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The Sacred Hearts MC #13

A Brother At My Back

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The only way the system was reliable when it came to Tiffany Dempsey was in failing her. Once again, it’d done just that, but this time, she wasn’t about to accept that nothing could be done. This time, she went to a source outside the law for help. She’s gone to the Sacred Hearts MC, a club whose reputation for bloodshed and violence precedes them. It’s a gamble she’s willing to take; desperate times call for desperate measures and she’s never been more desperate than she is right now.

Zeb joined the Sacred Hearts by way of a second chance when he thought he had none. He’s determined to do right by his club and himself by changing his ways. So, when Dragon, his president, asks him for help, he doesn’t hesitate. He’s more than happy to give the pretty little stripper with the scarred up face a second chance of her own. The way he sees it, a survivor like her has more than earned it.

Neither Tiff nor Zeb expected that this protective detail would be anything other than a strictly business-like arrangement, but the two find quickly that they complement each other in just about every way. Maybe, just maybe, it’s what Dragon had planned. After all, the president of the SHMC is sort of crafty like that.

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 14, 2018

99 people are currently reading
102 people want to read

About the author

A.J. Downey

93 books1,137 followers
A.J. Downey is a Pacific Northwest girl living in an East Tennessee world who finds inspiration from her surroundings, through the people she meets, and likely as a byproduct of way too much caffeine. She specializes in real and relatable romance stories featuring that real-life kind of love that everyone craves.

You can find her on Facebook at facebook.com/authorajdowney

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5 stars
230 (50%)
4 stars
147 (32%)
3 stars
62 (13%)
2 stars
11 (2%)
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2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
Profile Image for Darcy.
14.4k reviews543 followers
November 27, 2018
This is a tough one for me. I liked parts of it, but really had a hard time with the couple, didn't feel the connection. The other part that didn't work for me was Nik/Zeb. He has been in the background, but came off as very one dimensional to me. I did really like how Nik/Zeb was supportive of Tiff, let her do her job, even the "extra"part if she wanted. At every turn Nik/Zeb was there for Tiff, which was what she needed. I also really liked how all the guys and girls of the club welcomed Tiff and helped where they could. I didn't begrudge Tiff's actions at the end, in fact was cheering her on, it needed to be done.
Profile Image for Deb B.
1,852 reviews16 followers
February 14, 2018
never a question i would love it. the stories of the Sacred Hearts & the Kraken MCs number among some of my very favourite books. AJ Downey is a brilliant author who constructs real world situations that are believable, devastating and emotive with really beautiful romances holding the stories together. can read these books over and over again and this one is no different. i especially loved the little cameo of Dragon & Tilly at the start of the story.
Profile Image for Megan Fall.
Author 13 books366 followers
May 7, 2018
Love it, but the ending, slight cliffhanger! Now I need more!!
Profile Image for Kim  Brewing.
3,621 reviews37 followers
March 25, 2018
3.5 stars

I have enjoyed this series, but not this book as much. I know most couples have pasts, but I don't like reading out it. This makes it harder for me to accept the couple. I never really connected with Tiff at all. I will read more as like I said I like the series, just not this couple.
Profile Image for Teresa Lara.
3,483 reviews53 followers
February 15, 2018
I love this series♡It's gets better with everybook.Nik and Tiff amazing broken beautiful story was amazing.I can't wait to read more of the two.
Profile Image for Trisha.
192 reviews12 followers
April 27, 2018
I was so excited that Zeb was getting a book.......then I read it. I was more excited about this book before I read it than I was after. Zeb was a alpha male in the previous books but was down graded to kind of badass in his own book. Zeb uses a lot of Kiwi words (most meanings are not given when used) and we are not shown the glossary until the end of the book. Its confusing and it didn't have to be. Zeb explains to Tiffany what the tattoos on his face mean but not to the reader. We are never told what his tattoos mean or what happened in his home country to make him leave. I hate when authors do this. The plot is incredibly weak and predictable. I can be ok with her stripping but didn't have to add prostitute to that. I don't care that she was picky about her clients. I think her reasoning for turning tricks was just stupid. I hate what happened to her friend but a blind man could have seen that coming. I think this book would have been better if it was just about Zeb, Tiffany and their connection.
Profile Image for Shaly.
1,198 reviews
November 21, 2018
Not bad..

