{Book Review} Soulless (King, #4) by T.M. Frazier

From Goodreads

The finale to Bear and Thia's epic love story.

My Thoughts 

*Spoiler Free for this Book!*

3.5 "Crazy Bastard" Stars

Well, the Goodreads summary blows. :p  You can read my 4.5 star review of the first book in this couples' story, Lawless, by clicking here, but to recap the gist of the first book's storyline:

The third book in the King series focuses on Bear, the late 20s, roguishly sexy member of the MC Beach Bastards. When we first met Bear, he was hiding out from the head of the MC, who just so happens to be his father. After some unspeakably terribly events in book two, Bear is not the same man he used to be. He's laid down his cut and left the MC, drowning himself in booze, drugs, and women. 

Enter Thia Andrews. 

Thia first met Bear at the age of ten, in a rather unusual way. Now eighteen and wrongly accused of a sickening crime, Thia explodes back into Bear's life with the force of a hurricane. 

With the law closing in on Thia and the MC gunning for Bear, these two are riding the most intense, adrenaline-fueled roller coaster imaginable. 

In Soulless, we pick right back up and are thrown into chaos. With Bear's old MC splintering apart and loyalties going every which way, it's nearly impossible to know who to trust. Their wrath has now extended to Thia, and Bear will stop at nothing to stop it, even though it means going toe to toe with his own father.

This is the fourth book in the King series, and while you can start Lawless first, I would highly suggest reading in order.

It was far from a romance. But it was still a love story. 

I was so anxious for the next installment of Bear and Thia's story after the epic cliffhanger in Lawless. I immediately dived into this book, and devoured it in less than a day. It was fast paced, action packed, sexy and addictive.

T.M. Frazier has a way of making me like things I normally can't stand to read about, like:

Age gaps

Beards (I don't get this current beard craze! Stubble and scruff is great, but not a beard)

Motorcycle clubs

Instalove

Extremely possessive men

Despite my dislike of them, I always enjoy it when Fraizer writes it!

Bear was as beautiful as he was hard. He was as complex as he was simple. He was both the storm and the calm. The fear and the solace. The rage and the peace.

My life and my love. 

The sex was hot, the pacing fast, the writing engaging and captivating. I couldn't wait to get back to reading it whenever I was forced to put it down. I love the rich Florida setting, the appearances of beloved characters, and the distinctive voice of both protagonists. 

Soulless had one of the most interesting side characters, a real mass of contradictions, and I can't wait to get her story. 

The series is a bit like an overly dramatic show or movie - a guilty pleasure you can't help but love, even though it can get a bit extreme sometimes.

This one fell a little flat for me in a few ways. The series has always been a tad over the top (in a good way!), but Soulless bordered on ridiculous on more than one occasion. I belong to the author's Facebook fan group, and I felt like there was a lot of fan pleasing in this book; almost like the author would've taken a slightly different road if not for the fans' murmurings. One rather big reveal really shouldn't have been possible with a subplot in a prior book, and it just so happened to be something the fans were most loud about. 

Love isn't about wanting a hero. It's about wanting to be one for the other person. 

Overall though, I did enjoy the book! I laughed, cringed, bawled like a baby and panted like a dog in heat. It was a smoking hot, addictive, wild ride, and set the scene for future books. I suggest trying this series!

- The Bibliophile Babe 

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to TRSoR Promotions and T.M. Frazier. 

{Mini Review} Walk Through Fire (Chaos, #4) by Kristen Ashley

From Goodreads

Millie Cross knows what it's like to burn for someone. She was young and wild and he was fierce and even wilder-a Chaos biker who made her heart pound. They fell in love at first sight and life was good, until she learned she couldn't be the woman he needed and made it so he had no choice but to walk away. Twenty years later, Millie's chance run-in with her old flame sparks a desire she just can't ignore. And this time, she won't let him ride off . . .

Bad boy Logan "High" Judd has seen his share of troubles with the law. Yet it was a beautiful woman who broke him. After ending a loveless marriage, High is shocked when his true love walks back into his life. Millie is still gorgeous, but she's just a ghost of her former self. High's intrigued at the change, but her betrayal cut him deep-and he doesn't want to get burned again. As High sinks into meting out vengeance for Millie's betrayal, he'll break all over again when he realizes just how Millie walked through fire for her man . . . 

My Review

*ARC provided in exchange for review. All opinions are my own, as you'll see.

1.5 "There's 600 Pages of My Life I'll Never Get Back" Stars

Well. I'm usually pretty positive in my reviews, and hardly ever review something less than 3.5 stars. However, I had to make an exception for this. This was my second Kristen Ashely book; my first was one of the Rock Chick novels, and that was an okay read. This, though....

Let's get to it. 

This is book four in the Chaos series. I'd never read one before, but didn't feel like I was missing much at all. There were a few scenes were I felt like I should know x character's backstory, but not enough to effect my understanding of the story.

This book was...awful. The characters, the plot, the pacing, all of it. It was over 600 pages, and it could've easily been half that. You hit the "big reveal" at around 30% in, and it's not even that a big reveal: I guessed why Millie left from the get go. 

There were so many times during the book where I felt like it was trying to end, but it kept dragging on. The reveal happened, then there was some drama with Logan's life choices post-Millie, there was some motorcycle club bullshit drama, just one thing after another. It was sloppy, cluttered, and tiring.

Millie...oh my god, I couldn't stand this chick. She's around 43-45, and speaks like an obnoxious preteen. She's incredibly woe-is-me, and is constantly harping on how much she gave up for Logan. I'm sorry, but I don't feel your sacrifice when you're constantly reminding me of it. 

She reminds us how she hasn't had sex, or even gotten herself off, in the 20 years since she was with Logan. Right. If you'd go jerk off (jill off??), maybe you wouldn't have such a chronic issue with "tingling thighs". 

And the near constant references of how she "walked through fire" for Logan? Please. I get the title. I promise. 

Logan was worse than Millie, and that's saying something. The man is incapable of speaking in a complete, intelligent sentence. Everything with this guy was: "fuckuva lotta 'eadache". In Logan-speak, that was: fuck of a lot of a headache. 

The guy is an asshole, plain and simple. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind an asshole guy, to a degree. If he's funny, not a complete dick to everyone, and is good to his girl. Logan was not. He was offensive, rude, misogynistic, controlling, and an all around douche.

Their relationship was beyond toxic! There was no chemistry to offset that, either.

Overall, this is a train wreck that, for some reason, I couldn't stop reading. Read at your own risk!

- The Bibliophile Babe