Tabs’ review of Enough: A Dark Erotic Motorcycle Club Romance (Jericho Brotherhood, Book 1) by Jade Chandler
Contemporary Erotic Romance published by Carina Press 11 Jul 16
While I have enjoyed many a motorcycle club romance, I tend not to actively seek out new ones by authors I haven’t read before. MC books often skate a fine line and things can get abusive and horrible really darned fast. I’ve been burned way too many times not to be wary. Luckily, this was recommended to me, and it turned out to be a deeply emotional and satisfying hidden gem that I’m glad I didn’t miss.
Lila is a really phenomenal heroine. She starts the book having just escaped from an emotionally abusive relationship. She’s been reeling from one bad relationship to another since she was a teenager and she’s determined to break the cycle. She had to give up a job she loved because of the last one and she’s not willing to do that again. She vows not to get involved with her sexy new boss or with anyone at all, really, until she’s ready to do it in a healthy manner.
Dare is the owner of the tattoo parlor Lila works at and is the aforementioned sexy new boss. He’s also a member of the Jericho Brotherhood motorcycle club. He’s instantly attracted to Lila, but he tries to resist because he has reasons for not getting involved in relationships. He’s totally fucked up and has deep issues. Lila’s no pushover, so she totally picks up on some of this but resolves to let him work things out and trust her with things at his own pace.
The motorcycle club in this book is portrayed as a big fucked-up family of sorts. It’s a theme that unfolds nicely. Lila gets involved with the club through Dare and the rest of the brothers who work in the shop, but she quickly carves out her own space. She’s a total caretaker who genuinely enjoys cooking for people and taking care of them. She’s not a perfect manic pixie dream girl or a doormat, though. She slowly earns the respect and admiration of the bikers. We’re dealing with a sexist motorcycle club here, though, so there are definitely some bumps in the road. But it is still nice to see a woman not be entirely dependent on a romantic partner for her place in the club.
I do want to take a minute to talk about the “dark” label in this book’s title. I understand using short labels to help readers tune into things they might like. What I don’t like at all is “dark” being used as shorthand for “has characters who have been victims of abuse.” That’s not okay with me. And that’s the only aspect of the entire book that the label could possibly apply to. Abuse and domestic violence are awful, but they are, unfortunately, a quite ordinary fact of many people’s lives and I reject the implication that those lives are especially “dark” by definition. I think it’s misleading marketing and not at all appropriate for the story at hand. I’ll step off my soapbox now.
On the other hand, I also want to say that I have a lot of respect for the way that abuse victims are portrayed in this book – especially since they aren’t uniformly portrayed in any one way. Everyone’s experiences are different and there are different levels and stages of processing. It is revealed early enough in the novel not to be a real spoiler that the heroine has had a number of physically and emotionally abusive relationships. This very much influences how she reacts to things. She has triggers that she can’t always sidestep. She shuts down as a survival mechanism when in danger. Everything about her reactions and the actions of other abuse survivors in the story ring authentic to me.
I overall really enjoyed this book. It’s erotically charged. The romance steadily builds. I don’t mind some rockiness in my romances and, in fact, often appreciate when folks have to cool things off sometimes because of serious issues – especially when things are new and intense. I was confident that Lila and Dare had built something that could weather storms, but it made sense to me that the waters were rough for a while. I’m really glad I picked up this book and am so ready for the next one in the series to be in my hands.
Grade: A-
Summary:
She wanted nothing to do with me. Well, that’s too f*cking bad.
My MC brothers call me Dare for a reason. I never back down from a challenge. And Lila was the sweetest challenge I ever faced.
From the moment she walked into my tattoo shop, she was going to end up in my bed. Tied up, moaning my name and begging for more.
Her past was a nightmare and I couldn’t guarantee her a future. But I could promise her a good time.
I didn’t know what we would turn into, let alone how hard it’d be to stay away after my selfish ass sent her packing.
Problem is, my girl is hot, so the same men I call brothers tried to claim her.
There’s not enough bourbon in the world to help me forget the love we shared. But to get her back, to prove she’s more to me than a quick lay, I’ll have to tell her the secret I’ve been hiding from everyone.
Before she’s gone forever.
