A review by evlchk
It Ain't Me, Babe by Tillie Cole

4.0

 

It Ain’t Me, Babe, written by Tillie Cole, is book one of the Hades Hangmen series. I chose to go down the audiobook route on this one because it's thick, and I am in a reading slump right now. The book is narrated by J.F. Harding and Annie Green, who I don’t believe I have heard before. I own most of the series and have meant to read it for about a year. This book is a dark MC romance that involves a cult.

The book is a dual POV from the perspectives of Mae and Styx. Styx is the leader of a multi-state motorcycle club called the Hades Hangmen. The MC is embedded into his DNA, having been raised by its leader, his father, until his death. Now, like it was his birthright, Styx leads. Styx is known as the Hangman Mute because of his inability to talk (except for the three). 

Fifteen years earlier, while riding with his dad, Styx came across a huge fence with a beautiful girl crying on the other side. Instantly, he was drawn to her. Her eyes were the brightest of blue, wolf-like and piercing, and her hair was dark black. To try to ease her unhappiness, Styx kissed the strange girl and was able to loosen his throat and speak a few words to her. Called away by his father, Styx was never able to find the fence again and was only left with a haunting memory.

Mae, raised in a religious cult commune, only knew this one way of life. Subjected to unspeakable abuse at the hands of the disciples in the name of God. The memory of the boy at the fence stayed with her always because of his kindness and gentleness and because of her one and only kiss. On her wedding day to the Prophet David, she caught wind of where her missing sister was being held and immediately went to look for her. Finding Bella caged, beaten, and starved, Mae is determined to leave the commune. Mae narrowly escapes and lands in the lap of the Hangmen. 

The book is dark and filled with gritty, foul-mouthed men and women. Tillie transports you into the belly of the motorcycle club, but surprisingly, you don’t want to leave. The bonds between all these characters are tight, like a found family. I love that there are so many brothers in the club and their old ladies. The chemistry was intense, and the spice was hot. Tillie is no stranger to writing an emotion-packed book, and this one pulls at your heart.

The narrators did a great job of keeping me engaged and listening. Sadly, it was tedious at times, and I just don’t have the attention span to keep picking up slow-moving books