DIRTY FOR ME (Motor City Royals #1) by Jackie Ashenden-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 26, 2016

Ezekiel “Zee” Chase has a complicated past. Born into a family whose wealth grew from the seedy world of big-time crime, he ran away as a teenager and made a home for himself on the streets of Detroit. By day, the mechanic works at a local garage. But by night, he throws down with the best of them in Detroit’s gritty underground fighting scene. With all those muscles, he’s never had trouble with women–until he meets one who challenges him to the greatest fight of his life. . .

Tamara Lennox is a hardworking corporate high-flyer who appreciates the finer things in life, from her expensive perfume to her designer handbags. More than anything, though, she likes to be in control–and when Zee explodes into her life, she feels anything but. He’s the definition of a bad boy: brash, fiery, and of course, irresistibly hot. And there’s a darkness about him that keeps her coming back for more. As Zee takes Tamara deeper into a world she never knew existed, she just might prove to be the one opponent he won’t be able to dominate–at least not without some pleasurable convincing….

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REVIEW: DIRTY FOR ME is the first installment in Jackie Ashenden’s contemporary, adult MOTOR CITY ROYALS erotic, romance series. This is bad boy mechanic/MMA fighter Ezekiel ‘Zee’ Chase, and corporate intern Tamara Lennox’s story line.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Zee and Tamara) DIRTY FOR ME focuses on the building relationship between two broken souls-Ezekiel ‘Zee’ Chase born into a Detroit crime family where his father rules with an iron fist; and Tamara Lennox- a privileged young woman whose own past is riddled with a dark family secret. When Tamara accompanies her best friend to a late night, self-defense class for woman, in one of the seediest neighborhoods of Detroit, our heroine finds herself immediately attracted to the instructor-a tattooed, bad boy named Zee Chase whose attraction to Tamara is equally as strong and palpable. What ensues is a relationship based solely on $ex that looks deeper into the past of both of our story line characters. Tamara is about accept a marriage proposal from a man she does not love to pay a debt she owes her family; and Zee’s past comes back physically demanding a return to the family fold.

The relationship between Tamara and Zee is initially based only on $ex. Tamara wants to forget about her past and her potential future; and Zee is an MMA fighter who has his pick of any woman but Tamara has locked onto his heart and soul. The $ex scenes are graphic, aggressive and intense but I did not feel the emotional connection between the couple-they both wanted $ex and Tamara continued to return night after night in the hopes of more from Zee Chase. Zee struggles with his emotions and is reluctant to show even a softer version of himself fearing to let go would mean dropping his defenses against the outside world.

There are a number of secondary and supporting characters including all of Zee’s coworkers at the local garage: garage owner Gideon, tattoo artist Zoe, and mechanic Rachel-all former street kids who have banded together as a family. A fifth member of their rag-tag family -Levi -is currently in prison awaiting early release-Levi and Rachel’s story will be told next in Wrong For Me. We are introduced to Tamara’s best friend Rose and our heroine’s soon to be fiancé/ex-fiance Robert, as well as Tamara’s boss Scott who is trying to make Tamara’s life as miserable as possible. Tamara’s parents claim to want the best for their daughter but Tamara is being forced into an impossible situation. Zee’s corrupt father Joshua forces his son to make a choice- a choice between friendship or blood.

The world building focuses on dysfunctional family dynamics, dark secrets, betrayal and revenge. The conflict between Zee and his father ended rather abruptly and without too much angst or aggression which under the circumstance would have ended differently in the real world. I would like to see more of Zee and Tamara in a future story line as our heroine has rejected her previous life for a man whose own life is dangerous and dark. The premise is entertaining; the characters are colorful and animated; the romance is sexually graphic and, at times, almost needy in emotion and temperament. Some readers may take exception to the heroine’s ‘cheating’ on a man she does not love.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy