GOODREADS
Author: JC Emery
Publication Date: 21 May 2016
Publisher: Left Break Press
Series: Bayonet Scars, book 6
Genre: Contemporary Romance, MC based
Age Recommendation: 18 and up
Rating: 4 Stars
~ I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ~
Book Description:
MATURE CONTENT WARNING: The Bayonet Scars novels are a dark and gritty romance series which features graphic sexual content, violence, and foul language that is intended for a mature audience. Each novel features a different couple, though it's not recommended that they be read out of order due to the series story arc.
Kings rule men. Queens rule kings.
Wyatt Strand is a hard man. He has hard features, speaks with harsh words, and has a hardened heart. Having served the Forsaken Motorcycle Club as Vice President, Wyatt is used to taking responsibility for his brothers, but when he’s handed the gavel everything changes. His brothers are now his men and the threat from the Italian mafia still looms in the distance. A president needs focus, but that’s nearly impossible when his old lady blows back into town and drops two very large bombshells on him.
Amber Wallace is a tough woman, but an even fiercer mother. She once told a lie to protect her unborn child that tore her away from the man she loves. And now, years later, she’s coming home to make amends. Wyatt’s changed, but the club hasn’t. Women are to be obedient. Unfortunately for Forsaken, Amber’s not about to let a few rules stop her from living the life she always imagined.
The Forsaken Motorcycle Club started a war with the Italian mafia and they’ve paid dearly for that choice. With a new president at the helm, the wheels are finally in motion to take down Mancuso once and for all. Even if it means taking the fight back to where it began.
Love is never more beautiful than when it consumes you.
My Review:
I went into this book with some trepidation knowing snippets of this couple past from previous books, especially Wyatt's 'dating' history and I have to say at the start of the book I was afraid, really really afraid. I don't love a relationship in where one of the main characters is shown in other 'relationships' when you know that characters heart belongs to someone else. To put it simply it makes MY heart hurt. I knew what I would be getting into with Wyatt and Amber so I have no one to blame but myself for my hurting heart but I have JC Emery to thank for putting it back together.
Wyatt Strand and Amber Wallace were childhood sweethearts, destined for happiness, love, and influence, and control as the up and coming power couple of the Forsaken Motor Cycle Club until it all fell apart as Wyatt looses himself to the club and his demons. Having no other recourse young, pregnant, scared, and emotionally destroyed Amber flees Forsaken heading back to Detroit, her only thought now is protect her unborn child from the one man who had promised to protect and love her but can no longer be trusted. Fourteen years have passed, years of occasional meetings and hookups between Wyatt and Amber, years of secrets, years of destructive behavior, years pain, years of heartache. Now Amber is headed back to Forsaken, back to the man that almost destroyed her, she's coming to give him his past and his future if he's willing to make amends, become the man she needs...if he's willing to take it.
Amber is one of my favorite Heroines in the Bayonet Scars series. She's a strong take no shite woman. She's grown up in the club, she knows the rules, she knows her 'place', but she also knows that she has a lot to give to the club and she isn't going to put up with any of the clubs bullshite. There's power in being an 'Old Lady', especially the 'Old Lady' of the President, and she is going to use it. One thing I have always struggled with in the Bayonet Scars series is the double standard, do as I say not as I do, thing the guys have going on, so I loved that Amber basically said NO, that isn't acceptable. She knows that there is a code in the club house that the women WILL show respect for the men and she has no problem with that but she also has no problem saying if you want that respect you will give it back to me. Thank you Amber for that because I have wanted to smack a few of these guys around, especially Wyatt, for 6+ books now, haha.
Wyatt, Wyatt, Wyatt...I struggled with Wyatt in the beginning. I wasn't joking when I say that my heart hurt the first few chapters of this book. He was breaking my heart right along with Ambers and I alternately wanted to stab him in the eye with a pencil and hug him until he got past all his issues. What I did like about Wyatt is that he makes NO excuses for his behavior. He owns his faults, he fights for his family, to make amends, and to become the man everyone needs, especially those he loves.
There is a LOT of emotion in this book. You will fall for these characters and ache for their happiness. The passion of family, love, for the club....it's a strong theme through out the series but especially in Haunt. The Forsaken world is changing. Their fight with Mancuso is hopefully coming to an end. Lives will NEVER be the same. Forsaken have to come together and lean on one another more than ever in Haunt. Ian says it best at the end of the book when he says...
