ARC Review: Seducing the Defendant by Chantal Fernando

I was immediately drawn to “Seducing the Defendant” by Chantal Fernando because of the storyline. I love the idea of a stuff and top-of-his-game attorney taking on a defendant charged with killing her husband. The evidence was pretty strong against the heroine, Scarlett Reyes. I personally love courtroom romances so I immediately jumped into the story when it became available and I was interested to read Chantal Fernando, whom I have never read before.

When the story begins, our hero, Jaxon Bentley is a grieving man. He lost his sister and he is very much into his grief. Even though he is on leave he is pulled back into his job when he hears of Scarlett Reyes, a very wealthy woman who is accused of killing her husband. Jaxon has earned a reputation as a hardworking defense attorney and one of the best. He runs a small firm with one of his good friends. Scarlett was a battered woman. She was charmed by her now dead husband and really thought he was a good guy. By all accounts he was not only a crooked cop but also involved with a motorcycle gang and heavily involved in selling and using drugs. He was also emotionally abusive to Scarlett and ended up controlling all aspects of her life until Scarlett was free of him. Scarlett trying to free herself from her husband’s abusive control fled to France to take care of her sick aunt.

When Jaxon meets Scarlett she is defensive, scared and closed off. Because he recently lost his sister Scarlett’s hurt and pain is endearing to him. Because Jaxon quickly realizes that Scarlett has suffered at the hands of her husband and is caught up in the media storm, he is kind, compassionate, caring and sweet. Everything that Scarlett needs and has craved for so long. Because of their client and attorney relationship they fight their attraction for each other and try to maintain everything strictly professional, even though, both really need a friend.

So as I mentioned before I really wanted to like this story because of the plot. A few things fell flat for me. First, I did not think that there was much chemistry between Jaxon and Scarlett. Most of their conversation felt forced and even their slowly forming friendship felt very stiff. Yes, they were attracted to each other but I knew this because the author told me not because of the chemistry between them. Also, some parts of the story were so over the top I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes a few time. This is one of those stories where if it were a novella I would have enjoyed more. Finishing the story was sheer determination and effort because most of the story felt long and drawn out. I’ve seen some great reviews online, so some readers really enjoyed the story. For me, I expected more.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Crossroads by Chantal Fernando

I've read most of the books in the Wind Dragons series.  In fact, I think I've only missed one. I enjoyed the early entries in the series a great deal but as time has gone on the Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club has changed pretty drastically. The change in the MC has changed the way the romances are framed and I think at this point, the series has just run its course. There is nothing terribly wrong with this book but there is nothing special that really set this series apart when it started. It's just kind of an easy and forgettable read. 

This book is Ranger's story. You might remember Ranger if you read previous entries in the series because Ranger showed up in one of the earlier books. Ranger is a patch over from the Wild Men MC. Both he and Talon (another character from past books) became a part of the Wind Dragons when things with the Wild Men fell to crap. The thing is, Ranger joined Wild Men early on and it was connected to his identity. Joining a new club after years in another one has left him feeling adrift and isolated. Faye, the previous First Lady of the Wind Dragons and club lawyer ask Ranger to help her find a missing girl. For me, this is where everything started drifting left.

From the time Faye ask Ranger to help find the missing girl, shit just stops being believable. The girl who is missing is the cousin of a local cop, Jo. From the time Ranger meets Jo, sparks start flying left and right. When he finds out he is going to be working with Jo to find her cousin that just seems like an added bonus. It turns out Ranger knows Jo's cousin from years back and eventually things get complicated in ways I won't tell you because I don't want to spoil anything. What I will tell you is that, the whole cousin subplot did nothing for me. The way Ranger and Jo handled it was dumb as hell and I gave myself a headache rolling my eyes at the shenanigans.  