Much better than book 5. This definitely had a lot more going on, though some parts dragged and this author has a penchant for being extremely repetitive, this was still an enjoyable and sad read.

Tiffany was pretty cool. At first she seems a bit standoffish but I guess that’s due to her violent past and choice of careers, which by the way shouldn’t be a negative thing. You do what you need to survive, just because it’s not your standard nine to five doesn’t mean you aren’t human. Judging people because of something as simple as dancing, is despicably wrong. Even her extra activities should not be a reason to condone what some psycho did to her.

Nik/Zeb was okay. Very low key..not much more to say about him.

I didn’t like how the book ended, sort of up in the air with Nik’s family, but at least Tiffany and his romantic story was finished..
Profile Image for Belinda Donaldson.
135 reviews6 followers
February 14, 2018
Tiffany has lived a extremely hard life, but she doesnt let that stop her.

Zeb is a brother with a very shady past.

When Tiffanys violent ex is released from prison early she turns to the one man who has showed her kindness, Dragon, Sacred Hearts president.

He assigns Zeb on protection detail.

Can do damaged souls find a way to heal and be together or are they doomed to be broken for the rest of their lives.

AJ has done an amazing work with this book and I cant wait for the next one
23 reviews
July 7, 2018
Doesn't Disappoint!

I have read all the Sacred Hearts and Sacred Brotherhood books and this one is just as wonderful as the rest! My only complaint is that our heroine, has brown eyes that remind Dragon of his dead wife, during the whole story except in chapter two of the prologue she has "sad blue eyes." A mistake that really bothers me. Other than that it has everything, action, drama, emotional scenes that drew me in and kept me reading right to the very end. Maybe A. J. Downey will fix the mistake at least in the e readers stories.
4 reviews7 followers
April 3, 2018
Another hit from A.J. Downey

Strong characters are what I feel this author does best. They are in no short supply in this novel. I love strong women who want to take care of themselves. I think I fell in love with the characters before they could even start to fall in love with each other. If you're looking for the super hot sizzle scenes you're not going to be disappointed. Well.. unless you're disappointed he's not your boyfriend. All in all this was a fantastic read.
Profile Image for Carrie Avery Moriarty.
Author 27 books2 followers
May 22, 2018
Another great work by this author. I love how she draws you into her world with her words. She has built a deep and intricate world, and her characters are fully formed. Sometimes life will hand you something that you don't think you can handle, and you find yourself in a position where you need to ask for help. This story is about that, and so much more. It's about redemption, trust, and knowing where to turn when you need assistance. Another of her books I couldn't put down.
Profile Image for Debbie Earley.
2,928 reviews18 followers
April 3, 2018
Dragon sure knew what he was doing when he had Zeb look after Tiff. After all that Tiff has been through I'm so glad she was able to take down the man tried to ruin her life. Zeb was able to make her feel loved and these two are perfect for each other. I'm curious to read Zeb's story. Love this series and can't wait to see what's next for these amazing men and women.
Profile Image for Vickie L.
Author 1 book2 followers
February 14, 2018
Zeb is such a hot,sexy and sweet man! I didn't like Tiff and Dragon at the beginning but I really love Tiff with Zeb! This book deserves more than 5 stars! I was pulled into the storyline from page 1. This series gets better with every book!!! I love the writing brilliance of A.J. so much! You definitely will want to read this book!
Profile Image for Angel_Angiej.
772 reviews
March 21, 2018
Loved Nik and Tiff in this book. It's not a hardcore action storyline (this time) but it highlights the sweet side of Nik. Ofcourse there are the side characters that we read about in the previous books. And a little bit of action but nothing to overwhelming.

