Riding the Night by Jaci Burton

Wild Riders, Book 5

Synopsis: AJ and Pax are undercover operatives for a government agency of bad-boy bikers known as the Wild Riders. While AJ is visiting Teresa, a high school sweetheart, a fight erupts in her bar between two biker gangs. One man is left dead and Teresa’s brother is wrongly accused of murder. With no proof and Teresa as the only eyewitness, AJ, Pax, and Teresa point their Harleys toward the annual bike rally in South Dakota in hot pursuit of the real killer, and Teresa discovers a passion that brings both men to their knees.

Review: I was able to discover Jaci Burton with her sport romances that were pretty cool to read ver even though it’s true that I had a little more trouble hanging on the last ones I tried. When I saw that she had launched a biker series, I confess that I was curious to see how it was. Well I started directly with volume 4 without reading the previous volumes, but I warn you right away that there is no problem by starting with this one.

This novel features AJ and Pax, two federal agents on a holiday vacation to AJ birthplace. But well, something that should be about resting will not really be like that. In fact, while AJ finds his childhood girlsfriend in a bar and when the old feelings resurface, a fight breaks out. The problem is that a murder is perpetrated during this confrontation and the brother of Teresa is accused although she claims his innocence and explains to have seen the killer. From there, the three will team up to discover the truth about the events to save Joey.

Well, here’s the intrigue part, but it’s true that this side is put rather to the background. This is not necessarily always the case for this kind of story, but romance is finally very central here. I confess that this is what caused me a little more trouble … When I read the synopsis, I thought that we would have a love triangle and even though I know that many are scared about it, even if it is not something that particularly disturbs me. But this is not a triangle and it is rather a three-way plan. I think that’s where things began to be difficult for me … It’s not necessarily the kind of romance that I adhere to. And it is true that some scenes have rather made me laugh. Yes, because when it’s not together, it’s one after another and boy, it’s true that Teresa does not risk getting bored. I kind of stumbled on something I felt like an inconsistency. Indeed, after being raped 5 years ago, Teresa initially struggles to open up to men, even for a single contact, which I understand perfectly. But very quickly it goes to the extreme and I confess that I found it quite surprising. But maybe it’s only my feeling.

I admit that I still wondered how this type of couple could work over time, for marriage, for children, a little for everything. In short you will have understood it was not necessarily a novel for me …

2-5

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La Nuit sauvage de Jaci Burton

Wild Riders, Tome 4

Résumé : Qui a dit qu’on n’avait besoin de personne en Harley Davidson ?

Inséparables et doués d’un magnétisme animal, AJ et Pax sont tous deux des agents du gouvernement spécialisés dans les missions d’infiltration, les Wild Riders. Ils se rendent au bar où travaille Teresa, le premier amour de AJ, quand une rixe éclate entre deux gangs. Un homme meurt et Joey, le frère de Teresa, est injustement accusé du meurtre. Les deux agents et la jeune femme enfourchent leur Harley avec pour mission de prouver l’innocence de Joey. Au cours de leur virée, Teresa est déchirée entre les deux hommes. Ce trio hors du commun doit alors déjouer les pièges de l’amour pour trouver le bonheur…

Avis : J’avais pu découvrir Jaci Burton avec ses romances sportives qui étaient assez sympas à découvrir même si c’est vrai que j’ai eu un peu plus de mal à accrocher aux dernières. Quand j’ai vu qu’elle s’était lancée dans une série de bikers j’avoue que j’étais curieuse de voir ce que cela donnait. Bon je me suis lancée directement dans le tome 4 sans avoir lu les tomes précédents, mais je vous avertis tout de suite qu’il n’y a pas de problème à commencer par celui-ci.

Ce roman met en scène AJ et Pax, deux agents fédéraux qui, en vacances, se rendent dans la ville de naissance d’AJ. Mais voilà, quelque chose qui annonçait du repos ne le sera pas vraiment. En effet, alors qu’AJ retrouve son amour d’enfance dans un bar et que les anciens sentiments refont surface, une bagarre éclate. Le problème c’est qu’un meurtre est perpétré pendant cette embrouille et le frère de Teresa est accusé bien qu’elle clame son innocence et explique avoir vu le tueur. A partir de là, les trois vont faire équipe afin de découvrir la vérité sur les évènements pour sauver Joey.

