Quickie Review

So The Reaper was a delightful installment and I really had a blast with this one here. The Reaper is a story I was really looking forward to because the dynamic of the couple I was really excited for. This is definitely what I love to see in a dark romance and I feel like we don't see this dynamic too oftne. I was also pleasantly surprised to seeing that the heroine has been the one pining after the hero. She has been in love with him for years and been watching him from the distance. She is more sheltered and was raised as a Christian but she also yearns for more in her life. And wants to be what she needs to be to be with Devon. Devon is the true leader of the group and is the heart of them all. He is going through some things emotionally and it's starting to make him crack beneath the surface. And being in a relationship with his little raven is what really makes him want to fight. There were moments of this story that just dug deep on an emotional level. I truly wasn't expecting it. As the first book was completely different from this one. So this author really developed a story that I wasn't expecting. The relationship between these two was full of heart and spice. So well-balanced and I really respected that it wasn't all about the sex. The author was able to deeply layer it. It felt like it had more balance than the first book did in that regard. The only issue I had with this book was the heroine. So the heroine is gentle, and kind but reserved. And there was this rhetoric throughout the story of her changing because she had to be so tough. Who said that just because you have a gentle sweet nature you aren't strong? Eventually, the heroine learns to accept who she is and not force herself into someone that she isn't but it did get a bit annoying at times. I am not sure if this was intentional by the author or it just evolved like this but I did enjoy seeing how our heroine turns out in the end and it delivered so many happy feels for me in the end. And the villain and how that is resolved SHOCKED me and tore me apart but it was brilliantly done and I am really happy with the hero and how it comes to a sweet satisfying conclusion where the plot of this was involved.

Rating=4.25 Stars! ( )

Standalone, vigilante, part of the Soldiers of Anarchy series. 3 chili peppers on the Spice Scale.

Devon is known as The Reaper amongst the dark underbelly of the town. He's got an affinity for weapons and torture.

Leah May is the daughter of the local vicar and is a doormat.

This is a guardian angel/stalker type connection. Leah May's mother's dying wish was for her to look out for Devon because he had a hard home life and needed a friend. Leah May took that to heart. She's been watching Devon their whole lives and he's been none the wiser until they come face to face when he drops her hungover cousin at her cottage.

Devon notices Leah May and then decides to give her a chance to run away; obviously, she doesn't. They become hot and heavy - there's sex in a cemetery [sorry! spoiler!]

Character Development: partial. Leah May starts as a doormat to everyone and eventually becomes slightly less of one by the end. Devon is a broody, aloof guy who only wants to deal with his brothers and wipe the streets of sleeze. When they meet, they sort of fill something for the other.
Sex: okay and re-enactable *wink*
Plot: So, the unrequited love that's finally acknowledged; but there's a second stalker trying to get to Devon and making threats to him and Leah May and the group. It is resolved in the end and I did not expect who it turned out to be. Devon's response is mature and surprisingly empathetic.

Some call this 'dark' for the way the Soldiers handle two sleazeballs they catch and it can get to some readers. Reader Responsibility when it comes to subject and content matter.

Recommended for 18+.

**All thoughts and opinions are my own. Read on my personal KU subscription.** ( )