Vicious Cycle is the first book in a new MC romance series. The first part of the book lived up to all my expectations - MC setting with violent characters and two protagonists that were complete opposites but were deeply attracted to one another. It was the perfect set up for lots of fireworks and emotional confrontations. Unfortunately, as the book went on, more and more things popped up that made the book difficult for me to enjoy. The two main characters, Deacon and Alex, fell in love with each other much too quickly, and their differences and the problems they might cause weren't even taken into consideration as they began a relationship. After that, the rest of the book fell into a melodramatic miasma. The ending was beyond belief and left me feeling as though I had been treated to the beginning of a great story that was never completed. ( )

Was a great MC book, lord a mercy Deacon is a bad mofo. He just seemed to leap off the pages at you with his rude ways, and snarling behavior. He was the perfect match for Alex. This story is perfection, this is how you do MC right. Told in dual pov. ( )

Vicious Cycle is the first book in a new MC romance series. The first part of the book lived up to all my expectations - MC setting with violent characters and two protagonists that were complete opposites but were deeply attracted to one another. It was the perfect set up for lots of fireworks and emotional confrontations. Unfortunately, as the book went on, more and more things popped up that made the book difficult for me to enjoy. The two main characters, Deacon and Alex, fell in love with each other much too quickly, and their differences and the problems they might cause weren't even taken into consideration as they began a relationship. After that, the rest of the book fell into a melodramatic miaszma. The ending was beyond belief and left me feeling as though I had been treated to the beginning of a great story that was never completed. ( )

*Received an ARC for an honest review*
I'm a huge Katie Ashley fan, but this one fell a bit flat for me. She came out of her comfort zone to write something different and I think it showed. A lot of the content reminded me of tv shows and other biker reads. It followed the cliché mold and while I know bikers probably do similar things... I would have liked to see some twists that made the story stand out from others.


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The characters were a touchy subject for me. While I loved Willow and her tiny spirit... Alexandra was not one of my favorites. When she was first introduced I thought she was going to be awesome. She was strong willed, smart, and sweet... However, somewhere near halfway she started to change. She became desperate for Deacon's attention. She went out of her way to throw herself at him and as a reader, that took away the appeal. Near the end she did start to redeem herself. Unfortunately by that time everything was in a rush to an HEA.

Overall, I thought this story had all of the ingredients to be a five star read, but unfortunately just lacked the confidence to execute. It was a dark read concept wrote as a contemporary mc read. You will see in the beginning Deacon says some vulgar things and than there is a huge description about how his club would never do what he threatened. To me, this just made him come off as unsure. I say if you're going to go mc dark, go mc dark. Let the actions do the talking.

I applaud the Author for trying something new and I am sure biker fans will devour this read... It just didn't work for me. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A broken daughter, a sergeant at arms in motorcycle club and one determined school teacher: Love is definitely in the air!

Opening Sentence: “Bouncing her legs on the worn leather couch, Willow happily followed along with Dora as she took off exploring.”

The Review:

Willow is the daughter of Deacon and this book starts off with her witnessing the murder of her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. She then ends up with the father she has never met, Deacon. When Deacon keeps Willow out of school because of threats made against her, Alexandra, Willow’s teacher, shows up at the clubhouse demanding to teach Willow. They make arrangements and Alexandra begins coming to the clubhouse and spending time teaching Willow and eventually ends up flirting with Deacon.

For a time all danger is forgotten, but the reality is that someone is watching them and will strike at anyone close to Deacon. When Alexandra is roughed up, Deacon moves her into the clubhouse for her own protection. As they try to figure out who is after Willow and Alexandra they begin to fall in love. Will Deacon be able to save his daughter and new woman?

Ironically, I just reviewed the second book before I saw this one in my stack, but I had actually read this one before the second book because I did attempt to know what is going on if there isn’t already a bunch of books out. However, I liked this one, but I thought some of the dialogue was kind of cheesy at times and it didn’t deliver the same impact as book two does. I will say that I adored Willow. She was a great kid that had survived a lot of crazy crap.

I also really got a kick out of Alexandra, and Deacon did eventually grow on me. I thought he was kind of a douche through most of the first part of the book. Overall, this was a good starter book, and having read book 2, I can say the series definitely improves with each book!

Notable Scene:

“For some reason hearing it finally made her feel like she knew him somehow.”

“I couldn’t believe I was slightly turned- on by this asshole.”

“The smallest sliver of peace ran through me.”

“When it all came down to it, I was in love with a murderer.”

FTC Advisory: Signet/Penguin provided me with a copy of Vicious Cycle. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )