The Lies Between Us by M.N. Forgy

The Lies Between Us by M.N. Forgy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I was ecstatic when the review opportunity for The Lies Between Us came up. I have enjoyed how Ms. Forgy weaves romance with the action and danger that accompanies a one-percenter motorcycle club. That said, I really had a hard time getting into this one. I suspect part of that was on me because even though I have been anxiously awaiting The Lies Between Us to pop up on my schedule, I was dealing with a headache when I started the book and found a lot of the interactions between Cherry and Lip to be annoying – actually I found the characters themselves to be annoying. Based on my past enjoyment, I stuck with it though because Ms. Forgy has proven her skill time and time again, but once I hit the mid-point and wasn’t any less annoyed with Cherry and Lip (you can stop smirking now), I knew I had to step back for the night and try again the next day.

While I’m happy to report that the level of action in the second half of the book increased immensely and made the read more enjoyable for me, I never connected with Cherry or Lip. Considering what we knew about Lindsay (aka Cherry) at the time, I was astounded with how quickly things progressed between her and Lip. Not the one-night stand because uh … yeah, hello? I totally got the whole bad boy biker thing. Rather my issue is that within a week’s time she’s moved into his home and he’s bought her a car, yet her concern is that they might have had sex too soon. This is a woman whose father physically abused her, who got knocked up on her first time, had her baby legally “stolen” from her by its father simply because he could, and who’s homeless because someone’s trying to kill her so she can’t go home to her brother. Girlfriend is seriously lacking in the self-preservation instinct department. But hey, she’s still really young so I forgave her for her hormone driven behaviors, even if she seemed on a direct course for a repeat of the past. While I found Lip’s head-over-heels courtship of Cherry to be uncharacteristic of the men we’ve come to know from the Devil’s Dust MC, I tried to go with the flow. Honest, I really, really did and thankfully it paid off when it came to Lip because once he gets out of prison we find out why he was so smitten with Cherry. THAT was shocking. But Lip wasn’t the only one with a secret and The Lies Between Us delved into what was the breaking point of their relationship – when is your trust shattered irrevocably?

Despite the spike in action, I still never connected with Cherry. I think had the author shown us some of what Cherry did on behalf of the club during the six years that Lip was in prison, I would have had a better understanding of her character and been able to connect with her – yes, we were told some of what she did but a sentence here or there really doesn’t make the same impact. As it were, I sympathized with her plight to get her daughter back and figure out whether or not she had a future with Lip, but I just wasn’t as invested as much as I have for the past heroines. I did enjoy the twist that Lip’s brother introduced and I look forward to seeing how that story thread unravels. The ending the author crafted for the couple was perfect for them and it as well as the action is what saved the book for me. Although The Lies Between Us is not my favorite of the series, I am looking forward to the next book and spending more time with the Devil’s Dust MC.

I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
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The Fear That Divides Us by M.N. Forgy

The Fear That Divides Us by M.N. Forgy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.

I have been anxiously awaiting Doc’s book since finishing The Scars That Define Us and it was far more than I ever hoped for. By her behavior, it was apparent that she endured a lot before she got involved with the Devil’s Dust MC, but the level of depravity and abuse she suffered at her husband’s hands was horrifying. Equally as shocking was how she came to be the MC’s physician on call. In the vast majority of MC romances that I have read, the club’s doctor is almost always either a doctor who has lost his medical license or one who charges the club an exorbitantly large amount of money to NOT report services rendered. Jessica aka Doc meets neither of those criteria and she is a woman – which I can’t say I’ve ever encountered in my reading either. However, as I read the Prologue I was in awe of her as she negotiated an exchange of services with the Devil’s Dust MC that did not put her on her back.

I will straight up admit that I have read so many books since reading books one and two, that I really didn’t remember Bobby. That said, Ms. Forgy wrote The Fear That Divides Us in such a way that I could read it without having read the previous books in the series and still enjoyed it – which is kind of how I approached Bobby’s character. I liked how he was protective of Doc from the very beginning, but his possessiveness wasn’t revealed until he learned of Doc’s engagement – what a clusterf*** that was! I enjoyed watching the shift in Bobby’s personality from the hungover guy who wakes up in a sorority sister’s bed in chapter one to the faithfully monogamous man who stepped up to the plate when he realized that he wanted and deserved more from Doc. Even if it didn’t end well (<= massive understatement), I loved the date that Bobby took Doc on and that she enjoyed the boat ride as much as he did.

