Stevie‘s review of Reaper’s Legacy (Reapers MC, Book 2) by Joanna Wylde
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 28 Jan 14
Biker culture is popular in fiction and televised entertainment, and I’m far from immune to its appeal. Trouble is, I may be the wrong audience for a lot of motorcycle romances – I watch series like Sons of Anarchy for the strong, determined, self-aware women as much as for the criminal menfolk they involve themselves with. I don’t seem to be finding as much of the former in written media, while the latter can jar a little without the female influence actually slapping them down from time to time. However, this book had its good points, not limited to the fact that it stands well on its own in spite of being the second in a series.
Sophie Williams has made a lot of bad choices in her life, starting with her first proper boyfriend, Zach Barrett – who seduces her in his brother’s apartment one night, resulting in a broken condom and an unplanned pregnancy – and leading ultimately to her leaving her eight-year-old with a neighbour who turns out to be a less-than-ideal babysitter, while Sophie goes out to work at her latest dead-end job. Fortunately Sophie’s son Noah is a resourceful child and manages to call not just his mother, but also his badass biker Uncle Ruger, before the irresponsible neighbour steals back her phone. Ruger storms to the rescue and takes Sophie and Noah back to his place, whether they want to go or not – Noah thinks it’s a great idea, Sophie not so much, especially since she’s had a crush on Ruger forever but has monumentally screwed things up between them in the past.
The Reapers – Ruger’s Motorcycle Club – aren’t good guys by a long stretch of the imagination, although they do have a variety of legitimate businesses they’re involved with, and they’re involved in a long-running and bloody feud with a rival Club. Sophie tries not to be drawn in, but she likes the women of the club and has trouble resisting Ruger’s rather dubious charms. An awful lot happens in this story, although I wanted to see Sophie grow more of a backbone in the course of the plot than she did. We get an epilogue in which we find out that she has possibly got the ability to stand up to Ruger and make her own way to some extent, but that comes too late (several years down the line from when the main story ends).
So while I’d have enjoyed this book as a biker story, it fails for me as a romance. I just don’t get all swoony over alpha males who show very little respect for the women they’re supposed to care about. I can’t fault the writing, although the decision to write Sophie’s point of view in first person and Ruger’s in third did jar me a little.
Grade: C
Summary:
Eight years ago, Sophie gave her heart—and her virginity—to Zach Barrett on a night that couldn’t have been less romantic or more embarrassing. Zach’s step-brother, a steely-muscled, tattooed biker named Ruger, caught them in the act, getting a peep show of Sophie he’s never forgotten.
She may have lost her dignity that fateful night, but Sophie also gained something precious—her son Noah. Unfortunately, Zach’s a deadbeat dad, leaving Ruger to be Noah’s only male role model. When he discovers Sophie and his nephew living in near poverty, Ruger takes matters into his own hands—with the help of the Reapers Motorcycle Club—to give them a better life.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
