The Saviors: Part One

Forest Grove #1

by Ames Mills

The Saviors. We’re a myth in the criminal underworld. Our name runs fear through even the most hardened criminal. Don’t let the name fool you. We aren’t the good guys. We lie, steal, cheat, and kill. I keep my most trusted by my side, and we’re unbreakable. Until my vendetta against my father brought me back to my hometown, Forest Grove. It will test our bond like never before when they set their sights on the girl me and my best friend, Cole, loved growing up. We left to protect her, but all we did was leave her to fall into the arms of a monster. What’s the point in having a name like the Saviors if we can’t protect the most important person in our lives?

There isn’t one.


**The Saviors part one is part of a duet and will end on a cliffhanger. It’s a #whychoose/polyamorous romance, meaning the female main character has multiple love interests and does not choose at the end. This book also contains male/male content and relationships. It's intended for audiences 18+. It is a spin-off of the Abbs Valley series and can be read as a stand-alone. Be sure to check the content/trigger warnings at the beginning of the book.

Genres: Dark Romance, Why Choose, M M Romance, Dark, Romance, Polyamory, M M F

392 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 2, 2023

About the author

Hi! I'm a brand new indie author that writes reverse harem/polyamorous romance!

Come find me on other platforms!

Read my books and love them? I have a readers group on Facebook: Ames Mills' Black Demons

Want updates and spicy teasers? Find me on TikTok: amesmillswrites_

Reviews

[Paige (on and off) · Rating 4 out of 5]

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 ALL the chilli's

I was surprised how invested I was in the characters and this story. I was in it for the spice and while that will have you clutching your pearls the found family in this separated it from some of the other RH/spicy romances I've read. Don't ask me to explain anything plot wise ok because I couldn't tell you 👀

This is not for the faint hearted, it has a list of trigger warnings a mile long and 5 MMC's and 1 FMC. Yes, I said five lol. Let me lay at the ground of Chelsea's feet because this girl deserves all the praise 😅 All of these men treat Chelsea with absolute respect and worship the group she walks on. Not only are these men sweet, they are funny too and the group dynamic between them was great.

Here's a quick summary of my rankings in order:

Kai - He has a tough exterior but an absolute teddy bear on the inside. He's currently my fave, I love him so much. It's so sad what he's been through, I would get in a fight for him 🔪

Sean - Coming in a close second, Sean was written by a woman because his level of emotional security has to be fictional. He's an angel 😇

Cole - I was a little apprehensive about him at the start but I came around, he's so baby girl and I loved how vulnerable he was 💅

Axel - The alpha and pack leader. I normally gravitate towards this character and I did like him by the end but he's a moody ass for a good chunk of the book.

Nolan - Is cute and I like him as a person but I wasn't as invested in his inclusion as it lacked buildup compared to the others.

The cliffhanger had my jaw on the floor, I suspected a part of it was going to happen but I couldn't forsee how it actually panned out. I need to read book two asap because I need my babies to be safe 😭

**Disclaimer**: If you read this, I take no responsibility 😅 This includes why-choose/polyamorous romance with M/M, MFM, & MMF. You're welcome 🎤🤸🏼‍♀️

Thank you to my besties Krysta & Sabrina, I had so much fun buddy reading this, the group chat has been my source of entertainment 😅

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

listen.. everyone in here is banging eachother and I personally was here for it. they all deserve an award for that stamina and dedication 🥇 this is a why choose/polyamorous romance and usually with so many love interests there’s always some relationships that don’t get as much attention as others, but i thought the author did a pretty good job balancing everyone’s POVs. they all communicated so clearly with eachother and i cannot express how much I appreciate that. I was glued to this book the minute I started it and that cliffhanger was criminal.. I’m not a strong soldier don’t do this to me. 😭

characters :

➵ Chelsea - she’s dealing with the aftermath of her abusive ex husband who is the definition of trash in the dictionary. she’s so strong and still manages to be levelheaded in the way she handles things. I really liked her, she has a past with Cole and Axel but her first connections here start with Sean and Kai. 👀

➵ Sean - I’m obsessed with this man🧎🏻‍♀️his sense of humor is unmatched and his consideration for others feelings/wants.. can i order him on Amazon?! there’s not a jealous bone in that man’s body. I’m waiting at the altar as we speak. 💍🥴

➵ Kai - his past is upsetting asf, I felt so bad for him and how he felt like Chelsea wouldn’t want to be seen with him cause of his scars. I loved how he never overstepped in any situation despite his intimidating presence while also being a complete sweetheart.🧸

➵ Cole - he’s actually mad cute and he never stopped feeling bad about what happened between him, Chelsea and Axel.. he wanted nothing more than to earn her forgiveness and all his tattoos? stop I’m on the floor. 🫠

➵ Axel - he’s def hardheaded and a bit of a dick, but I loved seeing his character growth in learning to respond better to things instead of lashing out in anger. i did warm up to him by the end🤭.

➵ Nolan - i loved how smart he is and the different skills he brought to the table compared to everyone else. the way people used him in his past had my blood boiling and I just wanted him to find comfort in himself and the rest of the group around him. it was sending me every time he put Axel in his place😭👏🏽.


update:still 5 stars on the reread and i had so much fun buddy reading this with my girls Sabrina & Paige🤭❤️

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to poly/rh etc books I never know how to rate them but I had an enjoyable time with this. Most read these books for the smut and while I do too, shamelessly, i was also engaged with what was going on in the background with the dynamic between the characters. The vulnerability, acceptance and softness with one another was evidently felt and evolved pretty much throughout the book that it all flowed naturally. Plus the banter and playfulness here had me cracking up and blushing lmao for sure a fun time with these guys as they all bring something to the table.. truly 😮‍💨

if I had to say in order who were my favs right now it would be: Sean (Krysta will have to accept this), Kai, Cole, Axel, and Nolan lol and yes.. there were 5 mmcs 😅 Chelsea is undeniably such a trooper and I’m living through her because irl I could not.

I enjoyed seeing other characters that I’ve read from this author and I’m looking forward to the next book whenever that happens as I need to know what happens after that cliffhanger.

Loved br this with my girls Krysta and Paige 🫶🏼 haha we have to do this again 🤭

[Annelie · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 72%

Considering the super ratings this book received, I'm a bit sorry saying that it's just a farce of a RH! The book started very well, the storyline was interesting but suddenly every guys turned to be bi-curious/sexual or pansexual or just have MM sex🙄🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ So let me tell you that it isn't a RH, it's a poly romance and I'm not interested reading about guys f*cking themselves and falling in love without the FMC! This became more important than the plot itself and now it just stalled🙄😴😴😴 totally boring...

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swear every book I read by Ames just keeps getting better and better. At this point, I don’t even know what duet is my favorite.

Starting the book off strong with sex in the second chapter🥵🌶️ swoon. Daddy Axel🥵 Malachi🥵 the good girls🥵

The FMC has gone through some trauma but she’s hilarious in her own way. And she really isn’t afraid to stand her ground and that makes her a badass all around. Also we love a plus sized queen🤩

Not only do the relationships develop, but the friendships develop even more as well. I would even say that the little friend “break up” that happens helps make their friendships even stronger.

Of course Ames has us sitting on the edge of our seat waiting on part two 🪑

[Rach✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

BRB CRYING MY EYES OUT FROM THAT CLIFFHANGER
😭😭😭

Overall Ratings:
5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
5/5 🔥🌶️🔥🌶️🔥

ARC Read/Finished: 05.19.23

[Maddie Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 || THE CLIFFHANGER!! AHHHHH

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ames Mills can do no wrong in my eyes. Best smut and best loving relationships between whole groups. 😮‍💨

[evelynn kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

everyone’s fucking everyone and I’m here for it

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ames always tears my heart out with the cliff hangers at the end of part one 😭 I absolutely loved this group and seeing how new and old relationships have evolved, grown, and get fixed. I loved our FMC Chelsea and her take no shit attitude and how she can hold her own among these mercenaries. I’m torn between Sean and Nolan as my favorite MMC, so I guess they’ll just have to be tied at first place 🤪 as always, the spice was just *chef’s kiss*, esp the mm content 🥵 I loved all the banter, the jokes, and the love that grows between everyone. I absolutely can’t wait for part two!

[Shelby | Spicy.booknook · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨Contemporary Poly (1F/5M)
✨MF/MFM/MM/MMM
✨Darkish/Crime Romance
✨All The Chili Peppers 😅

Holy Mother of Smut 😳😂

Well. This is my first book by this author and whew.

So I started this one because the sheer size of the Abbs Valley series intimidates me. Now I realize it’s one series, but with various duets. I think you can definitely start with this one and be fine, but you meet lots of characters that are from the other books so I felt like I was kinda missing out on that.

Axel, Cole and their band of Saviors head to their hometown, Forest Grove, to find and take out Axels father. Chelsea is the girl they left behind back in the day and she’s resented them for years. She comes across two of the Saviors, Sean and Kai, not knowing their connection to the men she now hates, and the shenanigans and f*ckfest begin.

So that’s the 20% plot you get. The saving grace is that all the characters are fantastic. I usually prefer plot over spice, but the banter between them all make up for the imbalance for me. I loved it. It was a super
fun smutty ride. I’ll definitely be reading the next book right away (cliffhanger) and will be adding the other books to my TBR.

I’m taking one star away for all the damn nicknames in this book 🤪

[Tarynrose · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.35

That cliffhanger!!

[Britney · Rating 3 out of 5]

More S3x Than Plot

It's been a while since I've had such a hard time rating a book. This book was good but not something I would reread again and that's not a slight against the author or the book. Again it's not a bad book, but there's nothing that makes it so unique or special that I want to read again. To be completely honest it was more s3x than plot anyway.

Before starting book, I read one review that said Chelsea is a bada*s and I truly feel like we read two different books. Chelsea had all the TOOLS to be a bad*s but she herself was not. I honestly expected her to be tougher or harder with all that she's gone through in her life. The majority of the book, she was a wreck and trying to find ways to recover from her abusive relationship with her ex. There was one moment where I thought the book was gonna take a turn and she would be the bada*s mentioned in the review I read, but nope, she went right back to the girl who needed saving. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate her because yes she did go through a lot and I liked how the guys got her out of her shell, but her refusal to deal with her ex drove me nuts. The moment one of her dudes offered to make her ex a non-issue she should've said yes, but instead she kept refusing bc she didn't want it on her conscience. That was a massively bad decision.

Speaking of her dudes...this is a reverse harem but at the same time it didn't FEEL like it. As a lover of reverse harem, I never thought I would say this but there are too many relationships in this book. Everywhere I looked people were coupling up. They would couple up and then add on. Usually the reverse harems I Read have one girl who is the central focus and from time to time the guys don't have a problem Mixing it up. In this book, there wasn't a lead up to many of the couplings and eventual additions. At times Chelsea didn't seem like the main focus and when the author tried to put the focus back on her it felt forced. I spent most of my time guessing who was gonna have s3x with each other next. I think the only romantic aspects of this book involved Chelsea, Sean and Kai. They actually had a healthy functional relationship. But other than that, it was just s3x...just one big massive or@gy. What I can say is that usually when you have so many s3x scenes it can get repetitive or boring, but that was not the case with this book. I felt like the s3x kept evolving and becoming more daring. It was...🔥 ... no words. But I can't help but think that if they didn't get distracted by all the s3x they could've solved all their problems early on and there wouldn't be a need for a 2nd book. 😂 just a thought.

I really wish the author had spent more time building the relationships rather than having the characters who've never thought of each other s3xually suddenly jump into bed. It didn't feel realistic. And apparently EVERYONE is bi...what are the odds? I feel like it was unnecessary to make them all suddenly be bi and SUDDENLY ok with being with each other even without Chelsea. Though they've known each other for years and it never Happened before. Also the character Nolan is inevitably going to be coupled with Chelsea (though he's already coupled with someone else) but he seems more like her g@y best friend since his experience has only been with dudes. They've spent the least amount of time together, meeting almost at the end of the book and somehow are already throwing googly eyes at each other. Makes no sense.

A part of me feels like rating this book 4 stars because it was never boring and Chelsea was weak but not insufferable. She had some spiciness to her and was upfront with her wants and needs. However another part of me wants to rate a 3 because you can completely forget about the plot and their mission because of all the confusing relationship dynamics. This book ends on a cliffhanger and I just don't feel any anticipation or excitement because I know that those who didn't hook up in this book are just gonna hook up in the 2nd book. It's going to be more couple swaps and 3somes which will eventually lead to some massive or@gy. Im not even curious about how the plot will evolve. Also, I thought this book was a letdown because you rarely see this mercenary team in action. When you do see them in action it's disappointing because someone always gets hurt and or they're downright unprepared. The only thing they were good at was s3xy time and Because I can't rate a book simply on s3x scenes, I have no choice but to give it a 3 rating. I would rate 3.5 if I could though.

[Alex Salazar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saviors part one

This book has the same recurring theme as all the others..I am a little disappointed. The Crazy ex, the girl with body issues, kid napping or the computer nerd, a once true love..I at least thought that Chelsea would give Cole and Axel hell for leaving her But nope its like the author wanted to move it along for the fuc#!^? Part. Not much Drama in the this group dynamic which was disappointing, story line is predictable....as always the smut was fire so i will give credit there but not much originality apart for all the other series IMO...however I will still read book 2.

[bella romy · Rating 2 out of 5]

i feel like the plot got lost and it was just smut

[babygyalreadit · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Now that’s probably been the roughest cliff hanger yet. I’m genuinely scared .

