Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Vicious Cycle (Vicious Cycle #1) by Katie Ashley

Unfortunately, Vicious Cycle was not for me. The only way I can think to explain it is like watching a little girl playing dress up in her mother's clothes and high heels. All the bits are there but things just don't fit quite right. This one was trying to be a motorcycle club romance but it just couldn't quite figure out how to get there and ended up being a pretty flat rendition of one. The words might have been right, the set up right but it lacked the grit, depth and believable flavors of an MC.

I was actually doing okay with this one for the first little bit. It was no where near the levels of Sheehan or Joanna Wylde's MCs but none the less it was entertaining. A single daddy who was new to the job raising his daughter, her life being in danger and her school teacher snooping around and getting involved in their world. It had some great elements that were working for me. But then slowly bit by bit it fell apart and kept getting more outlandish and unbelievable.

The club members were very much pussy whipped by the women in their lives. They tried to act tough--they threw around swears, postured, slept around--but one little pout from the women and the men would cave and apologize for thinking anything else. They just weren't believable as bad ass bikers that are involved in illegal trade despite a handful of violent scenes thrown in. And then at the end

Yeah. I'm sorry but really?

I did like the hero overall. Decaon's a new-found daddy and struggles something fierce with that but he did come around and it was sweet and touching watching his love for his little girl develop. The little girl was adorable as well and I don't typically think authors do a great job of portraying children but Ashley did a very nice job in that regard. At the start I thought I'd like the heroine but that very much started to change when she confessed her deep dark secret

Yeah. Lost all respect for her at this point. Alex also went from pretty sturdy/solid woman with back bone to being manipulative, having wild mood swings and extreme reactions to things like him having to go to the strip club he co-owned to hire new dancers. Totally flew off the handle sobbing and breaking up with him because how could he?!! if he really loved her! She just was too much to handle.

Some extreme plot devices towards the end that were supposed to bring huge emotional reactions were overdone and instead landed in the ridiculous category for me. Including how the villain was dispatched. And the heroine very much deballing the hero once again and him stepping in line with her decisions.

This is not one I'd recommend to lovers of motorcycle romances. I'd had high hopes and was really looking forward to this one but in the end it just flat out didn't work for me and I won't be continuing on with the series. 

**Just want to add a note that Katie Ashley is not Kristen Ashley

Have you read Ashley? What did you think?
Ever had one where EVERYONE seems to love it and you...not so much?


Deacon Malloy’s life is dedicated to the Hell’s Raiders motorcycle club. Tough, hard, and fast with his fists, he serves the group as sergeant at arms. But his devil-may-care approach to life is thrown for a loop when the five-year-old daughter he never knew existed lands on the club steps.

Alexandra Evans is devoted to all her students—but there’s always been something about Willow Malloy that tugs at her heart. There’s an aura of sadness about her, a girl in need of all the love Alexandra can give. When Willow stops coming to school, Alexandra’s search leads to a clubhouse full of bikers…and a father hell-bent on keeping his daughter always within sight.

The moment Deacon sees Alexandra, he has to have her in his bed—and he’s never met a woman yet who couldn’t be persuaded. No matter how attracted she is to Deacon, Alexandra refuses to be just another conquest. But it’s Deacon himself who could be seduced—into a brighter future for himself, his daughter, and the woman he’s falling for against all odds. 

Type: Contemporary, MC Romance
Heat: 3.5 out of 5-- there's some anal action
Rating: 1 out of 5--not recommended 

AmazonAll Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads

Have you read Ashley? What did you think?
Do you have a favorite MC romance series?

 

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