Review: A good ride, not quite The Dragon, but still good.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 27, 2014
I'm a huge fan of biker culture and MC series; as such, I've seen a lot of films, documentaries, yes, Sons of Anarchy, and read basically everything I can get my hands on in the genre from both a nonfiction and a fiction basis. That puts me in a tough position when I'm asked to review for the genre.High expectations come into play when it's the first book someone is willing to pick up out of a pile of TBRs, right?Point of Return does a nice job of setting up a solid entry into the world of The Nordic Lords MC. There's enough background on the town, the other clubs they run with, their major competitor club -The Black Death MC-, and plenty of sidebar characters to flesh out a full series. That makes this book an excellent jumping off point for the series, but that's exactly what it reads like: a jumping off point for a series.This is a pilot episode. There are literally tons of side plots put into this -(i.e. Jaden dealing with Jules and Sophie, back story for a bunch of people like Finn and Ryker and Faith and Scratch and a bunch of others, the whole Sporelli thing, etc.)- which leaves room for more than one full "season" of stories in the world of The Nordic Lords. I'm willing to sign on for the next episode. I want to see where it goes.It was still a little too much like reading a pilot for a series than reading a story about two people and their journey. There were too many distractions. There were too many random interjections which could have been held off for the next book. There was too much going on, period, all the way through, and the ending was rushed as well as being predictable.Was it a bad read? No. I enjoyed it. It was fun. It was a nice ride, but The Dragon? That's the best ride a biker can take if you ask someone who really wants to ride, and this wasn't riding The Dragon as much as riding Route 66 with the boys down familiar pathways with Easy Rider's soundtrack blasting along the way.I'd recommend it as a solid read to anyone who is a fan of MC books. I don't know that I would recommend it as an intro novel to someone new to the genre though. It's definitely worth 4 stars on the writing quality, the consistent storytelling throughout, the attention to detail, as well as the three-dimensional nature of all the characters. Great weekend read!**NOTE: My review was based on a complimentary copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest opinion on behalf of This Redhead LOVES Books Blog.**