Review: Unique
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 3, 2014
Reviewed by BJfor TheRomanceReviews.comGAME CHANGER is a romance novel in the rapidly growing Motorcycle Club (MC) sub-genre. On the lighter side, for this typically dark romance filled sub-genre, it was an enjoyable read which provides insight into the types of individuals that are drawn in by the allure of MCs, as well as a nontraditional love story.Raine Winston, the twenty-eight year old heroine of the story, has lived a tragic filled life which started with her mother's death from cancer at the tender age of eight. Her father, devastated with her loss, is not much of a father figure the rest of his short life, leaving Raine to basically raise her younger sister, Claire. The one fortunate circumstance of this tragedy is that Raine and Claire are rescued for a short time by Prosper, the President of the Hells Saints MC, their father's best friend, and the other man who was also in love with their mother.This safe haven respite, however, only lasts a short while, as Prosper promised Raine's mother on her deathbed that he would let their father raise the girls when he recovers from her loss. Recognizing Raine's incredible strength and determination to want to take care of her sister, notwithstanding how young she is, before disappearing Prosper makes Raine a promise that should life ever get too hard for her or Claire to handle, all they need to do is come to a special place which he makes her memorize and say the safeword. He does warn her, however, not to use this out lightly, for if she ever does take him up on his offer, it will be a "Game Changer" and her life as she has known it will change forever.For twenty years, Raine bravely deals with life's tragedies on her own. Even after she is raped and nearly beaten to death by an abusive boyfriend, she doesn't take her out. But one day, when her sister and her drug addicted boyfriend are threatened by an MC, that's the final straw, and Raine finally seeks her safe haven.When she arrives, however, she quickly realizes that the place she has run to for safety is the same MC she is running from. Even worse, Diego Montesalto, the same tall, dark and handsome, menacing bad boy biker who has been threatening her, is there and looks ready to devour her. Prosper makes good on his word, but Diego doesn't relent in his pursuit, even though both are aware that a bad result here could definitely lead to a big time interference with "club business" and MCs never let women interfere with "club business". But the strength and fire that Diego sees in Raine's eyes is enough to make him want to risk it and even ignore his longstanding vow against "complicated" women following a devastating tragedy with his first love. Can two individuals with such tragic pasts ever find a way to an HEA?GAME CHANGER was a different MC read for me. It was different in so many ways that it’s hard to list them all, but here are a few. While still touching upon many of the same tragedies usually found in MC books, it was thankfully less gritty and descriptive of those tough subjects. Unfortunately, this lighter approach also carried over into the steamy department, so I found it to be pretty tame by MC standards (really more of a "romance" level of steaminess, rather than "erotic" level which is typically found in MC books). Additionally, GAME CHANGER is told from a number of different points of views, including individuals that are not the hero or heroine, which is an unusual writing style. Interestingly, as I think this book tries to tell the story of the MC, not just of the hero and heroine, this style has potential. However, I think there are still a number of loose ends, particularly with some of the secondary characters, that were started but have not yet been brought fruition. Perhaps this is the start of a series where future books will answer these questions.Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that there were a number of typos and other writing matters that would have benefited from additional editing. Nonetheless, I still found the story easy enough to follow.All in all, GAME CHANGER is a unique MC romance that lovers of MC romance books will want to check out. Additionally, for those of you who are curious about MC romances, but prefer a "romance" level of steaminess over "erotic," this is a good book which can help introduce you to the MC world.