Smokey

Hell’s Bastards MC #2

by Sam Crescent

Just out of a bad marriage, Ava isn’t looking for love. She’s ready to live her own life in a new town, opening a bakery. She never expected to cross paths with Smokey, the dangerous president of the Hell’s Bastards MC.

Smokey wants the curvy blonde sitting alone at the bar, and he always gets what he wants. From the start, he explains it’s just sex, nothing else. Ava doesn’t expect more and promises herself she won’t fall in love with the bad biker, but Smokey gets under her skin. He can’t let her go, and now he thinks she works for his enemy. The pain of his punishment will stay with her forever.

When the truth comes out, Smokey knows he’s hurt the only woman he’s ever cared about. After he loses her, he has no choice but to win her back. Ava won’t give in, though. He hurt her, shattered her trust, and destroyed her heart.

How can he win what he broke?

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance, Second Chance, Dark, Contemporary, Abuse, Contemporary Romance

317 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2021

About the author

Sam Crescent is passionate about fiction. She loves a good erotic romance and so it only made sense for her to spread her wings and start writing. She began writing in 2009 and finally got that first acceptance in 2011 by Total-E-Bound.
She loved creating new characters and delving into the worlds that she creates. When she’s not panicking about a story or arguing with a character, she can be found in her kitchen creating all kinds of havoc. Like her stories the creations in the kitchen can be just as dubious but sometimes things turn out great.

Reviews

[Pinky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings: Dub-con and non-con (FMC doesn’t really consent at the beginning and the MMC would touch her. She would end up liking it but MMC did not get consent and would force her into situations), death of parents, slut-shaming, women objectification, body-shaming, violence (graphic against FMC by MMC), verbal abuse, gangs, guns, stabbing, murder

Every women he’d come across either gave him a withering stare or thrust their tits in his face

Ah the classic arrogant asshole that thinks that every girl is either scared of him or out to get him. The number of times Smokey mentioned how much women wanted him was just mind-boggling. Women were objectified left and right and I guess it’s how motorcycle romances are? This was my first one so I’m new to this. Well, everything about it sucked. Honestly thank you Tee and Apoorva for listening to my long rants.

Several cars had already disappeared from the parking lot. The club’s presence had a tendency to do that. They had the power to send people running. Load of pussies.
Damn I’m scared bruh


He didn’t want to fuck a prude, and no matter how badly he wanted to fuck her, there would be limits to what he was willing to do to get her in his bed.
Nobody wants to fuck you either Smokey Pokey

Most chicks wanted to be on the back of his bike
If a person has to constantly mention how attractive they are and how many people want them, they don’t seem attractive at all to me. Smokey Pokey nobody wants to ride your bike

And what typa name is Smokey bro? This was my first motorcycle romance, I’ve read Luna and the Lie but that doesn’t really count. The names of the people in this motorcycle club are just stupid. We got Ugly Beast, Kinky, Big Dick, Brick, and many more. They sound like R-Rated smurf names. I mean Demon is pretty cool and I like the name Hunter but what the hell are the other names. Wouldn’t you want something crazy like Manic? And Ugly’s Beast’s nickname is Ugly, like how’s that badass in any way? Ok, anyway, I decided to check this out because people recommended it for having a satisfying grovel. And do I agree? Yes, I loved the grovel in this, and it was more than half of this book. Was what Smokey did okay? Hell no, realistically, I would never be able to forgive the guy for what he did, but I adored the grovel. This kinda reminds me of my experience with Lady Gallant, I hated the book and hero but loved the grovel even though I would never forgive the guy if he did that to me irl. Do you need to read the first book to read this? I personally haven’t read the first book and kinda wish I had because Ugly Beast and his wife Abriana play a role in this, there are so many references to the previous book that aren’t explained here. You’re kinda thrown into the MC universe without knowing much background. But if you do wanna skip the first book, you can, because I did and it was still a pretty entertaining read. The first half was horrible, these books are just fulla slut-shaming and cringey dialogue. The kisses are constantly described as “he slammed his mouth on hers”, which got old real quick. Ava has a realistic body, but she’s constantly fat-shamed by others. I wasn’t a fan of the writing style but it was definitely entertaining enough for me to keep reading until the end.


Ava recently got outta a 10-year marriage and is now divorced, she moved to a new town to have a fresh start and was drinking at a bar. Smokey pokey shows up, he sees Ava and immediately wants to fuck her, so he goes over and flirts. Ava is done with men but is good with starting a friends with benefits relationship with Smokey pokey, but he doesn’t do relationships, damn that’s new. So yea, this book starts off with insta-lust and moves forward from there.


Onto my spoilery rant


So we start off with Ava in the bar and Smokey sees her, he instantly wants to fuck her. They get to know each other and because Ava didn’t pounce on Smokey’s dick, he’s like damn she’s not like other girls, they normally all want me. The fact that he says girls would go up to him and thrust their boobs in his face was so stupid. You hear his inner monologue and he’s so arrogant, not in a charming way, and it was just so hard to get through. I was just waiting for him to fuck up and see the grovel. Luckily I didn’t have to wait too long for that.


Smokey walks Ava home and Ava literally says she isn’t having sex with him, and she’s so drunk. Smokey is like can’t I just do something nice for you and walk you home? But two seconds later he’s like I wanna fuck you. I’m like um ok. And he is like he knows that she was in a bad marriage and how her ex did a number on her, he repeats this all the time. Ava doesn’t feel confident because her ex was with her for the money, I don’t know how she stuck around for 10 years but whatever, she walked in on him cheating so they divorced. I was proud of her for starting her bakery but she kept saying she hated men and she was done with men but she didn’t even hesitate to get with Smokey.


Smokey makes out with Ava after she repeatedly turns him down and she’s drunk. Then he continues to harass her by showing up to her bakery and shit and asking her to meet him at places. She says she isn’t a party person and he takes her to the motorcycle club where girls are naked and having sex. All the girls are called whores or sluts and constantly treated like shit. The girls have no personality and would throw themselves at Smokey and he would push them away, I hated every second of it. And Smokey was talking about how Ava is different because she doesn’t do that, like come on how many girls have you met? He’s had sex with all of the clubhouse girls but treats them like shit, and apparently the clubhouse girls brag about how many club members they had sex with or whatever, it was all just cringe. The other guys would talk shit about women and how they called Ava “Smokey’s piece,” I kept cringing. I couldn’t stop reading once I started but damn all the objectification of women and all was stupid. I did like how Raven was a club member though.


