez, where the heck was my darn fan when I needed one?
Needless to say that I liked the tortured hero very much. Six foot and six inches tall, ripped and adorned with a goatee and dirty blond long-ish hair are good enough to make me drool. At first sight Ben was pretty scary but when he smiled he was quite the stunner. This gorgeous hunk of a man and ex-con with his quiet and unassuming demeanor who was not afraid to show his vulnerability was a welcome change. It's very rare for him to lose his cool but when he does then you should brace yourself for a shitstorm of emotions. I enjoyed seeing Eva's (uneventful) civil world collide with Ben's outlaw world. Slowly yet steadily their lives entwined with one another and they worked towards their HEA. What I loved very much about For Your Sake was Eva's old Victorian house. I felt like I was face to face with yet another secondary character. All the descriptions of the building, the stained-glass windows and the old clawfoot tub were so heart-warming and felt vivid and blissfully domestic. All the work that Eva and Ben put into that home gave this story an extra shiny touch. I think the author did a fine job at bringing all those details to life. Knowing that Ben had never lived in a house before, I was so glad that Eva could offer him a precious gift. A real home filled with love.
Major issue
I predict that all "Grammar Nazis" will happily whip out their red pens. Elayne, for your sake send your book to a professional editor/proofreader who will fix that shoddy job. A few examples:
Situation as per March 21, 2014
he fingers ---> her fingers
Eva watched his unfold ---> Eva watched this unfold
palpatations ---> palpitations
No by a long shot ---> not by a long shot
it must have broke his heart ---> it must have broken his heart
had lept forward ---> had leapt forward
Detatched, detatch, detatchment ---> detached, detach, detachment.
There are many more mistakes, so I think the book could benefit from better editing/proofreading.
Overall For Your Sake is a very good book that accomplished to hold my attention from start to finish. I really hope this is going to turn into a series because the potential is there and I'd love to see a couple characters again (Nosy Gossip Taz and Aero need their stories told). This may be only a biker story 'lite' because it's neither hysterically crazy nor overwhelmingly gritty and yet I appreciated the depth of the characters as well as the author's appealing storytelling skills. More please.
For his sake.
Recommended read.
http://baba.booklikes.com
April 4, 2014
3.7 stars!
This is definitely not your regular biker story. I have to admit I waffled a bit when it comes to rating this. A lot of things worked for me but there are still issues that niggled at me.
For Your Sake is a character driven story which I totally appreciated. Ben's characters was well fleshed out and so was Eva. This was the story's strongest selling point. The author was really able to show me the characters' motivations. It's a big plus that I actually liked both of them.
The secondary characters were a joy to read as well. They were intriguing and they provided some of the more lighter moments in the story. Even the prominent people in the town stood out including the town itself. Not an easy feat to do but Ms. DiSano was able to take me there.
So yeah, they really worked for me. Big time.
But there were also things that didn't quite work. For one, I felt it this was too long and the prose meandered a bit in some places. While slow is usually expected with character driven fare like this one, there were times when I just wish, the story would just cut to the chase especially when it came to describing the clothes, car, the sidewalk...etc, etc.
Another thing I wasn't too crazy about was the editing; missing quotation marks, commas, misspelled words and the formatting annoyed me a little bit. It's disconcerting to read a paragraph where you don't quite know where the dialogue ended due to a missing quotation mark.
Despite those issues, I really enjoyed this book. I felt that this book would be even more awesome with more proofing perhaps and with better formatting. But overall, still a great read.
Big thanks to .Chel for lending this to me! Mwah!
This is definitely not your regular biker story. I have to admit I waffled a bit when it comes to rating this. A lot of things worked for me but there are still issues that niggled at me.
For Your Sake is a character driven story which I totally appreciated. Ben's characters was well fleshed out and so was Eva. This was the story's strongest selling point. The author was really able to show me the characters' motivations. It's a big plus that I actually liked both of them.
The secondary characters were a joy to read as well. They were intriguing and they provided some of the more lighter moments in the story. Even the prominent people in the town stood out including the town itself. Not an easy feat to do but Ms. DiSano was able to take me there.
So yeah, they really worked for me. Big time.
But there were also things that didn't quite work. For one, I felt it this was too long and the prose meandered a bit in some places. While slow is usually expected with character driven fare like this one, there were times when I just wish, the story would just cut to the chase especially when it came to describing the clothes, car, the sidewalk...etc, etc.
Another thing I wasn't too crazy about was the editing; missing quotation marks, commas, misspelled words and the formatting annoyed me a little bit. It's disconcerting to read a paragraph where you don't quite know where the dialogue ended due to a missing quotation mark.
Despite those issues, I really enjoyed this book. I felt that this book would be even more awesome with more proofing perhaps and with better formatting. But overall, still a great read.
Big thanks to .Chel for lending this to me! Mwah!
May 4, 2014
Ben Lawson isn’t just the club’s enforcer, but the one called upon when debts got settled. Big, strong and fiercely loyal, his unassuming calm belies a man willing to get his hands dirty for a club who’d been his only family. But when the deaths of two brothers hits too close to home, it cracks that detatched exterior, sending him on collision course which literally lands him in the path Eva Sinclair...
I quite enjoyed this one. Read one of the best Biker series this year in the Signal Bend Series by Susan Fanetti. I saw that Susan rated this book 5 stars and said …“Elayne DiSano is a friend and fellow writer in the Freak Circle Press.” So I was sort of interested straight away.
“Didn’t seem to mind, darlin’. In fact,” his hand caressed her ass through her dress, “you really got into it.” That was just my hand.” His lips found her ear, his breath hot and tingly. “Imagine what my tongue can do.”
“He fisted her hair, holding her head so far back she couldn’t move.
You, darlin’.” His voice was low as he snarled out each phrase. “ You happened. That fucking night happened. That damn, blue dress, the sight of you with an ax, straddling me on that chair, this house, how hard you come when I fuck you, the smell of dinner, the smell of this fire…….fuck, the smell of
you – it all happened. With all this shit circling around us, you happened. I said no turning back, Eva. You’re mine. Every fucking inch of you – and I mean every
inch. You get my meaning?”
The story was well written, liked the characters. Only complaint I would have is that it finished a tad too quickly.
This is fiction and we have to take the stories with a grain of salt. In reality, would Eva and Ben get together. His past and her past are polar opposites but if the attraction is there, you cannot really do much I suppose.
I would have loved an Epilogue but I am sure there will be more in this series from t his author. Overall a very good debut novel.
September 8, 2016
2.5-3 Stars
This book was like a cake with not enough batter and too much frosting. The whole time you are chewing you are thinking wow this is a fuck ton of sugar and the cake is missing an ingredient.
Don't get me wrong, I liked it well enough, but like I said, something was missing for me - and I'm a shitty baker so I have no idea what that missing ingredient was.
I liked Ben a lot. Eva was decent too, although I didn't connect with her as much as I did with Ben. There was good relationship development here - no I insta love *round of applause* and good secondary characters.
But I felt like there was too much description and a lot of repetitious information. Yes, we GET why Eva bought the Victorian house. You told us in chapter one. And chapter 3, 5, 7, and every other odd number after that.
Also, I feel like a long standing MC club would have more options and avenues of income set up than that which is included in this story line.
The MAIN issue I had with this story, however, was the sex. Gee-SUS. Not only were the sexy times in the book super rushed, the sex talk was BAD. Like they barely got naked, he barely licked one nipple, and she's screaming his name over and over and erupting like Mount Vesuvius. I was embarrassed for her.
Aside from that, I feel like this author and series has more in store for us and, if so, I will most likely check it out.
This book was like a cake with not enough batter and too much frosting. The whole time you are chewing you are thinking wow this is a fuck ton of sugar and the cake is missing an ingredient.
Don't get me wrong, I liked it well enough, but like I said, something was missing for me - and I'm a shitty baker so I have no idea what that missing ingredient was.
I liked Ben a lot. Eva was decent too, although I didn't connect with her as much as I did with Ben. There was good relationship development here - no I insta love *round of applause* and good secondary characters.
But I felt like there was too much description and a lot of repetitious information. Yes, we GET why Eva bought the Victorian house. You told us in chapter one. And chapter 3, 5, 7, and every other odd number after that.
Also, I feel like a long standing MC club would have more options and avenues of income set up than that which is included in this story line.
The MAIN issue I had with this story, however, was the sex. Gee-SUS. Not only were the sexy times in the book super rushed, the sex talk was BAD. Like they barely got naked, he barely licked one nipple, and she's screaming his name over and over and erupting like Mount Vesuvius. I was embarrassed for her.
