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Review

Welcome back to the Reapers MC!

Reaper’s Property rocked my biker-lovin’ world last year, and I have been eagerly awaiting this follow up.

I love the set up to this relationship! Sophie and Ruger first laid eyes on each other years ago when Sophie was in the middle of losing her virginity to Ruger’s younger brother in his very house. Awkward! But it turned out to be an unforgettable moment for them both. Months later, and Ruger came to a very pregnant Sophie’s rescue when he delivered her son on the side of the road. The moment had a profound impact on Ruger’s life, and his devotion to his nephew, Noah, and Sophie, was cemented in that moment.

7 years later and Sophie is a single mum struggling to get by. She has long ago ditched Ruger’s worthless asshole brother, and is trying hard to make a good life for her and Noah, but can’t seem to get ahead. Ruger has been a part of their lives throughout the years, but when he discovers where Sophie and Noah are living and the hardship that they are faced with, he whisks them away to live with him where they can be safe and comfortable. Sophie is not happy with the new arrangement, but for the sake of her son, she agrees to go along with it. But it creates a huge conflict for her.

“Even angry, I wanted Ruger.
In fact, I usually wanted him more when I was angry. This was unfortunate, because he had a gift for pissing me off. Life would be so much simpler if I could just hate him. The man was truly an asshole.
He just happened to be an asshole who loved the hell out of my kid.”

The chemistry between Sophie and Ruger is explosive! You can tell straight away that they want each other, that feelings have been building between them for a long time, and the UST is already at a very high level when they are reunited under the same roof.

“I want to own every part of you,” he continued, his breath hot against my skin. “I want to throw you face-first across this counter, rip off those shorts, and fuck you hard and fast until my goddamned cock stops hurting and my balls don’t feel like they’re gonna explode. Because they’ve felt that way for a helluva long time, Soph, and I’m startin’ to think it’s not gonna go away unless I do something about it.”

But as much as Sophie wants him, she tries hard to keep him at arm’s length. And I fully understand her reasoning. Firstly, Ruger is a manwhore and he openly admits that he’s not a one woman man, and can’t make any promises to stay faithful to her (*cough* asshole *cough*). And secondly, Ruger is a part of the Reaper’s MC and that is not a lifestyle that Sophie wants for her or her son.

“Let me fuck you, Sophie,” Ruger gasped, his voice full of pain. I shook my head, closing my eyes because I didn’t want him to see how close I was to giving in.
“No,” I said, almost crying because it hurt so bad to say it. “I’m not going to screw you and then watch you with other women. I can’t do it. I know myself, Ruger. Unless you can tell me right here, right now that you want to seriously try to make something together, I can’t sleep with you.”
…
“I’m not a bitch,” I replied, and it took everything I had to keep my voice steady. “I’m a mother. I can’t afford to play games with you, Ruger. You’ll break me.”

And I’ve gotta say, I really admired the way she looked out for herself.

“That’s reality. You want the freedom to sleep around. I’m not willing to give you that—I want more. Sounds like we have a fundamental difference of opinion here, and I’m not going to try to change you. But I’ll tell you one thing, Ruger—I deserve to be with someone who gives a shit about me, as a person. Someone who values me enough not to fuck other women. I’d rather be alone the rest of my life than settle for what you’re offering.”

The battle between them continues, even when they do eventually cave into their mad lust for each other (which is all kinds of HOT, by the way!), and even though it takes a while for them to sort themselves out, I thought it was realistic to their situation. They were both determined to create the best life that they could for Noah (who, btw, is pretty awesome), but they both had to come to terms with their feelings, and figure some things out for themselves before they could commit, and I thought it was a really nice progression on both of their parts.

“Jesus, you fuck with my head,” he said roughly. “My cock gets hard just thinkin’ about you. You’re in my dreams every night. I wake up in the morning and all I think about is you in my house, you and Noah finally mine. My family. It’s even better than ridin’ my bike. I’m crazy for you, Soph.”

He’d never let her go again.
Never.
She wanted commitment? He’d tattoo her fucking name on his forehead if he had to.

I’ve seen a few other reviews where people have been annoyed by Sophie’s negative thoughts towards Ruger and the MC. I’ve gotta say, I could absolutely feel for her! Being somebody who has never been exposed to it, it was right that she was naïve and didn’t understand the behaviour, the lingo, and what it means to belong. And I could completely empathise with her struggle between her feelings for Ruger, and her determination to create the life she thought she wanted for her and Noah. But I also enjoyed seeing the changes in her when she started to understand more – I loved the relationships she developed with the MC girls, and the way that Horse and Picnic were there for her. And, of course, Ruger (eventually) does a fantastic job of explaining things to her, and it makes me want a biker of my very own!!!

“When a man takes a woman as his property, it’s not about owning her,” he continued, eyes searching my face. “It’s about trusting her. This is my life I’m handing you, Sophie … You’re the only woman I’ve ever met that I’d consider giving that kind of power to. Hell, I’m not just considering it, I’m desperate for you to take it.”

Of course there is some trouble going on in the club, and I suspect it’s a storyline that’s going to be continued in future books, which will be interesting. I also really liked the opportunity to get to know some of the other members of the club better (OMG, I can’t WAIT for Hunter and Em’s book! What a fantastic intro for these two! I also have a suspicion about Picnic and a certain neighbour… but we’ll just have to see about that). As Ruger’s best friend, we get to see a fair bit of Horse (*fans self*), and his and Marie’s story is continued in sensational style. And of course the banter between the boys is a massive highlight!

“Rumor is, you saved her ass. Fuckin’ knight in shining armor. Might wanna trade your bike in for a pretty pink unicorn to ride, seein’ as you’re such a special snowflake and all.”
“Shut the fuck up, asshole,” Ruger replied.

I loved being back in the MC world, and while I enjoyed Sophie and Ruger’s story, I didn’t feel as connected to it as I wanted to. I’m wondering if this is because we get practically no backstory on Ruger, and I feel like I don’t know him very well. Yeah, he’s on the asshole end of the alpha scale, but he proves himself to have a big heart (the way he loves Noah is evidence enough of that), and we even get his POV throughout the story, it’s not much beyond his immediate feelings for Sophie. I’m not sure what it is, but I just don’t want to fall at his feet and offer to have his babies like I usually do with a hot, alpha book hero. And because of that, I didn’t feel the romance as much as I wanted. The chemistry was certainly there, but I wasn’t as swept away as I was expecting to be (although the tattoo exploration was pretty freaking amazing!). But I did really enjoy it, there is a gorgeous epilogue that left me smiling, and I’m really happy with where everything ended up.

4 stars.