So Smokey continues to make Ava do things and she wouldn’t be comfortable with it but whatever he says goes apparently. So he took her to the party and gets pissed since she won’t admit she wants to have sex with him and tells her to find him when she does after he touches her coochie without her consent. And then Raven shows up at the bakery saying that Smokey is in a bad mood and Ava should give him a chance. Ava literally said she was done with men but she is like I’ve never had good sex and of course the girl never orgasmed during sex before, so she goes to Smokey and strips. Smokey got exactly what he wanted which pissed me off cuz he’s an arrogant asshole. Of course we go with the cliche, “I don’t do relationships this is just fun so don’t get emotional” shit while giving mixed signals by acting like they are in a relationship. But of course Ava slowly starts to fall for him and it’s obvious Smokey does too but he doesn’t wanna admit it. He makes her dress up in clothes she isn’t comfortable with and she isn’t even comfortable with pubic sex but he makes her, and she enjoys it but is paranoid. They have sex in front of everyone at the club because he wants to stake his claim on her, again, motorcycle club culture is disgusting. They constantly have unprotected sex because Smokey wants it that way. It was all what Smokey wants and it was pissing me off.


The club members don’t treat Ava well because they don’t trust her and thinks she works for the Twisted Bastards, I think they were a rival motorcycle group. There’s also drama with the mafia and it’s all complicated, apparently motorcycle club members can’t be with the mafia, but I lowkey wanna read Raven and Carlos’s book cuz clearly they’re gonna have a forbidden relationship book. I feel like it would’ve made a lot more sense if I read Ugly Beast’s book, I really liked Ugly Beast, he seemed decent compared to the others but I have a feeling it’s because he’s married to Abriana, he was probably an asshole before they got together. So Smokey said he previously got distracted by Abriana and I was so confused, I was like did he used to have a thing for her? I dunno.


Smokey asks all the questions about Ava but he never shares anything, like we never even know his real name in the end. We don’t know about his past or how he got into the motorcycle club, his actual family like he doesn’t tell us shit. We know Ava’s parents died and how she had a horrible marriage with horrible sex, and how she owns a bakery and it was her dream. We know the girl is loaded, which I loved, but legit nothing about Smokey. The fact that she’s screaming “Smokey” during sex was something I couldn’t take seriously, I’m sorry.


So the fucked up thing Smokey does is he thinks Ava betrayed him. Ava went to the bank and then she bumps into this shady dude, whose name is Creed and he basically holds her money and hands it back. Apparently, they had people take pictures and it looked like Ava was accepting money from Creed, who is Smokey’s enemy. I didn’t really understand the motorcycle club drama but when this happened, Smokey didn’t even hesitate. He told everyone to get Ava, Raven, who was getting to know Ava, who was literally close friends with Ava, punches Ava in the face, and her and Kinky and Brick kidnap her. They bring her to Smokey and sure Smokey didn’t touch her, but he ordered others to hurt her, it was so fucked up. Ava’s bleeding, Raven even cuts her hair, they let these two other “whores” as they called them, stupid I know, cut her and even hit her hand with a hammer. Like what the actual fuck. Ugly was the first guy that didn’t trust Ava enough in his house, but he trusted his wife’s judgment, used his bloody brain, and went to check the camera footage in the area. While Smokey was planning on how to cover up Ava’s murder like what the fuck. He didn’t hesitate to jump to the conclusion that she betrayed him, he doesn't give her the chance to speak and doesn’t give a fuck when she’s being hurt because she betrayed him. Raven beat Ava without hesitating rather than trying to think logically about why Ava would even work for Creed.


The fact that on the same fucking day, literally right away, Ugly was able to figure out that Ava was innocent just showed how stupid Smokey and Raven were. He showed them the footage and Ava was just curled up on the ground, I felt so bad for her. On top of that, Smokey had them DESTROY HER BAKERY, he literally ruined her life. ON TOP OF THAT, her bakery was blacklisted because everyone in the town was scared since the motorcycle club hated her. Seeing Smokey apologize and try to touch her had me disgusted. I was so pissed when he wouldn’t give her the key, I was glad she changed the locks. He was so quick to call her a slut and tell her she wasn’t a good fuck. He hurt her in so many ways, he got so close to her he knew exactly how to hurt her. And this all happened after she told him she loved him. First, her ex and now Smokey, and Smokey continues to say her ex messed her up when he did too, but he does admit his flaws. Even after all of this, Ava still loved him but she stayed away. How could you still love someone who does this shit? And what does she even love? The guy comes over, they eat and have sex but he never shares anything about himself. He just asks her questions and gets whatever he wants. And I don’t understand how Ava missed the club when she was forced to do things she was uncomfortable with and even said she’s not a party person.


I loved Harlow, she was funny and she and Big Dick (yes stupid name) were hilarious. Seeing Smokey being desperate and trying to make things right was satisfying. Honestly, he can’t come back from that, like how do you make up for that shit. Seeing Raven feel angry and disgusted with herself was also satisfying, even though she was acting on Smokey’s orders, she didn’t even question it. They both broke Ava, when she came and saw her bakery broken and called all the places to help fix her place and no one was helping and Smokey showed up with the motorcycle club, I loved how Ava told them all to get out. I loved how he paid for the damages as he should, and how he told the town to treat her properly. I loved how she kept calling him out and telling him this never should’ve happened. I love how she was tryna sell her bakery and leave, she had a backbone and stood up for herself. I loved how she even had a sign that banned the motorcycle club and how they came without their jackets. It’s so cringey how they wear their jackets everywhere. When Abriana showed up at her house, I was so pissed she told Smokey Ava’s plans to move. And I loved how after that, Ava was like screw Abriana, I don’t trust anyone. I loved seeing Smokey’s regret and how helpless he was and how he admitted he loved Ava. Seeing him go check the bakery every night and sitting outside of Ava’s house was just so satisfying. But what annoyed me was that he constantly said that the club comes first before Ava. I thought in the end we would at least know Smokey’s name. But we never know. Like if they get married, what’s Ava’s last name gonna be anyway? Ava Pokey it is.


I liked how Smokey kept asking for Ugly’s advice. When Ava found out she was pregnant, I wasn’t surprised, she made so many mature decisions. She told Smokey about the baby when she didn’t have to. Smokey was so relieved that she was staying. Seeing him continue to work for months to win Ava back was satisfying. I felt so bad for Ava since she has to live with pain from the damage they all did to her that night. Her hand hurts, the fact that she was pregnant when they did all of that is crazy, they didn’t know then but still. When she went to the carnival and Smokey kept coming to win her games, it was kinda cute. Again, what he did was fucked up but seeing the different ways he grovels was nice. When he left the teddy bears at her door and said “We need a home,” it was adorable. And I loved that Abriana cut Raven off after seeing Ava even though I was pissed with her. I’m relieved that despite the club woman saying she would have sex with Smokey, he never does. He was willing to get rid of them for Ava, but again, these girls were treated like shit, it’s like they had no personalities. I don’t understand how Ava is good with taking her kid to the club and getting used to that environment cuz that place isn’t for kids. Seeing all the club members regret what they did was satisfying, I liked how they all apologized over and over again. When Ava got stuck in the snow and Smokey came and helped her, it was so sweet. Props to Harlow and her brother for calling Smokey. Since Ava takes long to forgive Smokey, I didn’t care when they got together since she was just so miserable on her own. Seeing her cry while vomiting alone was just devastating. It was interesting seeing the slow progress Smokey made to win Ava back, I liked how it took months, almost a year to win her back despite them knowing each other for a short period of time. When she and Smokey have sex again, I knew it was coming so I wasn’t surprised. Seeing Smokey buy her flowers, constantly saying he didn’t mean what he said to her on the night of the basement, and continuing to fight for Ava was satisfying. Ava continuing to stand up for herself and being strong made me so proud of her. When they find out Ava might be in danger again and Raven volunteers to protect her, I knew it was Raven’s way of groveling, when they got kidnapped and Raven continued to fight with every breath in her body to save Ava, it was sweet. Smokey was pissed with Raven even though she did what he ordered her to do, but he also admits it's his fault.


The second half of the book had so much character development, Smokey would do everything to spend more time with Ava. But still, he never tells her about his past because it “doesn’t matter” even though she wants to know. They named their kid Umberito which I read as “Um burrito” and Ava doesn’t even know why Smokey said it has to be that name. I’m assuming it’s Ugly’s name? Ugly was so sweet until the end and helped save their relationship, Smokey was going insane without Ava. It was so funny how Ugly helped Ava give birth right after they killed Creed, they could’ve killed him sooner. I liked how Ava told Raven she forgives her and Smokey proposed. It was a satisfying ending, I loved the grovel but hated the MC culture, which made me annoyed with the book. Poor Ava went through so much shit but it was nice to see her happy.



Stay safe folks!

[Gabi N · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry but the people who have this book 5 stars? are ya'll okay ???? If my bf did to me what Smokey did to Ava I would never ever ever forgive him ????? This book shouldn't have a happy ending wtf

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a total mess

1st off the $ex scenes were porn. Not romantic at all. And the public displays in front of the club was just wrong. All of the club girls were disgusting and the guys were yukk. They had named like Stinky and Swallow and were just very disgusting people. I am not a fan of MC books and this one just justified it for me. This book did make me cry, sob actually. There is a scene where the heroine has something terrible done to her, very disturbing and horrendous and Smokey ordered it. I could not believe that she forgave and took him back. Yes He totally groveled for the 2nd half of the book but there is no way I was going to root for him. But she forgave him and they had an HEA. I just wish I hadn't read the book.

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably one of the worst books I’ve EVER read 😤

The only thing that could’ve saved this book is Smokey and Raven shooting each other and dying. Then Ava dying too because she is one of, if not the stupidest, heroines I’ve ever read.

Let me tell you if a man has me kidnapped thrown in a basement, cuts my hair off, and has me severely beat, by club whores and my own friend, yeah you can bet your ass I’m calling the police. Yeah this gal didn’t do that because she didn’t want to betray their trust 🥺🤡🤡🤡This dumb bitch not only forgave both the H and her “friend”, she says she’s going to name her child after said “friend” when she has a girl🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 because she “protected her” 😅🤣😂😂🤣🤣😂😅🤣🤣🤣😂

Also if you’ve ever read any books with a real grovel, you’d know Smokey’s “grovel” sucked. I honestly didn’t feel like he was sorry 🤷🏼‍♀️or as sorry as he should’ve been given the situation.

🫥🫥🫥🫥🫥🫥 literally what the hell did I just read

[Miki’s⚠️ Safety Reviews & Rants⚠️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars purely for entertainment purposes and cause I knew what I was getting into.

🌟Brief Summary:

I just had to do it 🤷🏼‍♀️ it was like I got a itch and I just had to scratch it 🫣

Smokey Smokey Smokey 🤦🏼‍♀️
This guy…….. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

Well is this safe? Hmmmmm 🤔 from OW sex and cheating YES.
But from a ABSOLUTELY LOW DOWN DIRTY SON OF A BITCH BETRAYAL?? HELL NO THIS IS NOT SAFE
But I knew score when I read it and well🤷🏼‍♀️… the itch needed to be scratched.

-This is a MC and of course men are fucking every hole imaginable. Wet Pussy is flowing free like Niagara Falls 💦. It’s raining club whores and the men DEFINITELY ALL have DIRTY DICKS and they are all really really gross. Oh and they own a porn company 👊🏻

But hey…. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I knew the score.

💕So this beautiful story is one of Romance 👀😅😳 love and betrayal….

-Big bad MC President (Smokey) meets beautiful curvy woman (FMC) in a bar and knows he must stick his Willy in her asap. Cause …. Fresh pussy and all that 😉.

-FMC is emotionally damaged and has trust issue from her ex husband who cheated.
Oh and she owns a bakery 🧁 she definitely very sweet and innocent.

-All the club member have the WORST club name known to man…. AND DO NOT YOU DARE CALL THEM ANYTHING ELSE 🔫 or else…..Names like….Smokey, Ugly Beast, Big Dick, Kinky…. And somehow these guys are dripping in pussy 😳🤔…. Ok maybe I can see BIG DICK 🫣…. Ok maybe KINKY to.

-FMC and Big Bad Pres start hooking up and falling in love, the Pres of course is in complete denial…it’s just real good pussy😜

-One day MC Pres gets photos of his woman (FMC) taking an envelope from their Arch Enemy. So of course she is a snitch🤷🏼‍♀️… regardless that EVERYTHING ELSE about this woman would say otherwise to any other RATIONAL THINKING person.
I mean he is the President of a MC and runs successful PORN companies amongst other things. But to stop and think or even investigate her before CALLING FOR HER DEATH… 🤔 that might be too much to ask.

‼️So now we reach the betrayal…..
HE IMMEDIATELY ORDERS HER DEATH! Yes that’s right THE DEATH OF A COMPLETELY INNOCENT WOMAN WHOS ONLY CRIME IS BEING DUMB ENOUGH TO BED AND LOVE THIS MAN.
‼️Members of the club -she considers friends -go to her bakery kidnap her, bring her to the torture basement of the club and start to beat THE EVER LOVING SHIT out of her. Big Bad Pres comes in and watches while they tie her down and interrogate her. NOT THAT THEY LISTEN to her pleads on innocence… he orders for her hair to be cut and watches as the beat and stab her. Oh wait did I mention he has CLUB WHORES do it!? Yes club whores.
‼️He then leaves to go to her place trash it and make it look like she left, they destroy her bakery and file a death certificate for her. He also plans to chop up her body in pieces… 😳No Joke.
‼️He returns to the club to FINISH HER OFF when another club member (Ugly Beast) tells him she is innocent. CAUSE HE ACTUALLY TOOK 2 SEC TO INVESTIGATE.
‼️Big Bad Club Pres realizes he fucked up AND NOW HE LOVES HER 🙄 and runs down to get her just as her hand is being destroyed by a hammer 🔨.…. By a club whore.
‼️He stops the murder 😳 and then tries to comfort her all to no avail.

-GROVEL- So of course he tries to fix it by paying for her bakery to be fixed and basically just a bunch of BULLSHIT … cause dude there is NOT a way to fix MURDER of the woman you LOVE…. But wait🤚🏻 we are currently reading a super romantic story so of course there is DEFINITELY a way to fix this…


-She holds firm for a while and doesn’t cave BUT ALAS it’s not ment to last. Cause….. SHE PREGNANT 🤰 …. And of course she cant stay mad at her baby daddy 🙄😳🤷🏼‍♀️.

-Anyhooo they get back together and he does everything he can to fix his mistakes and win her trust and honesty it was ENTERTAINING AS SHIT 😂😂 I laughed and laughed. Cause you just can’t take this shit seriously.

💭 POV:
Multiple third person

🔥 Burn Rate:
Fast

😡/😍 Angst level:
Medium high at times low at others

❤️‍🔥 Sexy times & Descriptive sex:
Yes seriously he was gross so I just didn’t really get into their “love making” as my friend Rose says…..He thinks of Anal Porn while fucking her”…What’s more romantic🤭

🌓 Push/Pull:
Yes from h to H…. I mean he did try to kill her and her baby 🤷🏼‍♀️ can’t blame a girl for being a bit pissed

☠️ OW/OM Drama:
OW offer him sex but he declines…. At least that’s one saving grace

🤮 OW/OM Sex / Fluid or DNA Exchange:
None

🤬 Cheating:
None

👰🏼‍♀️ Virgins:
None
Manwhore H
Divorced h

⛈️Separation/ 3rd Act Breakup:
I’d say so… after the whole MURDER fiasco they were apart for a while

Safety⚠️Triggers🗡️:
Ummmmm 🤔THE WHOLE BOOK

🌈Epilogue:
YES
There’s also a Christmas Novella for them

🥂HEA:
BELIEVE IT OR NOT YES and it was entertaining to watch and see. I do think he worked hard-ish to get to the HEA and apparently continues to work hard in a Christmas Novella.
I hated this but also wasn’t mad at this. How can you be mad at such entertainment 👀

❌My opinion is just that… MY OPINION.
I know we all get passionate about our favorite reads and characters but we should respect each opinions a thoughts. ~Thank you

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 STARS

Well, hell. I sat on this rating for days. I had no idea how to rate it. Did I binge read it in a sitting? Yes. Did I like it? I don't even know.

Smokey knew he wouldn’t be sated until she finally gave every single part of herself to him, and he’d die making it up to her. He’d never stop trying to be the man she deserved

First of all, for a $4.99 book that isn't on KU, this had an unforgivable amount of grammatical errors. I'm talking typos, missing equation points, etc. I can usually forgive a few here and there, but this was to the point of distraction.

But let's talk about the rub of it all. The betrayal. I can confidently tell you this book isn't for the faint of heart and certainly not for everyone. I love a dark read, the more fucked up the better. And I love a good anti hero as much as a I love a morally gray one. But I think this book crossed a line I didn't even know I had. Spoilers ahead.

Smokey and Ava randomly meet at a bar and begin a no strings attached affair. Smokey makes his stance of club comes first clearly, and Ava who is just coming off a divorce to a 10 year miserable marriage is ok with this. But of course it doesn't take her long to fall for the man. Also, it bothered me that we never learn Smokey's actual name. Unless this was in the first book? But I digress. Here comes the spoiler.

Smokey is led to believe that Ava betrayed the club. Without even batting an eyelash or giving it any further thought and discussion, he believes a photo in an envelope that gets randomly delivered to him. So what's the president of the MC to do? Order the woman he was sleeping with that has showed him nothing but trust and love to be taken to the club basement and be viciously beat within an inch of her life. No, he didn't lift a finger himself, but he orders it done. Ava gets stabbed in the leg, her hair hacked off, beat, and her hand shattered with a hammer before one of his men realizes she's been set up and rushes to Smokey. Luckily he's there in time to ensure she doesn't get killed as a follow up but the damage is done.

