Brandishing Beginnings: Devil's Psychos MC Book 1: a Reverse Harem Romance

by M.E. Thornwood

They say trouble comes in three… as in the form of three rough and tumble bikers.

They make my heart race and my skin sizzle. They push my boundaries like no one else, introducing me to the dangerous world of the Devil’s Psychos motorcycle club. And they’re completely wrong for me.

When my college friend invites me to her family’s home for the holidays, I didn’t expect to see her brother Marcos—a gorgeous man I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since we met—and he didn’t come alone. His two best friends are hot as hell and downright dangerous… and they all want me.

One night I give into temptation. They teach me to submit, and it’s hotter than I ever could have imagined.

Afterwards, I try to dismiss our passion as a one-time thing. But I can’t stop thinking about Marcos’s demanding presence and chiseled jaw. And Jason and his sexy piercings and sultry voice. And I miss the way Nico seemed to balance the two and always make me laugh.

When I need a place to stay, they take me in, and things heat up quickly. It turns out the three of them really like being in charge… and I find that I like that, too.

But a dangerous encounter reminds me of the risky world they live in—a world that could make me a target. For these guys, I’ll risk losing my heart, but could that mean putting my life on the line as well?

**Brandishing Beginnings is a dark Why Choose romance, meaning the main female character will not choose between her loves interests. There will be group scenes and dark themes including Motorcycle Club Culture, primal play, Shibari, and dubcon scenes. This is a BDSM romance with on screen negotiations and themes that are not suitable for every reader. For the full list of trigger warnings, please check the author’s website. Brandishing Beginnings is book one of a three book series and will end on cliffhanger.**

Genres: Dark Romance

439 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 6, 2025

About the author

M.E. Thornwood is a contemporary Why Choose romance author that enjoys writing about dark themes, thrilling suspense, and hot hot spice. She loves her alpha males and the women who don’t put up with them.

Writing has been her passion since she was a little girl.
She lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children. When she’s not writing, she’s enjoying camping with family and friends, hiking with her kids, and reading books with her loveable fat cat Midnight.

Reviews

[Tedra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent

1st writing was more than decent.
2nd really liked all of the MC's though even the FMC, though I feel like she was too passive in their dynamic over the 2 years & some months of their relationship.
All 3 MMC's talked about being too lenient towards the FMC when in reality she allowed them to get away with everything.

Also she worked a hella lot of hours as a nurse & they actually gave her the punishment of cleaning the entire house spotless? Uh, hello?
Spoilers



3. There is no equal power dynamic in this relationship AT ALL. This is why D/S are not romantic ever. The men hold all the power esp when there is 3 guys to 1 girl.

There is a line in the book after the FMC'S NON CON punishment (I'll get back to that in a minute) where she wakes up - alone, sick AF & in pain after receiving zero aftercare from a brutal punishment the night before.
No water or pain medicine has been laid out & she has to go looking for food in the fridge only to think "of course there's no food, unless she does the grocery shopping "
That right there says it all. Not only does she work long shifts as an RN but she must maintain all the domestic sh*t too??
The club comes first is what she says repeatedly in the last 20% of the book. Which is why all 3 guys arent there in the am.

4. Her punishment was bs. Sure at the start she could have used her safe word right up until Marcos prevented her from speaking with his d*ck before drugging /knocking her out., this preventing her to saying "red" to drugging, to being dragged out to the woods, to being trusses up shibari style, naked, whipped with a switch in the cold AND being photographed - which was her hard limit. And being that she has been drugged, had to be revived with smelling salts & was very much out of it, I don't believe she was in a good enough condition to say red.

Isn't the point of the d/s was placing her trust to her doms? And as a result she ended up severely dehydrated & hyperthermic.

And it's hypocritical because Marcos has tampered with her bc behind EVERYONE'S back.

Exactly what do these 3 do all damn day anyway? We know she works her ass off & still drives a POS Honda Civic while they drive Harleys (ps Harleys aren't cheap).

So yeah I find it bs that they would make her do all these things for them as punishment AND still have to maintain the house/ food etc.

4. Now here is where it got really dumb. Her witnessing a murder and not saying crap to her men, the killer threatening to kill the MMC's etc and she doesn't tell them? The author made her FMC truly stupid just so she'd have a legit reason to leaving town. Which is dumb.
Because Dax was already making a play on the club, already tried killing them anyway. Leaving wouldn't have stopped that unless the author wants us to believe that the only reason he attacked them in the first place was to make her leave. Doesnt make sense.