Bon, voilà la partie intrigue, mais c’est vrai que ce côté est mis plutôt au second plan. Ce n’est pas forcément toujours le cas pour ce genre d’histoire, mais la romance est finalement très centrale ici. J’avoue que c’est ce qui m’a posé un peu plus problème… Quand j’ai lu le résumé, je me suis dit que nous aurions un triangle amoureux et même si je sais que beaucoup sont frileux à ce sujet, ce n’est pas quelque chose qui me dérange particulièrement. Mais voilà, ce n’est pas un triangle et c’est plutôt un plan à trois. Je pense que c’est à partir de là que les choses ont commencé à être difficile pour moi… Ce n’est pas forcément le genre de romance auquel j’adhère. Et c’est vrai que certaines scènes m’ont plutôt fait rire. Oui, parce que quand ce n’est pas ensemble, c’est l’un après l’autre et bon, c’est vrai que Teresa ne risque pas de s’ennuyer. J’ai un peu buté sur quelque chose que j’ai ressenti comme une incohérence. En effet, après avoir été violée 5 ans plus tôt, Teresa atout d’abord du mal à s’ouvrir aux hommes, même pour un contact seul, ce que je comprends parfaitement. Mais très vite elle passe à l’extrême et j’avoue que j’ai trouvé ça assez surprenant. Mais peut-être que c’est seulement mon ressenti.

J’avoue que je me suis quand même demandée comment ce type de couple pouvait fonctionner sur la durée, pour le mariage, pour les enfants, un peu pour tout. Bref vous l’aurez compris ce n’était pas forcément le roman…

2-5

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Riding Wild by Jaci Burton

Wild Riders, Book 1

Synopsis: He’s a Harley-riding ex-thief…she’s a gun-toting ex-socialite. Together they’ll take the ride of a lifetime in this erotic romance from “an undoubted master.”*

Mac Canfield was the last man Lily West expected to see again, never mind aim her gun at. But there he was, the bad boy who’d broken her heart years ago – still a thief, hijacking a priceless artifact – and it was all she could do to push aside the memories of how it felt to have his perfectly chiseled body next to hers.

Mac was no less shocked to see the beautiful girl next-door again, threatening to shoot him. Little did she know she was blowing his cover. He had to get her out of harm’s way without succumbing to his desire to take her on a hot trip down memory lane.

But Lily has no intention of going anywhere with Mac, which means he’ll have to resort to kidnapping. Unless she agrees to let him take her for the kind of ride destined to drive them both unbelievably wild.

Review: I am increasingly drawn to novels featuring Bikers. Although I have read only one at the moment, I was curious to discover a bit more. Jaci Burton seemed like a good idea. Indeed, I had the opportunity to read some of her other romances and after spending a good time with them, I wanted to try another of her series.

Mac and Lily have a past history together, but this relationship didn’t really end that well. 10 years have passed and each lives his/her life on his/her side … Lily became a private detective, far from her father to avoid the affect he can do on her life. As for Mac, he now works for a secret government agency and his last mission, places him straight on the road of the young woman. Indeed, while Lily watches a museum, our biker enters and steals a hidden virus in an artifact … What happened to him? For whom is it? Can she trust him?

It was nice enough to read about Bikers even if this side is actually quite light. It focuses mainly on the virus and the actions of our characters but especially the close relationship of the two. Even though I had a good time with the novel, I admit that hot scenes were a little too present for me and finally I found that the story really only turned around that. However, I am curious to see what will happen afterwards.

In all cases the reading is done very quickly and we’re easily taken by the author’s style which is always nice to rediscover. Remains to be seen what she will reserve for the second volume.

3 

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La chevauchée sauvage de Jaci Burton

Wild Riders, Tome 1

Résumé : En testant la sécurité d’un musée, la détective Lily West ne s’attendait pas à tomber sur un cambrioleur, et encore moins sur Mac Canfield, le bad boy qui figure dans ses fantasmes depuis près de dix ans. Quand un tireur invisible tente d’abattre Lily et Mac à la sortie du musée, le voleur pousse la détective à enfourcher sa moto et se lance avec elle dans une course effrénée. Aux côtés de Mac, Lily va découvrir le gang des Wild Riders, bikers qui travaillent en secret pour le FBI. Leur mission : récupérer une éprouvette contenant un virus mortel…

Avis : Je suis de plus en plus attirée par les romans mettant en scène des Bikers. Même si je n’en ai lu qu’un seul pour le moment, j’étais curieuse d’en découvrir un peu plus. Jaci Burton semblait alors être une bonne idée. En effet, j’ai eu l’occasion de lire certaines de ses autres romances et après avoir passé un bon moment, j’avais bien envie de tenter une autre de ses séries.

