Tainted Souls

by Seven Rue

Aurora Alden’s life was set to be perfect from the day she was born. Growing up, she spent most of her days at The Ridge, her wealthy father’s golf and country club. Her future was bright, with her perfect grades leading her straight to an Ivy league college.But one night, the dreams she wanted to chase once graduating high school were crushed after being in a car crash with her childhood best friend. Lia lost her life that night, and ever since, Aurora had been fighting feelings of guilt. Even four years after the accident, the pain it had caused was unshakeable.Aurora wasn’t ready to start a new chapter in her life without her best friend by her side, and therefore she decided to go on a year-long roadtrip all across the country. On her very last day before returning home, Aurora stopped in Wilmington, North Carolina where Lia’s older brother had moved to years ago to join the Ruthless Knights MC. She knew facing him wouldn’t be easy because the last time they saw each other at Lia’s funeral, Jagger had taunted Aurora by directing his hurt and anger toward her.Jagger Devlin blamed Aurora for his sister’s death, and he swore to make her life hell if they ever crossed path again. He was furious when Aurora showed up in Wilmington, and a game of cat and mouse began. Whereby Jagger was the only one having fun playing that game.All Aurora wanted was to prove to Jagger that she wasn’t the monster he made her out to be, but it quickly dawned on her that getting Jagger to believe her was the hardest thing she would ever do.Tainted Souls is book 2 in the Ruthless Knights MC series. All books in this series are interconnected standalones but there is a suggested reading order because of the timeline.List of triggers can be found on the author's Instagram.

Genres: Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Erotica

231 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 28, 2023

About the author

Seven Rue is an international bestselling author. Born and raised in a small town by the Lake of Constance in Switzerland, she loves writing books that not only make hearts melt but also push limits. When she's not writing, you can find her on long walks with her pup, Bowie, or kicking around a ball on the soccer field.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/sevenrue

Reviews

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only gave this 3.5 stars because there were parts I enjoyed, but several bits I didn't care for. The story itself I really enjoyed. I could understand Jagger's anger over his sister's death, but I really couldn't get why he was so angry at Aurora (his sisters best friend.) Aurora was not driving the car, she had no part in the crash that caused the death, other than being a passenger who survived. She was also only 15 years old at the time. He was a twenty something man at the time, so should have had more maturity? to understand and find another outlet to direct that anger, especially since his own parents had no ill will towards the girl. So... that whole part of the story didn't sit right with me. I also felt with how mad he was and the things he said and did in his anger, his turn around time seemed rushed. One minute he couldn't look at the girl, the next he was obsessed with her. Having said all that, I did like the plot itself. Big bad biker dude with a chip on his shoulder and the younger innocent girl being his calm. It was nice to see Remi and Fender and the other characters that we met in the first book (Ruthless Souls.) There were a few laughs thrown in, mostly coming from the side characters. There was also a couple emotional scenes, mostly with the talk about the death of their sister/friend. There are some darker elements, mostly the MC stuff. And of course, there is some sexual content. It alternates POVs. It reads easily and quickly.

[BRI · Rating 5 out of 5]

A changed man!

First of all, gotta say Jersey needs to find himself a girl next because he’s missing the love lol 😂 but I loved this story of loss and how Jagger & Aurora were both valid in their feelings. Jagger knew her as the girl who survived while his sister didn’t and blamed her for his sister being gone. While Aurora felt the heartbreak of losing her best friend and instead of finding common comfort with her best friend’s older brother she ended up being the reason for his anger. Willing to let go of the past it was time for Jagger to finally hear about his sister’s final moments and from that point on he knew he needed to change. Not only to release his anger and demons but to be better for Aurora because she deserved better than the way he was treating her. Getting close and spending time together lead to deeper moments and meaningful conversations that changed the status of their relationship from 0 to 100 real quick but oh so perfectly fitting. After Aurora witnesses first hand the danger that Jagger can inflict, will she choose to stay with him or run and decide that she can’t be a part of the life he lives. While Jagger was so tender and sweet to her it was so hot to see those steamy moments as well! Loved how the double dating took place between Fender & Remedy and Jagger & Aurora, so so cute!

[Hanna]

I read the first and second book first before rating because I wanted to see how the series played out.

This and the first book were quick reads, although classed as a gritty MC read I found them quite light on actual MC details.

Overall they just didn’t have much going on, you got inklings of things that could lead to drama or something interesting (like why was Lia acting out) but they were never followed.

For an MC book they were kinda boring.

Plus both hero’s were dubbed as crazy maniacs but actually there was very little to actual show off these reputations were deserved. Maybe I have just read way too many awful characters but there was a lot of telling us he’s bad new without it happening.

Maybe I’m just a sucker for some dramz but nothing really happened between them getting together and deciding to live together, there was the weird bit where Rory is made to watch Jagger hurt someone but it was resolved really quickly. At first she’s like I don’t know if I can look at him, to pledging to be with him forever.

Anyway huge rant over, but I did finish both books which is a win really I just wish they both had more drama and action to make the romance less sickly sweet

[Kaitlynn Gilmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ☆ Another amazing read from seven. This one was a wild ride. It followed Aurora and Jagger and their story starts off as not so nice. Aurora was friends with Jaggers sister who died in a car crash and Aurora was there the night it happened so Jagger wasn’t that she didn’t show any emotion or anything to his sisters death well he didn’t know the full story and once he does he realizes that he was a complete dick to her and dose everything to make her realize that he is sorry for how he treated her and that is the start of their love story. This book had spice and age gap and mc club. Absolutely will read anything that seven writes.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

I am loving this series so much. A MC storyline but with the mmc obsessed with the girl and no other woman drama. I wish it was longer. Not too much drama, but I wish we found out what was bothering Jaggers sister before she crashed. It probably wasn't important to the story line, but I was curious. I am hoping JT is next in the series, he needs a girl to knock him down.

[Lisa Guzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I am a little disappointed in this one. This was not the MC story I was hoping for. One minute he hates her and the next he is practically professing his love for her. This story seemed to be more of a rainbows and unicorns story and not an MC story. Sadly this one fell flat for me. I’m being generous with the three stars.

[Deanna Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Friend’s Brother

I was hoping to find out why Lia had been upset on the night she died. Jagger mentioned he would look into it and then it never happened. Other than that the book was 🌶️ and drama filled.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jagger se portó horrible con Aurora y sinceramente lo hubiera hecho sufrir más.
Pensé que iba a ser mejor que el primero pero está a la par de malo,iba bien al principio pero cuando comenzaron la relación todo fue a peor.

[⛓️jeonzzuk⛓️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5✨

[Flo₂₂]

DNF 67%
unfortunately i find this book boring :(
i don't feel a chemistry or a real connection in this couple.
Loved a lot more Fender's and Remi story, that one was a 4 star.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute romance with some sexy smut

[Diamond D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this one. I enjoyed some parts, but I didn't care for several bits. The story itself I enjoyed.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Aurora Alden was never my enemy. She was always meant to be mine but I was blinded by rage and hurt."