"It can't end like this."
I have loved this series since book one. These guys can be right pains, but their hearts are huge and their desire to love and be loved even bigger. The women are all in their own ways strong and perfectly suited to handle their men. Whatever fault in temperament the guys of Forsaken seem to have their 'Old Lady' makes up for it, complementing them, making each other whole. If you are looking for a suspense filled series, hardened men, strong women, and ultimately the best kind of love stories than let me suggest this series. Haunt has been the most difficult for me to get through emotionally which is kind of hard to believe considering Ian and Mindy's story in Burn. While Burn was challenging to read it just didn't make my heart ache the way it did for Wyatt and Amber in Haunt. Thankfully like I said above thought, JC Emery makes it all work, she makes it all right and you'll walk away wanting these couples stories to never end. Due to the nature of the story line (the battle between Forsaken and Mancuso) I HIGHLY suggest reading these books in order as a series.
*Warning Haunt ends on what I think is a pretty big cliff hanger. Do Not, I repeat, Do Not throw your book.*
~ HAPPY READING ~
(Click on title for GoodReads Link)
Death comes in Armani. Salvation comes in leather.
Principessa to the Mancuso crime family, Alexandra knows a thing or two about living outside the bounds of the law. Suffocated by the future her father has laid out for her, she makes a choice she can't take back, changing the entire trajectory of her life.
Thrust into the dark and dangerous world of the Forsaken Motorcycle Club for her own protection, Alex finds herself faced with the last thing she needs right now: the man of her dreams. He’s sex in leather, the devil incarnate, and one hell of a kisser. But he’s also off-limits. Ryan Stone can be her friend, but he’s forbidden to be her lover.
Third-generation Forsaken, Ryan knows nothing other than life on two wheels, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He enjoys the many privileges that come with the patch, and the only laws he recognizes are the ones set-forth by his club. That is, until who he wants more than anything isn’t allowed on the back of his bike —or in his bed. Balancing his desire for her body, and need to keep her safe, Ryan tries to keep Alex at a distance. Finally having made a choice for herself, she’s done hearing the word “no” and will push boundaries even Ryan himself doesn’t dare cross.
Love is never more tempting than when it’s forbidden.
Loneliness suffocates the heart. Acceptance breaks down walls.
As a Lost Girl to the Forsaken Motorcycle Club, Nicole Whelan knows how to party. She’s not cut-out for relationships and her life is way too complicated for anything more than casual encounters. But one night when she falls into Duke’s bed at the clubhouse, he sees something in her that he can’t let go of—no matter how many times she tries to run.
Having been left to raise her teenage brother, Jeremy, she’s already got her hands full and isn’t looking for anymore complications. But Duke’s just watched his best friend fall for the only girl he couldn’t have, and then almost lose her so shortly after, shaking him to his core. Faced with his own loneliness, he’s more determined than ever to break down Nic’s walls and show her that he can be good for her; but he’s got a bad track record and she’s got a bad temper. Changing his ways isn’t easy when he’s not sure what he’s even changing for.
The violence and turmoil are at an all-time high, and Forsaken is in a vulnerable place when a twist of fate breathes new life into the club. It’s a much-needed beacon of hope for the embattled biker family, even if everyone’s not exactly on board. With Duke and Nic’s relationship already on shaky ground, and something even more important at stake, the Forsaken Motorcycle Club will fight like hell to keep their family together and whole.
Love is never more precious than when it’s new.
With the looming threat from the Mancuso Crime Family, the Forsaken Motorcycle Club is preparing for a war that could destroy them. Grady, the club’s Sergeant-at-Arms, knows that love makes you weak, and he has zero interest in adding to his liabilities– especially now. He’s already got his teenage daughter who keeps him on his toes and a beef within the club that could fracture his relationship with a fellow brother for good.
For Holly Mercer, her life is finally getting on track and the last thing she wants is trouble from her hometown’s resident outlaws. Keeping her nose clean is easier said than done, when suddenly she finds herself embroiled in club business. Holly might like the idea of being with a real-life bad boy, but even being in the same room with tough-as-nails Grady flusters her.
When Holly inadvertently finds herself on Mancuso’s radar, she has two choices: trust that Grady will protect her, or continue to refuse the club’s help. Both roads are dangerous, but only one has the chance to damage her beyond repair.
Love is never more dangerous than when it can destroy you.
Young love is always perfect. Until it's not.