Mac et Lily ont une histoire passée tous les deux, mais cette relation ne s’est pas très bien terminée. 10 ans se sont écoulés et chacun vie sa vie de son côté… Lily est devenue détective privée, loin de son père pour éviter qu’il puisse influencer sa vie d’une quelque manière que ce soit. Quant à Mac, il travaille à présent pour une agence secrète du gouvernement et sa dernière mission, le place tout droit sur la route de la jeune femme. En effet, alors que la jeune femme surveille un musée, notre motard s’introduit et vole un virus caché dans un artefact… Qu’est-il devenu ? Pour qui est-ce ? Peut-elle lui faire confiance ?

C’était une lecture assez sympa et le côté Bikers est finalement assez léger. On se concentre principalement sur le virus et les actions de nos personnages mais aussi surtout la relation intime des deux. Même si j’ai passé un bon moment avec le roman, j’avoue que les scènes hot étaient un peu trop présentes pour moi et finalement j’ai trouvé que l’histoire ne tournaient vraiment qu’autour de ça, ce à quoi j’ai un peu moins adhéré. Je suis cependant curieuse de voir ce que deviendra la suite.

Dans tous les cas la lecture se fait très rapidement et on se prend facilement au style de l’auteur ce qui est toujours très agréable. Reste à voir ce qu’elle nous réservera pour le second tome.

3 

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Thrown by a Curve by Jaci Burton

Play by Play, Book 5

Synopsis: She thinks she knows this player—but he has a few surprise moves.

For Alicia Riley, her job as a sports therapist for the St. Louis Rivers baseball team is a home run—until she becomes the primary therapist for star pitcher, Garrett Scott. Out of the lineup with an injury, he’s short-tempered, hard to handle, and every solid inch, a man.

Right now, the only demand he’s making on Alicia is that she get him ready to pitch in time for opening day. Except the sexual chemistry between them is so charged, Alicia’s tempted to oblige Garrett just about anything. But both their careers are at stake—one bad move and it’s game over for both of them.

Garrett also feels the hot sparks between them, and the way he figures it, what better therapy is there than sex? Now all he has to do is convince the woman with the power to make the call.

Review: I enjoyed the volumes I’ve read in this series, and with the release of this novel, I was curious to see how the new story would be. But even if I had a good time with Alicia and Garrett, I think that this book was a little below than the others but I will come back to that later.

Alicia is a physiotherapist for a baseball team but her work remains in the shadows until she meets with Garrett. This sexy player has a shoulder injury, a disability he does not take lightly. His defeatism is also a big problem for his rehabilitation and when Alicia confronts him, he decides to take her as his new personal physiotherapist to help him getting better. Problem? Because of course there is a big one, is that a fairly irresistible attraction appears. But how can there be a serious relationship between them and especially how could she keep her job if that was the case? So in the meantime, the two try to avoid each other as much as they can. But of course, all this will not be so simple.

I loved discovering Alicia, her independence, her desire to be the best in her work and not to waste this opportunity offered to show her worth. Garrett is a bit annoying in some aspects. We understand that he does not believe that he’ll find his potential but in the end it’s a bit tiring to see that he can not do more. But yet we’re attached to these two characters, we look forward to see them evolve together. Yes, because even if he shows a certain facet, Garrett is ready for anything to please Alicia and remains available when she needs it. Their relationship is actually quite touching because it takes time and moves slowly. I think the only problem that I had is that I found that the story was dragging a bit and there are therefore some rather lengthy passages.

3

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La surface de contact de Jaci Burton

Les Idoles du Stade, Tome 5

Résumé : Passionnée par la mécanique des corps – en particulier ceux des sportifs – Alicia est une jeune kinésithérapeute qui n’en est pas à son coup d’essai. Sa rencontre avec le joueur de baseball Garrett Scott marquera un tournant dans sa vie professionnelle. En effet, le lanceur ne se remet pas d’une blessure à l’épaule ; un coup qui pourrait se révéler fatal à sa carrière. Alicia va prendre les choses en mains, et au sens propre du terme. De son côté, Garrett découvrira surtout qu’il n’y a pas meilleure rééducation que le sport en chambre !

Avis : J’avais beaucoup apprécié les tomes que j’ai lus de cette série, aussi avec la sortie de ce roman, j’étais curieuse de voir ce que donnait cette nouvelle histoire. Pourtant, même si j’ai passé un bon moment avec Alicia et Garrett, j’ai trouvé ce volume un peu en dessous des autres mais j’y reviendrais un peu plus tard.

