Rating: DNF
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

On a road trip that leads to a Route 66 festival in Edwardsville, Illinois, Nomad biker Savage comes to the rescue of a local man affected by the brutal Midwest heat.

And not just the heat. Dub thinks the burly, tattooed leather-clad biker is the best thing to ever walk through the doors of the old house he inherited. Thrilled that Mr. Big is handy with tools, he hires him to stay and do much-needed repairs. He hopes the biker will linger longer, but having a cat with two million followers on social media and an overprotective cousin doesn’t help advance his cause.

When trouble comes to Dub’s door, Savage steps up to save him. It only feels natural for him to take charge of the boy. With feelings forming and the attraction between them growing, a relationship blooms. But the past has a way of coming back to haunt us, and they soon find themselves in a nightmare one of them might not survive.

Sometimes I try out new-to-me authors to my own peril and Savage is one of those occasions. The book was off for me the start and, at 25%, it was getting progressively worse and that was enough of it for me.

Savage is a nomad biker who left his motorcycle club after coming out at the age of 36. His story had the feel of being a spinoff, as if there was more information on Savage’s earlier days out there somewhere. He stops in a small town just in time to catch Dub as he’s fainting from the heat and, as Dub is coming to, Savage realizes how hot Dub is and shoves his tongue down the man’s throat. Dub is all swoony over the move and then they are immediately calling each other “Daddy,” “Boy,” and “Son.”

The men then go to Dub’s house where Dub is once again all swoony because Savage can fix his running toilet—yes, you read that correctly. There is dialogue for the cat, as he has a blog, and that didn’t appeal even to a cat lover like myself. The conversation between Savage and Dub is awkward and there is talk about Dub’s family and the history of his name. There is no chemistry between the MCs in this first quarter, even though they say there is, and there are mentions of Dub’s “boyhole.”

The following passage then pushed me over the edge. This is from Savage’s POV. The language is highly offensive (particularly calling the waitress “tranny”), and Savage can’t even respect or be an ally for those in his own group.

The tranny waitress was all smiles, her gaze flirty. While her long blonde hair, hormone-enhanced breasts, and the telltale bulge below her waist would have appealed to some, Savage only had eyes for his companion.

The future of Savage and Dub will forever remain a mystery to me and I am okay with that.