Book Review: Reaper's Property by Joanna Wylde (+18)

Author: Joanna Wylde
Series: Reapers MC #1
Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc
Release Date: January 9th 2013
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Marie doesn’t need a complication like Horse. The massive, tattooed, badass biker who shows up at her brother’s house one afternoon doesn’t agree. He wants Marie on his bike and in his bed. Now.

But Marie just left her abusive jerk of an ex-husband and she’s not looking for a new man. Especially one like Horse—she doesn’t know his real name or where he lives, she’s ninety percent certain he’s a criminal and that the “business” he talks with her brother isn’t website design. She needs him out of her life, which would be a snap if he’d just stop giving her mind-blowing orgasms.

Horse is part of the Reapers Motorcycle Club, and when he wants something, he takes it. What he wants is Marie, but she’s not interested in becoming “property of”.

Then her brother steals from the club. Marie can save him by giving Horse what he wants—at home, in public, on his bike… If she’s a very, very good girl, she’ll get lots more of those orgasms only he can offer, and he’ll let her brother live. Maybe.

A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

When I first started to get curious about the motorcycle club culture Sons of Anarchy was about 4 seasons in, I think. I watched the pilot and I enjoyed it, but then stuff happened and I couldn't watch it anymore. Then after my exams at the beginning of the year I decided to start over with the show. Once I got into it I wanted to see if there were any books about that world and I stumbled on Reaper's Property.

I didn't think I was going to love it. I feel like I have to say that before I say anything else about the book. The MC club lifestyle and rules are so different from what I expected and from what I'm used to, that I didn't think I was going to enjoy the book. It was the same feeling I had when I first watched SOA. I am however glad that I started my journey into the MC branch of the romance genre with this particular book.

First, I loved how the story went from present to past in the first part of the book. I love it when an author manages to successfully juggle the two timelines without making them blurry or incomprehensible. And I love to get teased like that, because if it's done well, it keeps me hooked and it makes me want to finish reading. So that's what I noticed first about the book and what I loved.

Then there are the characters. Horse is not the type of hero I immediately fall for. Yes, he has the bike and the leather and the words and the attitude and all that, but it takes a while. At first he seems like a bad guy, a really bad guy, but then he surprises you. I love that with each chapter I got to discover him and understand his motives for acting in a certain way. Then there's the fact that he won't pussyfoot around a certain issue, nor will he beg for something that isn't going to happen. There's this heartbreaking scene between him and Marie where he's willing to give her everything he has and it's pretty clear that he's trying to make her understand his world and that's the scene when I finally understood him.

Marie is a normal woman that has had some issues in the past. She's a fighter though, she's not the type to rely on someone else to save her. She falls for Horse, but his world scares her a lot and it makes her see the violence that surrounds him more than the man. Which is completely understandable. I think I would've been disappointed had she accepted his world and the MC lifestyle with ease. So I liked that she does and says certain things that might seem hurtful (and even are) but when thinking about the danger element surrounding the Reapers MC and about her past makes them be the natural reaction I was hoping she'd have.

I think this was a very good book for a first book in a series. Oh, by the way, you have got to read the other books in the series. Man oh man they keep getting better and better. It's now an addiction for me :D So yeah, I'm anxiously waiting for the new book to come out, Reaper's Stand, which comes out in September *whines* But if you're a newbie to the MC world I say this is the perfect book to start with :D

Obsessed With Covers #14: Zomburbia, Frozen, Snow Like Ashes

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

So, here are the prettiest covers I've seen this week.

This is suuuuch a creepy cover! I love it!! The blood, the slash on her cheek that gives the illusion that she's half grinning, her light-colored eyes are staring directly at you, it seems like she's looking at your soul. Or eyeing her next meal. Then there's the blood, the wound on her forehead and her creepy color...It all makes this cover amazing.










Zomburbia - Adam Gallardo

This is such a simple cover, which is actually why I like it. Of course, looking at the different editions, I found another one that I loved, that I had to include in this post as well...Now I'm torn, because if I ever decide to read this series, I'll have to seriously ponder on which edition to buy. There's the first version, which is more appropriate for the title, with the icy background and the icy-blue dragon that looks like he's very, very cold, poor thing. Then there's the second version, where the dragon looks like a pendant and it's rising over the sea or it's a portal to a different world / dimension.... So yeah, I've no idea what should I choose... The important part is that both covers are amazing and beautiful and maybe I'll buy both versions, just for the prettiness of them both.

Frozen: Heart of Dread by Melissa De La Cruz & Michael Johnston

I love the duality of this cover. The yin-yang showing both summer/spring and winter landscapes and the ashes on the ground that look almost like waves. I'm also curious about the title and how the cover fits with it... I might add this book on my TBR based solely on the cover.










Snow Like Ashes - Sara Raasch

August Random Reads (2): The Outsider by Melinda Metz

I decided to join in on Sarah's meme and I'll let Random.org choose my books for me because I seriously need to make a dent in my TBR mountain. Though I secretly believe my TBR mountain is a direct descendant of the Hydra, because no matter how many books I read from it, the pile keeps getting bigger and bigger. Anyway...

The rules are pretty simple:

1. If you’re on Goodreads enable sorting to your to-read shelf
2. Go to Random.org and type in the Min as 1 and the Max as how many ever books are on your to-read shelf.
3. Scroll down to the book matching the number Random.org picks.
4. Link up to your Random Reads post. If you choose more than one book per month, be sure to put a number by your name in the list so it doesn’t look like a duplicate.
5. Read and be merry.

Here's what Random.org chose for me: 75 *drum roll* That means I'm going to read The Outsider by Melinda Metz. Nice! I've had this on my TBR since I saw Roswell and found out that it's based on a series of books. Now I'm really excited.