Severe: Carolina Hell Reapers

by Keta Kendric

Jade McKenna, raised by a drug kingpin, abducted at fourteen, and caught in a drive-by at sixteen. You would think she would be intimately familiar with chaos, but the roles in her life were flipped after her father’s death. Boarding school, owning businesses, and mingling with the social elite became her norm.

Until one day, the chaos returns.

Severe, a biker-assassin, shows up out of the blue and takes Jade, tells her she’s coming with him until… Until what? She ends up at Ground Zero, his motorcycle club compound, and has no choice but to figure out how to live among a group of legendary death dealers, biding her time until she can escape or until death. Her choices are dismal, but she learns that there are worse things than death, and it’s been lurking over her shoulder her whole life.

This book contains graphic violence and explicit sexual content and is intended for adults. This book contains dark themes and may be triggering to some readers. Please be advised.

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance, Dark, Interracial Romance, Contemporary Romance, Erotica

405 pages, Paperback

Published May 20, 2023

About the author

Keta Kendric is a USA Today Bestselling Author who enjoys writing romances featuring alpha men and strong leading ladies. Her books are edgy, raw, gritty, and some are dark.

Please connect with Keta via Social Media:
Links: https://linktr.ee/ketakendric

Reviews

[~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author.. I had no one to warn me of all the decadent, twisted truths here. So yes, I am an emotional blob right now.. Ruined.

This is the story of Severe and Jade.
Who I love equally.. as individuals and collectively as a couple. Their story and the world that surrounds and pulls them together, is a mind bending twist of chaos and darkness in its purest form..

THIS story, its world and the people who live here.. It's beyond frightening and intense. Grotesque and sexy.. Poignant and grounding all at once.. I was-🤯😯😲😳😱🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮😥😢😭🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🖤❤🖤❤🖤❤🖤
💜💜💜.... like I said, I'm a mess right now.. The fighting sequences alone had me on edge. The mystery surrounding our characters and the undeniable chemistry from start to finish here, was just superb! So engrossing. Wow.

Severe... smh.. I love you in equal parts fear for what you had to become to survive, and respect for what you chose to do in order to thrive in the light.

Jade... I'm so proud of you. I have mad love and respect for you in the midst of all you had to do, endure, and come to terms with here.

This story had me crying, laughing, scared😱 to the point of clenching my button nonstop 🛑 and blushing to the breaking point of the edge and when I was pushed right over it🥵🥵🖤

This story, y'all heed to the Trigger Warnings... But just know it's worth all you witness here, to get to the other side..💜 I LOVE this story!!

I would definitely recommend it..
READ IT!!!
And definitely read the 2 BONUS Chapters once you finish

I guess I'll read the Novella of Israel, (Severe's cousin) and his Ol'Lady, Zyana.. Apparently this is where you first meet Severe.. but his cousin Israel intrigued me too, in Severe's book.. but first, Bonus Chapters for Severe, here I come 🏃

[D.D. Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

This book is a " must read". What a wild and wonderful ride from beginning to end. I highly recommend.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an excellent read, read book within 2 hours, could not stop reading. The characters were excellent. When is the next book coming out by this author?

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is unlike any I have ever read before. I think it might have blown a microchip (or two) out of my motherboard, quite frankly. Fair warning-it's dark. So be prepared to be grossed out at times, and other times be saying to yourself "what the ****?!?" Severe's character is quite unique and intriguing. I don't want to give away the plot of the story, but it involves a motorcycle club that's VERY different than any you've probably read about before. I loved it, and recommend, but definitely strap in for a wild ride with Severe!

[Trinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where Do I Begin....

Let's start with Jade & Severe.....two damaged souls trying to mitigate through life......

Keta Kendric takes you on a journey of lies, secret societies, and redeeming one's self for the greater good.

This book is amazing and you will not be disappointed!!!

I'm ready for Micah's book!

Keta Kendric keep being great!❤️

[Steph's Romance Book Talk · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars / 3 Steam Fans

Oh was this a ride!! Dark, twisted, and emotional. Keta Kendric kicks us into Severe's head from the jump and oh man is that a dark, traumatic place. Jade is a mystery until she isn't and with every turn, her walls come down.

Severe and Jade have an adventure that keeps you guessing. I enjoyed seeing characters from Keta's other books and would love to see the Carolina Reapers series continue.

CW: Physical, Mental, Abuse and Trauma, Kidnapping, Torture, Killing, Assassination, Conspiracy, Secret Society

Video review available in Week 21: May 21 – May 28, 2023, weekly book reviews on Steph's Romance Book Talk (https://www.youtube.com/@stephsromanc...)