Aside from that, I feel like this author and series has more in store for us and, if so, I will most likely check it out.
March 15, 2014
Elayne DiSano is a friend and fellow writer in the Freak Circle Press.
For Your Sake is a fantastic MC romance, with an emphasis on both the MC and the romance. The Mountain Skulls are an outlaw MC, so the club action is gritty and exciting from their first introduction, and DiSano gives us a clear-eyed picture of the life these men and their women lead.
Ben and Eva, the romantic leads and POVs, are richly developed characters with heartbreaking backstories. They meet on a dark night, their individual pain foremost in their minds, and as they begin to know each other, they begin to heal each other.
Eva is a strong, lovely woman, a normal woman trying to live the best life she can on her own terms. Ben is a gorgeous mountain of a man, whose work for his club is dark but who manages to keep some light and love to share with the right woman. If ever he should meet her. Trust comes dear to Ben; he takes a huge risk to trust anyone, as he well knows. To let his guard down is itself an act of love for him.
The world of Tippitt, like so many real small towns, is populated with interesting characters—some of them quirky, some of them hilarious, some of them mysterious, and some who are just regular people.
There is heart-fluttering romance, smokin' hot sex, intrigue, danger and drama—and surprise—in a tight plot that snares Ben and Eva and threatens the tenuous peace they’ve found with each other. Just at the moment they need each other most, circumstances beyond them threaten to tear them apart.
But true love is strong, and trust can move mountains.
For Your Sake is a fantastic MC romance, with an emphasis on both the MC and the romance. The Mountain Skulls are an outlaw MC, so the club action is gritty and exciting from their first introduction, and DiSano gives us a clear-eyed picture of the life these men and their women lead.
Ben and Eva, the romantic leads and POVs, are richly developed characters with heartbreaking backstories. They meet on a dark night, their individual pain foremost in their minds, and as they begin to know each other, they begin to heal each other.
Eva is a strong, lovely woman, a normal woman trying to live the best life she can on her own terms. Ben is a gorgeous mountain of a man, whose work for his club is dark but who manages to keep some light and love to share with the right woman. If ever he should meet her. Trust comes dear to Ben; he takes a huge risk to trust anyone, as he well knows. To let his guard down is itself an act of love for him.
The world of Tippitt, like so many real small towns, is populated with interesting characters—some of them quirky, some of them hilarious, some of them mysterious, and some who are just regular people.
There is heart-fluttering romance, smokin' hot sex, intrigue, danger and drama—and surprise—in a tight plot that snares Ben and Eva and threatens the tenuous peace they’ve found with each other. Just at the moment they need each other most, circumstances beyond them threaten to tear them apart.
But true love is strong, and trust can move mountains.
February 7, 2015
I have to admit to struggling with what to rate this book.
I loved the idea of it, I loved the idea of Ben and his "issues" his dislike for clutter, his claustrophobia etc. All the little myriad quirks to his personality that made him a bit different your usual hero.
However, the execution of the story left me struggling to read it.
Even the very first paragraph, I read, my mind wandered and lost track, and I had to go back and concentrate on what was supposed to be happening. I had a headache for the first 40% of this book I think.
The Prologue - too much, did I need to know what a man, who is in nothing but the prologue thought of his house as he drove up to it? Not really. It felt like some things were massively over written about and explained, and other things, more important, were left vague and "mysterious" for some reason.
And tbh, this book is all about Ben. Eva she was OK, if a bit sneery at times about other people "The Ol'Bat", thinking a woman had "creep factor", "nosy biddie" "creepy madame psychic...nothing more than an anti-social loon with bad taste in make up, fashion who probably lived with twenty cats" "Madame Frightnight" until ofc she finds out exactly who the "psychic" is and decided to be nice to her, get on her good side! But that is ok as she apparently , "Didn't see it as kissing ass, but getting her future ducks in a row" Ok love, call it what you will, but round here, that is two faced!
And the addition of the psychic? Weird.
But, while Eva was ok, if a tad unlikeable in parts, I rather liked Ben.
Why we got the full history of Eve in the prologue and why she is as she is, Ben thought about his "tragic" circumstance 208678937 times before we actually discovered exactly what they were.
"Life on her own since that terrible afternoon eighteen years ago"
"seeing her brought back that day in the tiny trailer home they shared with their man happy mother"
"Ziggy was there that day at the mines. The trauma of the collapse was so thick he quit shortly after" Wait! What day, have I missed something? **goes back to read** Nope, just another vague and mysterious reference.
But Ziggy knew what happened when Ben was seventeen which earned him five years in jail" Phew, am glad someone does, was wondering if Ben even knew himself!
Close few knew about his parents and the cramped, tragic circumstances of his childhood" Arrhh ok, I get it, just tell me.
"That tragic afernoon when he was seventeen which eventually became a stepping stone to the calm, cool killer he could be" What was that Ben. Something tragic happened? When you were seventeen? Well blow me down with a feather, I was unaware of anything tragic happening, when you were seventeen!
As I said in an update, it is like the book version of Vague booking!
Ben certainly felt sorry for himself enough times to be a 15 year old teenage girl let loose on Fb with nothing else to do.
See, this would be Ben on FB.
Ben "Oh that tragic night eighteen years ago"
Friend "oh no, what is up mate?"
Ben "nothing just that tragic night that when I was seventeen"
Friend "oh ok mate, but what happened?"
Ben "Well, it was tragic you know? Changed all our lives"
Friend. "Ok, i got that part mate, but what actually happened"
Ben. "Well I cant really say, but I can assure you it was, ya know, tragic"
Friend: "Okkkkkaaaaay"
Ben:"Sigh"
Friend: "What is the matter now?"
Ben:"I feel like there is a poison inside of me"
Friend:"oh, you should see a doctor"
Ben:"No, I am just so sad"
Friend "Yes I know, but why"
Ben:"Well, I cant say, but it was tragic, and I was seventeen, and now I wish I had a house of my own"
Friend:"..........."
Even Eve got in on the act. How many different ways were there to tell me she had moved back in with her Dad, bought the Card shop, moved the Card shop, hated the house she grew up in as it felt "weird" and gave off a vibe, had bought a Victorian House that was exactly like the post box shaped like a Victorian House her dad had bought her years ago.
But at least Ben, despite his moping and feeling sorry for himself, could bring it in the bedroom! I think he must have had some sort of electric tongue or something and an inbuilt vibrating dick! No sooner does he strip Eve of her clothes and pop a nipple in his mouth and she is
"Ah...Ben...Yeah...Oh God, Yeah"
I think Eve thought she had to put on a performance! Maybe she watched too much "When Harry Met Sally" when growing up.
"Yeah...oh my God, Yeah....feels so good.....I.....Ben....Ben....oh my God"
"Yeah! Oh my God Ben....yeah!Do it. Do it. Harder.....harder..."
And on and on and on like that!
The last 50% of the book it did start to improve, less repetition of stuff, we get what the "tragic" circumstances were with regards to Ben.
And from about 75% onward, my heart was pounding a bit, about how it was going to happen, how the MC Club (of all of seven members mind you) was going to come out of this. (although I had sort of guessed about her Mother near the start)
With regards to the actual writing and editing...occasionally there would be odd sentences, that made little sense for example "Ben reached over and grabbed a handful of shot glasses, pouring three with of the free scotch they brought back" Occasionally it went to present tense form past, missing punctuation. All theses are generally not a deal breaker for me if I really love the story.
But, you know what, I think I will give it 3 stars. I know, I know, I had some huge issues with this book, but, when all is said and done, I like Ben(despite him being a bit of an ass at points), I liked his story, the last quarter of the book had my heart pounding and me wanting to read on. And I loved Aero and Taz, and actually would love to read a book about them!
I loved the idea of it, I loved the idea of Ben and his "issues" his dislike for clutter, his claustrophobia etc. All the little myriad quirks to his personality that made him a bit different your usual hero.
However, the execution of the story left me struggling to read it.
Even the very first paragraph, I read, my mind wandered and lost track, and I had to go back and concentrate on what was supposed to be happening. I had a headache for the first 40% of this book I think.
The Prologue - too much, did I need to know what a man, who is in nothing but the prologue thought of his house as he drove up to it? Not really. It felt like some things were massively over written about and explained, and other things, more important, were left vague and "mysterious" for some reason.
And tbh, this book is all about Ben. Eva she was OK, if a bit sneery at times about other people "The Ol'Bat", thinking a woman had "creep factor", "nosy biddie" "creepy madame psychic...nothing more than an anti-social loon with bad taste in make up, fashion who probably lived with twenty cats" "Madame Frightnight" until ofc she finds out exactly who the "psychic" is and decided to be nice to her, get on her good side! But that is ok as she apparently , "Didn't see it as kissing ass, but getting her future ducks in a row" Ok love, call it what you will, but round here, that is two faced!