5. Also FMC didnt know she was pregnant until after she left the red not & left. Yet the first few chapters into book 2, the MMC's ask the FMC if she knew about it she said yes.

6. Also eww. We did not need all that info about enemas.

** Marcos p*ssed me off the most with the bc tampering.
How he had no regard to her safety & how he kept snapping that she would be fine & how they all put club first .

[Lemon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot: 4/5 • Smut: 4/5 ————> This was a fun ride. You get three bikers and one college graduate all mixed together in a fast-paced insta-love romance escapade. You do get a third-act break up during the first act which I was not expecting. There’s a lot of BDSM aspects to this book. It does end on a cliffy. Setting you up for the next book. Literally the last line set up for my least favorite trope. (pregnancy 🫤)
Like I said, there’s a lot of BDSM to this book. There’s some scenes with the group and some solo scenes as well. Nice, smutty and bountiful.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brandishing Beginnings, by M.E. Thornwood, just took me on the WILDEST ride! 🎢 Seriously, this book is NOT for the faint of heart, but if you love a good dose of heat and danger, you are in for a TREAT!

So, Maya meets Kara at a frat party, no biggie, right? WRONG. Kara's got a scorching hot brother, Marcos, and his two equally delicious friends, Nico and Jason. Fast forward to Thanksgiving, and suddenly Maya's got a proposition from the three of them. Why choose, right?! 😉 Part One is pure, unadulterated, steamy BDSM goodness. But hold onto your hats, 'cause Part Two slams you with a dark, twisty curveball that puts everyone in serious danger! My heart was POUNDING, and that ending? A total cliffhanger that left me screaming for book two!

And let's talk about the guys: Marcos, Nico, and Jason? Obsessed. They mesh so perfectly, it's impossible to pick a favorite, but Jason definitely brings the cheeky vibes. And can we give a huge shout-out to Kara, Marcos's sister and Maya's roommate?! She's seriously the coolest. This book is smut from the gate, and watching the dynamic between Maya and her men unfold was incredible. But fair warning: the guys do make some boneheaded choices that'll have you wanting to punch them (I'm looking at you, Marcos, at that club! 😠). You'll love them, you'll hate them, you'll need to know how they make it right. If you're into scorching hot, messy, reverse harem BDSM with a side of danger and drama, grab this. Just check the trigger warnings first, 'cause this ride ain't for everyone!

[B_Star22 · Rating 2 out of 5]

My review is really for the whole series.
1. The editing in all 3 books was horrible. I can usually accept some, but it really messed with my ability to get into the book. Using the wrong names, switching from 1st person then to 3rd person in the same paragraph. Wtf? Why? It honestly made me almost DNF it. Then using the wrong words that instead of at. “And that this very moment” things like that. I get not having an editor but damn! Have a friend read it first!
2. Loved the plot (the stalking was a great plot! Hillcrest was a great villain) it was the only reason I really hung on for the whole series. But the relationship? Nope. Jason literally almost killed her out of anger. Nope. I mean, we waited until the end of the second book for her to tell the truth? It really dragged on forever. I hated the guys (besides Nico). They were not doms in my opinion. They abused and neglected her. Didn’t care for it. I really couldn’t get into Marcos or Jason. I tried. Idk. I really didn’t like the way the bdsm was incorporated. The guys seemed so uneducated about it from the start.
3. I liked some of the side characters and would have went back and read Kara’s series and would be waiting for axel and the guys but I’m too afraid all the never ending errors would be the same. Unfortunately I am out on the other series because of that. This was my first and last by this author.

[Naughty Nightie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maya makes a new friend, Kara, at a college Frat party. When they return to Kara's place, her hot brother Marcos is there. When Kara invites Maya to come back to her family's place for Thanksgiving, she agrees. She meets Marcos again, along with his two hot friends, Nico and Jason. The three have a proposition for Maya, which she accepts after all; why choose when you don't need to? The book is divided into two parts. Part one is about the developing steamy BDSM relationship between the three men and their woman, Maya. Part Two develops with a dark twist, putting everyone in danger.
I received an arc for my voluntary, honest review for NN Book Blog. If you love a hot, steamy MC BDSM reverse harem, you will love this book. If you have triggers, check the author's warnings before reading or purchasing, as this book may not be for everyone. I hope all the changes from first to third person and typos were caught in the edits. Be warned this book does end on a cliffhanger and I wonder what will happen in Book Two for everyone.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isn't the saying goes" Your college years is the time for experimenting".  Boy did Maya take that "literally". It did not hurt that she had not one, but three guys obsessed with her. While this book is about Maya and her guys, I did want to take a moment to say how much I loved Kara. She is Marcos's sister and Maya's roommate at college. She is so cool abut Maya getting involved with her brother.

