Baptized by a Reverend

"She would never understand that within the walls of Rev's small house and among the salt-of-the-earth people who were his family,
I had learned how to truly live for the first time. "

--Katie Ashley, Redemption Road

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: NAL Trade

Pages: 336

Publication Date: October 6th, 2015

Source: Review copy provided by publisher

Previous Books in Series: Vicious Cycle
Find on: Goodreads | Amazon

My Thoughts

The Belle
After really enjoying Katie Ashley's first novel in the Vicious Cycle series, I was really looking forward to Rev's book, Redemption Road. Rev is the quiet brother, the strong and silent type, and super observant. I loved his character in Vicious Cycle and couldn't wait to see his love story. But it's not an easy one...

In the prologue of the book we find out Rev has been abused and this is the reason Doc Breakneck asked Rev to save his daughter after she'd been kidnapped. These circumstances lead him to saving another young woman, Anabel, from the same situation as the doc's daughter, that being the sex slave trade. Anabel is...broken. It was heartbreaking to read about what she went through and worse than that being her family is the worst. All about appearances and superficial things, she doesn't even want to go home. If that doesn't have you rooting for her, I really question if you have a heart. Kidding...kinda...anyways.

Rev and Anabel connect through shared pain and he is there for her through it all. Being a victim of abuse himself, he says all the right things, knows when to push and when to leave things alone, he is so incredibly amazing to her and it was beautiful to read. Katie Ashley handled the aftermath of abuse in such a sensitive and realistic way, I really commend how well this was done. We've all read books when sensitive issues are not handled appropriately and I was really impressed with how everything went down.

On a lighter note, I loved being back with the Malloy boys. Deacon and Alexandra and Willow are all kinds of adorable and fun. Willow may or may not be my absolute favorite character of the series. Mama Beth is a light in Anabel's darkness. I loved the mother role she played for Anabel especially because she never got that before. The camaraderie between the brothers continues to warm my heart. I cannot wait to see Bishop get his cocky ass handed to him by a female. 

General Admission
If you love motorcycle clubs, working through trauma, and unexpected knights in shining armor...this book is for you.