Fans of MC-themed romances will find this an exhilarating and edge of your seat thrill ride from the first page to the last. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Mettle by JC Valentine, along with my impressions of it, and learn even more about it by visiting the other sites hosting this tour. In honor of this second installment in the Spartan Riders series make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a $20 Amazon GC too!
Talia McKinnon said goodbye to love the day she signed the divorce papers and moved across the country looking for a fresh start. With work occupying her days and nights, a relationship is the last thing on her mind, until a run-in with a hot-as-Hades, leather clad biker changes her mind. He’s everything she shouldn’t want but has to have. The problem is, he’s not that easy to catch.
Tucker “Country” Abrams believes in two things: brotherhood and women. He takes his job seriously and his women hard, but at the end of the day, the only loyalty he has is to his club. So when a night with a beautiful stranger threatens to change everything, he’s quick to apply the brakes. But when a little detective work reveals that Talia may be much more than a one-night stand, Tucker is tasked with an impossible decision. Will he push her away, or go against every instinct he has and pull her closer?
EXCERPT:
Tucker was frowning. “So you don’t want to..."
“No! No, I do. I definitely do.” She patted the air. Realized she looked like a crazy person and pressed herself against him instead. Up close, she could see the golden flecks in his caramel colored eyes, along with shots of pale green, like a starburst. “What I meant to say was let’s get things started."
“So eager.” Looping his arm around her waist, Tucker pulled her in tighter, allowing her to feel his erection pressing against her navel. “I like it. Where’s the bedroom? Unless you prefer the couch? Or maybe the counter? I’m totally flexible."
So many options. Unfortunately, the only place Talia could be certain the cameras weren’t watching was the bedroom. She pointed in its direction. “Through there."
Grinning like a cat with a bowl of milk, Tucker carried the water bottles in one hand and held hers in the other.
Her room was just as expensively outfitted as the rest of the apartment when it came to the cost of materials and the level of quality of the furniture, but when it came to style, it was much more subdued than the rest of the place.
The difference was that it was Talia’s personal space and the one place she could retreat to truly relax. She’d read somewhere that the bedroom should be treated as a sanctuary in order to foster a calm mind and help reduce everyday stressors, which would lead to good sleep and all around better frame of mind.
Since she always got a full eight hours and could honestly say that her tension eased the minute her toes sunk into the carpet, she had to believe there was something to it.
A Ficus stood proud between three bay windows, surrounded by two club chairs that she alternated between using for reading and to prop her feet on. The bed was a standard queen with an antique iron frame that’d been painted white and then destressed in places to expose the ironwork underneath. The predominate color in the room was Robin’s egg blue with spots of yellow and touches of red sprinkled here and there to create pops of color.
It was a no-fuss space that always made her feel at home in a place that was far from it. Just another way that her job was different from everyone else’s: whereas most people worked an eight-hour shift and called it a day, she literally lived her job most days, so she rarely got to leave work behind at the end of the day. It was a reality that rarely bothered her, but when the occasion did arise, it was a struggle to remind herself why she’d chosen the profession and how much she enjoyed it.
“I like your style,” Tuck praised as he took the lead, heading straight for the bed with her in tow. “It’s surprisingly masculine."
He was referring to the choice of furniture: bulky dark grain woods mixed with metalwork and plain beige fabrics. Very basic, very streamline. No doubt, the women he usually spent his time with were all about the usual pink and floral with ruffles routine girls were taught to like. Bleh. She had never been the type to conform to societal norms.
“Thanks.” She wished she could say that she’d decorated it herself, but that would be a lie, and given the way he seemed to look straight through her most of the time, she wasn’t even going to go there.
“Okay, so how do you want to do this?” he asked. Setting the bottles down on the side table, taking care to use the coasters she kept in every room, he turned to face her.
“I’m not sure what you mean.” How to do what? Whatever it was, she knew he couldn’t be talking about sex, because he definitely knew his way around that.
“Sex,” he said, shooting that theory down. “It’s your place, so you have first dibs. Top, bottom, side, or standing. Or, if you really want to get crazy, Cricket told me about this one time where he had one of the bunnies stand on her head and put her legs on his shoulders while he--"
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Talia yelled over top of him. “This is so not something I want to hear."
“Sorry, yeah. I said the same thing, but some things you can’t unhear, and that? That was pretty damn interesting, so I’ll admit that I filed some of it away for later use. So if you’re feeling adventurous, just let me know, and I’ll be happy to hook you up."
He winked. She may have swooned a little. “Yeah, sure, okay, I’ll definitely do that.” She rolled her eyes, hoping her disinterested huff was convincing. Sex while standing on your head? How did that work?
There was so much she didn’t know, so much she had yet to learn. It seemed that Tucker was determined to see to it that he fixed that problem posthaste. It was a good feeling, being wanted. Desired. During the last months of her marriage, Brock had made it a point to beat her confidence down, drilling it in that she wasn’t a good wife. She never cooked or cleaned to his standards, didn’t dress sexy enough or maintain herself as he wanted. In his eyes, she had never been woman enough for him, too independent, too focused on work and not enough on him. In hindsight, she wasn’t even sure why she’d married him in the first place. With her job, they were often separated for weeks at a time, and when they were together, they were always butting heads. Eventually, though, she’d come to her senses and realized that, despite what she did for a living, she wasn’t the problem. He knew what he was getting into when he married her and no matter what, she didn’t deserve the abuse. So, after telling him that he wasn’t man enough for her, she left without a backward glance.
Just because she was the one who left didn’t mean that it didn’t still hurt, though. Sometimes, like now, when she thought on it too long, it struck a chord deep in her that seemed to hum through her every fiber, leaving her feeling the lowest of the low.
But now she had Tucker, who made her feel like every woman in those romance books he read about. Did he learn a thing or two from them? Hell yes. She’d experienced it at his place, and now she was about to experience it again.
Stepping into his personal space, she slid her arms around his shoulders and smiled up into his face. “I’d like to start out on top, and then we’ll go from there."
“Handstand sex?” he asked hopefully.
Her head fell back, the hangover now reduced to a dull ache, and she laughed. “Maybe."
“I’ll take it."
Absorbing the light in his eyes, the pure joy in his smile, and the euphoric feeling he gave her every time he looked at her like that, Talia thanked her lucky stars that she’d been assigned to the case she had…then wondered what she’d do with herself once it was all over.
But she didn’t want to think about all that now. Right now, all she wanted to do was get lost in the man in front of her and the untold pleasures he would bring.
Rising onto her toes, she whispered against his lips, “Thank you."
“For what?"
“For being you. The last guy in my life wasn’t so nice."
Tucker’s jaw clenched. “Then it’ll be my pleasure to erase him from your memory.”
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
As a fan of MC-themed romances I can't seem to get enough of them and the compelling men and women amongst the pages. Luckily there's no shortage of books set in this gritty and highly sexualized world that keeps you on the edge of your seat in its balance of action and eroticism. After reading the previous installment in the Spartan Riders series I found myself drawn to Tucker and am happy to see him take center stage in this sexy battle between the sexes. It's a battle that's steamy and exhilarating between a bad boy biker and the strong-willed FBI agent drawn into a romantic and dangerous war that leaves her conflicted.
With the Spartan Riders still under threat from the criminal Cruiz, there's a sense of foreboding hanging over the story and it's what ultimately brings Talia to Tucker. Women are being trafficked and Talia's sent undercover to see what connection the Spartan Riders have to it. What she discovers though is unexpected. She's a strong and modern woman quite capable of taking care of herself who desperately wants to prove herself to her coworkers and bosses. It leads her to becoming an integral part of Tucker's life, as well as of the Club, through a burgeoning romance with him and forming friendships throughout the Club that leave her saddened by her duplicity. Tucker never acts as she expects as he's charming and caring in ways both subtle and overt. He makes her feel like a woman which she embraces while enjoying her verbal sparring with him. It's a fine line she has to walk and it all comes to a head very late in the story in a war that has her fighting to keep Tucker safe.
Tucker's an unrepentant player who has no intention of getting tied down. The women he surrounds himself with are from the Club and of the same variety who cater to his every whim. Meeting Talia catches him off guard as she's unlike all his previous partners. She enjoys going toe to toe with him and he's drawn to her strength along with her brief flashes of insecurity. Before he knows it he finds himself in a relationship with the most unlikeliest of women, a relationship that's scorching and playful between two very similar people. Watching Tucker fall in love is entertaining as he makes mistakes along the way that endear him to readers. He and Talia make a formidable pair and watching them fight side by side is awe-inspiring and makes for an exhilarating conclusion to this fast-paced story.
This was an quick read that kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last as the war between the men of the Spartan Riders and Cruiz's men came to a fiery end. Tucker and his brothers are strong, sexy, and supportive of the women they claim as their own. That's not to say there isn't a bit of misogyny involving the women hanging around the club. Club life is vividly depicted with all the sensuality and brotherly interactions. Tucker and Talia are a wonderful pairing and I enjoyed their dirty talk and scorching interludes. Their steamy relationship was perfectly balanced with the action and suspense of the war and its hidden enemies. It all makes for a compelling read that pulls you in wholeheartedly and I look forward to the next installment in this series!
With the Spartan Riders still under threat from the criminal Cruiz, there's a sense of foreboding hanging over the story and it's what ultimately brings Talia to Tucker. Women are being trafficked and Talia's sent undercover to see what connection the Spartan Riders have to it. What she discovers though is unexpected. She's a strong and modern woman quite capable of taking care of herself who desperately wants to prove herself to her coworkers and bosses. It leads her to becoming an integral part of Tucker's life, as well as of the Club, through a burgeoning romance with him and forming friendships throughout the Club that leave her saddened by her duplicity. Tucker never acts as she expects as he's charming and caring in ways both subtle and overt. He makes her feel like a woman which she embraces while enjoying her verbal sparring with him. It's a fine line she has to walk and it all comes to a head very late in the story in a war that has her fighting to keep Tucker safe.
Tucker's an unrepentant player who has no intention of getting tied down. The women he surrounds himself with are from the Club and of the same variety who cater to his every whim. Meeting Talia catches him off guard as she's unlike all his previous partners. She enjoys going toe to toe with him and he's drawn to her strength along with her brief flashes of insecurity. Before he knows it he finds himself in a relationship with the most unlikeliest of women, a relationship that's scorching and playful between two very similar people. Watching Tucker fall in love is entertaining as he makes mistakes along the way that endear him to readers. He and Talia make a formidable pair and watching them fight side by side is awe-inspiring and makes for an exhilarating conclusion to this fast-paced story.
This was an quick read that kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page to the last as the war between the men of the Spartan Riders and Cruiz's men came to a fiery end. Tucker and his brothers are strong, sexy, and supportive of the women they claim as their own. That's not to say there isn't a bit of misogyny involving the women hanging around the club. Club life is vividly depicted with all the sensuality and brotherly interactions. Tucker and Talia are a wonderful pairing and I enjoyed their dirty talk and scorching interludes. Their steamy relationship was perfectly balanced with the action and suspense of the war and its hidden enemies. It all makes for a compelling read that pulls you in wholeheartedly and I look forward to the next installment in this series!
My rating for this is an A.
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
***GET A GLIMPSE OF THE FIRST INSTALLMENT IN THE SPARTAN RIDERS SERIES***
GRIT
Gabby Morgan isn’t looking for love. Not even a little romance. Following a rocky past that she’d just as soon forget, she’s determined to focus on the future. One that most certainly doesn’t involve the tough-as-nails, short-on-words, hot-as-hell biker…or his kid.
Blake Mahone may not be done with women, but he’s finished with relationships. Then Gabby Morgan enters the picture. She’s flawless, refined, and as his kid’s teacher, way out of his league. She acts like she hates him, but her eyes tell a different story. Before he knows it, Blake finds himself hot for teacher, and he’s more than ready to learn all her secrets. Now all he has to do is convince her to give him a shot…without getting them both killed in the process.
FIND AT GOODREADS here.
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AUTHOR INFO:
J.C. Valentine is the USA Today and International bestselling author of the Night Calls and Wayward Fighters Series and the Forbidden Series. Her vivid imagination and love of words and romance had her penning her own romance stories from an early age, which, despite being poorly edited and written longhand, she forced friends and family members to read. No, she isn’t sorry.
J.C. earned her own happily ever after when she married her high school sweetheart. Living in the Northwest, they have three amazing children and far too many pets and spend much of their free time together enjoying movies or the outdoors. Among the many hats she wears, J.C. is an entrepreneur. Having graduated with honors, she holds a Bachelor’s in English and when she isn’t writing, you can find her editing for fellow authors.
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