And the addition of the psychic? Weird.
But, while Eva was ok, if a tad unlikeable in parts, I rather liked Ben.
Why we got the full history of Eve in the prologue and why she is as she is, Ben thought about his "tragic" circumstance 208678937 times before we actually discovered exactly what they were.
"Life on her own since that terrible afternoon eighteen years ago"
"seeing her brought back that day in the tiny trailer home they shared with their man happy mother"
"Ziggy was there that day at the mines. The trauma of the collapse was so thick he quit shortly after" Wait! What day, have I missed something? **goes back to read** Nope, just another vague and mysterious reference.
But Ziggy knew what happened when Ben was seventeen which earned him five years in jail" Phew, am glad someone does, was wondering if Ben even knew himself!
Close few knew about his parents and the cramped, tragic circumstances of his childhood" Arrhh ok, I get it, just tell me.
"That tragic afernoon when he was seventeen which eventually became a stepping stone to the calm, cool killer he could be" What was that Ben. Something tragic happened? When you were seventeen? Well blow me down with a feather, I was unaware of anything tragic happening, when you were seventeen!
As I said in an update, it is like the book version of Vague booking!
Ben certainly felt sorry for himself enough times to be a 15 year old teenage girl let loose on Fb with nothing else to do.
See, this would be Ben on FB.
Ben "Oh that tragic night eighteen years ago"
Friend "oh no, what is up mate?"
Ben "nothing just that tragic night that when I was seventeen"
Friend "oh ok mate, but what happened?"
Ben "Well, it was tragic you know? Changed all our lives"
Friend. "Ok, i got that part mate, but what actually happened"
Ben. "Well I cant really say, but I can assure you it was, ya know, tragic"
Friend: "Okkkkkaaaaay"
Ben:"Sigh"
Friend: "What is the matter now?"
Ben:"I feel like there is a poison inside of me"
Friend:"oh, you should see a doctor"
Ben:"No, I am just so sad"
Friend "Yes I know, but why"
Ben:"Well, I cant say, but it was tragic, and I was seventeen, and now I wish I had a house of my own"
Friend:"..........."
Even Eve got in on the act. How many different ways were there to tell me she had moved back in with her Dad, bought the Card shop, moved the Card shop, hated the house she grew up in as it felt "weird" and gave off a vibe, had bought a Victorian House that was exactly like the post box shaped like a Victorian House her dad had bought her years ago.
But at least Ben, despite his moping and feeling sorry for himself, could bring it in the bedroom! I think he must have had some sort of electric tongue or something and an inbuilt vibrating dick! No sooner does he strip Eve of her clothes and pop a nipple in his mouth and she is
"Ah...Ben...Yeah...Oh God, Yeah"
I think Eve thought she had to put on a performance! Maybe she watched too much "When Harry Met Sally" when growing up.
"Yeah...oh my God, Yeah....feels so good.....I.....Ben....Ben....oh my God"
"Yeah! Oh my God Ben....yeah!Do it. Do it. Harder.....harder..."
And on and on and on like that!
The last 50% of the book it did start to improve, less repetition of stuff, we get what the "tragic" circumstances were with regards to Ben.
And from about 75% onward, my heart was pounding a bit, about how it was going to happen, how the MC Club (of all of seven members mind you) was going to come out of this. (although I had sort of guessed about her Mother near the start)
With regards to the actual writing and editing...occasionally there would be odd sentences, that made little sense for example "Ben reached over and grabbed a handful of shot glasses, pouring three with of the free scotch they brought back" Occasionally it went to present tense form past, missing punctuation. All theses are generally not a deal breaker for me if I really love the story.
But, you know what, I think I will give it 3 stars. I know, I know, I had some huge issues with this book, but, when all is said and done, I like Ben(despite him being a bit of an ass at points), I liked his story, the last quarter of the book had my heart pounding and me wanting to read on. And I loved Aero and Taz, and actually would love to read a book about them!
March 28, 2014
Dirty-blonde hair, amber-colored eyes, large build, tan complexion, he looked more suited for a sword and a shield than a motorcycle.For Your Sake is a debut of Elayne DiSano, a fellow member of The Freak Circle Press. It comes with the token landscape view on the cover, seeming to channel a "deeper story", a book length that implies there will be plot, and a dedication to the other writers at FC Press:
Definitely how I imagine the hero of this story...
There really aren’t words which can express the gratitude, admiration, respect and sheer encouragement to the ladies of The Freak Circle.This put in my mind the premonition that this author could be similar to Susan Fanetti, writer of Move the Sun, of the pretty decent biker series, Signal Bend.
Therefore, I decided to read this. One, because it's of the biker persuasion and two, because I like Fanetti's writing. Being that she is a part of the group of writers, FC Press, I hoped that would be influence enough for this book not to be another biker romance flop.
And I was right! Yay.
But, before I go listing any praises for this story, featuring the main couple, Ben and Eva, I will highlight two hang-ups:
1st: Integration of Mafia with Biker drama. Typically, the story is set rightly in the small town of Tippitt, where the MC, the Mountain Skulls, have heavily influenced and guarded there own since the late 80s. Yet, this is no clean club, as they use nondescript day jobs to camouflage their nefarious dealings with drugs and Mafia. The latter proves to be a problem as affairs with the crime organization puts the club at risk as the monkey in the middle of a power struggle.
This is all well and good as far as conflict goes, but from the prologue to unveiling the connection one of the characters has to the Mafia, the plot staggers at times because the integration of the mafia affects several conflicts. Unfortunately, the author doesn't keep a balance of building them throughout the story. When everything is said and done, some important elements get wrapped up by telling rather than unfolding the action; It was like knowing there were deleted scenes. Maybe the author was afraid to take attention off her two main characters or the brotherhood/family theme of the club. If so, mission half accomplished, because it also left themes like redemption, abandonment and closure somewhat neglected, and these themes are what started the book, originally.
2nd: Eva's character wasn't given enough justice. Eva, who is the character of focus at the beginning, due to a dramatic prologue with her father & mother, is supposedly melancholic and afraid to let others in, but you'd never believe it because she attaches to Ben despite the obvious dangers and is not truly given dramatic scenes where she copes with her losses, etc., not like the ones given to Ben.
This leads me to the positives...
The reader meets beautifully beta Ben Lawson in a rather heartbreakingly brutal scene, and it's hard to reconcile him as a good man or bad man, but you know that he is one thing that has been a basis for a great hero: tortured.
“You listened to them. To him. You must continue. Only then will you discover.”
Ben is the club enforcer who, when he encounters Eva, unintentionally shows her his vulnerability. And what made me really fall for him is how he continues to show his vulnerability. He is a big, bad, rough and tough, scary biker who has never had a home. Eva gives him that, and the way he latches on to that, to her, is as bittersweet as it is heartwarming.
This man she let into her home, her bed, who fawned over her house, who opened up about his past just got more real to her.
Eva may not get much characterization on her own, but with Ben she becomes the woman who is determined not to serve her man what other women in his life had given him: betrayal & grief. Eva knows these emotions well, but she sees that Ben has battled them at levels more extreme than her own experience.
The love grown between these two produced adequately hot scenes, but more...it made for a realistic romance, which shied away from insta-love and in turn promoted first an intriguing encounter, then a cute attraction, to a fire building out of need and desire, and finally, a grasping of a future possibility together.
I fell for Ben as an individual character, and I fell for Ben and Eva as a couple. They're really written to complement each other, and it's rare that I feel that being accomplished completely as I read romance these days.
Update: 3-28-14
Aside from some needed proofreading & my plot hang-ups, this was a good read. I liked some of the secondary characters in and around this biker scene, especially the old eccentric, and I will read more, if there is a continuation of this semi-dark, small town biker drama that offered a little grit, but a whole lot of potential.
March 24, 2014
I really like this story. It has the right amount of EVERYTHING that makes a girl like me, a happy camper :D
The right amount of danger & intrigue. A great premise/plot, that's not only believable, but that pulls you in and makes you not only care about the outcome, but the people involved as well. Even when there are things present that are just down right shocking & at times, a hard pill to swallow.. There are alot of the details here attached to a lot of emotion. Great dialogue in the unfolding of the story. You feel as though you're right there with them. In the thick of it. Experiencing everything that they are. Fear, uncertainty, love, lust hate, rage. All of it. You see it and you feel it.
Ben, what to say about this man. I'm scared of him. I really am. But in the midst of his chaos there is still a certain honorable truth with him. In his heart. That no matter what he has done, witnessed, or endured in his life, there is still a certain innocence about him that remained untouched. With him the complicated things are simple & the simple, complicated. He's a complete contradiction. A handsome one, but a scary contradiction nonetheless.
There are things here that Ben does & the way he carries them out, that are just cold. In many respects. But you don't get the impression in the midst of his brutality, that HE is cold. That the hard truths & choices he makes don't affect him. Cos they do. You see it. He's just very good at putting things in their proper places & boxes in order to function and be able to carry out whatever he feels needs to be done at the time. Some are very good at this & others aren't. Ben let me tell you is a master at it. But even he has a limit & a breaking point. And I love that you get to see just enough of this within him to let you know he is human.
Eva I love this chick. I love her because when its said that she is a smart, independent woman.. her actions, thoughts, & reactions do not contradict this statement. Not once. You simply see a woman who is in love. Who has her own demons to fight, but keeps it together without any TSTL moments as bumps in the road. She's a woman who can accept what's in front of her. The hard truths but still manages to do this without compromising the very core of who she is in the process. When she needs to take a step back, she does. She knows how to pick her battles too. If she hits a snag, she never stays on the stupid stuff for too long. Cos she is one of those rare women who can actually see the big picture. Quickly & clearly. And she makes her moves accordingly.
I LOVE heroines like this and I so wish that more were written in this manner. They're strength is very present, but quiet. They get their point across without being over bearing, loud, or complicated for complicated sake. They also don't make stupid contrived moves/decisions to get their points across & wind up making things worse before it gets better. And without having to hop on the stupid chain, the men & people in their lives are still very aware of the type of women that they are and what they demand. I love this. And this is what I saw with Eva.
In turn Eva & Ben had Crazy White Hot Mental, Emotional, & Physical chemistry together. They burned up the pages I must say, in many respects. *blushes*
I loved how their stories, individually as well as collectively, alongside the plot, unfolded. It was all done quite well. Even the secondary characters have layers. Love it.
Honestly, this is one of the few, out of the many MC books I've read, that I feel was on point throughout. I would definitely recommend this read.
The right amount of danger & intrigue. A great premise/plot, that's not only believable, but that pulls you in and makes you not only care about the outcome, but the people involved as well. Even when there are things present that are just down right shocking & at times, a hard pill to swallow.. There are alot of the details here attached to a lot of emotion. Great dialogue in the unfolding of the story. You feel as though you're right there with them. In the thick of it. Experiencing everything that they are. Fear, uncertainty, love, lust hate, rage. All of it. You see it and you feel it.
Ben, what to say about this man. I'm scared of him. I really am. But in the midst of his chaos there is still a certain honorable truth with him. In his heart. That no matter what he has done, witnessed, or endured in his life, there is still a certain innocence about him that remained untouched. With him the complicated things are simple & the simple, complicated. He's a complete contradiction. A handsome one, but a scary contradiction nonetheless.
There are things here that Ben does & the way he carries them out, that are just cold. In many respects. But you don't get the impression in the midst of his brutality, that HE is cold. That the hard truths & choices he makes don't affect him. Cos they do. You see it. He's just very good at putting things in their proper places & boxes in order to function and be able to carry out whatever he feels needs to be done at the time. Some are very good at this & others aren't. Ben let me tell you is a master at it. But even he has a limit & a breaking point. And I love that you get to see just enough of this within him to let you know he is human.
Eva I love this chick. I love her because when its said that she is a smart, independent woman.. her actions, thoughts, & reactions do not contradict this statement. Not once. You simply see a woman who is in love. Who has her own demons to fight, but keeps it together without any TSTL moments as bumps in the road. She's a woman who can accept what's in front of her. The hard truths but still manages to do this without compromising the very core of who she is in the process. When she needs to take a step back, she does. She knows how to pick her battles too. If she hits a snag, she never stays on the stupid stuff for too long. Cos she is one of those rare women who can actually see the big picture. Quickly & clearly. And she makes her moves accordingly.
I LOVE heroines like this and I so wish that more were written in this manner. They're strength is very present, but quiet. They get their point across without being over bearing, loud, or complicated for complicated sake. They also don't make stupid contrived moves/decisions to get their points across & wind up making things worse before it gets better. And without having to hop on the stupid chain, the men & people in their lives are still very aware of the type of women that they are and what they demand. I love this. And this is what I saw with Eva.
In turn Eva & Ben had Crazy White Hot Mental, Emotional, & Physical chemistry together. They burned up the pages I must say, in many respects. *blushes*
I loved how their stories, individually as well as collectively, alongside the plot, unfolded. It was all done quite well. Even the secondary characters have layers. Love it.
Honestly, this is one of the few, out of the many MC books I've read, that I feel was on point throughout. I would definitely recommend this read.
May 14, 2014
3.5 stars
This book have a similar 'feel' to Move the Sun by Susan Fanetti. Well, minus the rough sex and badass chick.
Ben is the Skull MC's enforcer, the one responsible for the killing. Though, gotta say his name too tame for my taste. But his name really do reflect his inner personality. In order to be efficient in his work, he is calm and plan things through. Due to not having a real home since young, he treasure having a family within the MC and love his peace and quiet moment. He is also the only biker I read who is a claustrophobic neat-freak.
Eva's life was normal. She lives alone and own a business. Yeah, it sounds like nothing remotely interesting about her. I did find the little mundane details about her everyday life in the beginning boring. That is up until Ben step into her life and keep appearing at her home, then things become interesting. Eva did have a little tidbits about her family past that creep up during the last moment.
They both meet when they nearly crashed into each other by the mountain side. From then onward, Ben just keep popping up in her life and having an immensely interest in her new Victorian style home. I like that she didn't really had a hard time accepting Ben for being who he is. She was wary at first, but then manage to let go and embrace their future together. Seeing them playing house together was really sweet.
There are some interesting side characters that I would definitely read like Aero, the VP who was an ex-Air Force guy or Taz, the tatted and pierced blabber mouth.
Overall, quite a good start if this indeed turn up as a series.
This book have a similar 'feel' to Move the Sun by Susan Fanetti. Well, minus the rough sex and badass chick.
Ben is the Skull MC's enforcer, the one responsible for the killing. Though, gotta say his name too tame for my taste. But his name really do reflect his inner personality. In order to be efficient in his work, he is calm and plan things through. Due to not having a real home since young, he treasure having a family within the MC and love his peace and quiet moment. He is also the only biker I read who is a claustrophobic neat-freak.
Eva's life was normal. She lives alone and own a business. Yeah, it sounds like nothing remotely interesting about her. I did find the little mundane details about her everyday life in the beginning boring. That is up until Ben step into her life and keep appearing at her home, then things become interesting. Eva did have a little tidbits about her family past that creep up during the last moment.
They both meet when they nearly crashed into each other by the mountain side. From then onward, Ben just keep popping up in her life and having an immensely interest in her new Victorian style home. I like that she didn't really had a hard time accepting Ben for being who he is. She was wary at first, but then manage to let go and embrace their future together. Seeing them playing house together was really sweet.
There are some interesting side characters that I would definitely read like Aero, the VP who was an ex-Air Force guy or Taz, the tatted and pierced blabber mouth.
Overall, quite a good start if this indeed turn up as a series.
August 7, 2018
2.5 Meh.
I expected so much more from this book.
Everyone liked it, I've read so many wonderful reviews about this series, I just had to try it. So, as usual, I tried and I failed.
Don't get me wrong, it's not awful or anything, I just wanted more. I really do have to remember never to start a book with really high expectations, it'll probably end up being a disappointment.
I expected so much more from this book.
Everyone liked it, I've read so many wonderful reviews about this series, I just had to try it. So, as usual, I tried and I failed.
Don't get me wrong, it's not awful or anything, I just wanted more. I really do have to remember never to start a book with really high expectations, it'll probably end up being a disappointment.
March 22, 2014
2.5 stars
I'm still undecided what I'm going to rate this even as I'm writing this review. I'm still feeling very:
I guess I'll figure it out when I get all my thoughts out. First off, let me say I can enjoy a biker book like anyone else, BUT I AM PICKY. I am not a fan of the so called "gritty" and dark variety. Which basically, is most of them. But to me, gritty is just a generic word to cover a myriad of things such as abuse, (I don't want to read about a woman getting hit by her man) rape, violent/remorseless killing, cheating, and just overall treating women like dogs. I don't call myself a feminist or anywhere near that, but I draw the line at these hardcore things. This is pretty much the definition of a lot of biker books:
mi·sog·y·ny
Misogyny /mɪˈsɒdʒɪni/ is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Misogyny can be manifested in numerous ways, including sexual discrimination, denigration of women, violence against women, and sexual objectification of women.
Not everything in this genre is like this. I like Kristen Ashley's Chaos series, and Johanna Wylde's Reapers series is awesome. I guess I keep trying biker books hoping to find more similar to these. But, I digress.
What I liked
I liked the two main characters together. They worked well despite being complete and total opposites. You couldn't be more opposite than these two if you tried but somehow they worked. They were completely different in personalities, but most of all, from completely opposite worlds. Being part of an MC, you live not by society's rules, but the club's. Eva had a huge adjustment to Ben's world and accepting what being an enforcer for an MC entails.
There was NO cheating
NO physical abuse
The story was well done. Well thought out, executed, and had some real meat to it. One thing I can say with absolute certainty: this was NOT my reaction:
What I didn't like:
The sex was a little odd for me. I came off almost like a 70's porno. The way Eva showed her *ahem* excitement was a little cheesy. For example:
"Ah!...Ben...yeah...oh God, yeah!"
"Yeah...Oh my God, yeah..... feels so good...I....Ben.....oh my God!"
Every. Time. AND everything they said while having sex was in italics. Or all caps italics. Everything. Ok, I get it, they're REALLY speaking with excitement. But I don't need to read it in italics/capital letters to know their emotions during that time. It was pretty wierd.
The editing needed quite a bit of work. Misspelled words, past/present tense mixed up, incorrect grammar caused a little bit of a distraction.
But my main issues were...
#1- In the beginning of the book (Chapter one) Ben has a hard decision to make. As enforcer, he's expected to bring retribution on anyone who crosses the club. In other words, he's a killer.
#2- I felt like Eva was an independent person, intelligent, lived her whole life on the straight and narrow, never overstepping moral or legal lines of any kind. She went to college, was raised by her single father who taught her to be a good person, and now owns her own business and home. Now suddenly, she's thrust into the biker lifestyle and I felt like she accepted everything a little too easily. It didn't mesh with her personality to be so accepting so quickly. And don't get me started about her reaction about what he did in the beginning of the book.
So, decision time. Here goes. I give this a 2.5 but it really could've been a lot higher if it didn't have things in it that I didn't agree with and think was less than plausible. If you are less discriminating than me about the content of biker books, than this is most likely the book for you.
I'm still undecided what I'm going to rate this even as I'm writing this review. I'm still feeling very:
I guess I'll figure it out when I get all my thoughts out. First off, let me say I can enjoy a biker book like anyone else, BUT I AM PICKY. I am not a fan of the so called "gritty" and dark variety. Which basically, is most of them. But to me, gritty is just a generic word to cover a myriad of things such as abuse, (I don't want to read about a woman getting hit by her man) rape, violent/remorseless killing, cheating, and just overall treating women like dogs. I don't call myself a feminist or anywhere near that, but I draw the line at these hardcore things. This is pretty much the definition of a lot of biker books:
mi·sog·y·ny
Misogyny /mɪˈsɒdʒɪni/ is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Misogyny can be manifested in numerous ways, including sexual discrimination, denigration of women, violence against women, and sexual objectification of women.
Not everything in this genre is like this. I like Kristen Ashley's Chaos series, and Johanna Wylde's Reapers series is awesome. I guess I keep trying biker books hoping to find more similar to these. But, I digress.
What I liked
I liked the two main characters together. They worked well despite being complete and total opposites. You couldn't be more opposite than these two if you tried but somehow they worked. They were completely different in personalities, but most of all, from completely opposite worlds. Being part of an MC, you live not by society's rules, but the club's. Eva had a huge adjustment to Ben's world and accepting what being an enforcer for an MC entails.
There was NO cheating
NO physical abuse
The story was well done. Well thought out, executed, and had some real meat to it. One thing I can say with absolute certainty: this was NOT my reaction:
What I didn't like:
The sex was a little odd for me. I came off almost like a 70's porno. The way Eva showed her *ahem* excitement was a little cheesy. For example:
"Ah!...Ben...yeah...oh God, yeah!"
"Yeah...Oh my God, yeah..... feels so good...I....Ben.....oh my God!"
Every. Time. AND everything they said while having sex was in italics. Or all caps italics. Everything. Ok, I get it, they're REALLY speaking with excitement. But I don't need to read it in italics/capital letters to know their emotions during that time. It was pretty wierd.
The editing needed quite a bit of work. Misspelled words, past/present tense mixed up, incorrect grammar caused a little bit of a distraction.
But my main issues were...
#1- In the beginning of the book (Chapter one) Ben has a hard decision to make. As enforcer, he's expected to bring retribution on anyone who crosses the club. In other words, he's a killer.
#2- I felt like Eva was an independent person, intelligent, lived her whole life on the straight and narrow, never overstepping moral or legal lines of any kind. She went to college, was raised by her single father who taught her to be a good person, and now owns her own business and home. Now suddenly, she's thrust into the biker lifestyle and I felt like she accepted everything a little too easily. It didn't mesh with her personality to be so accepting so quickly. And don't get me started about her reaction about what he did in the beginning of the book.
So, decision time. Here goes. I give this a 2.5 but it really could've been a lot higher if it didn't have things in it that I didn't agree with and think was less than plausible. If you are less discriminating than me about the content of biker books, than this is most likely the book for you.
April 15, 2018
Second or third time around for this book. I love this story and wish that the author had written more than two books. Such interesting characters. Ben and Eva are one of my favorite romance couples.
I have read some of this author's fan fic stories and liked her style before reading this book. For Your Sake did not disappoint me at all. The book is all about imperfect human beings carrying a big load of emotional baggage. Ben will be an anti-hero to many readers. It takes a good author to make a reader have warm and fuzzy feelings about a cold blooded killer, which is what Ben was. I'm sure not all readers will feel that way about Ben. Eva erected so many barriers because of her mother's abandonment at such an early age. but Ben kept breaking them down. Ben does over react when he perceives what he thinks as Eva's betrayal. However, he grovels sufficiently to redeem himself.
There's deep love, redemption, and forgiveness weaved within this book. Both Ben and Eva stayed in my mind after finishing the book and that again is a sign of a good author. This is a book that I will remember for a while and not forget it two days after reading it.
My rating comes out to a 4.5. The only reason I did not rate it as a solid 5 stars is because the first 30% was kind of slow for me. A little too much description. I would have like for that first 30% to be paired down and would have like a little more detail on Eva's meetings with her real father. With that said, this is one of the best books I have read in a while and I really look forward to this author's next book.
I would caution potential readers to beware of the fact that this is a gritty, violent MC and that if you're looking for a sweet, perfect romance, this is not it. If you can take the human imperfections and violence, it is a book that you will not forget.
I have read some of this author's fan fic stories and liked her style before reading this book. For Your Sake did not disappoint me at all. The book is all about imperfect human beings carrying a big load of emotional baggage. Ben will be an anti-hero to many readers. It takes a good author to make a reader have warm and fuzzy feelings about a cold blooded killer, which is what Ben was. I'm sure not all readers will feel that way about Ben. Eva erected so many barriers because of her mother's abandonment at such an early age. but Ben kept breaking them down. Ben does over react when he perceives what he thinks as Eva's betrayal. However, he grovels sufficiently to redeem himself.
There's deep love, redemption, and forgiveness weaved within this book. Both Ben and Eva stayed in my mind after finishing the book and that again is a sign of a good author. This is a book that I will remember for a while and not forget it two days after reading it.
My rating comes out to a 4.5. The only reason I did not rate it as a solid 5 stars is because the first 30% was kind of slow for me. A little too much description. I would have like for that first 30% to be paired down and would have like a little more detail on Eva's meetings with her real father. With that said, this is one of the best books I have read in a while and I really look forward to this author's next book.
I would caution potential readers to beware of the fact that this is a gritty, violent MC and that if you're looking for a sweet, perfect romance, this is not it. If you can take the human imperfections and violence, it is a book that you will not forget.
March 20, 2014
Ben Lawson is a member of a small outlaw motorcycle club named Mountain Skulls. After having to dish out some justice, he has a near collision with Eva Sinclair, a long time resident of Tippitt, West Virginia where the MC is located. Ben finds himself attracted to the woman and has her checked out. Eva's mother ran out on her when she was 6 years old and she was raised by her father. Her father died 6 months before and she is now getting on with her life by opening a card and gift shop and buying a lovely Victorian home to renovate.
