I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Wild Ways
in eBook edition on May 13, 2014 and has 288 pages.
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Second in the Justiss Alliance, a romantic suspense series. The couple focus is on Mollie Reagan and Julian Cuevas.
My Take
A story about dysfunction and love and family. Funny how they always seem to go together. There’s Molly obsessed with caretaking her sister, abandoned by her parents and grandparents, and desperate to know what it’s like to belong to a loving family. Then there’s Julian who has too much family who all love him, but loco.
It’s a cute start as Wainscott impresses right away with how tough the boys are. It actually is a good story with realistic reactions from Mollie. It could use more depth and a bit more show. However, please, what is Wainscott’s obsession with these info dumps! Writers need to incorporate background information into the story. Make it natural. Throwing in these asides takes me out of the story…it also makes me more critical. Ahem.
“…and four men and two ‘ol ladies,’ as the bikers called their women…” *major eye roll*
And then Wainscott, I mean Julian, expects Mollie to immediately trust some scary guy who rises up out of the parking lot of a bar with her safety?
How stupid is Mollie? Hasn’t she heard of door locks? She does make a good point about needing to come along.
Crack me up. I love that phrase she uses to describe a former relationship:
“…their relationship resembled two people swirling around in a toilet bowl. When it finally flushed away, she had only felt relief…”
I do feel bad for families caught up in this sort of situation, and I can’t blame the grandparents for giving up on their daughter and then granddaughter. There’s only so much you can do for someone determined to destroy their lives.
This may not be a good read for families who have wayward daughters, as it could trigger some terrifying scenarios for your nightmares. On the other hand, it might be a good teaching tool to scare daughters into being aware…
I gotta go with Mollie’s reaction. If you love someone, you don’t leave them behind. HOWEVER, you can’t change people. They have to want to change. Mollie’s biggest problem is her need to take over people’s lives, make their decisions for them. It just pisses people off, being controlled like this. It never works in the long-term. And it will never make both parties happy.
Another excellent point is:
“You can’t control other people’s behavior, beliefs, or perceptions. All you can control is your own.”
Jesus, that takes some guts getting up on stage and stripping.
And now the I’m-too-stupid-to-stay-safe trope, ‘cause Mollie didn’t learn from her last encounter with the bad guys, although I do appreciate Julian’s own appreciation for Mollie’s traits as well as what he’s learned about his family from her. Very sweet.
Oh, man, it gets really good after the strip club stake-out, that heart-in-mouth kind of action.
I know everyone is entitled to their preferences, but there is a point of common human decency. One which this biker group has gone way, way, way beyond.
Oh, please…Crimson is supposed to be so hot because he’s “brought tens of thousands of dollars” to their coffers? Really? Tens of thousands? Now if Wainscott had said hundreds of thousands or tens of millions, that amount would be more realistic…hmmm, how many decades must we retreat before tens of sounds like a lot of money?
Thank god, Di finally gets it. *eye roll* Oh, man, I love it. Di gets it and then she hands it out with a vengeance!
The Story
Julian may have accepted what happened to their military careers, but Rath needs revenge. A headshake of acceptance and Julian turns his attention to another who has caught his attention. He can’t resist what appears to be a lady in distress. And anyone planning to confront a biker gang is in distress.
The race will be on when Mollie learns the truth about the Ball.
The Characters
Mollie Reagan, a.k.a., Mira, is/was employed until it was learned her sister had run off on her own—Mollie does have a caretaker complex. Now she’s hunting for her runaway sister with dwindling resources. Diane, a.k.a., Birdy, is Mollie’s flighty sister who ran off with a biker. Her dad left. Her mom flipped out with alcohol and drugs. Her grandparents are strict due to their daughter’s drug use.
Former SEALS, Julian Cuevas (he rides a Harley Fatboy) plans to join the Justiss Alliance while his friend, Rath Blackwood who rides a Shovelhead Harley intends to get revenge. Julian’s family includes Estefan, Eldora just got a Disney job, Omar, and mama and papi.
The Justiss Alliance (TJA)
The Justiss Alliance is a private security company intended to get justice for people who can’t get it through normal channels; J-Men are the agents. Chase Justiss started the organization in response to his own issues. Vivi is one of their agents. Knox, Risk (mad interrogator skills), and Sax (part of the SEAL team that was betrayed) talked Cuevas into joining TJA.
Kings of Chaos biker gang
Billy Bob, a club prospect, was gonna tell Mollie something about her sister. Oops. Scotch is the club president. Greaser is his sergeant-at-arms. Brick is the guy who took up with Birdy. Boner, Blazer, Mooney, and Fat Bob are more members. King Crimson is the head of the entire club. Rancid is president of the Chicago chapter.
Hidden Assets
Hidden Assets is a strip club in Chicago run by Damon, a King. Crystal is part of management while Tawny, Petra, Katie, a.k.a., Foxy, and Lilliana are some of the girls.
Big Juan is a chapter president of the Purgatory Posse, another biker gang. The Viper biker gang includes Blackbeard, the sergeant-at-arms, Venom, and Buzzkill.
Detective Boyd warns Mollie about Julian. Kevin is hired security. And what he’s doing promoting himself as security, I don’t know. Thorny, a.k.a., Thorndyke, is a friend of Julian’s from the platoon who retired in Texas who repairs cars. Paul is an ex-boyfriend of Mollie’s, typical of her type. Lang runs a bar with good bar-b-que.
Prospects are wanna-bes auditioning for membership. Patches are bike group members. Church is a chapter meeting. The King’s Ball is a money-making event King Crimson dreamed up, and it cleans up a lot of what they consider useless. BOB is a bitch on the back.
The Cover and Title
The cover is black-and-white with Julian in sunglasses, flashing that six-pack under his open shirt.
The title is the boys and Mollie, for they all have their Wild Ways.
