RECKLESS (Death Dwellers MC: Legacy 1) by Kathryn Kelly-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 31, 2023

Being the son of a legend isn’t easy.

And though sixteen-year-old CJ Caldwell idolizes his father, Outlaw, he’s not sure he’ll ever live up to the Caldwell reputation. Worse, he’s not sure he’ll be given the chance.

CJ is expected to finish high school and go to college before he will even be considered as a prospect for the Death Dwellers.

Meanwhile, Outlaw wants the option of a different life for his son. Whether or not the boy belongs to the MC, isn’t a requirement of his and Meggie’s love and support. As he tries to convince his boy to choose a different path in life, Outlaw is unaware of how far into the biker life CJ already is. When he takes his woman and their other kids on a vacation and leaves his beloved firstborn home because of football camp, the unimaginable happens that will forever change the Caldwell family.

There’s only one thing CJ wants more than his father’s approval, the only girl for him, Harley Banks. But when he asks her to go steady, she shoots him down cold, breaking his heart—and little does he know, breaking her own heart.

Now CJ is faced with becoming a man, coping with heartache, and trying to save his younger cousin Ryan from hanging out with the wrong crowd. A crowd who is targeting Harley. CJ is even more hurt that she didn’t trust him enough to ask for help—that hurt fueling the anger already building, skewing CJ’s decisions which go from good to stupid to downright dangerous. Then tragedy strikes, reducing one of the MC member’s houses to ashes, and destroying a trust that may never be restored.

Life altering mistakes will be made. Some will live, some will die. And the brutal, bloody reality of being a Death Dweller will spill onto another generation…

••••••

REVIEW: RECKLESS is the first instalment in Kathryn Kelly’s contemporary, adult DEATH DWELLERS MC: LEGACY dark, MC romance series-a spin off / next generation set in the author’s Death Dwellers MC world. RECKLESS introduces the next generation including CJ Caldwell (Christopher ‘Outlaw’ Caldwell’s son), his sister Rebel, brothers Ryder, Axel, Rule, and their adopted brother Diesel, as well as Val and Zoann’s sons Ryan and Willard, and Johnnie and Kendall’s kids Harley, Mattie, JJ and Rory; Mort and Bailey’s daughter Harley. You do not have to have read the original series but for back story and cohesion I recommend catching up on the DEATH DWELLERS MC.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise including graphic language and violence, there WILL be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from several third person perspectives, following two timelines, RECKLESS focuses on the volatile and unstable world of the Death Dwellers MC. As each generation begat the next, the sins of the father followed. Christopher ‘Outlaw’ Caldwell had hoped to raise his family without the fear of reprisal and history repeating itself but life in the MC often meant a life straddling the rules of morality and respect. As the next generation, all teens under the age of eighteen, step forward to claim a place for themselves, there is someone waiting to strike down and take control. At the heart of the story is a fight for power within the old guard, a generation who believes they deserve it all, and one young man who knows the time will come when he must step up and take control. All is not well- the family dynamics are fragile, abusive, authoritative and competitive; an MC princess pushes the line until she pushes too far.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, dangerous and questionable characters including all of the Death Dwellers MC series couples, and their extended families and children . The author includes a chart at the beginning of the story, otherwise a spreadsheet may be necessary to keep track of connections and relations.

RECKLESS is a story of betrayal and vengeance, power and control, abuse and corruption, discrimination and rejection. The premise is detailed, complex, dark, gritty and raw; the next generation of characters are often immature, spoiled, self serving and impulsive; the old guard struggle with what is happening in their lives and the lives of their overly dramatic children. RECKLESS ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Heed my warning, the language is graphic and strong.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy