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The third book in the Reckoning series. Must read in order.
This is a dark romance. Due to sensitive subject matter, violence, and adult language18+ strongly recommended
Ellie
The reset button has just been pushed in Ellie's mind. The only person she knows is the one who is responsible for taking it away. Slowly bits and pieces of her broken mind start to come back but she keeps up the ruse of not remembering.
Vin
He needs to get her back.
He can't let her stay there and be abused by that man.
He also has something to tell her, something that will turn her word upside down.
He just needs to get her to remember him again.

Order of series:
Safe
Fight
Deception
#4 (not titled yet)
#5 (not titled yet)

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2016

262 people are currently reading
237 people want to read

About the author

Joy Blood

21 books182 followers

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5 stars
208 (44%)
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166 (35%)
3 stars
70 (15%)
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13 (2%)
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7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews132 followers
Want to read
January 30, 2019
🎁 FREE on Amazon today (1/30/2019)! 🎁

Blurb:
Ellie
First, she is swept off her feet be a man who seems to be prince charming. Prince charming disguised in sheep’s clothing. She soon finds out who he
really is deep down to his very core. Evil.

Vin
Vin has one purpose in life. Kill the man who killed his wife. He gets closer to his goal but is sidetracked when he finds Ellie. He can’t help but be drawn to her.

This is a five part series
that has been merged into one book.
Safe
Fight
Deception
Survivor
Liberate
Profile Image for Aղցela W..
4,521 reviews320 followers
April 12, 2017
This was book 4 in the "Reckoning" series. This book picks up where book 3 left off and we get a look at Vin's past. This book also has Ellie going through a lot of anger sadness and shock at some of the things that she has went through at the hands of Avil who I hate. The book also talks about the history between Avil and Vin. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling like the rest of the books in this series. I can't wait to read the next book.
Profile Image for Jamie Ellis.
1,131 reviews15 followers
April 4, 2018
On my what to say.....

For starters.....I freaking floved this box set. This was so freaking good. ****warning though book could cause triggers*** it's definitely dark.
This book had me hooked from the first page and I devoured it until 3:30 in the morning before making myself to go to bed for 2 hours sleep for work.
This book is full of angst and I couldn't put it down. Angst, hot 🔥 AF sex, for myself a flowing storyline and everything I want in a brilliantly written read. This hands down was just "dang" so good. This was my first read by this author and I have already bought the next book and can't wait to read about Jake and Kimi.
Ellie and Vincent "Vin" dang they went through you know what to be together. The atrocities and things committed against the two were just heartwrenching to read about. The love these two had was amazing. Just no words how good I thought this book was and to read. So many lives lost...the bad guy is really twisted and sick and the story unfolds with just how sick he "Avil and his father Dean is" just twisted. You get so into the story you gotta bump that corner of the kindle to turn the page. You just have to know and man was I enthralled in the story.
Warning might need Kleenex at the ready. This reader is glad to discover this author.
***warning again it's pretty dark*** but really good. If you are expecting glitter and unicorns this isn't for you. Well onto Jake's Silence can't wait to start.
Thanks Jamie Nibarger Ellis
Profile Image for Aղցela W..
4,521 reviews320 followers
April 5, 2017
This was book 2 in the "Reckoning" series. This book picks up with Ellie trying to put her life back together she wants Avil dead. Ellie has suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of Avil and with the help of Vin and the MC she learns how to fight so she can kill him. This was a short quick read that I wish was longer. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
Profile Image for JESSICA .
441 reviews
February 16, 2018
Lies. Deception. Betrayal. Violence. Kinky Sex. All My Favorite Things! But I don't even know what to say about this series. A hot "dirty" mess! My goodness. This book was insane.. and all over the place.. We have all kinds of people; ex-military, bikers, mafia. My head is spinning {Spin spin sugar} Try to make this short and sweet and try not to give away to much (this is the type of book to go in blindly)

Ellie - I couldn't stand her dumb ass. Just because she was hanging out with all these badasses (she automatically thought she was bad ass! WTF! Hell No!) She remind me so much of Carl Grimes, from Walking Dead! Everyone always telling him, "Stay In The Frickin' House, Carl!" And he wouldn't listen and always put himself in danger, yeah, that's this chick.

