FIVE STARS!
I've been a fan of Leslie Wilder's since her first release, Inferno. To say that she has grown as an author is a vast understatement. Leslie has blossomed, she's come into her talent and, as a fan, it's a thrill to watch. I'm an unapologetic bookworm, a lover of reading. Sometimes I find the thrill in the written word, sometimes it's in stumbling across a little known indie author, following her career and watching her talent develop. With each of Leslie's releases, I saw her promise, I saw her talent and I saw a woman working to perfect it. All of that work has lead to this point and this book. Ridiculous as it may sound, I felt pride first when I read this book. Pride for an author who so clearly put so much of herself into her work, pride for an author who has worked hard on her craft and is realizing the results of that hard work, and finally, pride for an author who, in giving so much of herself in her book, in turn gave her readers something special. As a lover of reading, it been exciting to experience this author's growth, and I'm honored that to she chose me as a beta reader to tag along on this ride.
Now, this book... It was clearly an incredibly meaningful story for the author, it's starkly evident on every page. This is, by far, the darkest character that she has written, and this series is developing into a much more raw and gritty series than her Devils Chasers MC. She did a fantastic job tempering Stitch's darkness and brutality with equal measures of his redemption, his ability to nurture, and gentleness that he showed Wren and Wyatt. Make no mistake, Stitch is hard, dangerous man - he has to be as the Enforcer of Satan's Fury MC - but the care, concern, love and tenderness he was able to give to Wren and Wyatt were things he himself wasn't sure he was capable of giving.
This is the second, full length novel - there is also a prequel novella - in the Satan's Fury MC series. While technically it could be read as a standalone, it really is best experienced after you've read the previous two works, in order, before starting this one. Satan's Fury MC is under attack from an outside force. They're scrambling to recover from their losses, contain any future damage and to mount their own assault. In the midst of all of this chaos, Stitch meets a scared little boy at a diner, one who has obviously been hurt, and that one meeting changes everything.
Stitch is drawn to Wyatt as he immediately recognizes pieces of himself and his own history in this young boy. He is unable to stop himself from stepping in to offer this child the protection that no one offered him at that age. Wyatt has Aspergers, and he doesn't easily connect with people, but he immediately connects with Stitch, and the two of them strike up a very sweet little friendship. The unexpected bonus for Stitch is that Wyatt comes complete with a stunningly gorgeous mom. Wren is desperate to extricate her son from a nightmarish, court-ordered visitation schedule with his abusive father. She narrowly escaped that marriage, and without her there to take his rage out on, her ex-husband directs it at Wyatt. Upon meeting the two of them, Stitch is nearly overwhelmed with a surge of protectiveness for the boy and his mother, and he is unable to stop himself from stepping in.
"You may be the Enforcer of your club, but you are the protector of Wyatt and me."
Stitch is exactly the kind of man that Wren should be afraid of, yet she is decidedly not. He is an enormous presence, a powerfully strong, motorcycle riding man covered in tattoos - he's a biker! He radiates power, danger and, when warranted, menace, but Wren is immediately comfortable in his presence. She instinctively knows that this man will not hurt her. A friendship is forged, and inevitably, the two of them succumb to their attraction. Stitch needs the softness and light that Wren brings to his otherwise dark, hard life. He has no other outlet in his world to be gentle, to be caring, to be loving and Wren and Wyatt fill those needs for him. Wren, for the first time, is trusting her gut instincts. She knows - she knows - that Stitch won't hurt her, that he'd protect her and Wyatt with his life, and that he loves them.
"I've never known love like this, never felt it, never even knew I wanted it. But I want it now, and nothing is going to stop me from having it."
But what happens when the danger the club is facing edges into Wren's world? Will the MC get to her in time? Does she even need to be rescued? What will the club do when they discover who is really behind these attacks?
"I should have walked away, left you alone, but I just couldn't do it. I was powerless to leave you... I had to know what it felt like to be loved by you."
There was a lot going on this book, and Leslie developed it all masterfully. This plot is exciting, and I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment. This is, of course, a romantic story, and Wren and Stitch's love story unfolded organically and naturally. I loved them together. Equal parts tender, loving and fiercely sexy, theirs was that week-in-the-knees, heart-thumping kind of love.
Intensely personal, well written and developed, this is without question Leslie Wilder's greatest work to date. The entire book has an almost cathartic feel to it, as if it was a story for this author that was a long time coming. For me, those are the best kinds of books, and Leslie Wilder delivered an amazing example of that in this book. I absolutely loved it.
* I had the honor of beta reading this book for the author. I have since purchased a copy for my digital library.