Vipers Run (Skull Creek, #1) by Stephanie Tyler
Romantic Suspense
Paperback, 385 pages
July 1, 2014
Signet

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “I’m sensing sarcasm.”
“It’s a second language”

Vipers Run, the first in Stephanie Tyler’s new motorcycle cycle (MC)  romance series Skull Creek, starts out with a bang when Calla, a secretary for a PI firm,  takes a call from a dying man. She emotionally connects to the man on the other end of the line and begs him to survive. When the call ends with him promising to not only survive but to find her, Calla’s boss walks in and hands her keys, money, and directions to a safe house. The call she answered has placed her in considerable danger. As Calla drives away, she hears gunshots and fears the worse.

Cage has always lived on the edge, having grown up in a violent MC. He joined the military to escape only to come home and join another MC. When he learns a rival MC is pushing meth into his town, his undercover work leaves him near death and only the voice of an angel keeps his will to live strong. Once he recovers, he goes looking for her, knowing his phone call placed her in danger.

Calla knows Cage will do everything he can to keep her body safe but what about her heart? As Calla is dragged deeper into a bloody turf war between rival MC’s, a danger from her own past comes looking to settle a score and leaves a trail of destruction in their path.

As I stated above, the book starts out with a bang but unfortunately Tyler isn’t able to keep the momentum going and the books settles into comfortable mediocrity rather quickly. The main conflict builds slowly as Tyler sets up an interesting drama centering around two rival MCs and a town caught in the middle. The Vipers and the Heathens are enemy motorcycle clubs. The Vipers claim the town of Skull Creek as their territory and when rumors are heard the Heathens want to run drugs through the town, the Vipers begin to prepare for war. In the middle of this war is Cage and Calla. Cage had ties to the Heathens and Calla now has ties to Cage.

Tyler tries to shock and awe right off the bat with an impromptu sex act between the main characters. Was it sexy? Yes, but the fact that neither Calla or Cage know one another and he masturbates in front her while she films it gave it an air of disconnection. The presumed emotional connection with the phone call didn’t pave the way for that and neither did the fact he only does it to repay a favor to a friend.

A majority of the book focuses on series setup, establishing multiple plot lines, and character role introductions. We meet the members of the Vipers, Cage’s club, and various other individuals who are part of Cage’s life. Interesting characters who add humor and dimension to the story. We are given introductory backstories into everyone, priming them for their own books in the series. Tyler slips the reasons behind the animosity between Cage and the Heathens and where Calla’s secret plays a role in all of this throughout the storyline in small revealing scenes.

The romance and multiple plot lines fight amongst themselves for a place in the story. So much is going on and being set into motion, the story takes on an unfinished scattered feeling, especially when certain points of action are glossed over or conveniently blacked out.

I enjoyed Calla and Cage as individuals. I found Calla’s attitude spot on with everything she was dealing with and when we learn her secret, it explains a lot. Cage was also appealing with his innate alpha protective personality.  He’s a natural care taker and even in his most over whelming moments, Calla admirably holds her own with him. They are both loyal, intelligent, and will put themselves on the line for the underdog.  My issues was the romance between them. I found it hard to buy into it as it’s built upon a single phone call. Engaging sex scenes almost made up for the overall lack of appeal but even there I was dismayed by the lack of connection that Cage and Calla seemed to have. They have sex; they don’t make love.  I heard the words but not the feeling behind them.  Also, I could never shake the feeling that the attraction was based more on their close proximity and heightened by the danger they were in.

The ending is much less climatic then I thought it would be. Our heroes waltz in and out with nary a scratch. We are given a recap to what we had learned in the book and we are left with a lot of questions to the future. I can’t say I disliked the book, I just expected more action, suspense, and conflict that is indicative of this genre and her writing.

Rating: C-

Prior Stephanie Tyler Reviews

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