Jo is a cop so there are issues with her dating an outlaw biker. Jo and Ranger fall way deep in love though and both of them are willing to give up anything to be together. I don't know, it was just whatever. I liked Ranger and Jo together but there was nothing that made me feel particularly connected to them or their relationship. I also did not like the way things eventually worked out with Ranger and the club. I just don't read MC novels for things to go in that direction. If you haven't read any other wind dragons books, I definitely don't think you should make this your first one. There are better books in the series but its probably time to wrap the series up now.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Last Ride by Chantal Fernando

I've read every installment in the Wind Dragons MC series. I started with Faye and Sin in book 1 and I loved them. They were my introduction to the series and the reason I grabbed up every subsequent book right away. By way of history, if you read the first book in the series Faye is in a very different position in life. In that book she is not the MC prez's wife, she's not a lawyer for the club yet and she spends most of the book being knocked up. I give you all of that background on Faye because this book centers around Faye. Most of the book is told from her perspective. I decided to read this book because I made the mistake of forgetting that book 1 Faye is not the Faye in this book.

When this book begins Faye is Sin's wife. She is the first lady of the Wind Dragon's and she runs the world of the women. Also Faye is the club's lawyer so she gets insight into club business that women don't usually have in this story. Also Faye has a smart mouth and everything she says is witty. Also Faye is the mother to a club princess and prince. Also Faye is a badass and can fight and is fearless and is beautiful and and and....and it was too damn much! I can't believe I'm saying this but Faye got on my nerves. She was just everywhere doing everything all the damn time.

Ok, you're probably all like 'yeah LJ but what was the book about?' Well, the book was kind of what you expect. Faye is fearless so she gets herself into some serious drama plotting to save the day. Sin loves Faye fiercely. Ok, let's take a moment to talk about Sin. Everything you loved about Sin from the other books in this series is back. Sin is still the same. He's alpha, bossy and loves his woman, family and club. Sin sorta wishes Faye would listen to him but also loves that she is independent and can be relied on to do whatever she wants to do. I like that about him. Sometimes I wished he would put the kabosh on some of Faye's....unorthodox plans but I still liked that he liked a strong woman.

Faye and Sin's relationship is still solid and just grows stronger through everything that happens in this book. I've known all the characters in this series over the course of several books so it was nice to see a lot of them again as the book goes forward. Despite some of the issues with Faye, this book is really fun and really entertaining. I recommend this book for any fans of MC romance or this series.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Wild Ride by Chantal Fernando

Don't be fooled by the name, there was nothing "wild" about this ride. Something is missing from this book. I'm not sure exactly what it is but I think it's a plot that has some rising action, conflict and resoluton. This entire story line was completely flat. I have read all the Wind Dragon MC books so I was expecting much more from this story. Maybe because it was a short story that seems to be the beginning of another story, the author just held off on giving us everything. I don't know but this book felt really disappointing.

If you have read other books in the Wind Dragon series than you already know who Tia and Talon are. Based on the history of Tia and Talon, I was expecting some major fire works in this book but then there was just nothing. Tia and Talon hook up. Talon offers a bit of resistance for like 10 pages because he doesn't want to cause trouble with the WDs but then he throws caution to the wind. From that point on, Tia and Talon are a couple. And really, nothing happens. They have a couple of tepid sex scenes and go on a couple of dates. Talon eventually meets Tia's son Rhett but no sparks there. Talon is having problems with his MC but we just hear about it, Talon isn't really a part of the action and spends most of the book trying to figure out what is going on in his own club. So, weird. The WD's offer a little token resistance to Tia and Talon being together but they sort that pretty quick and we hear nothing else about it. I mean seriously, nothing happens in this book.

This is a short story so it goes by pretty quick. But just because a book is a novella doesn't mean it shouldn't have a plot. I was just expecting a lot more from this series and from this author. This book really adds nothing to the series and I found it very unsatisfying. It's not bad, it's just nothing...