[BookKraves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am darkness. The unseen danger that gives you a chill. The icy prick that makes your skin crawl for no reason you can see. The hell that invades your dreams and gives you nightmares- Severe
OMG, this book left me speechless. Severe: Carolina Hell Reapers hooked me from the beginning. My eyes were glued to my screen. Ms. Kendric delivered another attention-grabbing, intriguing and exhilarating MC read.

In this book, Severe is given the task to assassinate Jade but after observing Jade in her natural environment, the evidence is not lining up. Severe is unable to unalive her regardless of being a psycho. Jade runs a non-profit organization and works to rescue kids that have been SA and sold into slavery. When another assassin attempts to take out Jade, Severe decides to take matters into his hands.

The mystery, the action, the build of sensual tension, the suspense and the emotional curveball had me in tears. There is an intimate scene when both Severe and Jade open up to each other, it was heartbreaking and I felt it in my soul.

Lastly, the nail-biting ending. This had me at the edge of my seat with my eyes wide open at 3 AM.

This is a dark read and please, please pay attention to the trigger warnings.

[Laverne Brewster · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 Stars. (BW/WM). Kindle Unlimited Edition 445 page e-book.

Setting: Current time. From New York City to somewhere in the back woods of South Carolina.

Trope: Motorcycle club. Dangerous male. Forced proximity. Murder and mayhem.

Main characters:
1. Severe Silas, hero, stoic, withdrawn loner and deadliest assassin of the Reapers MC.
2. Jade McKenna, heroine, wealthy 29-year-old daughter of a deceased drug kingpin.

This story is well written but not one I enjoyed. The story is unnecessarily long and the romance between Severe and Jade is so slow burn as to render it non-existent. The story has lots of action, mystery, gangster politics and sex scenes; however, it lacks romance between Jade and Severe. Their lives together on the MC grounds just provided a place for sudden unromantic sex -like the urgency of needing to pee after holding your bladder too long. The two main characters suffered physical and sexual abuse as children, Severe was parceled off to men by his mother to pay for drugs and Jade and her sister were sold to human sex traffickers by their uncle to settle a score with their murdered father.

[Maria Catanese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot Damn Severe & Jade!!

This story was developed very well from the story that started it all Carolina Reapers. There was a great cameo from Israel & Zyana that left a nice visit with no overstay hangover so you can focus on Severe & Jade. I love how Ms. Kendric writes such humanizing in-depth stories about flawed & damaged characters. Learned more about the Order & yeah it might be a bit twisted but I like how she writes this series about bad guys who assassinate evil guys. This will be an epic series if we can get Micah & Eli’s story. Also there is a teaser to come involving female assassins that I would love to read. Very well written editing was pretty good I didn’t notice any errors that jarred me from the story. Recommended book!

[Anitacrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

SEVERE

I need more Severe and Jade please! THIS can't be the end of their story. This couple had me in my feelings the whole ride. Ugly crying. This is a must read please you want regret it.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

not really romance

I loved the story and it kept me guessing. However I picked this because it was under dark romance. The romance was there I guess but the sex scenes were lacking. So much energy put into the death and trauma but not those intimate scenes

[Natasha Monike · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg!!

Just read it!!! It’s dark and beautiful and so many other things I will probably need to discuss with a therapist.. but it was so worth it!

[Theodora · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW 😮

Ms. Kendric you’ve done it once again…as always. I did NOT see that coming 😳😳😳. When are we gonna get a book about Jade’s sister? Can’t wait for the sequel.

[Nene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed!

I enjoyed this storyline and the main characters. It had action from the very beginning,I hope the other characters get a book. I would recommend.

[Mylene Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Severe and Jade are thrown together unexpectantly and now have to survive to solve past mysteries and pain. This story is so good. As usual Ms Kendric does not disappoint her readers and fans.

[Alexandria Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intense

*****Spoilers*****

Severe is an intense and emotionally stunted, partially due to his childhood trauma and partially due to the people around him fearing who he is and what he's capable of. All in all, Severe has an inner demon that speaks murder and mayhem and Severe often chooses to listen when it comes to his work. Severe is an assassin for an organization and contracted to kill, only his newest assignment has thrown him for a loop. On paper, Jade is supposed to be a child sex trafficker but the more Severe watches Jade, the less the story about her and the hit on her makes sense. With only a few weeks left on his kill order, Severe doesn't like what it could mean for the organization he works for if this particular kill order isn't legit for the reasons he was hired. Just when Severe has decided to kill Jade, someone else presumably for the same organization shows and tries to take Severe's job. Add fishy times ten and now Severe's assigned assassination of Jade turns into him protecting her while trying to get to the bottom of why Jade was targeted for the hit.