Now look, I've read a lot of dark and fucked up books. I've also read my fair share of gritty MC. But this? How do you come back from this? Does he grovel? Yes. For over half the book. But I just couldn't see past it. Ava has been through so much with her ex and already came with baggage. Smokey's betrayal was just too much for me. And yes, he really grovels and works for her love back. But I feel like the surprise pregnancy was used an easy way to connect them. I could have done without it. I wanted to see him work for it without it.

The story itself was ok. It wasn't great and it wasn't bad. Just your middle of the road read that would have been a 3 star but I just couldn't come back from what Smokey did and just couldn't buy off on their HEA after something like that sadly.

Find me on:

[Paula Howlett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unbelievable

The man has her beaten stabbed hit with a hammer and she stays with him . You must really hate woman

[Raffaella · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the hell have I just read.
And why have I just given 3 stars???
I'm slightly ashamed of having enjoyed this book, because it's really awful.
Not the writing style, that was good.
The whole location and concept is very wrong and disturbing.
First of all I wonder if it's true that MC in USA are really that bad, basically perverted criminals who kill, rape and pay for sex and have orgies in their clubs.
Is it for real?
It seems like mafia or the mob.
I'm really surprised because in Italy it's not like that.
MC are just that, clubs for people who love bikes.
They are not the mob.
Their somehow scary looks are only that. Scary looks.
Here it looks like MC are mob.
So, ok, the heroine, a divorced overweight woman who was body shamed by her ex hubby, meets the hero, the boss of this MC, and she decides it's time to have decent sex for once in her life.
Only sex.
So they have this affair, with plenty of sex everywhere, in his office (office...ehem), in her house, in the club with all people watching, but not really watching because everyone is having sex and not really minding other people's business, and the heroine is so very happy that she falls in love with the creep.
A creep with no name.
He's only Smokey.
Like a pet, he only has one name, and it's really bizarre because the heroine calls him smokey all the book, I don't even know if she knows his name.
Really???
Then the unthinkable happens.
Since he's mob boss, he has rivals and he receives some pictures incriminating the heroine.
He thinks she betrayed him and what does he do?
He orders the club w***es to beat her to death, then goes to her house to pack something so he will cover every evidence, and when the heroine is almost dead and beaten up he finds out she is innocent.
Ok, now there are things that may be forgiven, and others that may not.
This one is not forgivable.
He was going to kill her.
To cut her to pieces.
To hide the body.
Really?
How can you go back from a thing like that?
Even if she was guilty, he should not have had to beat her and to kill her.
WTF is this?
All the second part is about him groveling but I couldn't care less, because he could have shat gold and jewelry and still I wouldn't have taken him back.
Then there's more.
She's pregnant.
And, instead of vanishing and going so very very far he can never trace her, for instance a village in Africa, a small town in Vietnam, a cottage in the Andes, nope, she stays there in the same small town where he and his creepy friends are.
So of course eventually she's back with him and I was very sorry and couldn't really think about a happy ending for those two.
So, this one was crazy and creepy and I'm a creep too because after all I liked it, in a twisted and disgusted way because there's no romance here, only sex and violence.
So be warned if you want to read it.
Oh, and she was curvy, I don't know what curvy means in the writer's mind, is she overweight or only blessed with big breast and nice round derriere?
I know that nowadays women are often required to be skinny and flat, and a 14 size is overweight, but I can't figure how is the heroine.
Maybe she's only normal, not model size?
The hero likes her and finds her sexy, and this thing I liked because he's not someone who loves impossibly skinny females.
He's also celibate when they are separated, but all these characteristics are not enough for me to like him.
I'm starting to think that these are hard times for my emotional wellness to appreciate this kind of books...

[MacaroniSalad · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really did not like the H in this book. Under any circumstances is it forgivable for a H to sign off physically hurting or killing the h without fairly hearing her side of the alleged transgression. For a h to forgive such violence being done to her is really so bad considering that she would be exposing her child to such people. It is just a super deal breaker in my book and beyond unforgivable.

[Darlene I read WAY to many books · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

Ugly beast wasn't my fave book in this series so I was hesitant about reading about Smokey.. and I didn't love it but didn't hate it.. there was few scenes that made me mad at the Smokey.. and other people's in the club.. 🤬🤬🤬 .it take me awhile to forgive some members...

Ava has been though a messy divorce since she caught her ex cheating on her.. now shes trying to start a new life and catches the eye of Smokey who isn't trusting very easy but he likes Ava and that's where it starts but there are some enemies who want that club taken down ans Ava gets caught in the crossfire ans being labeled as a rat.. what the club did was disgusting and made me so mad when all they had was one piece of evidence without getting more.. ALWAYS COLLECT ALL EVIDENCE!!! I swear that scene made me so mad!!! My heart broke for ava and when those jerks find out it was all a set up.. yeah they try to get on her good side.. I do wish the grovel was more what they did was light a 4.5 in grovel out of 10..
Smokey did some good grovling but I needed more. He got it easy wish it was more.  But beside that they still had to deal with the drama.. and that drama was alot.

Angst, No ow/om drama (just no cheating, Drama, slight secondary character, sexy times, no virgins

Recommend-maybe
Cover-⭐⭐⭐
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶

Slowburn
Push away from h
No condom
Public sex
Anal sex
Torture
Violence
Murder
No condom
Hea
Epilogue

[Nikki ღ Navareus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had this on my TBR forever, and I don't know why it's taken me so long to finally dive into this one. I enjoyed the entire story quite a bit. The story wasn't too angsty, but man oh man! What that club put poor Ava through....I just couldn't believe it. If I had been in her shoes. I'd have moved far, FAR away from the lot of them, never to be heard or seen by any of them ever again. This had a bit more realistic feel to it than many MC stories I have read in the past. I loved Ava and Smoky's entire adventure.

[Jac K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this on a list somewhere, and I’ll be honest, after the shit show of Ugly Beast’s book… I wasn’t looking forward to it… but I’d already purchased it… and I’m glad I did because it was much better.

