One Ride (Hellions Ride, #1) by Chelsea Camaron
Romantic Suspense
E book, 301 pages
December 19, 2013
Self Published

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “Hit it, get it, and go. No repeats.”

Delilah “Doll” Reklinger, princess of the Haywood Hellions MC, is sent to a chapter club of the Hellions when the club’s side business begins to show threats towards her. Roundman, her father and the President, calls in a favor and sends her to the Piedmont chapter until he can get the situation under control.

Talon “Tripp” Crews, president of the Piedmont Hellions chapter, is chosen to take Doll and her friend, Sass, across county and keep her safe. A dye in the wool biker, he’s not looking for an old lady or to settle down but from his first look at Doll, he finds himself rethinking his wandering ways.

Tripp knows getting hooked up with the Hellions princess is a sure fire way to get killed so he buries his  attraction and makes sure Doll knows no matter what happens between them, when the dangers over, so are they.  Doll isn’t looking for forever, but maybe she can find right now with Tripp. As they try and fight the attraction that rides them, Tripp and Doll realize that sometimes, the road to love and redemption is having the strength let go for that One Ride.

Chelsea Cameron’s One Ride introduces us to the Hellions MC and the romance of Talon “Tripp” Crews and Delilah “Doll” Reklinger. Set in the coastal states of North and South Carolina, we are taken on a long hard ride as the Hellions seek to protect one of their greatest treasures, the President’s daughter. Heavily character driven, the story is told by our protagonists,Tripp and Doll in alternating chapters. The book starts out with Camaron giving us the MC’s and various character backgrounds while setting up the current storyline and paving the way for future books and couples. Its steady pacing and smooth flow engages you right off the bat and puts you front and center into the Hellions compound and their lives.

The Hellions MC aren’t into the usual guns, drugs, and prostitution. They are transporters. Doesn’t matter what it is, they will transport it for a fee. It’s one particular job that puts the Hellions and Doll into the path of Felix Delatorre. Delatorre took over his father’s business but the relationship between the Hellions and Delatorre take a turn for the worse he threatens the MC and Doll.  The Hellions prepare for war and send  Doll and her BFF, Sass, on a trip to get them out of the crossfire.

“What’s done is done, what’s been said, can’t be unsaid.  This fucker found my daughter.  This fucker came to my territory and threatened the people I love.  This fucker is going to the ground.”

 Though the conflict promotes the romance, we don’t see much of it as a large majority of the book focuses just on Doll and Tripp’s relationship. I would have liked more external interaction and dialogue between our protagonists  and the other characters. The balance was off and we lose some of the suspense and intrigue that should have existed in here.

Doll and Tripp’s relationship is a complicated one.  Even with Doll being fully integrated into the MC lifestyle, she is pretty much considered off limits to any and all Hellion members.

“Keep them safe.  Don’t fuck around, Tripp. She’s a beautiful girl.  Hellion or not, you fuck over my kid, I will feed you your balls for breakfast.  She’s off limits. “

Tripp knows this and feels that her status combined with his nomadic lifestyle, hooking up can only end in disaster. Regardless, the attraction is there and only grows stronger the more time they spend together. Tripp is a sexy protective alpha whose lifestyle is typical of the stereotypical biker. He sleeps where he wants, with who he wants. Home and an old lady only speak of ties he doesn’t want.

That is, until he meets Doll.

She’s a job.  She’s a Hellion.  She’s off limits.

Doll, for me, was atypical of the normal heroines we see have seen in MC books lately and I enjoyed meeting her. She’s a willing member of the Hellions and doesn’t have any problems with their lifestyle. They are her family and they have 100% of her loyalty. She not’s whiny, abused, or has any personal issues that prohibit her from having a sexual relationship. Her end game has never been to be an “old lady.”  She’s a well adjusted college educated woman who knows what she wants and has the cojonas to go after it.

Seriously, I get it. I’m Roundman’s Doll.  I’m so far off limits, I’m on another planet.  It doesn’t mean I plan to make it easy for him.  He’s hot.   Any red blooded woman would want a sample of him.

She doesn’t judge her club and their sexual escapades-to each his own.  The Hellions are and will always be dawgs. She tries to explain that to her bff when her crush and a Hellion brother brushes her off after they spend the night together.

“You are someone special.  He’s too blind to see anything beyond his brothers and where to put his dick next.  You know this!  They’re all like this for the most part.”

Once their ride starts, the sexual tension ratchets up and soon everything Doll and Tripp thought they knew and believed in is tested. The chemistry is hot.  It had a raw feeling to it in the beginning-a sexy mixture of rough and soft, tenderness and blinding dominance. Towards the end, it became a little repetitive. I liked both characters but in a small way, I never fully connected with them as a couple. Some emotional dramatic moments but they work  with the characters actions and feelings at the time.

You need to let go of everything that happened today.  Let me be your everything, let me be your escape.  Get lost in this moment with me.”

These two butt heads more than once and watching them fight through their attraction is funny at times.

Pulling her firmly to me, I devour her mouth as if it’s my last meal.  Leaving no millimeter undiscovered by my tongue, I continue my onslaught.  She moans beneath me as her hands reach up around my neck, I snap back to reality.

Pulling abruptly away, “Now I know how to shut you the fuck up.  Get your shit. Time to go inside,” I state as I turn and walk away. (Tripp)

What the hell just happened?!  How can he walk away after that?  He consumed me.  He didn’t only kiss my mouth, he touched my damn soul.  I’ve kissed a lot of men, but never has a kiss left me that weak in the knees.  There was more behind that moment than a means to shut me up.  I don’t give a shit what he says.

“Tripp, you son of a bitch, I’m not done talkin’ to you.” (Doll)

I enjoyed Tripp and Doll’s journey overall, though as we neared the end, I was ready for them to get it together or separate because the constant back and forth got old. I was also dismayed by Doll’s attitude. She went from being bad ass to whiny ass at times. Also, Tripp’s martyr act made me want to smack him at times. Man up, dude. MAN. UP.

The ending comes quickly and wraps everything up nicely though as I stated earlier, the conflict with the club is glossed over and I would have liked to have seen more on that end. Over all, I enjoyed One Ride.  A romantic suspense that plays heavily on the side of romance in the world of bikers and the women who try and tame them. Milder than the average MC story, it still engages with personable characters, an interesting world, and promises to more to come.  I look forward to book two, Forever Ride, which is Sass and Tank’s story. The Princess and the Playboy. *grins*  Set to release June 2014.

RATING: C+

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