Redemption Road is my second book in the Raiders MC series. This book follows Deacon's (the Hero from book 1) brother Rev and his relationship with Anabelle. You do not need to read the first book in this series to read this one but I recommend you read the first book anyway. The first book was good and this one contains several spoilers that might diminish your enjoyment of the first book if you read them out of order.
Rev is the president of the Raiders MC (Motorcycle Club). At the end of Book 1, Rev is called away to do a favor for one of his MC brother's whose daughter has been kidnapped by traffickers. Rev, for very personal reasons, has a serious issue with anyone suffering abuse and goes on a mission to rescue the kidnapped girl. Anabelle is the daughter of a distant senator who views her with mild contempt and none of the affection you would expect from parents. Anabelle makes one rebellious decision in her life and it cost her everything. When Rev goes in to rescue his brother's daughter he finds a badly injured Anabelle and brings her to safety. From there, the book is pretty much an exploration of both Rev and Ana's emotional growth. It's a revelation of both pain and healing.
I happen to love Rev's character. He is the perfect mix for a reader like me. Rev is a stone cold killer with a conscious, intellect and emotional intelligence. I loved how Rev was the Hero in every sense in this book. He both physically and emotionally rescued Anabelle and despite his proclivity to slit a throat when it was necessary, he always took the high ground when it came to Anabelle. Of course Rev made some serious serious mistakes because of his own past issues but in my view that gave the book authenticity. It would have been a little disingenuous to put two characters together like these and then everything be perfect.
I also like Anabelle as a character. Anabelle has realistic reactions to the very severe trauma she endures but she finds a way to take her life back. I liked that the author didn't just try to gloss over Ana's pain so she could get to the romance. Again, that would not have been authentic. Instead, there is a long exploration of the growth of both Ana and Rev depicted through their interactions and introspection.
The only problem with this book was also one of it's strengths. The majority of the book is just Ana and Rev connecting to each other. There isn't a lot of action or even minor conflicts. There are major conflicts in the story but the rest is just kind of everyday life. And the everyday life, for 80% of the book does not include sex. I can't say that I was bored but there were times in the book where I wanted more from the romance and definitely more in the bedroom. Even taking those things into account, I still enjoyed this book, I highly recommend this book and the whole series. I look forward to finding out what comes next.
**ARC provided by Publisher**
I loved Rev's character in book one and was thrilled that he got to be the hero of book two.
ReplyDelete