Review: More character driven drama rather than cracked out biker soap - worked for me
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 5, 2014
The first book in the Marauders MC series features Edie Yates, who has been traveling around the world for six years in a quest to find out more about herself (something that seems frivolous at first, until you learn her backstory).  She returns to Greenville, Arizona where her older sister Melanie lives with her husband Brick Baxter, the President of the Greenville chapter of the Marauders. Mel is anxious and eager to share this family with Edie.As the story begins, you really don’t know what Edie’s been through except that it was traumatic enough to force her out of the country and away from the only family she has left.  She is calm and self-reliant, but also protective of herself and doesn’t open up easily.  She meets Dawg, who earned his road name the old fashioned way - he’s a hound who’s been with ALOT of women and he’s definitely interested in Edie.  Dawg’s far too smart to hit on his president’s sister-in-law though, so they agree to be friends.  But when is that ever enough?My ReviewWhen I first downloaded this book as a freebie on amazon, I wasn’t sure what to think of it.  The cover is of an old pair of hiking boots (it only makes sense about halfway through the story) which didn’t give me a sense of the story, so it sat on my TBR list for a while.  This is a story though that you sink into - it’s not about hot plot points, it’s about getting to know Edie, Dawg and the Marauders.  It’s a slice-of-life type of tale that is very much character-based as opposed to wild melodrama.I’m used to MC books such as the Undeniable series by Madeleine Sheehan, which is over the top, hyper dramatic but highly entertaining tales that are gritty and raw.  This book is on the other end of the spectrum, but no less interesting.  While it’s an outlaw life they lead, it felt more realistic than cracked-out biker soap.  Edie and Dawg have some good chemistry and their friends-to-lovers romance worked well for me.Most of the drama came from Edie’s instinct to run - that became a bit tedious towards the end, even if I understood it.  There were times when certain phrasing felt a bit off, as if English isn’t the native language of the author (though let’s face it - it’s impressive to be able to <i>speak</i> another language, nevermind write a novel in it).  It has its fair share of misogynistic behavior, but I haven’t found a biker story yet that doesn’t.The Bottom LineDifferent type of MC book that may appeal to those wanting to try a biker romance, but prefer character-driven stories and aren’t into a whole lot of WTFery, this may be for you. If you're looking for a real biker soap opera, this is probably too mellow for you.