So we have 21 yr old Ellie, meets hot prince charming type, Avil Cantrell, ONLY to find out he no stinkin' prince charming more like prince of darkness (picture King Joffrey Baratheon) Anyhow, Avil Cantrell - is one sick. sick. sick. sadistic bastard. He was an awesome bad guy (and ladies he stayed a bastard all the way to ending) She tries to leave him... No hope! Then accidentally gets rescued from a group of ex-marines (Jake, Flint and Vin) Vin - takes a liking to her and wants to protect her. And then to be put into hiding with a group of bad ass bikers, "Hell Riders!"

Every group has one thing in common - to destroy Mr. Avil Cantrell!

The only negative I have; there is so much going on, it's hard to keep up. *Whip-lash* Some scenes are so frickin' ridiculous {had me shaking my head} Lots of errors and usually that's not a problem for me, but when I have to keep reading a page to understand (that makes it a problem) wrong names being used, etc. Every time they had sex, instead of a bed it was a bead. Just saying!
Profile Image for Aղցela W..
4,521 reviews320 followers
April 7, 2017
This was book 3 in the "Reckoning" series. After being wounded with a gun shot to the head Ellie loses her memory and awakens to find herself with a man she doesn’t remember and claims he is her husband Avil. When pieces of her memory start to come back she knows that she has to get away from him. Ellie also doesn't know that Cynthia's baby is hers. Vin knows that he needs to get his girl back and he needs a plan. This was a good read that I wish was longer each of these book leave off on a cliffhanger. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
Profile Image for Melanie (mells_view).
1,929 reviews395 followers
October 12, 2016
Wild ride!

This story is pretty dark and action packed so far. It feels like each part has added a little bit of a different romance trope, the first being the abusive relationship, then this one having the motorcycle MC.

Super quick and to the point, another cliffhanger!

All I can see is that I love Tuck. Sorry Vin lol
Profile Image for Danny Lea.
758 reviews12 followers
August 2, 2024
Big spoilers, and rant. Do not continue if you do not want to know details

3.5 stars for the whole series. It was OTT and highly unrealistic, but it was entertaining. But once again an author is making MC, military men, and the mob incompetent. Isn't going to happen in the real world. Or the fact the FMC saves the day, by getting almost everyone killed I might add. Any injuries of future characters in the next series starting with Jake's Silence is Ellie's fault. She listened to no one and was TDTL and these male characters were ok with it. It made me hate her. She got a character I liked killed. It wasn't Avil's doing. It was hers. If only she listened and actually let them do their job. Don't see how Vin could stay with her after all the BS I would have just left her there to be honest. Sorry had to get my hate for this worthless character out.

The premise of the book is about two men's revenge plots against each other over a dead woman. That woman being Vin's dead wife, and Avil's stepsister. One is in love, Vin, and one is obsessed, Avil. Avil is a mob boss's son, and Vin a foot soldier for said mob boss. Avil is one evil dude, and the author did not shy away from details of his doings.

Avil sees our FMC Ellie dancing at one of his clubs and becomes infatuated with her. Why? Because she looks like his dead stepsister who he was obsessed with. He proceeds to make TDTL Ellie fall for him, which she does, but of course after a month he becomes the monster he really is. I'm going to skip a lot of specifics because I'm covering 5 books. She flees. He finds her. Imprisons her. Luckily Vin shows up to Avil's house to kill him which of course Avil isn't there and accidentally finds Ellie heavily pregnant with Avil's baby. He's obsessed with impregnating her the entire book. Vin saves her. Starts falling for her which I wasn't convinced of at first because Ellie looks and reminds him of his dead wife. Anyways, throughout the series it's Ellie doing stupid thing's getting herself captured and recaptured by Avil, and getting a lot of good people killed just to get her son back from Avil. which everyone was working on only TDTL Ellie was too impatient to let the professionals do their jobs. I liked her at first, but the author continued to make her dumb. And I'm sorry she wasn't badass no matter how hard the author tried to make her. The author describes her as petite and she's taking on over 6' biker's in hand to hand fighting. I'm a martial arts and self defense instructor and it just became laughable. I tried hard though. I really did, but the fight scenes with her were unrealistic, but hey this is fiction and I try to turn that side of my brain off when I'm reading fiction, but it's hard.

Now the ending... the author accidentally made me hate Ellie even more. Oh man 🤦. What Ellie did was stupid and low and behold she got everyone shot. Big shocker. Poor Jake, which is the next book after this can't even use his voice anymore because of where he got shot. Also, the author has me confusing everyone's age. Ellie can only be 21 or 22 but she's making her out to be 30 something. Have no idea how old Vin and Avil are, but I was guessing mid 30s? I have no idea and that bothered me. I need those details. There's a character introduced named Kimi that will be Jake's love interest who's 17 while Jake is 5 yrs older which puts him at 22. Around the same age as Ellie yet she wants the new character introduced calling her mom. It should have been more like sister. I'm not sure why the author went in that direction 🤷.

