BESTSELLING DARK PARANORMAL ROMANCE WHERE SURVIVAL MEETS UNTAMED DESIRE
Two weeks until her wedding.
Two years of scars.
One primal escape.
Juliet Bettencourt flees her gilded prison—and an abusive fiancé who hungers to break more than her spirit. Disappearing into Texas' sun-scorched badlands as “Julia Harris,” she finds uneasy refuge in a town of roaring motorcycles and secrets guarded by leather-clad wolves. Among them is Liam “Bronc” Baucaum—hardened president of Iron Valor MC, ex-Special Forces beast, and alpha of a shifter pack whose molten gaze strips her lies bare…and awakens desires hotter than betrayal.
Bronc trusts no one—least of all this tiny woman with wildfire defiance and a scent of ginger-sweet deceit. But when Julia’s cunning uncovers rot within his club’s ranks, his gut tells him to trust her. Under his rough command—and rougher touch—her dormant wolf surges to life alongside her omega essence, igniting a bond neither can resist. Yet safety shatters when her vengeful ex now a self-made alpha wielding dark power…and a twisted plan to claim her body and bloodline.
Trapped.
Robbed of Bronc’s mate mark by her ex’s vicious bite, Juliet fights chains of primal compulsion—even as her heart rages for the man she loves. To save her, Bronc will break every law to bring her home… but healing demands more than vengeance. Together, they must confront a heart shattered by trauma and claw through hellfire to forge one rule of their Mates don’t surrender.
Darkly sensual and unflinchingly raw, Bronc blends forbidden chemistry, explosive shifter lore, and an age-gap romance where scars become strength. Perfect for fans of fated mates tested by moral grayness, gritty motorcycle clubs, and happily ever afters hard-won in blood.
Content Dark themes, graphic intimacy, violence (some sexual)—but triumph-centered resolution. Guaranteed HEA.I don’t believe in giving away the journey before it begins, but I do believe in honoring your peace. If you know certain topics are hard for you, I encourage you to trust your instincts and read with care. A more complete list of content warnings is listed on my website.
I’m Dex Haven, a romance author nestled in a small town in central Texas—where my dreams take flight. I write the kind of spice that’s for you. For every woman who’s spent her day juggling kids, work, house chores, or who has a never-ending to-do list. For the women who feel like their spark has been buried under "all the things." My books are your escape. Your reminder that you’re still that sexy, powerful, wild creature with so much to offer. And, trust me, your significant other definitely notices.
I’m so glad you’ve found your way to my books. I hope my stories remind you to fight for your magic and, just maybe, give you a reason to stay up way too late reading “just one more chapter.”
so the concept/premise of this sounded good to me. I like a good shifter story and I love MC reads when they don’t include the club whore/sweet butt bullshit.
In theory it should be a good book. Alas it is a good book only in theory. The writing was horrible. Sooooo overdescriptive. Ok so that’s not a word but let’s add it to the dictionary of tessa-nese (as my coworkers like to say in reference to the language that is sometimes only legitimate in my head). The descriptions aren’t even used to draw a picture of the story or build the story/backstory. They are just pointless stupid childish descriptions. For example, the main characters can’t even walk up to a door and knock on it without the author telling us about the sounds the crickets make in the grass, the sound of the breeze through said grass, the sound of the birds as they eye the grass, the different variations of color in said grass, the bead of sweat dripping down someone’s forehead, the temperature of that bead of sweat, the color the bead makes the skin in its wake…. You get the point. At 35% there was still no story just description after ridiculous description. In a single chapter there’s like a single paragraph of dialogue and the rest is descriptions of the most pointless things. I swear one whole chapter was just a description of her hair. There is literally no story thus far. None. Just dust settling into a nook and suns beating down on gravel and claw marks in wooden table and the way they swirl in the wood and black hair that should be blond like wheat and honey and silk and gold but horribly dyed a black blue purple violet with blond roots shining though like spun wheat made into silk with butterflies in the blue pastel teal light blue sky flying above green grass with light green flakes between darker green swirls…
This was a big no from me. Terrible writing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
It's an interesting enough story even if it follows trope fairly closely, but there are a couple of things that could really use work. First, the characters and storyline need development. The author drops the male lead's son in at chapter 10 with no introduction, no mention previous that Bronc had a child or an ex-wife or anything else, just poof out of the blue we have a new character. It's a fairly significant person to never have been mentioned or brought into the story other than storming into Juliet's apartment and starting to insult her for no discernible reason, at which point we're treated to a fight scene that feels like it's been wedged in on a whim with a crowbar trying to make it fit (news flash, it doesn't). To top off the king of all "what the hell just happened here" scenes, this all occurs at the same hour she learns she's a shifter, an Omega, and is eminently going to go into heat and have no choice but to be claimed by an alpha or get raped by a bunch of other guys. We learn a little bit about the male lead in the chapters previous but not much because there hadn't been much development of the male lead character. We get a lot of "mine," grunting, him ordering her do-this-do-that (yeah, odd that I don't think a woman who's been under an abusive man's thumb would find being told when to eat, sleep, how to wear her hair, etc., would be attractive), but not much background on Bronc or his MC. In fact we don't even really get an impression other than he's an alpha and he's decided she's his that's it.