Torn between 3 and 4 stars. There were elements that bothered me but the story did keep me interested and entertained. Will not appeal to everyone but those who enjoy a little extra grit and exceptionally bad bad boys may be interested.
Torn between 3 and 4 stars. There were elements that bothered me but the story did keep me interested and entertained. Will not appeal to everyone but those who enjoy a little extra grit and exceptionally bad bad boys may be interested.
April 4, 2022
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Liked it!
==================
Reread in March 2022
=================
==>2014 review
Gostei muito e recomendo!
O relacionamento dos dois se desenvolve aos poucos e nosso herói se mantém fiel a partir do momento que ele encontra a heroína. A história é bem legal e os personagens secundários bem interessantes.
Comecei a ler e não parei mais. Eu fiquei acordada até as 4 horas da manhã.
--------------------
I enjoyed and recommend!
The couple's relationship develops gradually and our hero remains true to the heroine from the moment he meets her. The story is pretty cool and very interesting side characters.
I started reading and didn't stop anymore. I stayed up till morning 4:0.
==================
Reread in March 2022
=================
==>2014 review
Gostei muito e recomendo!
O relacionamento dos dois se desenvolve aos poucos e nosso herói se mantém fiel a partir do momento que ele encontra a heroína. A história é bem legal e os personagens secundários bem interessantes.
Comecei a ler e não parei mais. Eu fiquei acordada até as 4 horas da manhã.
--------------------
I enjoyed and recommend!
The couple's relationship develops gradually and our hero remains true to the heroine from the moment he meets her. The story is pretty cool and very interesting side characters.
I started reading and didn't stop anymore. I stayed up till morning 4:0.
Before leaving, Carol turned to utter the last words she would ever speak to him. “Watch over her, Michael. For her sake, watch over her.
The impact of those words would hit hard years later
May 28, 2015
A while back I said I was a creature of habit … I love my MC books. Very much. So after chatting with TeriLyn about all the characters we’ve encountered on our [FCP] journey so far, I realized that I also am attracted to a very specific type of character within the MC – I love my enforcers! I guess what I love about them is the fact that they are rough around the edges, most hardcore characters who are willing to lay their life on the line before they let those they love/care about get hurt. They say what they mean, they don’t like to play games and, when they love, they love hard!
I read ‘For Your Sake’ over a year ago but reread it recently in preparation for this week’s FCP Friday post.
I think I ‘got’ a lot more out of this story after having been around Freaks’ work and having gotten to know what they are all about.
I loved this book. I loved the prologue. I loved the MC. I loved the story. And most of all, I LOVED Ben.
I know I am repeating myself but one can’t talk about MC book without mentioning the bond between the brothers. I loved Ben’s devotion to the club. I loved that certain sacrifices he made will most likely be frowned upon but, as I said in my post last week, betrayal in MC world means you [almost] never get a chance to make that mistake twice.
I loved Eva. I loved their chance encounter and I loved the way their story unfolded. I loved how they were able to give each other something to make each other’s life whole.
It’s stories like these that make me want to spend hours reading. I love being lost in characters’ whose [sometimes painful] past makes them who they are today. I love seeing the journey author takes them on and I especially love the ‘realistic’ aspect of these stories. I appreciate the struggles these characters go through and love that a lot of the stuff most of us can relate to.
If you enjoy stories that involve two people who are complete opposites, far from perfect, trying to fit into each other’s life while making mistakes in the process, you’ll love ‘For Your Sake’.
February 15, 2015
I've read a few biker-romance novels. Some I liked, some I didn't, and some I just couldn't finish. "For Your Sake" turned out to be such a surprise. As I continued reading, the story just got better and better. Out of all the biker-romance novels I've come across, this has to be the absolute best one I've read that’s full of romance and mystery. I liked it so much, once finished I checked to see if the author had any other works published. Unfortunately, no. So what made this novel so appealing to me you ask? There are quite a few things and let me just say what a nice change it is. The author seems to have strayed from the mainstream of which many biker-romance novels are written, and making it her own.
I loved all the characters, Eva and Ben, and all the supporting characters. It was nice to read a novel where there wasn't one or two persons who just irritated the shit out of me. Eva is an intelligent, strong, and independent woman before and after she's involved with Ben. Unlike so many other novels, she didn't become TSTL just because she met a man. Ben is a strong individual, not only physically but his by presence within the club and in Eva's life. As much as you want to not like him because of his role in the club, you can't help but like him, even love him. We're even given a glimpse of his vulnerable side that makes him even more endearing. Though he and the other bikers are all alpha-male, the author doesn't go ridiculously overboard with any of them. A strong presence yes, but not big assholes throwing their dicks around, being demanding and unreasonable, taking over a woman's life, etc., etc. (I hope this makes sense).
Nowhere within the book did the author include the typical story of the hero's ex-girlfriend/wife coming back to claim him and doing anything she can to accomplish this even if it means hurting the heroine. Even better, Eva knows there are biker-groupies who hang around the club, but she shows no signs of jealousy, mistrust or insecurity about it. Instead, both Ben and Eva trust each other. She even stayed true to herself, not changing who she was by dressing or acting different just to fit in.
Like any other story there is the "angst;" however, there's none of the typical breakup/makeup, the screaming, or the crying that constantly takes place. It was there and dealt with, end of story.
The author skillfully accomplishes taking the mini-plots and tying them together, in the end giving her readers a well-written tale of full of romance and mystery.
The one thing the author didn't stray from was the romance and sex. Not only can you feel the love between Eva and Ben, the sex is off-the-charts HOT!
A lot of readers thought the novel to be overly descriptive, to which I say to each his/her own. However, I didn't find it to be that way at all, which is probably why I loved the story so much. There are a few spelling and grammatical errors throughout; however, for the exact same reason I was able to overlook it.
I highly recommend this novel to those who love reading biker-romance novels. I’d love to hear from you whether you loved it, liked it, or just plain hated it as I don’t expect everyone to share the same views. To all those who are wondering if the novel ends with a cliff-hangar, I’m here to tell there isn’t one. Whoo-hoo! I look forward to reading more works by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2014
I have to tell you I was a little scared to read this book, it sounded great from all I had read about this book but lately a lot of new authors trying to write MC books have fallen flat in my opinion but I've been in a MC mood and can't seem to get out of it so I gave this book a try and I am so glad I did. Elayne DiSano is a great author she did an amazing job not only writing the romance between Ben and Eva but at the world building. I was never tired from all of the descriptions and info. about the MC and town it just drew me in more to this little town. The beginning of this book broke my heart but made me even more invested in Eva and her father. Ms. DiSano did a fantastic job switching between Eva and Be's point of views and I never felt like their characters wavered while switching from each point of view.
Eva grew up with a loving father and the memory of a mother who walked out on them and never looked back, then her father died too young and her best friend moved away. Now in the town she left at a young age Eva has a business and a home keeping her busy and she's happy with that because being alone means none can leave her. But on her father's brithday her life unexpectedly takes a turn that will change her life forever.
Ben has no problem dishing out the MC's justice, after his father died his life changed for the worse now the MC are his family and he gladly does what needs to be done to protect his family. Learning the hard way that trust shouldn't be given out lightly Ben finds himself on a deserted rode one night. When he runs into Eva (literally) his life changes in ways he never would have guessed. With Eva knowing his secret Ben has to make sure she keeps quiet but soon she fascinates him instead.
Eva never crossed paths with the MC before but now it seems everywhere she turns she runs into them and she seems to be running into Ben more and more. Soon Ben and Eva find themselves in a position neither want to say no to, and soon it becomes harder and harder to stay apart. As Ben and Eva begin to fall in love trouble with the MC may not only be the end of Ben but will expose secrets from Eva's past that may keep Ben and Eva apart for good.
I loved this book it was beautifully written and I easily found myself wrapped in the story. Ben was a great hero he was everything a girl could want the bad guy who finds his girl and is willing to die for her, possessive and strong. Eva was a great heroine who even though she had a hard past took a leap of faith on the man she loved. Both Ben and Eva's past made them value trust and know the value of family. Elayne DiSano did a great job with this book and I can't wait to read more from her she is defiantly an author to keep and eye on. I can only hope she will continue this series she does a fantastic job setting up other side characters and I can't wait to hear their stories. Overall this was an excellent read that I finished way to quickly.
Eva grew up with a loving father and the memory of a mother who walked out on them and never looked back, then her father died too young and her best friend moved away. Now in the town she left at a young age Eva has a business and a home keeping her busy and she's happy with that because being alone means none can leave her. But on her father's brithday her life unexpectedly takes a turn that will change her life forever.
