Vicious Cycle by Katie Ashley Series: Vicious Cycle #1
Published by Penguin on June 2nd, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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New York Times bestselling author Katie Ashley revs up the danger and sexual tension in her brand-new Vicious Cycle romance series.
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.
Liezel’s Thoughts:
I’ve been a long-standing fan of both Katie Ashley’s The Proposition and Runaway Train Series and was looking forward to her take on the MC world. That being said, I had my expectations set very high and, unfortunately, I’m saddened to say that “Vicious Cycle” didn’t pan out as much as I expected.
I thought the beginning of the story was remarkable. Early on we are introduced to this little girl – Willow. At first, it was confusing how her character became the introduction to the story but as the story flowed along it made perfect sense since Willow was the driving force that brought Alexandra and Deacon together. Willow was just delightful. At every turn, I found myself wanting and waiting to hear more about her and how she continued to beguile her new MC family.
Alexandra’s character was great too. I loved that after both traumatic events that happened in her life that she was able to pick up the pieces and become successful in such an honorable profession. I admired the fact that she possessed this delicate and softer side yet when necessary she exhibited a sassy and fearless side. With all that she went through, she truly did become the heroine of the story.
The character that threw me through the loop, however, was Deacon. For some odd reason, I just couldn’t get a good fix on him. I think it was because every single time something important would happen he was held up somewhere. He was the sergeant of arms of the club but with him not being entirely present during these critical situations it made him appear weak.
The relationship between Alex and Deacon was also questionable. I couldn’t feel a good connection between them. The words were there but for some reason, they just didn’t click. It was disappointing really because I thought they had so much potential.
About the rest of the story… there were a few twists and turns that kept me interested but it wasn’t as seamless as I hoped it would be. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that I didn’t like the story overall. I honestly did but to me, it seemed like there were pertinent components that were left underdeveloped.
The question now is will I be reading the rest of the series? That would be a definite “Yes”. If anything, I am looking forward to seeing how the dynamics would change not only between the brothers and their significant others but within the club itself.
The Verdict:
About Katie Ashley
Katie Ashley is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her daughter, Olivia. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Shakespeare, Harry Potter, Designing Women, and Scooby-Doo.
With a BA in English, a BS in Secondary English Education, and a Masters in Adolescent English Education, she spent eleven years teaching both middle and high school English. As of January 2013, she became a full-time writer.
Julie
Ummmm…..you have this book listed with Michelle Valentine as the author.
V Cycle was written by Katie Ashley!!! Then in your ‘Thoughts’ you list the Runaway Train Series and The Proposition as books of Michelle Valentine as well.
Totally off the mark on the author and book match ups on this one!
liezelsb
Thanks for pointing it out. Issue has been fixed. =)