[Mandi Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy wow! I’m amazed at how quickly I fell in love with each of these characters. We have reached Axel’s story and I was ready for it & here for every word. As much as I’ve loved our previous ladies, there’s something new and even more awesome about Chelsea. Learning a little more about The Saviors, and the challenges each character has faced, it’s no wonder they’ve become their own family. But to face the one person that Axel & Cole left to save and finding out that things turned out even worse for her, was jolting. Finding out Chelsea’s story hurt but now she needs protection and who better than her own Saviors? The last 10% made me feel like I got kicked in the chest & the last two chapters had me in tears, but that cliffhanger was probably more brutal than any of the ones from the previous books. The characters, plot, and heat are all hands down 5⭐️ and 🔥🌶️!

[Spasticnontastic · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just really love it when found family, fucks.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goddamn. 😅

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

[Brittany Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

irrelevant FMC

The book would’ve been exactly the same without the FMC. this book would’ve been better if she wasn’t even involved and it was just the guys and Nolan.

[Poupi Mali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chelsea is an insecure curvy woman who have a one-night stand with the gorgeous and loving Sean…
But Sean is part of the Saviors, lead by Axel, Cole, Kai and the new Nolan.

Tropes:
- insta-love for the guys
- reverse harem FMMMM+M
- secret society
- mercenaries
- lgbtqia found family
- lots of banter, fist bumps and high fives.

This story is also about love. Who ever you are, whatever is your past, you’ll be loved here.
And the spice is chef’s kiss high level.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

It ends on an ugly cry cliffhanger. You are warned.

Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Death, and Sexual content

[Heather Rada · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg!!!!!

That can not be the end of the book!!!! I need book 2 right now! I honestly didn’t know I needed Axel’s story until I started this one and everything just fell into perfect place. The Saviors are disfunctional and a mess but I love it and I need everyone to be ok!!!

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cliffhanger!!! It’s basically the same as riches to riches. I like it tho. Not sure how to feel about how they dealt with IPV

[tane'a · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[cátia · Rating 2 out of 5]

i never know how to rate these books just here for the sm*t not gonna lie and for the fun of it so yeah it was something alright

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

okay that was a joke right? please be a joke

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Fellow Ames Mills lovers, buckle up for another amazing and spicy read brought to you by the queen of RH with sword ⚔️ crossings! I will start by saying 5 stars is never a high enough rating with Ames. She always deserves more!

If you have followed Ames and her other works you know the Abbs Valley is an incredible series that makes Karens everywhere clutch their pearls! As we leave the Abbs Valley universe to step in to The Saviors I will admit I was nervous that we may lose some of the qualities that had us all hooked. I’m happy to report I was absolutely wrong!

The Saviors has cross over characters from Abbs Valley but the story it’s self is independent! I instantly fell in love with the characters: Kai, Sean, Axel, Nolan, Cole, and Chelsea! I mean who doesn’t love broken characters that would burn the world down for eachother?

The spice in this book is *chefs kiss* amazing. For those of you scouring the reviews (like I normally do) to make sure we get sword fights the answer is yes! ⚔️

I love the variety of tropes in this book as it didn’t feel repetitive to any of her other stories! (Won’t mention to prevent spoilers) Chelsea and her men are such a beautiful spicy mess with angst and tension that had me finishing the book in one session!

Please be aware the queen always leaves us on a cliffhanger in her part 1 books and this is the first one of her cliffhangers that had me in real tears. I did not feel Bonita to say the least after ugly crying! This is not to discourage you not to read this book but to show you how incredibly well her writing has progressed and the talent this author has to move you!

As usual check your trigger warnings, charge your battery operated boyfriends, call out of work to finish the book, and enjoy this smutty masterpiece!

Can’t wait to read part 2 !

[Rena · Rating 1 out of 5]

This had potential based on the summary, but it failed on the delivery and the writing style. Gosh the writing style was so choppy and unnatural, similar to how a kid on wattpad would write it. I kept having to remind myself that the characters were all grown, because the way they sometimes talked and acted seemed like they were immature kids playing mafia and house. The pacing, especially at the beginning, was just too fast to actually like the characters and the direction of the story, even though ironically, this is two books. Add in the cheesy lines, the constant repetition, and how everyone unbelievably comes out as pan/bi at nearly the same time…. The plot just gave out. Nolan and Chelsea both insecure? Cue the similar words of reassurance from the men. Axel shot? Seems like Kai and Sean don’t care because they fought. The author’s writing could use some big improvement, since this book seems like a rushed, badly-developed draft. MM scenes were nice but it caused all other scenes with Chelsea in it to feel tame and boring. I thought the writing would be better, if the high ratings are any indication. But it was just too painful to read. Forced myself to finish it but it didn’t get any better. If only the execution of the plot had been better, and if the writing style didn’t seem to unpolished, I would’ve liked it