Cheyenne Grady is a total daddy's girl to her bad-ass father, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Forsaken Motorcycle Club. She's funny, and kind, and she just wants that deep, earth-shattering love like her dad has with her school secretary, Holly. But Cheyenne's been looking in the wrong direction, because the only good that can come from the way she looks at Jeremy Whelan is a lesson in heartbreak.
Jeremy always wanted to prospect for the Forsaken Motorcycle Club and wear the same patch as his father. When a life-long dream becomes reality, Jeremy realizes that the outlaw lifestyle is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it easy on relationships. He wants to be a good man, but temptation is everywhere.
Cheyenne is beautiful, and strong, and exactly what Jeremy could have forever. As long as he doesn't screw it up.
Love is never more powerful than the first time.
HE REFUSES TO GIVE IN. SHE REFUSES TO GIVE IT UP.
Alexandra Mancuso knows all about regrets. She talked to the wrong person and started a war that’s ravaged her newly adopted motorcycle club family and threatens to cost Alex her life. Now, she’s cautious with the commitments she makes.
Ryan Stone, road captain for the Forsaken Motorcycle Club regrets nothing—except putting Cub in danger one time too many. The Forsaken Motorcycle Club has a plan to end the war with the Mancuso crime family and they need everyone’s head in the game. But Ryan can’t focus on the club when he’s so distracted by a certain reckless brunette. She gives him everything except for what he really wants.
Today, he refuses to take no for an answer and maybe, just maybe, this time Alex won’t be able to stand her ground.
True love always defies the odds.
Tragedy cuts deep. Revenge burns deeper.
The blood of their enemies coats the leather of their cuts and a trail of bodies lie in their wake, but the Forsaken Motorcycle Club isn't done yet. Carlo Mancuso still needs to pay for his sins. Nobody knows that more than Ian Buckley, the Treasurer for Forsaken.
Ian prefers his pleasure mixed with pain and he's only ever at peace when he's doling out justice. Convinced that he's too unstable and sadistic to take an old lady, he keeps his trysts, like all of his relationships, brief and anonymous. But with his club at war, and the stakes being so personal, Ian's feeling the events around him more deeply than he expects.
Mindy Mercer is the sweet daughter of Fort Bragg’s most respectable cop. At least that’s how the town sees her. Very few people know the Mindy who hides her tracks and battles her cravings by lying to everyone around her. She thinks she has control of her addiction until she suffers an attack that leaves her searching for a way out of her own personal hell.
Mindy has never been more desperately in need of a savior and Ian has never seen a more beautifully destroyed creature in his life. Their attraction is intense, but their damage is extreme. Some scars never heal, and some people never get better.
Love is never more painful than when it can kill you.
SHE'S HEARTBROKEN. HE'S A HEART-BREAKER.
Elle Phillips's relationship with the Forsaken Motorcycle Club is strained, much like the relationship she had with her father, a Forsaken brother, before he died. The only piece of Forsaken that Elle wants to hold onto is their sergeant-at-arms and her former lover, Sterling “Bloody Knuckles” Grady. Unfortunately, Grady's moved on and he doesn't seem to be coming back. With her heart hurting over one man who's died and another who's practically dead to her, Elle throws herself into her work as a private investigator and tries to keep a low profile where the club's concerned. But when a case comes along that she can't refuse, she finds herself embroiled in club business in a way that leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew about Forsaken.
Diesel knows that keeping tabs on Elle Phillips is going to bring him trouble. He already loves her even though he barely knows her, but when Grady asks Diesel to keep her safe, he can't say no. His patience has run out and he's going to do anything to get Elle to realize he's the man she's been craving-- even going behind the club's back to help her solve a case she shouldn't be working.
Real love is always the cure.
As a child, JC was fascinated by things that went bump in the night. As they say, some things never change. Now, as an adult, she divides her time between the sexy law men, mythical creatures, and kick-ass heroines that live inside her head and pursuing her bachelor's degree in English. JC is a San Francisco Bay Area native, but has also called both Texas and Louisiana home. These days she rocks her flip flops year round in Northern California and can't imagine a climate more beautiful. JC writes adult, new adult, and young adult fiction. She dabbles in many different genres including science fiction, horror, chick lit, and murder mysteries, yet she is most enthralled by supernatural stories-- and everything has at least a splash of romance. WEBSITE ~ TWITTER ~ FACEBOOK ~ AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE ~ GOODREADS
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