ROMANCE NOVEL FAIL. 
 Please note that I am not saying BOOK FAIL or STORY FAIL. I'm only taking issue with the romanticizing of things which should never be romanticized (in a contemporary) without some sort of heavy disclaimer or taboo label. I would have been easier on this book if it had been marketed as taboo and written from the point of view of challenging the reader's perceptions. But this is even labeled as romantica. So FAIL it is. 
 Some spoilers ahead and a slight bit of swearing. I'm not in the mood to have to censor myself or try to figure out how to write a polite review which doesn't reveal too much. All bets are off today. Read on at your own peril. 
 If I see one more representation of a biker who is an oiled-up, hair-free model posing on a bike that no MC member would be caught dead on, I'm probably going to scream. 
 We're talking about a Motorcycle Club, right? 
 As well, the next time I see anyone bitching about Twilight for being stalker-rific, i'm going to ask if they've read any of the recent "alpha biker" books to have come out. At this point, I'm going to start referring to a vampire watching someone sleep as the more cuddly version of stalking. Because right about now, that behavior seems downright endearing compared to being blackmailed and/or kidnapped and forced to have to become someone's fuck-buddy. 
 ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 
 It's not okay, people. It's not cute. It's not romantic. It's not sexy. Any guy who thinks he's doing you a favor by trading your brothers life for your sexual favors is NOT WORTH DROOLING OVER. 
 Wow, I didn't realize how much my switch had been flipped until I started writing this review. In so many ways, this book was a thousand times better than Undeniable. In all honesty, the writing was much more polished and the story had a clearer PoV that wasn't flailing all over the place like it was in Undeniable. Hell, I even think Horse was genuinely more likable than Deuce when looking at the big picture. 
 Unfortunately, it was the initial setup for this story which screwed everything up. The book starts off with Marie (one of the dumbest characters I've read to date) frothing at the mouth over a guy for reasons unknown. At least with Undeniable, the chick was raised in the MC world and being treated like this was what she knew and expected, so I wasn't going to rip on someone for staying in a familiar cycle (i.e. crime begets crime). That situation was still ridiculous but it was more understandable. 
 But Marie...ridiculous, clueless, brain-dead Marie... 
 Yes, I get it - he's hot. 
 Yes, I get it - he's hot. 
 YES, I GET IT - he's hot. 
 Right now, I'm ashamed to be a woman, if this is what we've evolved into - frothing at the mouth over a man who is disrespecting you with his words and is rape-y with his actions. Just because a person doesn't physically force someone to have sex with them does not mean that the situation isn't rape. Marie was FORCED into the situation (okay, so she went like a willing, whipped puppy dog...but only after being told that this was her fate, else her brother face the wrath of the Reapers). 
 Plus, he punched her wall and broke her door after she said no. For a moment, I was almost happy that Marie was standing up for herself by telling him no. But then, the moment passed because she then laid down and took it like a pro. Sure, she was forced into a bad situation. But she sure seemed to be enjoying it. Was she ever really disgusted by this man who turned her into his own personal sex slave? Because if she was, I never bought into it. Even in her thoughts, she was never really all that disturbed. 
 Yet, even with me saying that, I actually liked Horse to a certain extent. He is one of those people who you want to root for as a reader, even though he was a screwed-up person. Yes, he was completely off-base for what he did, but we got to see his side of things and were able to (somewhat) understand where his though process was at when we were in his head. Yes, he acted rape-y in a roundabout way and I didn't like that. But any time he thought he might actually hurt Marie, he did show remorse for it. But Marie wasn't seeing what we were seeing all of the time. She didn't know that he was conflicted. She only accepted what she was given with not enough feelings of 'ewwww' over what she was being put through. Even if she was forced to have to go along with it all, wouldn't the fact that she was being forced be enough to make her slow her roll at least a little? 
 Therefore, I found Marie to be completely uh...what's the way to describe her? 
 Oh yeah - this. 
 How can a woman be constantly in heat over a man who hadn't proved himself worthy of her affection? 
 Oh right, I know why. Because he was hot. 
 Excuse for a moment me while I crawl into a corner and cry for humanity. 
 There's a reason why I love the show Sons of Anarchy (hint : it has nothing to do with being a romance). I like watching shit hit the fan. And for that reason, I did find this book to be entertaining. 
 And again - if Marie had at least started out more resistant, I could have possibly handled a story in which two people overcome a bad situation and find a way to make things work. I'm okay with "big baddies" being redeemed in many cases. Horse did have a soft side in there somewhere. But he never really had to pay for his actions. 
 The Marie Dumbass Hall of Fame 
 Even scary, the man made my panties wet. 
 ~Pssst...Marie. He's scary for a reason. It involves unapologetic violence and killing. 
 I swayed a little as he stopped, reaching out with one finger to trace my collarbone from my shoulder inward, then running it down between my breasts, grazing the sides. He raised it to his mouth, tasting my sweat. He smelled like motor oil and sex. 
 Holy shit. 
 "Hey, sweet butt," he said. 
 ~ THIS IS THE VERY FIRST MEETING. What woman would be okay with being touched inappropriately by someone they didn't know? By the way, she was in full arousal mode. Within a few minutes, she was wondering how she could stop herself from pushing her breasts in his face. Classy broad, this one. 
 I'm ashamed to admit that I creamed my pants right then and there instead of kicking him in the nuts like a sensible girl. 
 ~ First off, gross. I don't want to know about your discharge, woman. Secondly, she's aware that she's being stupid. Oh right...hot man trumps all. 
 Part of me wondered if Horse had come back. You know which part - that little nub between my legs. 
 "You need to get better locks," Horse said casually. "It took me about ten seconds to get in here." 
 ~He breaks in and you're horny again. Forget the saying having to do with guys thinking with the wrong head. Apparently, dumb women are capable of the same thing. 
 "I'm in charge here, don't forget it," he stated. 
 I nodded, mesmerized. 
 ~lalalalalalalalala. I'm in my happy place, humming a tune right now. Anything to make the pain go away. 
 I didn't think he had a girlfriend but we hadn't actually talked about it. Probably should have asked that before grabbing his dick in the pool. 
 ~Nah. Because that would have required thinking about something other than sex. 
 My anger disappeared, replaced with terrible unease. I'd forgotten how terrifying this could be. 
 ~You get the point. 
 I could go on and on. She finally stands up to him in one scene which had me cheering, then she went and started spamming him with "can we talk?" texts. Co-dependency is a bitch, apparently. And don't even get me started about how a near-rape experience with another person was glossed over in favor of more sexual tension. Sigh. 
 But I'm not giving this book 1 star for the following reasons : 
 1. When I wasn't screaming at Marie, I was entertained by the story. I like reading about MC life. Organized clubs and gangs have always fascinated me. 
 2. I actually liked a lot of the characters other than Marie. Picnic is one of the characters who I'm rooting for to find a HEA. I also want to see Picnic's daughter break out and find a life of her own. 
 3. The writing was decent. The author can tell a good story. Since my main frustration did not revolve around the club life aspect, I think that I might enjoy reading other books in this series with a different take on a female lead. They can't all be Marie, right? At least I'm hoping *cross fingers* 
 4. The old ladies were an entertaining bunch. Sisterhood can be fun to read about. 
 5. This quote : "It's a .38," he said proudly. "I know you're a .22 girl, but it's time for us to take the next step in our relationship." 
 6. I felt like Horse was honestly willing to try and change his ways. We don't always get to see this in books. Sometimes the men go for a lukewarm compromise. In this case, the man did actually make the effort to try and be worthy of the woman he loved. It came later than I would have liked to have seen but at least it happened.