Loved to hear more about Dragon, hopefully he'll get his hea because he deserves it.
65 reviews
September 17, 2020
Loved loved loved this book

Zek & Tiff’s story is a hard one, she hides her scars behind her hair, he tells her she is beautiful because of her scars. She’s a survivor. We all hide scars wether they are on the skin or on the inside. I like how this story shows us how they work through trauma.
Profile Image for Pet.
3,780 reviews8 followers
July 12, 2021
I love MC books for one undeniable reason, freedom. The freedom of enjoying a book where the taboo‘s are few. Where Riddick type bad guys are shown as who they really are, killers, yes but also men of honour, an old west type of honour where the saloon girls are accepted as women doing what they must to survive. Love that Zeb got that and still loved his Tiffany whole heartedly.
Profile Image for Becky Miller.
272 reviews
April 7, 2022
Good book

I really like Zeb. He is a shy laid back guy. He's really good to and for Tiff. This was way better than Datas book. I liked how Zeb talked with his Kiwi phrases and words. I just wished it ended different. It was like a cloud hanger. What happened when they went back to his New Zealand and did they come back. Looking forward to Dragon' s book.
Profile Image for Caitlynd.
23 reviews1 follower
May 13, 2025
I really enjoyed this one, was a much improvement from book #5. I really enjoyed the small Dragon story at the beginning of this book. This series has been so much fun to read and I’m getting kind of sad I’m almost complete with it. Also the cliff hanger at the end of the book has me worried if that story is ever told, guess I will find out!
Profile Image for R.S. James .
110 reviews
April 11, 2018
Ver good book

Very good book. I have not read the other books and didn’t feel I needed to. I was a little confused on some of the slang, once I noticed the glossary I was ok. Very good book would recommend it to everyone!
Profile Image for Janet Gambino.
466 reviews3 followers
May 24, 2019
Zeb and Tiffany

Tiffany was in trouble and when the law couldn't make her feel safe, she took another route
She asked the Sacred Hearts MC for help.
Zeb was the one asked to help the stripper.
Loved their story i think this was my favorite book in the series
Profile Image for Jangler.
1,006 reviews7 followers
July 28, 2019
Ok

Personally I just couldn't get into the characters because they didn't seem to have a lot of depth. The storyline was ok-ish but there was more sex than story. Obviously, this is just a personal opinion and other people would probably enjoy it.
Profile Image for Fabiola Cadet.
2,066 reviews7 followers
November 4, 2020
Pretty good, this one gave me a little bit of insight into Dragon the Prez but it took me to the actual story of the main characters. Two individuals doing whatever it takes to survive in their mess up world, this is a really sad and emotional book, but you will love it.
79 reviews
February 14, 2018
Amazing!

I have loved this series, and this book was amazing! I love all the guys and the writing drew me in from the word go.
Profile Image for Joanna.
146 reviews
February 15, 2018
I really like this whole series and how the characters keep appearing and they keep building. I didn't connect with Zeb and Tiff as much as some of the others but still a great read.
Profile Image for Amber Parke-Fultz.
223 reviews1 follower
February 28, 2018
Loved it!

I really hope that we get another book about Zeb! Be is awesome, was sad to see the book end.
Profile Image for Vikki Purcell.
537 reviews5 followers
March 26, 2018
This book was outstanding. I simply couldn’t put it down. This author has a new fan and I can’t wait to read their next book
1,945 reviews3 followers
January 12, 2019
Excellent

An excellent addition to this series. This book starts out good and just gets better. Good characters and romance plus suspense.
Profile Image for Hendrix Fan 4ever.
2,570 reviews7 followers
December 13, 2021
LOVED IT!

This series is so good I'm running through it like it's chocolate! Can't wait to get to the next book in the series😍
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews

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