It's been a long wait for this final installment in the Devil's Host MC series, but it was definitely worth it for the exhilarating thrill ride readers get to be a part of. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Hold Me Down by Shari Slade, along with my impressions of it, then add it to your bookshelf. In honor of this fourth installment in this erotically-charged series make sure to fill out the form for the chance to win a $25 Amazon GC too!
I knew how to survive before I met, Noah. Now...
I need to fight.
Noah pulls me deeper into the club, where everything is life or death. He lets me peer into the dark hearts of violent bikers. Shows me glimmers of hope. Family, loyalty, honor—but everything comes at a price. This one might be too steep for me too pay.
EXCERPT:
Two men peel out of the darkness. Noah’s silhouette is unmistakable. I’ve run my hands over every inch of his body. I’d know him anywhere. The burly man beside him must be Zig. They’re at my door—guns drawn—in seconds.
Noah’s voice rumbles over me. “Lights off. Get the fuck out of the car. Nice and slow--"
I scramble for the switch to kill the lights and pop my seatbelt. Halfway out of the car, I can hear the faint thump of music drifting down from a party. Then Noah is on me, pulling me from the front seat and pinning me to the rear driver’s side door. “Jesus, Star. What the hell are you doing here?"
“The cops grabbed Stone."
“And they just let you wander off?"
The metal is cold against my back, making Noah’s heat against the front of me a raging furnace. I push into that furnace, shove into the heat and muscle with my body and breath. “No, I got out of the truck before it happened, and don’t give me any shit for that. If I hadn’t, I’d be spending time with Officer Wade right now."
“Did he put his hands on you?” Noah’s eyes flash bright with rage. With fear? No that can’t be it. Noah isn’t afraid of Wade. Not like me. He’d tossed Wade around the diner parking lot like a bag of trash.
“I told you I got away. It doesn’t matter--"
“The hell it doesn’t.” There’s murder in his voice. The uneven timbre of a man on the edge. “Details, Star. Now."
Shoving at him does nothing but make him curve his lips into a dangerous smile. I do it anyway, fighting for an inch more space between us. Room to breathe. “Then let me fucking talk, caveman. Dale took off through the kitchen at Jimmy’s. He—” I grab Noah’s face and tug him down to me, so I can graze my lips over his ear and whisper. “He set us up. When I saw Stone getting dragged into a cruiser, I—I borrowed a car. You can’t go into that party. They might know you’re coming."
Even in the darkness, this close I can see Noah’s body tense. Watch his eyes narrow. Feel the muscles under my hands shift. He pulls me into a hug, and I’m not sure if he’s comforting me or taking comfort for himself. As I sink into his granite arms and press my face to the leather over his chest, I’m not sure it matters. The adrenaline coursing through my blood and propelling me straight into danger recedes, leaving me light-headed. He turns to Zig and they have a whole conversation in grunts.
“Dale.” Noah spits the traitor’s name like a curse.
Zig leans against the car, settling his bulky body beside us. “That piece of shit."
“Yeah."
Zig crushes a cigarette under his boot heel, carefully picks up the butt, and tucks it into his pocket. For a second I’m confused. Is Zig worried about litter? And then it dawns on me that he’s worried about evidence. He dusts his hands on his jeans and points to me. “You sure she's..."
My heart hammers against my ribs at Zig’s unfinished question. He could be wondering about my intelligence or my ability, but we all know it’s really my loyalty that’s on shaky ground. I don’t blame him. Everyone’s loyalty is uncertain now.
Noah squeezes me tight against his chest. Like I’m a toy and Zig might try to take me away. “Do. Not. Go there."
“All right, brother. She’s right anyway. He probably already called ahead. Warned these tweakers."
“I’m not leaving without my sister."
“We don’t even know if--"
“If she’s not, someone in there knows where she is. I will bust heads like piñatas until answers fall out."
Zig’s mouth settles into a hard line. “Fine. What about her?"
“We’re gonna need the cargo space if Jules is…” he brushes his knuckles against my cheek and squeezes his eyes shut. “Hurt."
My stomach turns at the thought. My heart is still holding out hope that these are star-crossed lovers. That Jules wasn’t taken by force. Zig heads back to the rest of their crew.
They know what they’re doing. They have all the information. I did my part. Mission accomplished. Why don’t I feel relieved? Because they’re still walking into the unknown. And because Noah’s fate is still undecided. These men are with him now, but they still get to vote on whether he lives or dies for killing their insane president.
