"'What the hell would I talk about with her?'
...'Tell her about when you were her age.'
'Those aren't happy little stories to share, Miss Evans. I wouldn't want to give her nightmares.'"
--Katie Ashley, Vicious Cycle
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: NAL
Pages: 336
Publication Date: June 2nd, 2015
Source: Review copy provided by publisher
Previous Books in Series: First in companion series
Goodreads Description
New York Times bestselling author Katie Ashley revs up the danger and sexual tension in her brand-new Vicious Cycle romance series.
Deacon Malloy’s life is dedicated to the Hell’s Raiders motorcycle club. Tough, hard, and fast with his fists, he serves the group as sergeant at arms. But his devil-may-care approach to life is thrown for a loop when the five-year-old daughter he never knew existed lands on the club steps.
Alexandra Evans is devoted to all her students—but there’s always been something about Willow Malloy that tugs at her heart. There’s an aura of sadness about her, a girl in need of all the love Alexandra can give. When Willow stops coming to school, Alexandra’s search leads to a clubhouse full of bikers…and a father hell-bent on keeping his daughter always within sight.
The moment Deacon sees Alexandra, he has to have her in his bed—and he’s never met a woman yet who couldn’t be persuaded. No matter how attracted she is to Deacon, Alexandra refuses to be just another conquest. But it’s Deacon himself who could be seduced—into a brighter future for himself, his daughter, and the woman he’s falling for against all odds.
Quick and Dirty Review
I won't lie. I'm not a huge reader of Motorcycle Club books but the second book of this series really intrigued me so I read this book first. The beginning was a struggle. I read a LOT of books about alpha males and violence but for some reason this MC mentality just felt phony to me. I was eye-rolling thinking to myself, this can't possibly be real life. But regardless, I powered through and I'm happy I did. Why didn't I DNF? Willow. Willow is the five year old daughter of Deacon who he didn't know existed until her mother is murdered and she has nowhere to go. You all KNOW how much I fucking love kids in books. The rest was history.
Well, okay, the rest wasn't history because while that aspect kept me reading, I did really enjoy the romance between Deacon and Alexandra, Willow's teacher. The plot outline is pretty typical of badass biker meets woman he actually cares about and there are growing pains while he deals with a woman who stand up to him. This is always amusing as hell to me and Alex fights back in these moments and gives him a taste of his own medicine. It's pretty awesome if not a little immature wish-fulfilling. The things she does to give him a taste of his own medicine are hilarious, though.
I know it sounds like I didn't like this book, but really I did. I stayed up way later than I thought I would because I really wanted to know what would happen next with the romance and with Willow. I was invested but it had a lot of moments that made me eyebrow raise but it didn't bother me really. Just setting you up appropriately if you give this one a go.
I WILL say I am extremely intrigued by Deacon's brother, Rev. Yes, they all have religious nicknames, their father was a Preacher. He is the VP of the MC and while he's a big man, he's described as having a hugely soft heart and he's adorably endearing in this book. He's the one I have my eye on...can't wait to read the next book because it's his!
General Admission
If you like motorcycle clubs, outspoken women, and cuts...this book is for you.