Ben has no problem dishing out the MC's justice, after his father died his life changed for the worse now the MC are his family and he gladly does what needs to be done to protect his family. Learning the hard way that trust shouldn't be given out lightly Ben finds himself on a deserted rode one night. When he runs into Eva (literally) his life changes in ways he never would have guessed. With Eva knowing his secret Ben has to make sure she keeps quiet but soon she fascinates him instead.
Eva never crossed paths with the MC before but now it seems everywhere she turns she runs into them and she seems to be running into Ben more and more. Soon Ben and Eva find themselves in a position neither want to say no to, and soon it becomes harder and harder to stay apart. As Ben and Eva begin to fall in love trouble with the MC may not only be the end of Ben but will expose secrets from Eva's past that may keep Ben and Eva apart for good.
I loved this book it was beautifully written and I easily found myself wrapped in the story. Ben was a great hero he was everything a girl could want the bad guy who finds his girl and is willing to die for her, possessive and strong. Eva was a great heroine who even though she had a hard past took a leap of faith on the man she loved. Both Ben and Eva's past made them value trust and know the value of family. Elayne DiSano did a great job with this book and I can't wait to read more from her she is defiantly an author to keep and eye on. I can only hope she will continue this series she does a fantastic job setting up other side characters and I can't wait to hear their stories. Overall this was an excellent read that I finished way to quickly.
August 6, 2016
Solid MC romance featuring Ben 6 foot 6 ruthless enforcer and Eva civilian shop owner. The pair almost crash into each other one night, the circumstances around it forces him to keep an eye on the blue eyed woman who intrigues him. They are definitely attracted to each other and Eva represents a life he has never had such as a home or his own business. It isn't instant but they definitely have chemistry, and for some strange reason Ben can't seem to stay away. Eva sees a vulnerability in the big biker and although she should stay away, she can't. They biker side isn't in your face but the business side is definitely a key part of he story, their are some good twists and solid secondary characters. Not sure if this is a series of not but would enjoy reading about the characters again. It has a similar feel to Susan Fanetti's series, mature characters, small town split into crib ilia and bikers.
March 22, 2014
Wow
this was an amazing story. As good an MC book I've read in along while. I found a lot of typos and word clashing, that bothered me. Alas, I was able to overlook that due to the amazing plot this story gave me. :)
I have a feeling this will be a good re-read for me when I need something relaxing with little angst.
Why I knocked off a star? The sex talk. I love sex talk. I love being down and dirty with the MC's, but Ben and Eva's dirty talk was abysmal. It was as if they were constantly screaming "oh god! oh yes! give it to me!" that annoyed the crap out of me. I wanted to gag the both of them. Ugh!
Anyway, good story of an MC enforcer and a greeting card shop owner finding each other and finding a way to build a home together. This book has great potential for a series and I am looking forward to it.
this was an amazing story. As good an MC book I've read in along while. I found a lot of typos and word clashing, that bothered me. Alas, I was able to overlook that due to the amazing plot this story gave me. :)
I have a feeling this will be a good re-read for me when I need something relaxing with little angst.
Why I knocked off a star? The sex talk. I love sex talk. I love being down and dirty with the MC's, but Ben and Eva's dirty talk was abysmal. It was as if they were constantly screaming "oh god! oh yes! give it to me!" that annoyed the crap out of me. I wanted to gag the both of them. Ugh!
Anyway, good story of an MC enforcer and a greeting card shop owner finding each other and finding a way to build a home together. This book has great potential for a series and I am looking forward to it.
March 29, 2014
Another read where the characters feel real and believable, the town an actual place, and a hero I want to get to know. :)
Watching these two fall in love was such a treat, and again I enjoy the scenario where the man is convinced he's got "the one" before the woman is. Takes the romance genre and turns it on its ear. The author makes you believe every motivation, description, and plot reveal. I can't wait for the second book!
Watching these two fall in love was such a treat, and again I enjoy the scenario where the man is convinced he's got "the one" before the woman is. Takes the romance genre and turns it on its ear. The author makes you believe every motivation, description, and plot reveal. I can't wait for the second book!
March 27, 2014
Good, enjoyable read. Relatively low angst. I would've liked more. It's a typical MC storyline except it had and a heroine with a brain. Editing is an issue, but if you can look over that, you'll find a great way to spend the afternoon.
May 6, 2014
He would do his damndest not to let anything happen to her, to ever let any club shit fall into her lap. He threw the gauntlet down and she accepted. Last night started it, her admission this morning sealed it. And now her surrendering body in his arms right now put the stamp on it. He needed her to believe him. To trust him.
I wasn't sure what to expect from For Your Sake, some of my GR friends loved the book while others were only lukewarm about it. I finally got around to reading this one and really liked it. It defintely goes to the top of my list of favorite biker/MC books and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre.
The story and the writing were very good. The chemistry between the two main characters was very hot. I thought the sex scenes were quite sexy. There was some dirty talk involved that I certainly appreciated it =)
“Yeah! Oh my God , Ben….. yeah! Do it. Do it. Harder…….harder.” It was as if she left her body and became someone else, begging an outlaw biker to fuck her hard. But it made her feel in control, even though her position gave it all to him.
“Yeah, darlin’? He hissed out. “That how you want it?” He answered his own question by violently thrusting his pelvis back and forth with expert rhythm. Yeah, this man knew what he was doing. She felt like a rag doll being tossed around, but she didn’t falter , instead pushing back to meet him each time. She asked for it and she got it. And she felt it beginning to escalate deep within the pit of her gut.
“Ben….. yeah….. yeah, that’s it. Oh my God, that’s it. I’m….. Ben! Don’t stop! Please, God, don’t stop! Oh.. my……… BEN!”
The main drawback of this book to me were the editing issues. Careless mistakes happened right from the very start of the book and continued throughout. More annoying was the fact that these were all very careless mistakes, missing words, duplicated words, etc. I'm not sure how an author writes a wonderful story but then publishes a book with mistake after mistake. It was distracting at times and frustrating.
Editing issues aside, I really enjoyed the story. I'm not sure if the author has anything else planned surrounding this MC but if she does, I'm in! A solid 4+ STAR READ.
NOTE: At the time this was posted, this book was Prime eligible at Amazon.
March 21, 2014
I really enjoyed this. Overall, it was very interesting and had a great story line. The hero was very Alpha, and a good/bad guy - as in dude won't hesitate to pop a cap in you if needed - even if you're his family.
The sex scenes were smoking hot and I really liked the heroine. She was smart, easy going and didn't act one way and doing something else. I like it when the heroines don't put up too much of a fight for these big strong men that just insert themselves into their lives.
There was a scene toward the end of the book, that had me second guessing how much the Alpha was actually capable of caring about the heroine. I mean if he could do "this" now, what's to stop him from doing "it" again or feeling "that way" again in the future. I just don't like it when the place the heroine stands is questionable. I finished the book, happily, but felt I still didn't know who the hero loved more - the club or his ol' lady.
But again, ^^^ 4 stars, so obviously I was impressed. I totally recommend this as a bad boy biker read.
The sex scenes were smoking hot and I really liked the heroine. She was smart, easy going and didn't act one way and doing something else. I like it when the heroines don't put up too much of a fight for these big strong men that just insert themselves into their lives.
There was a scene toward the end of the book, that had me second guessing how much the Alpha was actually capable of caring about the heroine. I mean if he could do "this" now, what's to stop him from doing "it" again or feeling "that way" again in the future. I just don't like it when the place the heroine stands is questionable. I finished the book, happily, but felt I still didn't know who the hero loved more - the club or his ol' lady.
But again, ^^^ 4 stars, so obviously I was impressed. I totally recommend this as a bad boy biker read.
April 4, 2014
This MC romance was good, took me awhile to get into it. Actually I started it couldn't get into read a couple other books then picked it back up and liked it better. I liked that it took a little while for the romance to "bloom", that's my thing I'm books I like the build up of the romance. It was on the softer side for a biker romance but I think that's what I'm leaning towards lately. All in all it was a good read would definitely recommend.
October 27, 2016
It was good
This biker book had all the usual suspects. We are given a strong, independent heroine, a hero who thinks he's a loner but of course was just waiting for the right lady to come along.
Plenty of angst, betrayal and forgiveness.
Lots of good sexy bits.
Enjoyed this story and I will definitely be reading more from this author.
This biker book had all the usual suspects. We are given a strong, independent heroine, a hero who thinks he's a loner but of course was just waiting for the right lady to come along.
Plenty of angst, betrayal and forgiveness.
Lots of good sexy bits.
Enjoyed this story and I will definitely be reading more from this author.
March 14, 2020
Let me just mention the book has been re-edited and re-published in September. My review is prior to the changes made by author.
