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A review by kindlelovingmom
Judgment Road by Christine Feehan
3.0
I'm not totally sure how I feel about this one, even hours after finishing it. It was quite dark and full of angst. The characters were all SO damaged, and had PTSD all over the place. It was really hard for me to read at times, for many different reasons.
Reaper is the enforcer of the Torpedo Ink Motorcycle Club. He's a fighter, a killer, always stone cold and remote, often even with his brothers and sisters. This is a unique MC in that all of the members grew up together, and were tortured together in Russia. They were all taken as orphaned kids to a "school" where they were taught to be assassins. They were tortured, physically, mentally, and sexually. What they endured, at ages as young as 2, was completely unimaginable, and it scarred and shaped them permanently. They are all very co-dependent on each other and they are all endlessly loyal to their president, Czar, as he's the one who helped to save them all. Reaper hasn't ever had sex other than when he was being forced, or had to do it as part of the jobs they sent him on. He believes he's incapable of feeling anything for anyone, other than a sense of loyalty to his club, and to Czar. Then he hears the new bartender's laugh, and he doesn't know what to think anymore.
Anya Rafferty is a great bartender. She's been working for about a month at the MC's bar and she really needs the job, as she's on the run. They pay her under the table, and she feels a sense of safety being under the MC's protection, as one of their employees. She's seen Reaper watching her each night in the bar, and she's wildly attracted to him. But, she feels like he stares at her like he hates her. She has no idea what's really going on beneath the surface. Anya grew up in shelters with her drug addict mother, until her death. Then she bounced around, and was always on her own. She's never had a family, or anyone to watch her back. When Reaper begins to act differently toward her she isn't sure what to think, or if she can trust him.
Reaper and Anya's chemistry is explosive, but they both have no idea what a ride they're in for. Reaper has more demons than he knows what to do with, and Anya has trust issues aplenty. They both have to come to terms with their issues, and it is a long, long road. There were really tough situations that happened, that made me cry and hurt for both of them. They both also make plenty of stupid mistakes along the way, some of which would be unforgivable to most people. I had a really hard time in particular with a couple of instances where I didn't see how anyone could reasonably come back from that. At least not in the short term. Granted, this is an extreme world, and they can't go to anyone outside the club for help, like a therapist, but I think they all would have seriously benefited from talking to someone who wasn't wrapped up in the same trauma they all endured.
There was a suspense side plot with a rival MC and some kidnapping situations that kept the story moving along, and that part was well done, exciting, and scary. Plenty of the side characters were quite interesting, especially the 2 ladies in the MC, but I'm not sure I'm hooked enough to keep going in the series. The trauma of these characters was absolutely heartbreaking, and there was so much pain and angst. I like my reads a little lighter, in general, and I had a hard time getting through this one at certain points. This is my first read from this author, so I didn't really know what to expect, and I have no idea whether this book is indicative of the rest of her work. The story flowed smoothly, and the writing was top notch, but I just couldn't take the pain of these poor people, and it physically hurt sometimes to continue reading. That is, perhaps, the sign of a great read that I felt so much, but for me, the pain was TOO much. Some of the situations, which I can't go into without spoilers, felt too contrived to be realistic, and I really hated some of the choices the characters made.
If you like high action suspense and super angsty, dark MC reads, this book could be for you. It just wasn't quite for me.
ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Megan from Alpha Book Club
Reaper is the enforcer of the Torpedo Ink Motorcycle Club. He's a fighter, a killer, always stone cold and remote, often even with his brothers and sisters. This is a unique MC in that all of the members grew up together, and were tortured together in Russia. They were all taken as orphaned kids to a "school" where they were taught to be assassins. They were tortured, physically, mentally, and sexually. What they endured, at ages as young as 2, was completely unimaginable, and it scarred and shaped them permanently. They are all very co-dependent on each other and they are all endlessly loyal to their president, Czar, as he's the one who helped to save them all. Reaper hasn't ever had sex other than when he was being forced, or had to do it as part of the jobs they sent him on. He believes he's incapable of feeling anything for anyone, other than a sense of loyalty to his club, and to Czar. Then he hears the new bartender's laugh, and he doesn't know what to think anymore.
Anya Rafferty is a great bartender. She's been working for about a month at the MC's bar and she really needs the job, as she's on the run. They pay her under the table, and she feels a sense of safety being under the MC's protection, as one of their employees. She's seen Reaper watching her each night in the bar, and she's wildly attracted to him. But, she feels like he stares at her like he hates her. She has no idea what's really going on beneath the surface. Anya grew up in shelters with her drug addict mother, until her death. Then she bounced around, and was always on her own. She's never had a family, or anyone to watch her back. When Reaper begins to act differently toward her she isn't sure what to think, or if she can trust him.
Reaper and Anya's chemistry is explosive, but they both have no idea what a ride they're in for. Reaper has more demons than he knows what to do with, and Anya has trust issues aplenty. They both have to come to terms with their issues, and it is a long, long road. There were really tough situations that happened, that made me cry and hurt for both of them. They both also make plenty of stupid mistakes along the way, some of which would be unforgivable to most people. I had a really hard time in particular with a couple of instances where I didn't see how anyone could reasonably come back from that. At least not in the short term. Granted, this is an extreme world, and they can't go to anyone outside the club for help, like a therapist, but I think they all would have seriously benefited from talking to someone who wasn't wrapped up in the same trauma they all endured.
There was a suspense side plot with a rival MC and some kidnapping situations that kept the story moving along, and that part was well done, exciting, and scary. Plenty of the side characters were quite interesting, especially the 2 ladies in the MC, but I'm not sure I'm hooked enough to keep going in the series. The trauma of these characters was absolutely heartbreaking, and there was so much pain and angst. I like my reads a little lighter, in general, and I had a hard time getting through this one at certain points. This is my first read from this author, so I didn't really know what to expect, and I have no idea whether this book is indicative of the rest of her work. The story flowed smoothly, and the writing was top notch, but I just couldn't take the pain of these poor people, and it physically hurt sometimes to continue reading. That is, perhaps, the sign of a great read that I felt so much, but for me, the pain was TOO much. Some of the situations, which I can't go into without spoilers, felt too contrived to be realistic, and I really hated some of the choices the characters made.
If you like high action suspense and super angsty, dark MC reads, this book could be for you. It just wasn't quite for me.
ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Megan from Alpha Book Club