Vicious Cycle by Katie Ashley
Series: #1 Vicious Cycle
MC Romance/Thriller
June 2, 2015
Berkley/NAL Trade

Reviewed  by Tori

Deacon Malloy’s life is dedicated to the Hell’s Raiders motorcycle club. Tough, hard, and fast with his fists, he serves the group as sergeant at arms. But his devil-may-care approach to life is thrown for a loop when the five-year-old daughter he never knew existed lands on the club steps.

Alexandra Evans is devoted to all her students—but there’s always been something about Willow Malloy that tugs at her heart. There’s an aura of sadness about her, a girl in need of all the love Alexandra can give. When Willow stops coming to school, Alexandra’s search leads to a clubhouse full of bikers…and a father hell-bent on keeping his daughter always within sight.

The moment Deacon sees Alexandra, he has to have her in his bed—and he’s never met a woman yet who couldn’t be persuaded. No matter how attracted she is to Deacon, Alexandra refuses to be just another conquest. But it’s Deacon himself who could be seduced—into a brighter future for himself, his daughter, and the woman he’s falling for against all odds. (Goodreads)

Motorcycle Club romances are a favorite read of mine. I love the uber jerky alpha men who start out rough and insensitive only to fall to one particular woman’s charms. They aren’t emasculated but rather they experience an epiphany that shows them that this one woman will be their saving grace. Of course, it’s usually a “good girl” who has no ties to the lifestyle and will have to be “taught” what it means to be a biker’s old lady. Sexually explicit scenes dot the landscape as our couple fights their own feelings and often the disapproval of friends and family as they work towards their happy ever after.

Katie Ashley’s Vicious Cycle had the potential to be such a story. A hardened biker falls for his young daughter’s school teacher. A daughter he had no idea existed until recently. His club’s recent antics prove a deterrent for his daughter’s safety. This causes her father to keep her close which in turn pulls her teacher into the hero’s orbit and he is determined to keep her there. A well intended storyline that has all the elements needed to be an action packed sexually primed romance that falls short of its goals. The story reads fast-too fast. The rush to get the story out causes it to flow over the issues presented rather than stopping and digging beneath the layers to the meat. There was an assembly line feel to it as if Ashley had a checklist of tropes and plotlines to use. Each point is listed then we move on. This particular style didn’t allow for the normally gritty, raw, unpredictability that most MC romances thrive upon. As we drift deeper into the story, it changes from engaging to unbelievable with over the top melodrama and ridiculous character behavior.

The club and members are caricatures of the MC life with a lot of posturing and chest beating but without the strength to back it all up. They come off as more of a fraternity then a hardcore MC. They are committed to their women and cause, which is good, but it seemed once the women expressed any displeasure, these men rolled over and showed their throats. Random and extreme acts of violence are tossed about in a haphazard way as if to prove to the reader that these men are not to be messed with yet by their own actions it’s unbelievable and tasteless in some areas.

Our protagonists, Deacon and Alexandra start out strong. Their relationship is antagonistic in the beginning and it works well with their personalities.  I liked the hero and the heroine individually and together up to a certain point. It’s only when they begin to fall in love that we begin to see the melodrama and unbelievability I mentioned earlier. The meeting of Deacon and his daughter, Willow, is both sweet and fierce as we watch him evolve from a cold, seemingly uncaring, individual to an overprotective father who would burn down the world for his child. There were some scenes that depict him in a very unflattering light that made me feel almost guilty for liking any aspect of his character. Willow is well developed and a viable addition to the story. She holds her own and adds to the overall development of the romance and characterization of the protagonists.

Alexandra was a little harder to relate to at times. She comes off as almost too perfect; one of those heroines whom is gorgeous, smart, sweet, and everyone falls in love with her.  Eventually we realise she is strong and it’s her strength and stubbornness to get her way that pushes her along. She stands up to Deacon in her fight for Willow’s education and accepts his lifestyle reluctantly. When she admits her love for him, it’s like a switch is flipped and suddenly she is every whiny, insecure, heroine that you’ve ever met. There is a dark secret in her past that unfortunately doesn’t elicit the sympathy (at least my part) I think the author was hoping for.

The ending is a mash-up of overly dramatic scenes and a potluck of plot devices which the author scrambles frantically to resolve. I was left feeling completely apathetic about the book in general. While I’m sure fans of Katie Ashley will enjoy her new endeavor, I don’t see myself continuing with this series.

RATING: D

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