Another Monday, another awesome book. This time, we get a good look at
Without Mercy, the second book in the Babylon series by Victoria L. James and L.J. Stock.
Ayda Hanagan’s life
took a whole new road to hell when she agreed to lay down beside Babylon’s very
own devil in disguise, Drew Tucker. With an evolving love and the world she
once knew now gone forever, Ayda’s toes were no longer dancing on the edge of
the flames. She’d jumped straight into the fire, dragging her younger brother,
Tate, along for the ride. No matter which way they both turned, Harleys and
leather were their new reality, and they had to get used to the fact that acts
of war and bad blood were never far away.
All that seemed so easy for Ayda to push aside
when she was resting in the arms of the man she never expected to love, but
when lust, need and sex became as important to her as the air she breathed, it
was only going to be a matter of time before reality decided to slap her around
the face harder than ever before.
Lost in the screwed-up perfection of their new
fairytale, Drew and Ayda thought they could handle anything life threw at them.
For every cop, whore or enemy that tried to tear them apart, they found
strength in each other and a new weapon to fight back with. Only not all
assassins wore their patches on their chest, and before they could even see the
eyes of the wolves in the shadows waiting to bring them to their knees, they
were all out of places to run.
With everything they'd ever believed in suddenly
at risk, fear was no longer an option and Drew and Ayda soon found themselves
in the middle of a war that looked impossible to get out of alive. In order to
survive, they had to learn how to fight together.
Without restriction.
Without thought.
Without mercy.
Even if that meant sacrificing everything they’d
worked for, including each other.
This book has everything. Hot guy with a conscience? Check. Brave girl willing to do anything for her loved ones? Check. Steamy romance? Check (double!). Edge of your seat, nail biting suspense? A very black, shaky check.
Watching Ayda settle into the hut with the Hounds of Babylon was interesting and, at times, hilarious. She carved out a place for herself and stuck to it, only compromising when she knew it would be best for all involved. Drew, for his part, begins to understand the depth of Ayda's love for him, as well as his own for her. But problems lurk on every side for the two: a chief of police hell bent on making their lives miserable; a crazed ex that wants to destroy the Hounds; another motorcycle club wanting blood for blood; and then Ayda's younger brother Tate learning the joys (and absolute embarrassment) of first love. The last part of the book was so incredibly suspenseful that I had to walk away a few times, because I thought I would do the worst and peek ahead! Victoria and L.J. do a wonderful job at blending a thousand emotions into one scene, and it all seems so believable. You find yourself cheering for Ayda and Drew, and then for the rest of the Hounds, because stereotypes of blinded the little town of Babylon from seeing the true nature of these kind, passionate men.
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There are two kinds of prison
sentence that try to break us: the ones served behind iron bars and the ones
served through a lifetime of guilt. Some people are handed just one. The
unfortunate are given both.
Drew Tucker, despite his formidable
reputation, was a man shrouded in darkness who had been dealt every kind of
sentence known to man. His only path of survival was to fight and conquer.
After five years of solitude, with nothing to keep him company but old ghosts
and relentless demons, Drew was finally out, and he had a plan in mind to reign
supreme once more.
But everything had changed since
he’d left the small town of Babylon, Texas, and where he once fit into the
world around him, he now felt misguided, misplaced and misunderstood. Freedom
wasn’t free anymore and it sure as hell didn’t come cheap.
That only got worse when he crossed
paths with Ayda Hanagan. Legal guardian of her teenage brother, over worked,
underpaid and clinging onto sanity by the skin of her teeth, Ayda should have
been easier for Drew to beat down and manipulate. She should have been easier
to keep quiet. But, as with everything in his life since he got released,
nothing seemed to make any damn sense, and the walls were caving in on Drew now
more than ever before.
Determined to stay on the road he
was born to travel, he was willing to fight whoever got in his way or blocked
his path to the top. Even the blue-eyed blonde who seemed to have more mouth
than sense. His actions were about to shake up the whole town again, and Drew
didn’t care whether that came with or without consequences, or what the hell
that meant for the likes of Ayda Hanagan.
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And, seriously, if you haven't looked up these two authors yet, what are you waiting for? They're awesome and amazing and so much fun.
L.J. Stock on Victoria L. James ~ What can I say about
Victoria L. James? Loads actually, she’s an amazingly talented author and I had
the absolute distinct pleasure of writing with her. I also call her a friend.
When we first met, we bonded instantly over our love of music, Victoria tends
to be as eclectic as I am with her tastes. She finds stories in lyrics and
feels the moods in the melodies.
When we first started writing together, I’ll admit I was
intimidated. Here is this woman with a huge passion for putting words onto
paper and painting pictures so clearly that you are completely immersed in
them. How was I going to keep up with that? I’m not sure I ever did, but over
time we’ve built up a repertoire. We bounce off one another and bring our
characters to the forefront and hope that the interactions are as real as they
appear for us.
On a more personal note, Victoria is bright, smart, kind, intelligent,
funny, caring and witty. She can see so much in the world around her and always
has time for anyone. Victoria lives in sunny ole Yorkshire with her family and
her cats - had to mention them - and can normally be found in the playground of
her imagination, listening to the Foo Fighters.
~~~~~~~
Victoria L. James on L.J. Stock ~ There aren’t many people
you bump into in life that you want to both work and spend your free time with.
From meeting L.J. through the wonder that is the internet, we soon came to
realise that we had a hell of a lot in common. Music was where our friendship
truly began, but our writing partnership flourished not too far behind. I
always felt like my writing was missing something, and it was only when I read
L.J.’s work that I realised what exactly that was. It was missing her
influence!
After spending over a year working together, day in, day
out, not a moment goes by where I don’t thank the Twitter Gods for bringing
this amazingly strong and talented woman into my life. She’s an inspiration, a
positive force in every situation and one hell of a talented writer. To say I’m
honoured that she wanted to create a new world with me is a gross
understatement. I’m blown away. One day, I hope I get lucky enough to visit her
in Texas, where she lives with her family and her zoo of animals, so we can
write by her pool and take part in our other dream… The great Taylor Kitsch
Road (stalking) Trip. Who needs a yacht in the Caribbean when we have that to
look forward to, right?
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And, OF COURSE, a giveaway!
I'm slamming my foot down and telling everyone to get these books. They're fun and quick, but stay with you for such a long time. I'm already salivating for a third one (PLEASE TELL ME THERE'S A THIRD ONE), and, if not, I'll make future plans to reread this two. You're welcome in advance. Have fun reading!
