Running Wild by J.L. Sheppard
Series: Hell Ryders MC, #1
Romance Suspense/MC
June 10, 2016
Wild Ink Press

Reviewed by Tori

When the perfect life Alyssa Holden planned turns out to be a life of lies, she runs to her brother, the only person she can trust. She has no idea she’s running straight into a world of badass bikers who live and ride by their own rules. One tatted rebel in particular calls to her wilder side, and while everything in her draws her toward him, every experience she’s had with men warns her away.

Jace Warren is doing what he’s done his whole life—trying to survive, making the best with what he’d been given. The only life that makes sense after the military is Hell Ryder’s Motorcycle Club, but the sweet innocence of his army buddy’s sister promises a different life, one a man like him can only dream of. Problem is, being his MC brother’s sister puts her off limits. Hard as it is, he keeps his distance. Then she kisses him, and all bets are off. (Goodreads)

I love MC romances and though the availability of new ones has dropped significantly since they first hit the scene a few years ago, they are out there. When Running Wild was presented for review, I jumped on it, hoping to jumpstart the feelings I had when I first started reading them. Alas, this was not to be. Running Wild had potential, but its development was curtailed by what I felt was stereotypical characterization, a weak and wandering main plotline, and a romance that didn’t make an easy jump from sexual to emotional attraction. Some interesting secondary characters and smaller subplots helped to give the story some layers, keeping it from becoming a complete disappointment for me.

We start off on a good note, watching our heroine, Alyssa, take control of her life by flying across the country with little to nothing in order to escape her controlling father and abusive fiance. Sheppard sets up the storyline smoothly, placing us directly into the heroine’s head. She heads to her older brother, knowing he will help her start over. Her meeting with the MC is antagonistic; they refuse to acknowledge they know her brother and hit on her with impunity. She holds her own until her brother Ty arrives and Alyssa is saved from the lascivious attitudes of the bikers.

Ty settles her at the Hell Ryder’s clubhouse and Alyssa learns that her father is claiming she’s been kidnapped and blocking all her attempts to find a job. While struggling to adjust to her new life, she is also heavily attracted to Jace Warren aka Trig but gets the feeling he hates her due to his hot and cold attitude towards her. Jace knows Alyssa is off limits due to being family and he has issues with their obvious economic and class differences.

Alyssa and Jace are amicable enough characters but caricature-like in their characterization. Alyssa is the quintessential heroine whose beauty has all the bikers sniffing around her but her charm and female advice instantly has them treating her like their little sister and confidant. Her strong need to please attitude is punctuated by bits of snark and attitude which helps to keep her from fading to deep into the background. Everyone loves her as she is obviously not the average biker woman. She’s a step above and the author makes her the ultimate forbidden treat.

Jace is exactly like Alyssa in terms of stereotyping though he doesn’t seem as clearly defined as she is. He is every biker trope ever written and seemed to have three main emotions-angry, jealous, and aroused. I found it hilarious that in terms of drama, he was far more dramatic than Alyssa. He constantly refers to himself as white trailer trash to convince himself (and us) he doesn’t deserve her. His anger and possessiveness towards her is a parody of typical MC characteristics and he is constantly telling Alyssa what she will and will not do. I admit once he started telling her, “don’t give me any lip,” anytime she disagreed with him was my breaking point with him.

The story rides a thin line between the romance and the MC with low key appearances of Alyssa’s abusive fiance. I was surprised we saw nothing of her father. We spend an inordinate amount of time watching Alyssa and Jace stumble around each other, misreading each other’s actions with the majority of their problems between them in their heads. Communication is almost non-existent in the first 60% of the book and once they do finally open up to one another, it doesn’t seem to get much better though their sexual interludes certainly lived up the story.

An ambitious cast of secondary characters adds some depth to the storyline; their personalities and problems an interesting mixture of bravado and temptation. Engaging dialogue pulls us into their lives quite easily. I couldn’t help but wonder why it flowed so easy here but not between the protagonists. Each one is a personable figure that offers competition against the protagonists. At times, I was far more interested in their stories then watching Alyssa and Jace come together.

The ending is a fast mash-up of violence and retribution, leaving readers assured Alyssa and Jace get their HEA. As I started earlier, this book and series has potential to evolve with some strong subplots and intriguing world, but Sheppard needs to back away from the predictable and stereotypes if she is looking to make this sub genre and series her own.

Grade: D

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