Ava has just gotten out of a bad marriage with a cheating husband when she moves to their town and opens a bakery. Sniffing fresh meat, Smokey is instantly attracted to the voluptuous baker with the huge assets. Her pudginess is definitely a thing, but I didn’t find it quite as shoved down my throat as the last h’s unattractiveness… FYI.

Things get going fairly quickly despite Ava being “turned off men” but Smokey fucks up large around 40% and spends the rest of the book trying to get her back.

I liked this one much better than Ugly Beast, and it has a decent amount of angst from Smokey’s actions. But … IMHO it’s soapy angst because the tone is not super realistic and a smidge Ott/overdramatic. But… I did really enjoyed wading through a betrayal that wasn’t cheating related and gave me some “would you rather” reflections. And there’s TONS of groveling (45% on) because she doesn’t immediately forgive and makes him work.

I was tempted to read Raven’s book as she is actually strong/kicks ass, but this book turned me off a bit. I LOVE that she’s a MC member but HATE that she’s portrayed so overaggressive… and her making dumb decisions (last book she took h to get drunk, sent her with a prospect she didn’t recognize, she showed no loyalty to Ava, started the fight with the Carlos pick up, started bar fights, etc.) are used as plot devices. Why can’t she be tough and smart? The men aren’t strutting around getting in everyone’s faces starting fights.

Bottom Line- This one was ok, but I don’t think this author is a good fit for me. This is my 7th book and I’ve either DNF’ed or 2⭐ 5 of them. It appears she likes wimpier h’s that are unattractive or plump paired with bossy alphas… which isn’t necessarily bad… I just need more character development than physical attributes. I will say this is the best book I’ve read of hers, so I’ll stop on a high note.

Safety- The h is set up to look like she’s taking money from the rival gang. Smokey and gang all assume she’s a plant (in their defense they had one in book 1 that kidnapped that h and handed her off to get killed), and he ordered her picked her up and Raven/club girls beat the absolute shit out of her without questioning or listening to her pleas. Within the same scene Smokey realizes it was a setup but the damage has already been done.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a longer story from this author and I was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately this wasn’t for me, the whole book is just one big cliche as far as I’m concerned, from the curvy/plus size heroine owning a bakery to the scenes in the book that I’m guessing were meant to have the shock factor on the reader, unfortunately those fell flat for me. The whole thing at times was tacky one of the club girls who also makes porn films for the club is called Swallow, seriously how stupid is that, and that’s just one example. The hero is the biggest asshole ever.
Not a fan.

[readabookonce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve never felt so conflicted.

Ava is freshly divorced and new in town. Smokey, president of the Hell’s Bastard MC, takes an instant liking to her. The two hook up, insisting it’ll be casual, but it never is.

I went into this with spoilers regarding what happens about half-way through—Smokey sees a picture of Ava “accepting money” from a rival MC president (it’s staged), and he orders her to be killed for it. The club destroys her bakery, Smokey makes sure to confirm her insecurities caused by her ex-husband, and the women in the club beat her to near death. Once it’s revealed that the photo is deceptive, Smokey feels just awful and tries to “make it right”. Being prepared lessened (but not erased) the betrayal and fury I would’ve felt had I not known what was going to happen, but it didn’t take away from how horrible it was.

Smokey groveled his little heart out, and since we’re privy to his point of view, we know it won’t happen again. However, it wasn’t enough. He could’ve put himself through what he put Ava through, died, resurrected himself, and then do it ten times over again, and still, it wouldn’t’ve been enough.

I found myself sympathetic toward Raven, despite their considerable involvement, but I couldn’t extend the same to Smokey. He just wasn’t forgivable. Maybe it’s my issue, and not the book’s.

I really wish authors (and people in real life, honestly) would let go of the notion that (this is a different spoiler from the one above) an abusive man needs to be a part of his child’s life.

I felt bad for Ava. She’s fresh out of an (emotionally) abusive relationship, and the only other man she’s been with is Smokey. I wanted her to leave, heal, and, when she’s ready, find a nice man who grows a garden for her to have fresh ingredients for her bakery, but alas, that is not what happens.

Despite how much I hated what happened, I did enjoy Ava sticking to her guns (partly). The road to redemption was not made easy, and while it wasn’t enough for me, we know Smokey was genuine in his actions, so maybe that’s enough in the fictional world.

The story was captivating, and despite the revulsion I felt while reading it, I wanted to keep reading. I liked how Smokey groveled, but I wish the reasoning for it wasn’t what it was. At the end of the day, I knew what I was going to read, so I can’t penalize the book for being what it said it was.

★★★

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

There be spoilers here.

This one scratched a particular itch I had. This was a pretty quick read about a gal getting her groove back after a broken heart and an MC. A sad sack woman just out of a dumpster fire of a marriage gets herself involved with the MC’s Prez. She starts planting some roots in this new town, including opening a bakery, while hooking up with the Prez. It’s all supposed to be casual - no strings, but of course, things get fairly involved. Then accusations are leveled and the next thing you know, our h finds herself in the MC’s basement being tortured by several skanks and a female member. She’s absolved of any wrong doing, but not before they break her hand, stab her with a scalpel, and cut off her freaking hair. A lot of the rest of the story is the Prez trying to slink back into her life. Another reviewer described the sex as “porn-y”, a statement I would not disagree with. The story moves fast and kept my attention. But where’s the PTSD? The nightmares? The involuntary twitches and freak outs? That’s surely going to be part of being kidnapped, tied up, and tortured. The groveling was kind of meh for the magnitude of the Prez’s monumental fuck up.

So, it was fine. I won’t read it again, mostly because I want to throat punch the h for rolling over so easy.

[Melanie Malkoun · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this book at all. I’m a fan of Sam but this just disappointed me.

Smokey was an arrogant asshole. He only wanted Ava for sex and told her that on their first meeting. I didn’t mind that part at all. Typical….

However what I didn’t like was how she was treated when he assumed she was spying on him and the club. There was no evidence of the kind, but he still ordered to have her beaten and taken care of.

You know, I really don’t like a few things about this author and her books.
One… the heroin is ALWAYS a big, large, curvy woman, in ALL her books.
Two… the heroine is always a doormat
Three. The heroine always forgives the hero.

