Stevie‘s review of Reaper’s Stand (Reapers MC, Book 4) by Joanna Wylde
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 07 Oct 14
Of the various biker romances I’ve read lately, so far this series has come closest to matching all the things I love about television bikers. The previous book featured a woman who knew her own mind and wasn’t afraid to act in her own interests, even when that meant standing up to her father and the rest of his motorcycle club. However, what I really wanted was to see slightly older characters negotiating work, relationships and the club. So knowing that the next book was about the previous heroine’s father and a woman of a similar age to him made me all the more keen to read it. And I wasn’t disappointed.
We know from previous stories that Reece Hayes, the Club’s president, raised two daughters on his own following his wife’s death, and shows no sign of settling down again, even now they’ve both left home. In fact, he seems determined to date as many much younger women for as short a time as possible, in spite of his daughters’ disapproval. There are signs that he might be falling for someone more suitable, though, in the form of London, the owner of the cleaning company that has recently won several contracts with the bikers’ businesses.
London has noticed Reece but is happy to keep their interactions strictly on a business level; she’s dating a local police officer and taking care of her cousin’s teenage daughter – a difficult proposition, since the girl has medical and behavioural issues stemming from her mother’s drug use during pregnancy. London and Reece are thrown closer together when London’s charge gatecrashes a club party, and London finds herself agreeing to clean up Reece’s home – even though her company usually works only on businesses – and even fixing meals for him.
The two are getting on great, but then London’s cousin invites her daughter to stay with her, and it soon transpires that she is heavily involved with the same bad guys that have been causing trouble throughout the series. London finds herself being blackmailed into spying on Reece and his Club in order to protect her family – against her better judgement, since she’s made friends with a number of the Club’s womenfolk as well as growing close to Reece.
Of course, it all goes wrong for them, but London is tough, and Reece makes some calculated risky decisions in order to save both the club and London and her family. Meanwhile, there are further twists and turns in store for some of the characters we met in previous books and we’re introduced to the members of another Club, who are allies of the Reapers.
This is a great book, and one that makes me keener than ever to keep up with the adventures of all the clubs featured in this series so far. It looks like the next book will be about that other club I mentioned, but I hope we haven’t seen the last of the Reapers just yet.
Grade: A
Summary:
As Reapers Motorcycle Club president, Reese “Picnic” Hayes has given his entire life to the club. After losing his wife, he knew he’d never love another woman. And with two daughters to raise and a club to manage, that was just fine with him. These days, Reese keeps his relationships free and easy–he definitely doesn’t want to waste his time on a glorified cleaning lady like London Armstrong
Too bad he’s completely obsessed with her.
Besides running her own business, London’s got her junkie cousin’s daughter to look after–a more reckless than average eighteen-year-old.
Sure she’s attracted to the Reapers’ president, but she’s not stupid. Reese Hayes is a criminal and a thug. But when her young cousin gets
caught up with a ruthless drug cartel, Reese might be the only man who can help her. Now London has to make the hardest decision of her
life–how far will she go to save her family?
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