Jade is not a child sex trafficker, the opposite in fact because she dedicates herself to saving children from that fate. Jade has no idea why anyone would fabricate stories about what she does. She's wealthy in her own right and the book opens with her at one of her charity events where she raises funds to support her philanthropic endeavors. Severe seems to be the best bet when she's almost killed. Fortunately Jade's lifestyle affords her the ability to go on the run with Severe as he tries to get answers about what's going on. Severe seems like the good guy, but that's only because Jade doesn't know that she was supposed to be his kill. Since Severe wants to be sure, he's keeping her close but his inner demon wants her dead and soon.

There's something about these complex, dangerous male characters with that hint of vulnerability that gets me every time and Severe fits it perfectly. His brutal reputation precedes him in a room, and even the men who work for the same organization give Severe a wide berth. I think Jade handles it well though, from her perspective not understanding why Severe is isolated even when he's around his fellow assassins. In any case, Severe and his demon are treating Jade differently and it shows, so much so that the people around them are astonished even though his treatment is less than hospitable, they're just amazed that he hasn't tortured her. In the end, Severe stages a scene and kills Jade for the camera by drowning her in the bathtub, only to turn the camera off and work to revive her. Crazy isn't the word and after that, I was giving Severe major side eye. Not sure how Jade got over that but I'm sure it couldn't have been me. They end up working through that and a break before getting back together. In the end, Severe's reputation was certainly earned. It was a good read, but I just couldn't give a 4, the whole killing Jade thing was NOT cool.

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this story quite a bit. There were heavy topics and triggering back stories for both of our MCs. Severe is certifiable for sure and I was worried it was going to take a lot for me to come around on him and root for his and Jade’s relationship but that wasn’t the case. While the voice in him and the voice in his head would say and think some pretty crazy stuff, I never really felt that Jade was in danger from him, you could see it from the start. I also loved that when they got to the compound everyone was amazed by Jade lol.

Finding out who put the kill order out for Jade was shocking and to hear the entire backstory even worse!

Check this one out. Plenty of action (note: pretty graphic at times), love, and mystery.

[Magic book club · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

,, Death brought us together. Death kept us together. Death ripped us
apart. But, life, the essence of it, the beautiful sparks we created together
broke through all that darkness and forged the eternal flame of a bond that
would never be broken. Severe was my spark, my light, my savior, and I
believed I was his.”

I did not expect that the book would be this raw and fierce from the very beginning. A couple of situations were a bit too much for me because I'm terribly squeamish, but the story had to be just like that. Severe is fucked in the head but I still like him .

The most important thing is that I liked the book and that I will read the other sequels as well.

[Sheena Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars

Whooooo weee Severe and Jade's story hit different. It was tragically beautiful. How their lives were similar but different. I enjoyed every read. My only question is what was said after The Six found out about the infidel amongst them? Why didn't Jade and her brother have any dialog? Why didn't Jade begin the search for her sister? So many questions, but still such a good read.

[Bev Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not ready. I really was not ready for this book! I read this book really quickly I wasn't expecting the emotions this story made me feel. Severe is what his name says he is, he is a brutal assassin, he sees it as an art, depends on your sin and how he is feeling will determine how he kills you. You will fall hard for him be warned you cannot help but fall in love with him.
Then you meet Jade, she's a professional,she's compassionate and a very clever woman with a traumatic past.

The assassin gets a kill order and Jade is on the list, the story takes you on a journey as Severe's instincts tells him that she should not be on his list but he's never disobeyed an order.

This is one of the best stories I've read, the peaks and truffs of the story will have you on the edge and screaming out loud for the situations they find themselves in.

An excellent read by one of my all time favourite authors whose talent is exceptional and gets better with every new story she writes!

[Lynda Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death Dealer

Severe is the scariest Reaper of the Hell Reapers..if you catch a glimpse of his shadow.. You are most likely dead..it's usually the kind of death that horror stories tries to imitate..so Jade was dead woman walking.. and not from the kill order assigned to Severe.. but what was done to her.. she has already experienced the worst suffering as a child and nothing could top that..until she discovered the beauty in a damaged soul.. and demon was winning..

[NICOLA FORDE · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’M ALMOST SPEECHLESS!

This is my first book by this author and I’m not sure I’ll try another one. The story was so all over the place that I didn’t know what I was reading. There was so much trauma with both major characters that I couldn’t imagine it. If you’re triggered by reading about child and sexual abuse and also rape, I wouldn’t recommend this book. Beware.

[Shawn Pinzon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jade and Severe

Severe is definitely a MUST READ!! Jade and Severe with his demon just took me on a roller coaster of emotions. I loved the book! Keta Kendric blew my mind with this book. I recommend you read this book.