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Rake's Redemption by Chantal Fernando

I have read every book and the one novella in this 5 book series about the Wind Dragon Motorcycle Club and their women. I loved the first two books but I was disappointed with the third book and with the one novella. I'm familiar with Rake's character from the other books though and there was no way I was going to pass up the chance to get his story. I'm glad I didn't because this book was absolutely a return to everything I love about this series.

If you've read any of the other books in the series you know that Rake is a seriously kinky bossy alpha male who likes to tie up his women. And yes I mean that plural because he often had more than one at a time tied up. There had been hints that he had some great love in his past and that things went seriously left. In this book we meet her, Bailey, and she has a son. In a departure from books with this theme, Bailey's son was not Rake's but was the happy result of a very unhappy spiral she fell into after her first breakup with Rake/Adam.

I really liked Bailey. The thing that drove her and Adam apart was also proof of how much she loved Adam and how much she wanted to protect him. Her wanting to protect the man she loved- who totally did not deserve it, combined with her toughness and love for her son made her one of my favorite of the women from this series. I also liked that Bailey pretty quickly embraced the MC life instead of being like some of the heroines in these books and acting like she was too good for it.

I already love the Wind Dragons. They are a bunch of bossy alpha males who do whatever they have to do to protect their women and I'm sooo here for it. Rake was no exception. He was a grade A jackass to Bailey but it was clear he had some inner turmoil to deal with. Even when he still wanted to hate Bailey, Adam's protective instincts were on 10. I think that's what really got me about this book, none of the love was lost between Adam and Bailey. Even though crazy bad things happened, the love remained untarnished. It survived everything which gave the book a really hopeful tone.

So yeah get this book and enjoy all the things that make this series generally great.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Dirty Ride by Chantal Fernando

I have read every book in this series and I have been a huge fan. I've loved all the bossy alpha males and the women with smart mouths and independent outlooks. I went into this book with a lot of optimism because I figured I couldn't lose with this series. I give you all that background as context for my review. Sometimes our expectations can influence our perception. My less than enthusiastic view of this book might be more a function of my heightened expectations than anything being wrong with the book. So there is that.

All disclaimers aside, this book was ok but not what I was expecting from this author or this series. My main issue is that there seemed to be very little development of the story or the relationship between the characters. I thought both Valentina and Irish had huge potential as characters but then the story and the romance just didn't really go anywhere. I can't quite explain what went wrong. It just seemed like instead of a story developing, we got a list of details that didn't flow together all that well. I think that was one of the most surprising things about this book for me. I didn't think the actual writing was on the same level as I expected after reading the other books. In particular, the banter between the characters that makes the other books really fun to read was missing. I have to say, I totally didn't realize this book was a novella. I don't know if I would have picked it up if I had known it was a novella but if you are in to shorter stories, that might actually be a positive thing for you.

Also, for those of you who love the aspects of the MC club you get in the other books in the series, this book more than any other in the series is disconnected from the rest of the club. Irish doesn't even take Valentina around the club for a significant portion of the book.

The things you get with this book that you have probably come to love are steamy scenes, two strong characters and a hint of danger. If you love this series, go ahead and give this one a try, just consider yourself cautioned.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Arrows Hell by Chantal Fernando

Great for MC Romance fans!

This is the second book in the Wind Dragon's MC Series and I actually recommend starting with the first book. Both this book and the first book are technically standalone novels but if you plan to read the first book, this one contains a lot of spoilers. And the first one is good so you should read it.

This installment is Anna and Arrow's story. Anna is the younger sister of Rake, one of the Wind Dragons, and off limits to all members of the club. Of course she promptly falls for one of the clubs most infamous members- Arrow. Arrow is tortured, brooding and angsty over the death of his previous love Mary. He feels responsible for her death and undeserving of love. Yup, I'm a lil twisted but that is my favorite brand of Hero. I love a tortured bad boy with a big...ego, lol.