Secondly, we're supposed to believe that somebody who's been so horrifically abused is just going to fall for a guy who looked into her past without permission (huge privacy and personal boundary betrayal) and could have exposed her doing it, besides basically severely limiting her choices given the way he's handled this situation? Yeah, not buying it. I don't know many people who wouldn't have been livid at that situation. Quite frankly, I would have expected her to run, I would have run at the point she woke up alone in her apartment after he revealed he knew who she was the night before.
Then there are some issues with the editing: punctuation, namely two periods at the end of a sentence at several spots. And lastly there's the huge reliance on metaphors trying to make this poetic and while some of it is kind of cool it just gets really tiresome after a couple of chapters. I'd rather the author develop the characters and the story instead of dropping important characters in willy-nilly and and relying on metaphors to capture readers' attention.
The author has an odd Staccato type writing style. It’s like watching a flicker film with missing frames. She doesn’t believe in full sentences. She abuses similes. I swear there are 4 to 6 on every page: she smells like sunshine, the shop exhaled burned rubber and betrayal, Wrecker slipped in behind him like smoke. The author doesn’t believe in bringing the reader with her thoughts. “His hand still lingered on my lower back every time he helped me, though today seemed longer than yesterday, and I still counted those seconds….His breath was so close to my lips as he fastened the seat belt…He put the truck in gear and pulled out of the drive as I smiled to myself.” When did he get into the truck? “His palm cradled my jaw. “Who hurt you, little one?” Three years of frozen screams thawed in my windpipe. Tears scalded worse than the hot candle’s wax that still slightly stung my hand. “I can’t—” The kiss shocked us both. Not gentle—a collision of desperation. His growl vibrated against my lips as I clutched his soaked shirt.” They are having a conversation and then a kiss. Nothing about his head placement, his hands, him moving in, was it her that moved in? It all just jumps around. I could hardly follow the disaster with the lab it was so disjointed. I prefer dialogue over internal monologue. The character will ask a question and instead of answering, we go through a whole page of internal monologue, but never an answer to a question. It’s implied. The main premise of the book is not resolved and left on a cliffhanger to continue to the next book which I won’t be doing.
First of all- where can I find a man like Bronc Baucaum? Ex-special forces - Alpha of the Iron Valor Shifters /MC. He is has all the attributes necessary to keep his pack safe but man he is so gentle when he needs to be. When Juliet drops into his life to take care of the books in his motorcycle shop, he couldn't have known that she'd change his life forever. She was running from a horrible situation, escaping an abusive fiance- wanting a fresh start, but she found so much more. But leaving a man who is NY royalty meant she had to be careful, and hide her true identity. But she didn't even know her true identity would be way more than she bargained for.
I loved the twists and turns and was on the edge of my seat when she made such a terrible, wrong decision for all the right reasons that almost cost her everything. My heart broke for her and Bronc and I've never hated a character in a book more than I hated Harrison Hastings, her ex-fiance. He is evil incarnate.
I really loved the dialogue and was moved to tears several times by just the beauty of the expression of Bronc's love for Juliet. I can't wait to see what happens to his VP Menace in Book 2.
Wording doesn’t flow well. Details about steps to the door and the way coffee is stirred but lack of character depth feelings/ development have a choppy feel to them.
An MC full of dominant hot shifter men with military backgrounds and a tendency to rescue damsels in distress, it's like mixing all my favorite tropes in one. Add in this story's Age-Gap and Fated Mates attributes, and it's like Christmas came early. The story itself is actually very good, unfortunately the way it's written ruined the story for me. This author's writing style reads a bit like an detached description of events. And although I do enjoy reading all of the tropes and sub-genres that this book entails, I don't think they all need to be mashed together in one story. Also it needs some minor editing. I wouldn't recommend this book.
Romance/Dark Romance/Age-Gap/MC (Biker)/Fated Mates/Military/Omegaverse/BDSM/Runaway Bride/Arranged Marriage/Obsession/Small Town
This book made me feel lost. Sometimes she explained something too long and then other times not long enough. First of all Brock was married. Had a child then was divorced where they mated with a bite or just married like human so that’s how he could just get divorce her was it explain or I missed it .Then a human made alpha can bite over a true mate bite and sever their bond wouldn’t all alpha who wanted an omega, just steal her and make her his. It just ruins the true mate bond if someone can just come in and sever it that easy and all they have to do is bite each other again and their true mates true mate again. I feel she threw too many tropes into one book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Such a promising premise. Shifter and MC seemed like such a great combo. 2 trigger warnings were missing: 1. Violent non consensual sex. 2. This book had no editing.
I know both of these can be major triggers. Protect your peace.