[Shirley Rentzel · Rating 1 out of 5]

6%

I can honestly say that I have never given up on a book this fast! I couldn't get into this book even a little bit, I say run from this book! Shirley

[Candace Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I Can Say Is Whoa

I started reading this and then put it down because I felt that I wouldn’t like it. A few years back, I read the first few books of another series by Keta that included a racist motorcycle club. I can’t remember why, but something about the books turned me off. I know you’re probably thinking it was the racism, it wasn’t. I just can’t remember what the reason was. Either way I’m so glad I decided to pick the book back up.

The two main characters (Jade and Severe) each went through their own hell when they were younger. It broke my heart learning their pasts. I actually cried when Severe described what his mother did with his dog. I won’t go into more detail because I don’t want to give out spoilers. Suffice it to say his mother was a demon in the flesh.

I loved Jade. She was incredibly sweet and intelligent. For her to become the woman she did after going through hell, it just spoke to her strength and courage.

Severe was the man. He was incredibly intelligent. Thank God he was able to see through the bullscuit. He needed the biggest hug though.

I only learned about this book because I am an arc reader for another author, and she mentioned this on one of her posts. I am so glad she did. She said it was dark and it was, but it’s not bad. Just know that there is mention of child trafficking, child abuse, animal abuse, animal, cruelty, rape, and of course, horrific killings that the people most definitely deserved. It’s good, but please pay attention to the trigger warnings. If those are things that you cannot handle, don’t get the book and then give a bad rating. Don’t be that person. The book was amazing. Keta did a great job. I am going to go back and read the story of Israel and his old lady. I again was surprised, and I can’t wait to read more of her books. See y’all next time.

[Julia Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explosive with the right amount of dark

I usually know by the first few pages (sometimes the first few sentences) whether a book will be enjoyable or something that is gripping and well-written. This book was all of the above. I really liked that the author engages all of your senses in her descriptions because it really helps ground you in what’s going on. Severe is a relatively dark and complex character, so the book itself got fairly dark, but the bond that he shares with Jade definitely brought me to tears at some parts. I was glad that the author didn’t give us any POV outside of the Severe and Jade so we’re very much in the dark about who’s the main villain and their motivations. I really think the writing was great and better than some of the minimal effort books I had been encountering lately.

[Kim Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story about Severe and Jade was🔥❤🔥❤🔥
I enjoyed the whole story though Severe was seen as a psychological demented Reaper...He was what I loved and Jade matched his mental crazy because of her past. They flowed well together, regardless of what his position was meant to do to her. Jade kept him on his toes by not letting him get into his head, since that was his so called safe place. All that Severe thought he should feel about himself, Jade showed him differently. It had everything I love in a crazy, hard alpha males, MC Biker Club, beautiful black 👑, drama, hate to love, 🔥sex and HEA💙
Received as a ARC, WORTH READING... Reminds of Twisted Minds Series, De Lucas and The Chaos Series🍷

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular....This story is intriguing, mysterious, dynamic in scope, heart-wrenching, brutal and all out mind blowing. It grabbed me by the seat of my pants and never let go until the very end. The plot is cleverly crafted with a labyrinth of suspense. Severe and Jade meet under bizarre circumstances which escalates to a powerful crescendo. Their backstories are achingly sad and life shattering with major emphasis on Severe's childhood which will have you in your feelings and break the hardest of hearts. Keta Kendric raised the bar with this one as it is vigorous storytelling at its finest. For me it is one of her best novels to date. An excellent addition to the Carolina Hell Reapers series. I loved it, can't say enough about this captivating, mind-bending read and highly recommend it.

[Traci Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been waiting for this book... and it did not disappoint!

No spoilers here...Severe.....whew ya'll! This crazy, complex, beautiful alpha male was no joke at all. This book takes you through hills and valleys. Be aware, it deals with real, brutal subjects like sexual and mental abuse, rape and trafficking. It shows that you can have the worst done to you, have your soul broken but that you can still be put back together with the love, and understanding of your person. Severe and Jade experienced some of the worst horrors but they survived to meet each other and realize there crazy, broken pieces fit together to create something strong and beautiful. Can't wait for the rest of the Reapers!

[La Vida Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, Keta Kendric does not disappoint. This is another well-written, engaging and hella hot romance from her catalogue. Jade and Severe are characters that are well-developed, complicated, passionate and broken. They find love and solace in each other despite their best efforts and it was just so exciting reading how their love develops. You really will get attached to these characters. I am telling you! I sure did, I was rooting for them the entire book. It is so so good. Just do yourselves a favor and read this book! I'm not giving anything away here, you just have to check it out and enjoy!