Review: HLB Reviews Under Locke
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 13, 2014
So I am reluctant to put this into the whole motorcycle club theme, mainly because it lacks the violence/darkness of the heavy MC books. Yes, a significant amount of people in the book are in a MC, but most of the book revolved around family drama and working in a completely legit trade, so don't come to this book if you are looking for hardcore MC stories, this is much more tame than that, the whole MC aspect is more of a backdrop not a driving story point.That being said, it was still totally awesome! Iris is broke, like no money in her bank, so when her half-brother offers to put her up in his place AND get her a job, she drives cross country and takes him up on the offer. I loved the relationship between Iris and her brother, it's clear he really loves her, and that she really loves him. They may not have grown up together, but they have a crap dad in common and they both realize how important it is to keep the good family that they have around. I honestly think these two would do anything for each other.So when Iris starts working at the tattoo parlor, and meets her boss, Dex, well lets just say he leaves something to be desired, he's a grade-A jerk. Iris is ready to quit. But she needs the cash, and she feel obligated to give it a shot because her brother got her the gig. Even though Iris is shy, even though she puts up with Dex being so rude to her in the beginning, she does start to hold her own. She's a good girl, who has been through more than most, her mother & grandmother dying, having cancer, being broke, having a deadbeat dad, taking care of her younger brother on her own, etc. So it's clear through all of that, she has to be a strong woman or she wouldn't have survived. I liked her even more as the book went on and she started coming out of her shell and getting closer and closer to Dex. I really loved the two of them together, I liked the way they interacted, the push/pull, the chemistry, and ultimately how much they came to care about each other.Dex, well I didn't like him much in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, he was still very appealing (what can I say I love a bad boy covered in tattoos, especially those who are tattoo artists). Yes, Dex believes he has reasons for being a jerk (you know the typical, "well I was having a bad day so it was totally okay for me to make you feel like dirt"), so basically his reasons suck. But as he gets to know Iris, he tries to make it up to her, apologizing, being good to her, helping her out with her family drama, basically being a stand up guy. He's so sweet to her when he finds out how inexperienced she is, he never rushes her with anything. No pressure. I loved that about him, how willing he was to take the backseat to what Iris needed. Oh and his overprotectiveness was super hot.I loved the chemistry between Iris and Dex. I loved the friendships Iris made with the people that works at the shop, they add a lot of comic relief (and the use of "that's what she said"). I also really liked how the deadbeat dad came into play in the storyline, and how it became a mad dash to deal with the dad or face some serious consequences to their dad's actions, it made the books and characters emotions all the more intense. I would seriously recommend this book to anyone who loves a new adult book with a bad boy on a motorcycle, or heck anyone who falls for guys with tattoos (yum!).