Rating: 4 stars
Buy Links:  Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

Two years after escaping their lives as part of a violent motorcycle club, things seem to have turned around for Tek Cain and his boyfriend Jamie Ryan. They have good jobs and are happy with their new friends at the Guards of Folsom club. But Tek should have known it was too good to be true. Their past has come back to haunt them and when the leader of their old MC kidnaps Jamie, Tek is devastated. He is determined to do whatever it takes to bring Jamie back to him, but figuring out how to save his boyfriend, and how to stay of the cops’ radar, isn’t easy. Luckily their friends are there for Tek and Jamie and with their help, Tek is able to bring Jamie home safely.

Even once Jamie is back home, it still takes the guys a while to recover. Tek is struggling with feelings that he let Jamie down. Both guys are trying to figure out what is in the future now that they can no longer outrun their past. And the men are haunted by what Jamie experienced and having trouble with moving past some resulting anxieties. But Tek and Jamie are deeply in love, and even with the uncertainties, they have each other. And they are delighted to find that they have the love and friendship of the other men in the club, men who have become like family. With the support of one another, as well as of their friends, Tek and Jamie are finally able to move forward with their lives.

Bound is the final book in SJD Peterson’s wonderful Guards of Folsom series. I have been following this series since the beginning and loved each book that features the various couples who are part of the club. This book take a little bit of a different direction as rather than following a new couple, it continues Tek and Jamie’s story that started in Roped. It opens after Jamie has been kidnapped and we are thrust right into the excitement as the men gather and try to figure out how to rescue him. We can really feel Tek’s pain as he deals with Jamie’s kidnapping and his own feelings of failure that he didn’t protect Jamie. We also get some nice scenes where Tek realizes how much of a family he has built in New York and that these other men are willing to almost anything to help him get Jamie back.

I kind of assumed that the kidnapping would be the main focus of the story, but it actually resolves pretty early on. I think that made sense, because honestly I am not sure I would have wanted to see the guys separated for the entire book. But it did take some of the intensity out of the story as the major conflict is over quite early and the rest of the book deals with much more minor issues as we follow along in the aftermath. I enjoyed seeing Tek and Jamie begin to move forward and the way that their love and connection with one another helps them get through things. But I did feel like the story didn’t quite have as much focus after things return to normal.

That said, I think this was a great end to the series. The book ties up loose ends with Tek and Jamie’s story, but also wraps things up nicely for the other couples we have come to know and love along the way. The focus is definitely on Tek and Jamie here, but the other couples get lots of page time and the series comes to a nice conclusion. I am sad to see it end, as I have really enjoyed these books, but I think Peterson closes things out in a really lovely way. We can see the bonds of love with these couples, as well as the close friendships they have all built together. Overall I think this was a lovely ending to the series and fans of Guards of Folsom are not going to want to miss this one.

A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.