Review: Can't wait to see more by Nicole James!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 5, 2013
Cole, our hero, is VP of the outlaw Evil Dead Motorcycle Club (MC).  Make no mistake, Cole is not a "hero" in the traditional sense - the Evil Dead is definitely an outlaw MC and he is a very active participant.  It's pretty clear after he involves himself in rescuing Angel, our heroine, from a terrible situation (it's been stated in several reviews already, but I won't take a chance on "spoiling" if you haven't already read them), that his involvement is not only unusual for him, but received as very out of character and in fact, unwelcome by his club President and even others.  And all this sets the stage for the unlikely romance between our very bad boy Cole and good girl Angel.There are a lot of twists and turns in this book and to get into too much detail would take away from the reading experience so I'll concentrate on other things to help you make your decision.Likes:  Nicole James has a good writing style.  There are a few grammar and spelling issues, but stylistically, she drew pictures in my head and evoked feelings about the characters, the situations and the angst (not contrived - these 2 were from such different backgrounds, it would have been weird if they didn't have concerns).  I cared about what happened to these 2 (as well as others).  The plot was a good one, and believable (I know there are a few people out there who couldn't get past that one initial scene, but I really could understand it - you'll have to decide for yourself).  There wasn't any sugar-coating about our hero; Cole did not travel on the right side of the law (it was one of his biggest challenges when he tried to imagine a long term future together) and Nicole didn't make him out to be a good guy.  He did have his own decency though and that was what made him a hero - when it came to Angel especially, he wanted to protect and make her happy and to do the right thing.  This book definitely gave the reader MC backdrop and color, but the relationships with women and how they were treated in this MC was not really explored, so there wasn't a lot (some, don't get me wrong, but outside one scene, not much) that would keep a reader who finds that as an objection to MC books from reading this one (this one is not even remotely as hard-core MC the way Undeniable by Madeline Sheehan is or even the more descriptive look at the male - female dynamics of Reaper's Property by Joanna Wylde (which I loved, BTW)).Dislikes:  the book was long, which I generally like, but this one was a tad too long, and especially near the end, when you knew what was going to happen, it took way too long to get there.  Also, Angel's reactions to Cole's "secret" near the end, while understandable, especially initially, went on for far too long and the trip to getting through it all was contrived and unnecessary.All in all, I thought this was an awesome book - and I didn't see any others by Nicole, so if this is her first, I am even more impressed.  I truly loved the characters, how the book made me feel and highly recommend it.  I for one will read it again (and probably again, and again!)!