This book was a roller coaster ride. Juliet ran from her abusive fiance and wound up in a dusty town in Texas working as a CPA for an MC. There she met the man who fate had chosen as her mate- even though she had no knowledge of fate, shifters, or any supernatural world. Bronc the president of the MC and also the Alpha of the Iron Valor pack knew that Juliet was hiding from someone. He also knew she had wolf blood and smelled like his mate. Her ex fiance also was aware of her special DNA and as a big pharma CEO wanted to capitalize on it and make himself billions. He wanted to use her and others like her.
Juliet lied about who she was but Bronc waited her out until she couldn't lie any longer. He so lovingly drew her out and her wolf would not be denied. She made a stupid mistake that cost her more that she could have imagined. It was gut wrenching watching her and Bronc deal with going through everything. Dex Haven is a great storyteller- I felt everything so deeply.
This story does get dark but it's beautiful watching Juliet come back into the light with Bronc's help. I love the brotherhood with the other guys in the Iron Valor pack and am excited to see where Dex takes Menace.
Bronc & Juliet: triggers- sexual assault, kidnapping, theft, domestic abuse. I really liked this. not bad so far for a series I stumbled upon on Facebook. Juliet is sold to be married by her parents in order to help save the family company. only her fiance is extremely abusive. when Juliet decides to run, she takes a job with an MC in Texas as an accountant for their motorcycle shop. Bronc is not only the club president but the pack alpha and almost immediately he knows that Juliet is hiding something, that she's running and scared. his wolf knows she's his mate. but things will not go easy because her fiance is not willing to let her go... he needs her for her blood. such a good story and a great concept.
Managed to make it to 38%. Story could have been good, but the writing was all over the place. Apparently he had a son, she knew it but we didn't until he showed up. That was just the icing on the cake. The cherry on top that made me walk away was the fiance turning out to be an evil scientist trying to take over the world with shifters. That part might not be 100% accurate, I left the book when it sounded like it was going that way.
What starts as a good age-gap para-romance with gorgeous alpha, Bronc, turns into a TSTL scenario with Juliet ending up in terrible, horrible circumstances that she needs saving from, and then this story does a complete 180 degrees and there's some dark BDSM thrown in at the end, but Juliet is just fine! Huh? What? Oh, and multiple wording errors take you out of the scenes. Not cool.
I think most fans of shifter stories will enjoy this. At this point the MC element hasn't had much impact.
The author's writing style is a little distracting at times, with some OTT similes, and it feels like we're missing some backstory at this point, but the plot is now starting to pick up. in
I'm only DNFing because I can see the book heading in a direction with Harrison that I don't want to read about, but I'm certain other readers will enjoy it.
This book has a way of drawing you in and keeping you wondering what is happening next. From beginning to end the Author keeps you intrigued by the characters and the story she weaves! Loved the Author many ranges of genres involved in this book. Totally enjoyed and you will to! Looking forward to reading more from this Author.
The author is descriptive with the sceneries and uses a lot of metaphors. However, the book would benefit from more chacter development and a focus on interaction between the characters. How does Bronc talk? What are his speech patterns and mannerisms? That should be apparent.
Well lets review this book. Ok started out a good supernatural story but after the bad guy got his hands on Juliet it turned into a BDSM book if your not into that stuff pass don’t read this book. I was t looking to read that kind of book just wanted a good supernatural story. Will started good en)oh!!
Definitely skipped around. The excess descriptions of grass, oil, hair the day, etc. was too much to read with not enough character development. I love all the tropes in the book, like age gap, mc, shifter, bdsm. However, the writing just didn't do anything of them justice. I am intrigued about the next book, but idk.🤦🏽♀️
Great introduction to a new series and MC Pack ! Lives /Detested the take on the omega needing pain to find pleasure. Can’t wait to read “Sawyer’s” story next ! 4✨’s
Best shifter story I have read in quite some time. Very new takes in the story back ground and plot lines. Five stars on Kindle! Looking forward to the next book in the series!
Absolutely good reading. I was hooked all the way through the book . Juliet and Bronc went through a lot but surviving threw the fallout and still having more going on with their world makes it worth it everything.
Love Bronc and Juliet’s story, after everything they went through dealing with her violent ex, they finally got their happy ever after, as Alpha and Luna of their pack. I really enjoyed reading this story.
Quite an intense book. Shifter Bikers who are also special ops. And they love to rescue damsels. Alpha Bronc took one look at Omega Juliet and he knew she is his Luna. They went through a lot to get to a happy ever after .
I didn’t like the writing or the story. It was starting out okay but went off the deep end real quick. The unnecessarily long descriptive writing style, alpha wolf stuff, shifter life, military maneuvers, and sadistic mad scientist ex fiancé was just too much. That part was gross. 🫤
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Bits and pieces had potential but didn’t go anywhere. Other parts were not believable enough and way to many plot holes could be a great story with more parts filled out and better strength behind the characters.
Sold by her parents for a business deal, and abused by her fiance she escapes New York. She works as an accountant for a motorcycle garage, who are a pack of wolf shifters.
A great read. Author wove the threads of the story together with great detail and clarity. The story flowed through the growing relationship and all the twists and turns. I loved it.