Rating: 3 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Zayne — better known to his motorcycle club as Saint — has been a member of the Salvation Kings Motorcycle Club for a long time. He’s in his thirties now and road captain, and if it weren’t for the rival club, the Henchman, trying to muscle in on their territory, he’d be likely to say that life was going pretty well. Until, that is, a quiet, handsome paramedic steals his breath, and then his heart.
Nash doesn’t know what he’s getting into when he and his partner answer a call late one night in a dangerous part of town, but when his eyes meet the blazing green eyes of Zayne while they work to care for a fallen club member, he knows it’s going to be something exciting. Nash gives Zayne his number, but the man doesn’t call, doesn’t text, doesn’t do anything until Zayne needs his help for a friend going into labor.
Nash and Zayne’s first kiss comes shortly after a newborn baby is brought into the world, and their relationship grows with every passing day. Nash isn’t certain, though, that he can live the dark, dangerous, and oftentimes criminal life that Zayne and his friends lead, and Zayne has no intention of leaving his family, no matter how much he has grown to love Nash.
This is my first motorcycle club story. I’m familiar with the idea, a brotherhood of rough men who often flout the law. A combination of mafia, cowboy, and robin hood that sounded like it would be right up my alley. The dark scenes are barely shadows here and for the most part the story keeps a light, breezy atmosphere despite the hints of a dangerous and brutal life.
Nash is a good-hearted young man who isn’t afraid to make the first move. He is, after all, the one who gave Zayne his number. As a paramedic, he’s learned to keep his head in delicate and oftentimes life-threatening situations; he likes his job saving lives and the idea of hurting someone or allowing them to be hurt goes against his very nature.
Zayne has always been part of a brotherhood; first the army, and now the Salvation Kings, and he’s been loyal to both. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for his fellow Kings, including breaking the law. Not that they do, much. The Kings are a rough group, but they have a code they follow, a code which leans heavily on protecting their turf and the people in it. They’ll fight back, but they’re not going to attack without reason. And they don’t deal in drugs or people.
Zayne and Nash go from heated looks to a hot and steamy night of sex. There’s no doubt the two of them are very into one another, but on their second night Nash is already asking to define things between them. Are they just hook-ups, boyfriends, something else? Zayne reassures Nash that he feels something special for Nash, something he’s never felt for anyone else, ever. However, his exact feelings are hard to gauge as we never really get into Zayne’s head or emotions.
So much of this story feels strangely rushed and bare bones. It was like getting the sketch of the scene without lingering on any important details, such as the characters or their relationship. The mention of a school shooting has the same emotional weight as Nash getting breakfast with Zayne’s sister, though the breakfast scene is longer. It felt as though the author wanted to touch down on all the important parts so we could get right ahead to the action. Even then, unfortunately, everything was still so fast and perfunctory that it had no resonance and even less impact.
The writing isn’t bad, but the pacing is frenetic and there’s never a sense of actual people in this book. Other than knowing they had good sex and that Nash has a soft heart, I come away without much of an impression about Zayne and Nash’s relationship. This story was an almost-but-not-quite for me. It might make for a pleasant, but forgettable summer read if you’re into motorcycle club romances.