One of my favorite things about Chantal's writing is her depiction of the heroines. Now Anna was not as funny as Faye from the first book but I really liked her character. I'm a fan of strong heroines who are not afraid to use their back hand when things get out of hand. I also like the fact that the author depicted her as being jealous of Faye. I don't think I've ever seen a character in a sequel have a problem with the character from the preceding novel and I liked it. The jealousy was unfounded but it was understandable in a petty way that we can all relate to.

The place where this book loses some steam is in the actual relationship between Arrow and Anna. I'm not sure I get it at all. Anna is in a zoology doctoral program and Rake is a released convict with no education to speak of. Opposites can attract but can they develop a lasting passionate relationship and actually have things to talk about? I jusssst don't know. The attraction between Arrow and Anna is instant but beyond just sort of growling at her, there isn't much courting of Anna by Arrow before she is madly in love with him. I just don't care enough about that issue to let it really detract from my rating but if instalove really bothers you, this might make you uncomfortable.

This book was told in the first person POV and I was excited about getting Arrow's POV until I realized it's only in the prologue and epilogue. I strongly prefer books with both characters POV so that was a little disappointing.

There was good conflict and action in this book. It is an easy read that moves rapidly. The Janet and Jacob story lines added some layers and kept us interested. I'm not sure about the Jacob piece because it didn't really have a logical resolution but it did keep the plot moving forward.

I really like the twist involving the Wild Men MC. That was a good continuation of that story line that wrapped up in really interesting way.I also like the set up for the Tracker and Lana story and I will be stalking GR waiting for that one to come out.

Oh and yes, the sex...not this author's strongest point. It's ok but not as well described as I like to see. More contemporary sex than erotic sex.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Dragon's Lair by Chantal Fernando

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm a sucker for MC romance but if you know me, you also know that I'm a picky B when it comes to books so you can believe me when I tell you, this was good.

This book in super fast spoiler-free rewind: Faye and Dex have known each other since childhood. Faye is from a cold family that disowns her when she gets "involved" with Dex. Dex is now "Sin" and he's the VP of a bad A MC. Throw in the fact that Dex is the estranged brother of Faye's sorry butt ex, the MC is embroiled in a war and Faye is dealing with a....situation and bombs away. We have ourselves a story.

My absolute favorite thing about this book is the humor. I vacillate between what I like more sex or humor. Ok, that's an exaggeration, sex wins every time but humor is a close (or short distant) second and this book delivered. Faye has a wonderful deadpan sense of humor that I thoroughly enjoyed. She says almost everything that pops into her head and since I too suffer from that particular disorder, I could dig it.

The story is entertaining. It moves through the twists and turns of Faye and Dex's developing relationship including the internal and external threats to their connection and it is true to the MC form. I have read a couple of books recently that just throw dudes in who ride bikes and beat people up and call themselves MC romance. They need to knock it off and rest assured that is not the case with DL. This is a true MC romance that gives you the view of club life that makes these books uniquely compelling.

The book has great supporting characters. I especially enjoyed the dialogue between Faye and the other club members. I like the fact that the beginning of other story lines with supporting characters appears in this book without being too intrusive or feeling like the author was trying to hard to preview future material.

Oh yeah Dex- Dex didn't give me as much. A singular POV in a book, in this case Faye's POV, can be limiting. As a result my sense of Dex just isn't as well developed. I like him though, he's alphaish with a bad temper. That's pretty much all I need to sign on the dotted line...I mean if there was a dotted line.

My only criticism of the story line was that nothing about Faye being a law student is a realistic representation of that life for a law student in the United States. I went to law school and you can't distinguish a tort from a torte until....well the bar exam...if you're lucky. Under no circumstances can a first year law student give you legal advice. So if you read this book and you know a first year, don't even think about it. If you didn't go to law school, the complete lack of credibility in that part of the story probably wont phase you at all.

In summary: I really enjoyed this book, I recommend it for MC romance readers and I CANNOT WAIT FOR ARROW"S HELL.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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