There are so many errors and I’m sorry to say that the writing is really bad. Punctuation is always wrong and heaps of spelling mistakes.

Her MC books are not that great…. I make no apologies for saying that. I’m not wasting any more of my money on her books.

My rating is one. And that’s for the cover of the book.

[Giorgia Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars for I don’t know what but not the story


I never would have forgiven the guy. Ever. Ever. Raven either. I don’t care for the grovelling or the pleas for forgiveness. He should rot in hell. He had no reason to fly off the handle and do what he did without further proof. Scratch that, he shouldn’t have touched her period (himself or through others).

I’d advise others to read the trigger warnings and spoilers before reading.

[Natalia · Rating 1 out of 5]

1,5
I deserve an award for finishing this book.

Couldn't get past the things the H did!

I would be out of town the next day, everything else be damned!

[Night reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yuck.
Just yuck.
She doesn’t even know his name until the stupid end.
What a clusterfuck of a book

[Aarann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blech!

I got this because I was promised a good grovel, but I'm going to add my voice to the litany of others and say there are some things that a grovel should not bring you back from.

I skimmed and I do mean skimmed through the first ten "new relationship, happy to be together, fuckfest" chapters of this thing because they felt looooooong. There is a reason it took me two months to finish this book. So I probably missed some details, but it didn't feel that way. I ended up skipping whole chapters and genuinely did not feel like I'd missed anything.

Smokey (my mom used to have a really great dog with that name and believe me, he is somewhere very upset now that his name was used for this jackass) believes, based on very little (yes, planted) evidence that Ava has betrayed his MC, Hell's Bastards. Turns out pretty quickly that no, that information was planted by their rival group, Twisted Bastards (someone please tell Sam Crescent that not all MCs have to have the word "bastards" in the title -- or maybe the name similarity was explained during the 6 chapters I skimmed over in the book. For anyone wanting to "well actually" me in the comments section, I mean feel free, but know before you waste your time that I genuinely don't care). And basically by then it's just about too late, only not quite, see Smokey's MC has only tortured Ava -- they hadn't gotten around to killing her yet, though that was in the cards.

And see that is where I think we've finally crossed a line that even my inner angst whore finds untenable: The hero cannot order the horrific death of the heroine after he's fallen for her, based on a misunderstanding that he really should have investigated before leaping to conclusions. I know, I know, I mean, who knew I'd have to say it out loud?

The only HEA this book could have had would have been if Ava had sold her house and business and left that godforsaken MC town, changed her name, then raised her secret baby (and yes, Smokey attempting to murder her is an acceptable excuse to have a secret baby trope in my rulebook) far, far away while he and his shitty friends wonder what could have been. Harlow, Ava's vegandidyouknowshe'sveganbecauseshe'sdefinitelyvegan baking friend can be there though. She was the only character I liked in the whole thing (and yes, that includes Ava -- the woman who got the shit kicked out of her and nearly got horribly murdered by her boyfriend's MC and then didn't tell the cops because she felt like she owed Smokey her loyalty. Romance authors, I have nothing but sympathy for severely abused women, but let's not act like covering up abuse out of loyalty to the abuser is something for your heroines to aspire to).

Also, I call bullshit on so, so much of this book, but especially the MC member who accompanied her to the hospital not "allowing" the medical staff who rightly suspected assault and battery to speak to her privately -- that whole thing smacked of, "Ooooh, we fucked that up, now we have to cover up our shit and make sure she doesn't talk!" rather than some weird effort to protect her. Even if it was, bitch, you guys are the ones who hurt her!

Not recommended, even for the grovel (and yes, the whole second half of the book is grovel, but no self-respecting woman would want it).

[Bex (Beckie Bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second book is Smokey’s story the club's Prez when he meets Ava a thirty-year-old divorcee he falls hard, not that he’ll admit it. She’s new to town and has opened her lifelong dream of a bakery. When an anonymous photo makes Smokey question her motives he doesn’t give her the benefit of the doubt and makes a rash unforgivable decision resulting in some truly terrible consequences that then loses him the love of the woman he’s been slowly coming to care for. Why is it though that it’s always later they realise just what they so callously threw away (the old adage you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone is the theme here)

I picked this up for the grovel and there’s half a book of it so my grabby little mittens were totally satisfied. I found this to be an engrossing read enjoying it more than the previous book in the series there was just so much more going on with this one.

Ava’s a bloody saint there's nothing that ever could have convinced me to forgive what happened here some things are just not excusable. Smokey and Raven's actions crossed a definite line literally no one other than Abriana spoke up for Ava and I found that terribly sad and heartbreaking. But this is fiction and we are in MC romance land so I gave it somewhat of a pass. Genres that deal with dark themes I do tend to hold to a different standard than my mainstream romance reads. I was also aware going in what was going to occur so this made it easier to pre-warned is fore-armed and all that.

Dark gritty and emotional I definitely appreciate this author's particular style be prepared for some no-holds-bared crudeness and plain speaking. I liked the grovel but I also wanted Smokey to get on his bended knees and beg for Ava’s absolution but he definitely had that kicked puppy dog vibe.

In regards to Raven after loving her in the previous book here I did a 360 mostly because of her participation in Ava’s treatment she totally gets the shittiest friend of the year award here whilst Abriana who I was formerly irritated by totally came good (go figure).

The eventual conclusion to this with the rival MC then put Raven in a position to redeem herself with Ava but I’m not so much pissed at what she did as it was ordered by Smokey it’s the fact that she never even questioned those orders in the first place. She’s much too concerned with not looking in any way weak because of her gender. Raven definitely has a lot of hidden insecurities she attempts to cover up with her brash personality. It will be intriguing to now discover her backstory.

Overall though this was well written and entertaining and I did enjoy it so I will be reading the next book but be aware this does contain triggers.



Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/

[LaBlue · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book makes women look stupid. The FMC was strong and while lonely was doing her thing as a newly divorced independent woman. But along comes a bootycall that starts to feel like more and here she goes being stupidly desperate to take whatever scraps of a relationship he will give her.

