I loved HOOKED, Book 1 in the Viking Bastards MC series, and was seriously anticipating book two. So when I had a chance to read an ARC of PAYBACK I was all over it! And I was not disappointed. At all. I finished it in a day and a half--and not because it was short. Nope. Once I started, it was difficult to put it down. Gage and Amelia were HOT! Lawd, were they hot. But that's not all there is to this erotic contemporary romance. The plot was great, the romance was wonderful, and the secondary characters have me clamoring for book three already. I loved Payback. Everything about it.
Amelia Davis starts working at Odin's, the bar owned by Viking Bastards MC brother, Gage Reynolds, also brother to Zach from Hooked. Her real purpose, though, is discovering if Gage and the VB are involved in illegal activities so she can turn this info over to an informant. This informant is an ex-member of the MC her father belonged to before he died at the hands of none other than Gage's father. Amelia wants the payback and justice her father never received. From the moment they met, Gage and Amelia had instant, off-the-charts chemistry between them. Gage, a known, serial hit-it-and-quit-it, finds himself taken by the new bartender and it isn't long before he's ditching his no screwing the employees rule. His attraction to her is unprecedented for him, and he can't figure out if he likes it or not. It's funny and fun reading his internal war as he explains and justifies his reactions to and actions with Amelia. Including taking her on a date. :-) Meanwhile, Amelia is conflicted. She finds herself lusting after the son of the man who killed her father--a man she she's supposed to turn into the authorities. But the info she's received on Gage doesn't really match up with the man, so she decides to abandon her idea of being a mole and quits. But Gage eventually convinces her to return to the bar, but her one condition is he keeps his hands--and his lips--to himself. What follows is a fun, sexy and emotional story of sexy times, heartbreaking confessions and two people lowering their guards to allow love in.
Because this is an erotic romance, of course there is sex. And it's hot. And it's dirty. And it's so deliciously done. :-D But also, in between the hot times, there're these moments of sweetness and sentimentality that really had me going "Oh." Also, the truth of how their pasts are connected isn't so cut and dried. This twist was really good and unexpected. Also, watching Gage fall for Amelia was one of the best things about this book--just one. 'Cause there were several. The secondary characters were so awesome I had to message the author to find out whose book was next. LOL! I guess I'll keep that secret until she's ready to tell it, but yaaay! I'm definitely a huge fan of the Viking Bastards MC series. I HIGHLY recommend Payback!