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Doc was just as much of a part of the MC as the old ladies. At one point in the book, Bobby was the only one who knew how far she would go for the club. However, by the end of The Fear That Divides Us everyone in the MC knew that Doc was willing to go to bat for Bobby and the club. While the sex is scorchingly hot between Bobby and Doc, what kicked up the level of intensity was when Bobby set out to help Doc overcome her fears during sex that her husband conditioned her to so very effectively. The Fear That Divides Us is my favorite in The Devil’s Dust series to date and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Doc and Bobby. I look forward to catching up with them and the rest of the gang in the next installment.

Check out The Fear That Divides Us by M.N. Forgy Blog Tour post on Wicked Reads.


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Review of The Scars That Define Us by M.N. Forgy

The Scars That Define Us by M.N. Forgy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The Scars That Define Us is the continuation of Dani and Shadow’s story … the one that Ms. Forgy left us dangling off a cliff after the HUGE reveal at the end of What Doesn’t Destroy Us. I have to admit that it was definitely worth the wait. Neither Ms. Forgy nor the Devil’s Dust pull any punches with the opening of this book. Even knowing that the book was the rest of Dani’s story didn’t make me any less scared for her. Fortunately, clearer heads prevailed and she was given the time she needed for everyone to realize that she hadn’t betrayed the club … well, everyone but Shadow.

The first half of the book is largely Shadow and Dani torturing one another as Shadow tries to decide whether or not to trust Dani again and vice versa – he did turn his back on her after all. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel tortured myself by the back and forth between Dani and Shadow. Ms. Forgy kept life “moving forward” within the club, so it never felt like the story stalled. In fact, she had so much going on that I was half-way through the book before realizing it. I devoured this one. Unlike in book one, Dani knows herself better and has accepted that there is darkness within her – no more feeling bipolar (Thank Goodness!). Rather than being forced to deal with her internal drama, there was more than enough external drama going on this time around to keep me engaged. And let’s not forget the sex. Oh! My! God! I cannot believe that it was even hotter this time around. Granted, I questioned Dani’s sanity the first time she and Shadow hooked back up (condom anyone?), but the intensity between these two was off the charts.

As you would expect when dealing with an MC comprised of “one-percenters,” there is plenty of murder and mayhem to go around. While there were several people who died that definitely deserved it, there is a death that will likely leave you reeling and I suspect the ripple effect of it will continue to be felt in the next book. But don’t let me lead you to believe that the book is all dark and depressing scenes. It has its fair share of good events, happy news, and chuckle-inducing moments. I absolutely loved the Epilogue and the last five paragraphs of it had me laughing like a loon. Ms. Forgy has given readers of The Devil’s Dust series a great second installment with The Scars That Define Us and I’m looking forward to book three already.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

Check out The Scars That Define Us Release Day! blog post on Crystal's Many Reviewers.


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Review of What Doesn't Destroy Us by M.N. Forgy

What Doesn't Destroy Us by M.N. Forgy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



CLIFFHANGER ALERT!!! Yes, I realize this is the first book in the series, but I was not prepared for the cliff the author left me dangling from and it’s a doozy. It has been a while since I’ve had a WTF moment when reading and the final chapter of What Doesn’t Destroy Us is a definite WTF ending, but the good kind that leaves you salivating for the next book.

As for the rest of the book, that too was hard for me to rate. There is a line in the book when Dani introspectively reflects “My body and mind are making me feel bipolar.” This made me snort and ask the book – out loud – how do you think I feel? I spent almost the first half of the book dizzy from Dani going back and forth regarding her feelings and reactions toward Shadow. I had to remind myself constantly that she was only 21 and her mother suffocated her to the point of extreme naivety. Admittedly, Shadow had his own ping pong game of emotions going on regarding Dani, but her being the MC President’s daughter I got it and it wasn’t nearly as erratic. So needless to say, I was RELIEVED when the two finally faced facts and decided to try things out and boy howdy, do they try things out. Whew! The sex is stellar. Shadow is all alpha male and gritty biker who taps into Dani’s unexpected wild side in bed. I would say she was definitely making up for being suffocated by her mother all those years. After the mid-way point of the book, I found Dani’s character much more enjoyable and I became invested in her; I especially enjoyed the laughing at her getting drunk for the first time and that scene alone wiped away all of the lingering dizziness I felt from the first half of the book.

What Doesn’t Destroy Us is an MC book so it has the expected male-dominated world in which women are property, so if that kind of thinking bothers you, this isn’t the book for you. But if you can enjoy a well-written MC book, then grab it because in addition to all of the relationship angst going on between Shadow and Dani, there is a whole host of action and suspense going on that will keep you entertained and make up for the insanity that is Dani in the first half of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

Check out the What Doesn't Destroy Us Release Day! blog post on Crystal's Many Reviewers.


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