I know I'm cracking on this series, but overall it was entertaining and had me turning the pages, but also frustrating because of Ellie, and only Ellie really. A few plot holes that weren't covered or just faded to black. A lot of errors in the writing, but I didn't let that bother me too much. These books had high potential to be honest, but Ellie's character ruined everything. There were many times I wasn't convinced of Ellie's love for Vin and vice versa. Especially during a scene where she's enjoying getting raped by Avil. No I mean it. He "tortures" her by not letting her cum untill she begs him to f*** her. This woman will let anyone in seemed like. To beg for it was just taking it to far for me. The author had Ellie thinking everyone was hot and good looking, so I wasn't convinced of her big love for Vin. Though I was for his love for her by the end of the book.

Ok, I think that about covers it. I don't regret reading this, and I will continue to the next series with Jake's story, but if future FMC's are all of a sudden badass and saving their significant others I'm going to pass. Might as well hand over your MC club to the women who are going to get you killed in the process 🙈.

Trigger warnings: explicit rape scenes, and torture scenes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Cristina.
2 reviews
January 14, 2018
Ellie

Damn it was an amazing story. Everything that happens to poor Elli and to final be able to kill Avail
Profile Image for Djg.
2,044 reviews31 followers
Read
January 26, 2018
Awful. Don't read if you don't want spoilers to the series.

I feel cheated because I became in vested in the characters and cared about them. The H was perfect, I started out liking the h but she ruined it all.

She has sex with other people, presumably not her choice but she gets off on it. It made me sick, she repeated acts TSTL and gets other people killed. She is totally unworthy of an HEA.
Profile Image for Djg.
2,044 reviews31 followers
Read
January 26, 2018
****Having read the entire series I can say this is the most God-awful unworthy heroine ever written. I do not recommend. I'm still leaving my original review below but I can tell you it did not live up to the promise.

The author does advise there are a lot of typos and errors in grammar, they are noticeable but I don't hold tha against the story.

The story is intriguing and there are troubling things that happen to the h, she is abused, held captive and forced to have sex with the man she thought she loved (until he showed his true colorsJ) so definitely triggers but I'm also interested.

The romance is only hinted at because of the danger and I'm hoping for good things to come. The author warned about the darkness and it is dark.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
198 reviews4 followers
February 7, 2017
This is my first book by Joy Blood. It was absolutely fantastic! I was captivated by the setting, story and characters. I truly could not put this book down. Ellie is a young 20 year old woman. She was fascinated by the older man, Avil, who an immediate and extreme liking to her. She fell under his spell and didn’t realize until too late it was all a lie. I really fell in love with the second part of this book. Ellie shows so much spunk and determination. She shows how strong she really is in spite of all the absolute horrors she has been through. The cover of this book is what drew me to it. The author was kind enough to send a copy so I could read this and experience this dark and amazing world she has created. I was so in love with this book I have already bought the rest. I am so excited to see where this story goes!
Profile Image for Aղցela W..
4,521 reviews320 followers
March 4, 2017
This was a short quick read that I liked. Ellie is being held captive by the father of her baby. Until one night she is taken by the one person who hates him more than she does. Ellie was 20 years old when she meets and older man Avil. He is the devil in sheep clothing. . She fell under his spell and didn’t realize until too late it was all a lie. I liked Ellie she had a lot of spunk and a strong will. This was my first time reading this author. This book had a few errors in it and left off on a cliffhanger, but overall I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
Profile Image for Valerie.
87 reviews1 follower
November 12, 2017
Good...not Great

I did like this series but there were so many errors and inconsistencies it was hard to get through. The story itself could have been great but it just fell a little short. Don't get me wrong I did like it I just wish it was more realistic. I hope this author keeps at it.
Profile Image for April.
1,200 reviews26 followers
September 17, 2019
Proof reading would’ve been a plus for this one, it was slightly annoying. Not major, but noticeable. I’m captivated, I’m curious as to what’s goin to happen so that’s a plus. Character development is a little lacking, which is preventing you for fulling appreciating the characters. However the potential is there, so hopefully it will develop as the series continues.
Profile Image for Romaine Heart.
2,337 reviews30 followers
December 3, 2017
Safe, Book 1
Ellie falls in love with Avil, who is worse than the devil himself in sheep's clothing.  Avil holds Ellie captive with Vaughn while he  left on a business trip. Anvil's enemy, Vin and his comrades storm the warehouse searching for Anvil but they come across a pregnant Ellie who is due within a couple of weeks.
Ellie is a strong and determined woman no matter what horrors she endured in the hands of Anvil and Vaughn.
Safe:Reckoning #1 is a dark story. The author wrote an incredible story that will keep you intrigued craving more. I would recommend this series.

Fight, Book 2
Ellie survived the car crash but has lost everything that meant anything to her. She becomes a guest of the Hell's Riders MC, who teaches her to fight and how to use a gun.
When a ghost of her past reappears, she is happy but also upset.
Then darkness steps in again when a trap is set and she finds herself back in the hands of Anvil. Who betrays her and Fuzz?
Fight definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat in this well written dark story. I would recommend this series!!

Deception, Book 3
After a gun shot wound to the head, Ellie loses her memory. She is returned to Avil. He introduces Ellie as his wife and Cynthia as his sister-in-law and Cynthia's baby William. She begins to have flashbacks as the pieces of the puzzle of her life are connecting as she regains her memory. 
After being rescued by Fuzz and the Hell's Riders, she finds out about the truth concerning William. Will Advil take her back or will she died this time in his clutches?
So many twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. I would recommend this series!!

Survival, Book 4
When Ellie returns to Anvil, much to her surprise he is on his honeymoon with Cynthia. Anvil's father, Dean keeps Ellie in a cell and tortues her daily. She is determined to stay strong and alive for William's sake.
When Vin asks the Hell's Riders MC for their help to rescue her, they refuse. Will Vin go alone or does the MC change their mind?
So much suspense and drama. An amazing story by the author. Rushing to read the last book!! I love this series!! I would definitely recommend this series!!

Liberate, Book 5
Liberate is the conclusion of The Reckoning Series. Everything seems to be going well for Ellie and Fuzz then BAM! Evil is once again lurking at their doorstep.
Avil is alive with a new venue. He has recruited the Chicago Chaper of MC's and they are on a destructive path. Several members have betrayed their brothers. Wiping out the Hell's Riders MC's and their women. Holding Rock and Fuzz captive and torturing them in order to regain a flash drive of Avil's father.
Which woman of the MC's betrays her man and makes a deal with the devil?
This entire series, The Reckoning, will keep you so intrigued and guessing with so many twists and turns you never thought imaginable. The author has written an incredible series that I would definitely recommend!! A must read!!
Can't wait to read  Jake's Silence:Hell's Riders MC, Book 1. I know there must be  books about Gin, Sage and Rico in this new series.

Reckoning Series
Safe, Book 1
Fight, Book 2
Deception, Book 3
Survival, Book 4
Liberate, Book 5
Profile Image for K.
251 reviews23 followers
May 31, 2017
Instead of truly writing out reviews for all 5 books, I am going to give a summation here. First, there were typos, lots and lots of typos, so if that bugs you, this is not the series for you. Second, there was a LOT of violence, rape and death, so if that bugs you, again this is not the series for you. What this book did, was completely immerse me in Vin and Ellie's world and I was so totally emotionally involved in this series. This series broke me down and put me back together over and over again. This was amazingly good and I only put it at 4 stars for two reasons, typos and the simple fact that I will not re-read this series -- I won't forget this story but it totally messed with my emotions.
Profile Image for K Lee.
851 reviews19 followers
August 21, 2017
Kept my interest

I enjoyed the storyline and it definitely kept me interested.
The poor editing, and large number of spelling and other errors were quite distracting, which is why I went with 4 stars.
There is a lot of graphic sexual assault depicted in this story. A lot. I read a lot of dark romances but this one definitely had the most number of graphic assaults I've read in one story. Anyone who might have a hard time with that should definitely avoid.
Profile Image for Lisa Inman.
120 reviews
April 9, 2018
I feel I need to explain my two star rating for this book/series. I really liked the story line and was sucked in all the way through until the end. I cannot, without giving away spoilers, tell my exact reasons of what bothered me but I will say that what Ellie goes through time and time again was just too much for me. The things that happen with her, Avil and Vin just didn't sit well with me. It is my own personal opinion and nothing to do with the story. With that being said, I could not give it a better rating with how these things made me feel. I did enjoy the story and have already started on Jake's Silence.
Profile Image for Robin.
1,176 reviews14 followers
April 21, 2020
This book series was interesting and action pack until it reached a tipping point and fell into the realm of completely not believable. I don't want to give anything away but I will say, when the heroine voluntarily walks back into a certain situation, I would have just left her there. Plus, the amount of insane decisions made from multiple people just made these books unrealistic.
Profile Image for domestic_godess_reads.
741 reviews26 followers
July 26, 2024
good but

