Merciless Ride (The Hellions Ride, #3) by Chelsea Camaron
Romance Suspense/MC
E book
October 10, 2014
Self Published
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote:“Mercy is no friend of mine.”
Tessa Harlow can’t seem to catch a break. Working a dead-end job with a small child and disabled mother to support, she feels like she’s one step away from losing it. Her dreams of nursing school shattered before they even started, Tessa is now living paycheck to paycheck; waiting tables and hustling drinks for the Hellions and their affiliates.
Andy “Shooter” Jenkins is a quiet laid back member of the Hellion MC. He watches Tessa from the shadows, wanting her but unable to do anything due to another brother’s claim. When Shooter is forced to come to her rescue not once but twice, he throws caution to the wind and steps into her life and bed, staking his own claim.
As the club braces itself for war with a rival motorcycle club; lies, secrets, and jealousy flames the already volatile tempers and pits brother against brother as they all get ready for a merciless ride.
Merciless Ride is the third in Chelsea Camaron’s Hellion series. A rambunctious, sexy, action packed, entertaining series that revolves around the hard men and women of the Hellion Motorcycle Club. Camaron takes a different approach in this installment, using a more character oriented and somber storyline that doesn’t focus so much on the arc as per the last two installments. She introduces us to two little known secondary characters and uses them to address and help define a major character we have seen through the series. Though a full length novel, it has the quick read appeal of a novella. A hint of intermission, if you will, from the ongoing arc drama, giving readers a deeper insight into the individual motivations of certain MC members and the effects on those who exist on the fringes.
Steady pacing and smooth flowing dialogue engages you right off the bat and puts you front in center into the lives of two damaged souls. We’ve seen a little of Tessa from previous books. We know she is a bartender and has fooled around with Hellion member, Rex, since she was eighteen. Tessa has reached her breaking point. She realizes when her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and Rex can’t be bothered to stop banging a bar-fly long enough to pick her up that they’re finished. Shooter comes to Tessa’s aid and her curiosity is piqued by this handsome, quiet, sexy biker who expects nothing in return for his help.
Andy “Shooter” Jenkins has his own demons. A former Green Beret, he lives with the guilt over his fiancee’s death. He is extremely attracted to Tessa and hates how Rex treats her; never claiming her as an old lady which keeps her in the “club whore” status. When he is called to help her out, he sees a chance to get to know her and hopefully woo her away from Rex, making her his own. But he knows he has to tread carefully. Poaching on Rex’s territory could drive a wedge between them and cause friction in the club.
The story alternates between the past and the present as our hero and heroine tell us how they both came to be at this point in their lives. Neither of them are typical MC protagonists. No over the top dramatics, raging temper tantrums, or the mentality that “they can sleep with whoever they want because it’s the way of the road. Loyalty, respect, and responsibility are Tessa’s and and Shooter’s mottos and they show maturity that I appreciated. Though there is a conflict that rides in tandem to the romance, a large majority of the book focuses on Shooter’s and Tessa’s relationship. Camaron found the balance that I felt was lacking in book one. I thoroughly enjoyed watching their relationship slowly blossom under the restraints of the MC conflict and some personal ones.
Violence rears its ugly head, as is often the case in MC based romances. There is a particular scene that is disturbing in subject matter and may trigger some readers. Camaron handles it with care. It is used to facilitate the storyline and conflict but in a manner where readers are not made to feel it was added to merely shock or titillate. For this reason, the sexual play is extremely low-key even with the blazing chemistry that is felt between them from page one.
An action packed intense ending wraps up the major storyline and the main conflict though we are left with some open subplots as Camaron paves the way for book four-Innocent Ride which is Rex’s story and slated to release November 6, 2014. Camaron continues to mature in her writing and I am looking forward to reading more about the Hellion MC and their lives.
RATING: B
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Sounds an awesome read! Thank you!