Then, said bootycall goes and betrays her, almost kills her. He did have her assaulted not just by his club members but by random hoes and worse out of all that by someone the FMC thought of as a BFF and what happens with that?? A whole lot of nonsense that didn’t feel a hundred percent real. The FMC wasn’t written hysterical enough during or after the assault. She had one mild panic attack a few days later. She had money enough to leave town but never actually did anything to help that along. But worst of all, she kept having an awkward relationship with the bootycall that had been going to kill her.

Yeah.

I want to say I hated this story for all of the above. It deserves to be hated. It was a toxic relationship that I don’t care for. The HEA never justified all that came before. It was in my opinion a sloppy “romance”, for lack of a better word. But you can read it. It’s not so bad that you would walk away from finishing it. I actually wanted to see her rise above the abuse and assault. But I honestly wish it had been with another male character. There wasn’t another male option in this story but I would have liked it anyway. If it were me, baby or no baby, I would never have forgiven him to the point that we would ever be together again. And that’s where the story lost my respect.

Good luck.

[R I A · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I was looking for a book with groveling, I stumbled upon this book.. It was okay.. The motorcycle gang life, crime and all. There is a plot and then we got to the major part that leads to the groveling…

Spoilers

Call me petty and unforgiving but if I am tied down to a chair, beat up, my hair was cut short, a knife stabbed to my thigh, told I was not a good lay and just plain and worst they burned my business!? And the person I love ordered for it to happen, Damn.. It’s just so unforgivable. Although there’s a misunderstanding in the other person’s side.. It’s gonna take years for my forgiveness to be earned.

Anyway, a 2.5 book for the mild angst for me.

[Tmstprc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread 6/22/2023… popped up on FB and decided to give it a reread. Liked I more this time around, less pissy about the betrayal, grovel and behavior change works. Upped to 3 stars.

MCs aren’t my thing, and haven’t been in a while—not even sure why it was on my radar. No forgiveness.

[Mina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this one all over a facebook group talking about the betrayal and the groveling. Let's just say that we needed a little more groveling from Smokey! It was a great story and can't wait to see what happens with Raven.

Reread for bookclub.

[Serialbookstarter:Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did a quick read of this book last year— actually I skimmed to the angsty part and the grovel. I decided to reread it. Ava is recently divorced from a cheater. She meets Smokey prez of the MCC at a bar where she is celebrating her divorce. They get together to have a sexual relationship, monogamous but with no emotional long term commitments. They start to fall in love. The day after Ava tells Smokey she loves him somebody sends incriminating photos of Ava. Smokey and the club think Ava is a snitch and has been spying on them for his mortal enemy. This plot was ridiculous as Ava is a sweet Bakery owner who was married for ten years, from another state, was left very wealthy to the point she never has to work a day in her life again at the ripe old age of 30 etc.Also Smokey has already had Ava investigated thoroughly. So just suspend your belief for the angst. Spoilers—— Chapter 9–Smokey has the club kidnap Ava(she’s knocked in the head and tied up) and bring her to the basement where he tells the club women to hack off her long hair and then tells the women of the club to torture her. They cut her with knives, punch her ,break her ribs, and break her hand with a hammer. This is a very soft submissive, sweet bakery owner with absolutely no fight. Since Smokey doesn’t want to torture Ava he leaves to go to her Apartment so he can make it look like she left town after he murders her with a shot in the head. Yeah that’s right he plans to kill her. Ugly Beast from book 1 is told by his sweet wife that the club needs to get a brain. There’s no way a sweet bakery owner is a mole. He hacks the banks camera and it shows Ava was set up. Smokey runs to the basement as Ava is hit with a hammer. He stops the torture a little too late…. Ava is terrified. A prospect takes her to the hospital. Smokey grovels the rest of the book and Ava does not make it easy for him. One thing that should have been used for more angst is the fact that Ava was pregnant with Smokey’s baby at the time he had her tortured and was planning to murder her. The psychological aspect of that was never brought up. He was very close to murdering the woman he loves and his baby. Some kidnapping and fighting with the enemy club happens and then they get their hea

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 - ⭐ ⭐
=======
WTF!
Incredible.
Our Zeroine is kidnapped, they beat the shit out of her, crush one of her hands and cut her hair. Our Zero goes to her house and packs luggage to disguise her disappearance and death. Because they plan to torture and then kill her.
And she was pregnant with Zero's kid.
I forgot to mention that they destroy her bakery.
There is no grovel in the universe that can handle all this.
But the BBS is irresistible and blah-blah-blah.
This book deserves a cleansing epilogue where our Zeroine blows up the clubhouse, dusts off her shoe and leaves town.

[Summer Hector · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok this book is trash and if I go in depth with it I'll just be wasting my time.

Basically the 'hero' is a jackass that deserves to be gunned down

But mostly I just skimmed through the story coz it was a snooze fest and the God awful names distracted the fuck out of me.

Other Readers- So there's this MC

Me- So there are these names...'kinky', 'Ugly'...Like how are these people even taken seriously?

Other Readers- THIS IS SO HAWT

Me- And she has to *laughs* call him *holds on to pillar for support* Smokey whenever she comes.*wipes tears* Which is a lot BTW. ROFL

Other Readers- Ew...What a fucker

Me- To think she still doesn't know his real name

Other Readers- Aww...such a cute epilogue

Me- NO! NO! STOP IT !THIS IS MADNESS! YOU DID NOT JUST NAME YOUR KID THAT. YOU DID NOT JUST NAME HIM UMBERTO. I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT UGLY BEAST DID TO HELP. THERE'S NO WAY YOU ARE NAMING YOUR KID THAT.



Seriously you would think they'd choose a better name for themselves after being born with such stupid names.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just did a reread and actually I like it more than I originally did.

No way no how

How could Ava ever trust Smokey, a man who has her beaten, stabbed, kidnapped, and hair cut off. Seriously I found it disturbing and unbelievable. Now I'm angry I wasted 4.99 on this book listening to the hype. I won't fall for that again.

I don't have triggers, with that being said... The story needs to be believable.

[Misa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes you do stupid things and lose your precious time and energy by reading something like this book. I think I wasn't aware while reading this thing and I jumped a great number of pages, then I would like to ask the author, are you okey?