Really needs an editor. The story is there, but Somethings Are just glossed over and We are told the story instead of showing it. Sometimes there are so many unNecessary details that it distracts from the story. A good editor could fix all that and make this a fantastic story Because the bones are there
Profile Image for Brandi Stone.
72 reviews
February 9, 2019
Awesome read

I was a little hesitant about reading this book, but I'm glad I did. It had it all. It was packed with action, sex, love, and thrill what more could u ask for. I will definitely read more by Joy Blood, and I am now following her.
1,305 reviews121 followers
April 13, 2017
Wow....

Really impressed .Well crafted thrills,suspense,twists and turns ,steamy sex scenes,romance and hot,alpha possessive bikers. This one has it all with none of the misgivings I had about book one. Great job,Joy! Off to read book 3!
1,526 reviews14 followers
February 3, 2018
Awesome,amazing book

This story/book was incredible,outstanding,exciting and just plain fantastic!!!😄😊. It was so moving,heartfelt,and just over the top!!! It will piss you off,it will make you question things,but the most important thing it will make you feel like you can overcome trauma and anything else that is thrown at you!!
Profile Image for Lauren.
6,131 reviews57 followers
October 8, 2016
My first thoughts after finishing this book? ‘’ I NEED book two now!’’ and luckily for me it was released yesterday and I have just one clicked! Joy Blood is a new author to me, this is the first book of hers that I have read and I cannot wait to read more! I am spending my Saturday night reading book two. Which no doubt will leave me itching for another book.
From page one I was instantly gripped and I couldn’t put this book down. All of the characters are strong and on point, I found no faults in the storyline and I quickly felt emotional at what Ellie was being put through. My one warning: get ready for a cliffhanger, get book two ready to read straight after. One last thing that I will add: I like Vin so far but I love the friendship Ellie formed with Jake and Finn.

Ellie is being held captive by the man she thought she loved and was preparing a future with. Heavily pregnant and being held in a small cell like room, Ellie doubts she will ever escape. That is until a heavily scarred handsome man bust down the confines of her prison. Taking her away and hoping to keep her and her unborn son safe. But trouble has a way of finding its victim and it isn’t long before Ellie once again faces danger.

Profile Image for Bridget.
89 reviews1 follower
July 31, 2018
Enjoyed the books, but they needed serious editing.

The story was good, but seemed to drag on about ellie. She was put into almost the same abusive situation over and over again. If you have triggers this book is not for you. Seriously. I really liked Jake, Gin, Rock, And Fuzz. This story had so many ups and downs and spirals. My feeling were everywhere. You'll feel from happy to angry over and over again. To the author Joy Blood, your books could have 5 stars if they're read over and edited correctly. I like your books and will continue to read them as they come out.
Profile Image for Djg.
2,044 reviews31 followers
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January 26, 2018
3rd book. I'm no going to mince words don't read if you don't want spoilers.
We were warned it was dark, I can deal with that but this h is degraded. It's painful but it feels like she just goes along with it and it really bothered me. Then she just does tstl behavior just to advance the cliffy plot.
If you don't like stories where the characters are with others (even it there is supposedly a "reason" this story is not for you.
I'm going to finish because I got it as a bundle of the entire series, not feeling too good about it at this point.
Profile Image for Djg.
2,044 reviews31 followers
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January 26, 2018
Fight picks up where the first book ended. Ellie is in the hospital, the guys are presumably dead and so is her baby. She is rescued from the hospital by the biker club headed up by Gin. Fuzz, a member befriends her and is romantically interested in her. There is some kissing but no more until someone (you can guess who) reappears from the past.

Wish there had been more conversations and Ellie has some boneheaded moments leading up to the cliffhanging finale but what can I say? I'm hooked.
Profile Image for Djg.
2,044 reviews31 followers
Read
January 26, 2018
I do feel conflicted, I am invested in certain characters in this story but I need more in terms of conversations between the characters and I feel like the H feelings are stronger and truer than the h's. I get what she's gone through but she is lacking as an h in my eyes.

I'm going to power through.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews

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