I might re-read it and might not. I unfortunately thought it was way too long and had way to much information that didn't interest me. I felt as though at points it went in circle. Just a lot of info that was not relevant (my opinion again).
June 23, 2014
I actually read these not in order...ya clueless at times. I defiantly enjoyed this book more than #2. I felt this one had better character development & I enjoyed the plot more. again just my opinion
June 27, 2014
Solid 4.5 stars
July 10, 2014
I really liked it.
March 27, 2014
3.5-4 stars
This was a pretty good book. I liked both Ben and Eva and enjoyed their story. This is the first book I've read by this author and I liked this book enough that I would try more of her work in the future. There were some minor editing errors in the book. It really wasn't too bad (missed punctuation, but instead of bit, and minor things like that)...just an FYI for those readers that have issues with editing.
Eva is a good woman that didn't have a bad life but had some bad in her life. She grew up without her mother from the age of 6. Eva's dad was very loving though and took good care of her. She found out at 16 that her mother left her and her father and never came back. Eva went to business school and then ended up deciding to buy out a card and gift shop that she worked at and the owner was selling. Around this time, Eva's dad died and she found herself alone in life. Eva had a boyfriend but realized she didn't love him and so she broke it off and has been alone since.
Ben is a good guy but he's had a rough life that led him to be a hard man. His dad died when he was young and his mom took up with the wrong men in the years afterwards. There was an incident that made Ben turn to violence to protect his family and he got sent to jail for 5 years because of it. When he got out he was alone in life and ended up joining up with the a motor cycle club who become his family. Ben became an enforcer for the MC and has to take care of those that betray the MC, even when it's someone close to him.
When we start the story, someone close to Ben has just betrayed the MC and caused 2 MC-brother's deaths. Ben has to take care of it and afterwards is left feeling out of sorts. He goes for a ride and ends up in an accident with a woman in a red jeep, Eva. Eva was on her way to the cemetery to visit her father's grave when she almost wrecks with a biker. It was his fault but the bikers in the area aren't to be messed with and Ben is particularly big and scary so Eva makes her escape when it presents itself (basically when Ben tells her to get out of his face). Eva and Ben see each other again when she's having lunch with a friend and Ben and his VP walk by. Soon Ben finds out where Eva's shop is and goes to visit her, offering to fix her headlight that he messed up in their minor accident. She warily agrees and they arrange a time during which Ben sees her again and also gets to see her house. This house is a Victorian house that looks exactly like her dream home she dreamt of as a kid so Eva bought to restore. Ben has never had a real home and is intrigued by both the home and the woman that owns it. He's interested in her but considering his job for the MC he's unsure that he could have a regular life with a good woman beside him. Also there's the fact that he doesn't have much material possessions wise and Eva having a home and business makes him wonder if he's good enough for her. Ben feels a pull to Eva and her place though and shows up a few times uninvited and surprises Eva with his presence. Eva is intrigued by Ben and although he's scary she can't seem to push him away and finds herself inviting him back instead.
During one of these unexpected visits, the attraction between Eva and Ben explodes and things get hot and heavy between them real quick. Ben finds he doesn't want to leave afterwards and he ends up spending the night. The next morning he's even more surprised that he doesn't want to leave and when Eva asks him to stay he does. They start spending more and more time together and Ben decides that maybe things can work with Eva. They share their secrets with each other...at least most of them, Ben gives her the basics on the club but nothing detailed for everyone's protection. Eva is able to accept Ben's life even though she's smart enough to be able to fill in some of the things he leaves blank. They both get closer and realize they're falling for each other but fear causes some holding back on the emotional level. While Ben and Eva are getting together, Ben's also having to deal with MC issues. There's a crime family that they've been dealing with for a while that is changing leadership and the new boss doesn't seem to have good intentions towards the MC but isn't up front about it. This leaves the MC scrambling, trying to figure out who is against them (for sure) and what they're going to do about it. Things are very tense when they get some news that hits Ben hard. Eva has a tie to someone involved in their difficulties (but unknown to her) and Ben thinks she's a plant and has been betraying him and the MC. He overreacts and causes some drama between them as she deals with his anger and then unwanted news. Eva ends up being the key to it all and with her help the MC's difficulties are taken care of. Ben has to grovel a bit but gets forgiveness for his overreaction (also telling her the reason for it which makes it somewhat understandable) and the story concludes in a nice HEA.
This was an enjoyable story. I liked both Eva and Ben and was happy to see them get together. I liked some of Ben's MC brothers too and would like to see them get their own books. I'm hoping this turns in to a series. I'd recommend this book. :D
This was a pretty good book. I liked both Ben and Eva and enjoyed their story. This is the first book I've read by this author and I liked this book enough that I would try more of her work in the future. There were some minor editing errors in the book. It really wasn't too bad (missed punctuation, but instead of bit, and minor things like that)...just an FYI for those readers that have issues with editing.
Eva is a good woman that didn't have a bad life but had some bad in her life. She grew up without her mother from the age of 6. Eva's dad was very loving though and took good care of her. She found out at 16 that her mother left her and her father and never came back. Eva went to business school and then ended up deciding to buy out a card and gift shop that she worked at and the owner was selling. Around this time, Eva's dad died and she found herself alone in life. Eva had a boyfriend but realized she didn't love him and so she broke it off and has been alone since.
Ben is a good guy but he's had a rough life that led him to be a hard man. His dad died when he was young and his mom took up with the wrong men in the years afterwards. There was an incident that made Ben turn to violence to protect his family and he got sent to jail for 5 years because of it. When he got out he was alone in life and ended up joining up with the a motor cycle club who become his family. Ben became an enforcer for the MC and has to take care of those that betray the MC, even when it's someone close to him.
When we start the story, someone close to Ben has just betrayed the MC and caused 2 MC-brother's deaths. Ben has to take care of it and afterwards is left feeling out of sorts. He goes for a ride and ends up in an accident with a woman in a red jeep, Eva. Eva was on her way to the cemetery to visit her father's grave when she almost wrecks with a biker. It was his fault but the bikers in the area aren't to be messed with and Ben is particularly big and scary so Eva makes her escape when it presents itself (basically when Ben tells her to get out of his face). Eva and Ben see each other again when she's having lunch with a friend and Ben and his VP walk by. Soon Ben finds out where Eva's shop is and goes to visit her, offering to fix her headlight that he messed up in their minor accident. She warily agrees and they arrange a time during which Ben sees her again and also gets to see her house. This house is a Victorian house that looks exactly like her dream home she dreamt of as a kid so Eva bought to restore. Ben has never had a real home and is intrigued by both the home and the woman that owns it. He's interested in her but considering his job for the MC he's unsure that he could have a regular life with a good woman beside him. Also there's the fact that he doesn't have much material possessions wise and Eva having a home and business makes him wonder if he's good enough for her. Ben feels a pull to Eva and her place though and shows up a few times uninvited and surprises Eva with his presence. Eva is intrigued by Ben and although he's scary she can't seem to push him away and finds herself inviting him back instead.
During one of these unexpected visits, the attraction between Eva and Ben explodes and things get hot and heavy between them real quick. Ben finds he doesn't want to leave afterwards and he ends up spending the night. The next morning he's even more surprised that he doesn't want to leave and when Eva asks him to stay he does. They start spending more and more time together and Ben decides that maybe things can work with Eva. They share their secrets with each other...at least most of them, Ben gives her the basics on the club but nothing detailed for everyone's protection. Eva is able to accept Ben's life even though she's smart enough to be able to fill in some of the things he leaves blank. They both get closer and realize they're falling for each other but fear causes some holding back on the emotional level. While Ben and Eva are getting together, Ben's also having to deal with MC issues. There's a crime family that they've been dealing with for a while that is changing leadership and the new boss doesn't seem to have good intentions towards the MC but isn't up front about it. This leaves the MC scrambling, trying to figure out who is against them (for sure) and what they're going to do about it. Things are very tense when they get some news that hits Ben hard. Eva has a tie to someone involved in their difficulties (but unknown to her) and Ben thinks she's a plant and has been betraying him and the MC. He overreacts and causes some drama between them as she deals with his anger and then unwanted news. Eva ends up being the key to it all and with her help the MC's difficulties are taken care of. Ben has to grovel a bit but gets forgiveness for his overreaction (also telling her the reason for it which makes it somewhat understandable) and the story concludes in a nice HEA.
This was an enjoyable story. I liked both Eva and Ben and was happy to see them get together. I liked some of Ben's MC brothers too and would like to see them get their own books. I'm hoping this turns in to a series. I'd recommend this book. :D
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