Backfire
Vigilantes #2
by
Keri Lake
If you are looking for pretty butterflies, rainbows and heart shaped clouds move on. You won't find them here. This is a gritty tale about violence, sacrifices and revenge but also all consuming love and tenderness in the face of danger and loss. The lines between the polar opposites of good and evil are blurred and things aren't always what they seem.
Our story takes place in Detroit. In my mind the settings looked like the Detroit of the comic and movie The Crow - it's dark, debauched and corrupt. At the same time it's eerily beautiful in its decay. I don't think I should give away too much of the plot - you will get most out of the story if you know as little as possible about it. There are twists and surprises along the way that will have your heart racing. I'll reveal a little bit though:
Lucy is an urban exploration photographer. When her friend gives her a gig to shoot in Detroit's Packard Plant, she witnesses something she shouldn't. She does, however, and since she has her camera at hand she films the whole thing, unaware that these will be the last quiet minutes she will have for the forseeable future.
Jase is a hardened man. He was born on the wrong side of the tracks and hasn't had a lot of love and luck in his young life. Losing his brother and grandmother was only the tip of the iceberg of events that shaped him into the man he is today.
We get glimpses of his past by way of haunting flashbacks. Jase is a hero of the asshole variety when we start out on this adventure. He makes no excuses about his personality. He's raw, sexual and focused. Until...Lucy.
Lucy is a firecracker with a stiff backbone who doesn't back down. I loved how she wasn't cowed by Jase's bullying. She has Jase on his toes, stands up up to him and doesn't relent, damn the consequences. Smart as a whip, fearless and crafty, she shows strength and endurance.
As with Ricochet the relationship development between Jase and Lucy isn't straight forward. And how could it be? These are deeply flawed characters who are unapologetic about their decisions. They take a lot of turns, 180s and crossroads before they find a common path. The way their dynamics changed along the way had me glued to the pages. They were like magnets you can't separate.
Interestingly, the first real sex scene was hot but I found the thoughts running through Jase's head so captivating that I forgot the tingle in the nether regions of my anatomy. Every subsequent encounter was explosive and had my ovaries in a meltdown. Their sexual taste is as edgy as their personalities and has a hint of depravation. And boy, Keri Lake can write some hot sex scenes.
The story is action packed and addictive, the scenes were vivid in my mind and well choreographed. The landscape came to life with Keri Lake's descriptions. This book can be read as a stand-alone but if you haven't read Ricochet yet, I urge you to do it. Nick's and Aubree's story is just as haunting and beautiful.
One more thing. I need to go all fan-girly because, seriously, this story rocked my world. I LOVED Jase and Lucy together, they were perfect for each other.
Last, I wanted to mention the cover. The model is perfect for Jase, the smirk that borders on a sneer is pretty much this hero's trademark. Kudos to Keri for finding somebody who could incorporate Jase's personality and giving him a face.
ARC received by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Lucy is an urban exploration photographer. When her friend gives her a gig to shoot in Detroit's Packard Plant, she witnesses something she shouldn't. She does, however, and since she has her camera at hand she films the whole thing, unaware that these will be the last quiet minutes she will have for the forseeable future.
Jase is a hardened man. He was born on the wrong side of the tracks and hasn't had a lot of love and luck in his young life. Losing his brother and grandmother was only the tip of the iceberg of events that shaped him into the man he is today.
I've been to prison, licked the bottom of the barrel, and tasted nothing but bitter desolation my whole damn life, Lucy.
We get glimpses of his past by way of haunting flashbacks. Jase is a hero of the asshole variety when we start out on this adventure. He makes no excuses about his personality. He's raw, sexual and focused. Until...Lucy.
He was dark, threatening, and sexually magnetic, all rolled into one three-dimensional package of fuck me.
Lucy is a firecracker with a stiff backbone who doesn't back down. I loved how she wasn't cowed by Jase's bullying. She has Jase on his toes, stands up up to him and doesn't relent, damn the consequences. Smart as a whip, fearless and crafty, she shows strength and endurance.
As with Ricochet the relationship development between Jase and Lucy isn't straight forward. And how could it be? These are deeply flawed characters who are unapologetic about their decisions. They take a lot of turns, 180s and crossroads before they find a common path. The way their dynamics changed along the way had me glued to the pages. They were like magnets you can't separate.
I wanted her to go, but I needed her to stay. Or was it the other way around? Goddamn, she had my head all messed up.
Interestingly, the first real sex scene was hot but I found the thoughts running through Jase's head so captivating that I forgot the tingle in the nether regions of my anatomy. Every subsequent encounter was explosive and had my ovaries in a meltdown. Their sexual taste is as edgy as their personalities and has a hint of depravation. And boy, Keri Lake can write some hot sex scenes.
The story is action packed and addictive, the scenes were vivid in my mind and well choreographed. The landscape came to life with Keri Lake's descriptions. This book can be read as a stand-alone but if you haven't read Ricochet yet, I urge you to do it. Nick's and Aubree's story is just as haunting and beautiful.
One more thing. I need to go all fan-girly because, seriously, this story rocked my world. I LOVED Jase and Lucy together, they were perfect for each other.
Buried deep inside of her, feeling her from the inside, it still wasn't enough. I wanted more of her. To know she belonged to me, and I belonged to her
I'd bleed for her. Kill for her. Die for her.
Last, I wanted to mention the cover. The model is perfect for Jase, the smirk that borders on a sneer is pretty much this hero's trademark. Kudos to Keri for finding somebody who could incorporate Jase's personality and giving him a face.
ARC received by the author in exchange for an honest review.