Noah untangles himself from my body. “It’d be a wasted fucking effort, sending you away, wouldn’t it?"
I nod.
“You’re going to take this crappy grocery basket with an engine, point it south, and wait at the end of the driveway. You keep it running. You keep it in drive. And you keep your foot on the brake until me or Jules tells you to go.” He cups my face and locks his eyes on mine, like he’s trying to see the back of my soul. “Remember what she looks like?"
The graduation portrait is still fresh in my mind so I nod again.
“Good girl.” Noah kisses me. The warmth of his praise and the brush of his lips wash over me, soothing away the last jagged edge of my terrible adrenaline rush. And then he’s pressing cool metal into my hand. “Do you know how to use this?"
A gun.
“I—” Do I know how to use it? I know the way cats know how to flex their claws. But I also know the last time I had a gun in my hand I couldn’t pull the trigger. And I should have. I should have blasted that fucker all over my bedroom wall.
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
It's been a long wait to get to this final installment in the Devil's Host MC series, but it was a wait that was worthwhile. The suspense that readers were left feeling at the end of Drive Me Wild was addressed in the opening scene that had the MC racing to save the sister of one of their own. From there Star is once again put in jeopardy and forced to make a life-altering decision that hardens her heart and amps up her fears. Her relationship with Noah continues to be rocky as the Club still has to take him to trial for his earlier actions against their former leader. It all adds up to a lot of uncertainty in this fast-paced novella that keeps readers on edge from the first page to the last.
The grittiness of the MC world is on vivid display here as well as the intensely erotic nature of the men who inhabit it. Noah doesn't blink an eye going from a gun war to the bedroom in his scorching encounters with Star and shows a dominant side tempered with his vocalization of his love and feelings for her. Star evolved a bit in this installment too by finally putting her past behind her and showing some backbone, proving herself worthy of the club's loyalty and protection. Other members of the Club hover around the periphery of this story and left an impression that has me hoping we'll revisit this world again in the future. Overall, while this story felt a bit rushed and a bit rough around the edges, I still found it to be an exhilarating and sexy thrill ride!
The grittiness of the MC world is on vivid display here as well as the intensely erotic nature of the men who inhabit it. Noah doesn't blink an eye going from a gun war to the bedroom in his scorching encounters with Star and shows a dominant side tempered with his vocalization of his love and feelings for her. Star evolved a bit in this installment too by finally putting her past behind her and showing some backbone, proving herself worthy of the club's loyalty and protection. Other members of the Club hover around the periphery of this story and left an impression that has me hoping we'll revisit this world again in the future. Overall, while this story felt a bit rushed and a bit rough around the edges, I still found it to be an exhilarating and sexy thrill ride!
My rating for this is a B.
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
GET A GLIMPSE OF THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE DEVIL'S HOST MC SERIES...
RIDE ME HARD
When a big scary biker shows up at Jimmy's Diner fifteen minutes before the end of my shift, covered in tattoos and looking at me like I'm on the menu, I should flip the open sign to closed. But I don't, because I'm too used to doing what I've been told. Too used to working and struggling and surviving to do anything different. A closed sign wouldn't stop him anyway. He's here to collect a debt. And I'm the only one left to pay.
BREAK ME IN
"Do you get what you deserve?"
Under his hands or on the back of his bike--the freedom I feel with Noah is an illusion.
"No, baby. You get what you take and you keep what you can hold."
He ties me to him with fear and obligation and lust. Binds us tighter with his twisted sense of honor. I just hope his chains are strong enough to keep me safe.
DRIVE ME WILD
His club is demanding answers. His sister is missing. Noah needs to draw on every ounce of strength in that muscled body. It's not the time for him to let anyone see he's more than fists and ink.
Sometimes I catch a glimpse of the man behind the cold, hard mask. Something like caring. Something like kindness. I live for those moments.
He might die for them.
AUTHOR INFO:
Shari Slade is the USA Today bestselling author of sexy new adult and rock star romance. She’s a snarky optimist. A would-be academic with big dreams and very little means. When she isn’t toiling away in the non-profit sector, she’s writing gritty stories about identity and people who make terrible choices in the name of love (or lust). Somehow, it all works out in the end. If she had a patronus it would be a platypus.
Frequently found in a blanket fort, you can also find her contributing at Wonkomance.
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