Speaking of the guys...Marcos, Nico, and Jason, I really liked them a lot. Out of the three. I felt like Jason was the cheekiest. Although, I could not pick a favorite. They all mesh well together.

This book is split into two parts. The first part is mostly the relationship but towards the end, it shifts some to darker. That is where part two comes in. It stays with this darker them and leaves us with a cliffhanger. I look forward to reading book two as I need to know what happens next.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story line, loved the characters

Really great read. There are some grammar errors, and some wording that can throw you off a bit (ex: when maya is talking, it will read as if the narrator stepped in to talk for her, when she was just speaking herself). It can get a bit confusing, but I just corrected these things while reading this book. Besides that, I absolutely loved this. I can’t wait to read what happens next!!! The second book can’t come out fast enough!! This book was spicy, angsty, and all around great.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good start to the series. I really liked it and will read the rest of the series I’m sure.
There were issues with POV and the being incorrectly written in the third person but this was an arc that the author was sorting for the official release which is fine.

It wasn’t what I call unputdownable but still kept me interested until the end.

Perfect read for those who are looking for a book with these troupes

[M Ortiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow, where do I even begin? This book was smut from the gate. watching the guys
dynamic with her progress through the book was awesome to see. The ending though broke me. The guys not even seeing what they were doing or paying enough attention to Maya's needs was heart breaking. Marcos choice at the club really pissed me off. Absolute cliffhanger at the end has me desperate for the next book to see how the guys even try to make this right.

[Shaunaan Ry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Potential

This book has good potential. The biggest issue for me was the misspellings and mistakes between points of view. Im guessing the author doesn't have a propf reader or editor. If these issues were corrected, I think the book would be a solid 4 stars. I hope book 2 improves or I will have to DNF

[GKP2460 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devil's Psychos MC book 1 is Brandishing Beginnings and my first read by this author. It took me a bit to get into this story. The storyline is promising and the characters are likable enough I just couldn't fully get into it. However, I will check our book 2 just to be sure.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was excellent! Incredibly spicy and pretty dark, too. The ending was gut wrenching and I cannot wait until book 2, I need is ASAP! Any slight writing errors were easy to ignore because this book just flowed so well.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started off good then it just kinda fell flat. There were a lot of errors in this book. I actually thought this was the author’s debut novel but I saw that she had written several others. Needs an editor desperately.

[Jessica Bond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Round up to 3.5. I actually quite enjoyed it, would've been 4 stars, but the editing was SOOOOOOO bad. Did I read the next 2 books? Absolutely! Enjoyed them too. Unfortunately, the editing issue was not fixed.

[jennifer davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot and sexy. Maya and the boys are steaming and hot. It was a ride I will never forget. These men had me wanting to say yes sirs. I cannot wait for book 2 to see how this story ends.

[Kristen Kaiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

great story but so many errors

The story line was great but there were a ton of grammatical errors and switching from 1st to 3rd person.

[Anime Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you M E thornwood for the ARC

Maya met kara at a frat party. They became friends and started hanging out.

When she went w kara to drop her home for the holidays,she met her brother. Then next day, both men.



Although I was ok with the bdsm setting and mmmf theme, marcos took it way too far at the end. I liked them all till that point. Both jason and nico should've stopped him but they care more about 'finishing the scene' than making sure she's alright. Physically and mentally.

Why does marcos even hide the club from kara?
Where even is kara? Did max get to her?
And don't even get me started on them leaving for the club the next morning, leaving her alone with a single effing text saying they were at a club....? Like-??

Renegotiate and re-evaluate RED was the right thing maya did.

I'm sorry, but i hated both marcos and Jason at the end. I don't particularly liked nico too, but he was so shaken mentally, I felt bad for him. And the fact that both the men saw nico's situation and STILL didn't bother to stay back with her? I lost it.

Now, I understand that this is a first book in the series and I cannot wait to see how this goes and ends.
Iim excited for people to read this and share their views

ps.my rating is due to the boys's behaviour. Not the actual book.
I liked the book.

[Casie OConnor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frustratingly good! So many times Id say to myself, just tell them, say anything. I love when books make me feel like this, that fluttering in your stomach when things aren't going the way you think they should. I'm way into the reverse harems, this does not disappoint.