Alicia est kinésithérapeute pour une équipe de base-ball mais son travail reste dans l’ombre jusqu’à ce qu’elle tombe sur Garrett. Ce joueur très sexy a une blessure à l’épaule, un handicap qu’il ne prend pas à la légère. Son défaitisme est d’ailleurs un gros problème pour sa rééducation et quand Alicia s’oppose à lui, il décide de la prendre elle comme kiné personnel pour le rebooster. Problème, car bien sûr il y en a un gros, c’est qu’une attraction assez irrésistible apparait entre eux. Mais comment peut-il y avoir une histoire sérieuse entre eux et surtout comment pourrait-elle garder son travail si c’était le cas ? Alors en attendant, les deux essaient de s’éviter autant qu’ils le peuvent. Mais bien sûr, tout cela ne sera pas si simple.

J’ai beaucoup aimé découvrir Alicia, son indépendance, son désir d’être la meilleure dans son travail et surtout ne pas gâcher cette chance qui lui est offerte de montrer ses preuves. Garrett est un peu énervant sur certains aspects. On comprend qu’il ne croit pas pouvoir retrouver son potentiel mais au final c’est un peu fatigant de voir qu’il ne peut pas faire plus. Mais pourtant on s’attache à ces deux personnages, on les regarde évoluer ensemble et avancer. Oui car même s’il présente cet aspect, Garrett est aussi prêt à tout pour faire plaisir à Alicia et reste à sa disposition quand elle en a besoin. Leur relation est finalement assez touchante car elle prend du temps et s’installe doucement. Je pense que le seul problème que j’ai eu c’est que j’ai trouvé que l’histoire trainait un peu et on retrouve donc certains passages un peu longs.

3

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Playing to Win by Jaci Burton

Play by Play, book 4

Synopsis: Someone’s going to have to let down their guard…

Football star Cole Riley is notorious for doing as he pleases—on the field and off. He parties hard and fights harder, but if he doesn’t clean up his act, his career is over—so Cole reluctantly agrees to work with image makeover consultant Savannah Brooks. He’s not used to being told what to do, especially by some (admittedly hot) Southern belle. As for Savannah, she’s not convinced she can transform this cocky (and aggressively sexy) force of nature. But she’s determined to give it her best shot.

When the sparks start to fly, Savannah lays down the ground rules: no personal complications. If she can turn off the tingle she feels every time Cole gives her a hot stare with his gorgeous baby blues, he can turn off his desire as well. But for two people determined to have it all, a hands-off policy can only last so long before one of them yields.

Review: I have heard a lot about Jaci Burton and I admit that the Anna’s reviews have intrigued me. Romances mixed with sports are often quite interesting to discover, and I was curious to see how it was going to be. I must say that in the end I had a great time with this novel, even if it is true that this is the first I read a book in the series. But do not worry, the fact that it is a fourth volume doesn’t really matter and you can start with it without any problems.

Savannah takes her job very seriously. I must say that her job is her whole life and she expects all her missions to be successfully without compromising herself. But her new client, the famous Cole could crush the spirit of the young woman. Oh yes, because that this man is a true seducer, is also part of the problem. Savannah was hired to try to change the way he is seen in public, something that continually abysses his reputation. But Cole is determined not to let it go and not to listen to what she has to say. He does not like to take orders and from this young woman he does not know even less. He may be sexy, but he takes comment in a really difficult manner. Yet, while they did not expect it, something will be created between the two and although they resist it, there may have no loopholes. But if on top of that, Cole manages to understand that he must make an effort, then perhaps there is hope.

I loved to follow these two characters. They are both very different but something will link them, and despite their problems, they affect us both. Cole is badly perceived by the people around him, and this is due to his solitary life and his troubles in the media. Yet he does not care about all that, but this is not the case about all his teams. In the chapters, we discover that Cole is much more than he presents and his character touches us by his true nature. Savannah is a fragile young woman. She hides many secrets to others and has big trust issues. I was very curious about her past, to understand what had happened to her and it is true that it’s really difficult to see what she had to endure to get where she is. It is well understood that she does not want to do more than working and tries to stay more professional with Cole. However, their attraction is immediate, and although it started like nothing, it may well increase gradually.

I admit that I was quite surprised to see how Cole was confident, patient with Savannah, waiting for her to open to him, to explain what is wrong. But he too will change in contact with the young woman, a stunning change in fact. Opening to others will help him in his game, in his life and even his hobbies. It was interesting to see him realize the consequences of his actions and see that he could be more than what he showed to others.

So yes, this novel was a great find and I am curious to find out more now with the previous volumes, as well as the future ones. A pleasant surprise for me.

4 

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