Reckless Road by Christine Feehan – Dual Review & Excerpt

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Description:
While Gedeon “Player” Lazaroff is one of Torpedo Ink motorcycle club’s roughest members, he’s also one of the calmest. Little rattles Player, except for the times his gift gets the better of him. When that happens, he has to just lie down in the dark and hope for the best. But on a night when he’s on the verge of losing it, he meets a woman who manages to soothe his fractured mind.

Zyah is a striking, ethereal beauty who seduces him with every word and move. Their night together is one of pure, exquisite bliss. But when Player gets confused and thinks their intimate encounter was nothing more than a dream, his careless dismissal leaves her humiliated and angry.

Now, Player will have to devote his every breath to convincing Zyah to give him a second chance. Because she might be the only one who can save him from himself….

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Sandy’s Review:

RECKLESS ROAD is the fifth instalment in Christine Feehan’s contemporary, adult TORPEDO INK erotic, paranormal, MC romance series, a spin off from the author’s Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart series which in turn is a spin off from the Drake Sisters series. This is Gedeon ‘Player’ Lazaroff, and Zyah Gamal’s story line. RECKLESS ROAD can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

WARNING: RECKLESS ROAD contains scenes, and makes reference to voyeurism, graphic violence, rape, murder, torture, child prostitution, and abuse against children, women and men, and may not be suitable for more sensitive readers. The violence is a part of the history and lives of the Torpedo Ink crews. The eighteen original Torpedo Ink members are the sole survivors of a Russian pedophile ring, and as such work towards rescuing children and women in similar situations.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Zyah and Player) RECKLESS ROAD follows in the aftermath of Player’s return to the Torpedo Ink compound following a recent road trip. With the ability to create lifelike illusions, Player’s mind continues to fracture, and his own grip on reality begins to falter. Believing his ‘brothers’ have procured him the services of an exotic dancer, Player indulges for one night, only to discover the woman, Zyah Gamal is no wh*re but his fated mate. Hoping to make amends, Player enlists the help of his Torpedo Ink family but all is not well in the seaside town of Caspar when a series of home invasions escalates, and Zyah and her grandmother have been targeted on more than one occasion. With the Torpedo Ink members keeping watch over Zyah and Mama Ant, Player is ambushed, and spends his recovery with Zyah and her grandmother but the psychic fall-out of his injury worsens, and threatens the people he knows and loves. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Zyah and Player, and the potential fall-out as Player’s mind continues to deteriorate, and the break in reveals a familiar pattern and foe.

Gedeon ‘Player’ Lazaroff believes his psychic gifts have caused more heartache and pain than have done any good for his brothers and sisters in Torpedo Ink. As the fall-out of his psychic gift continue to haunt and further destroy what’s left of his mind, Player will get some much needed healing and help from the woman with whom he is falling in love. Zyah Gamal moved to Caspar in an effort to be closer to her beloved grandmother but Zyah never expected to fall for a man who would break her heart, a man who is broken both inside and out. Time spent with Player reveals a man whose tortured past continues to inflict wounds that refuse to heal.

The relationship between Player and Zyah begins as a one night stand that quickly spirals out of control. Believing she had found the man that called to her heart, Zyah would be pushed aside by a man whose demons rode very close to the surface. Player never expected to find his own happily ever after but making amends to Zyah is about to push our hero over the edge. The $ex scenes are erotic and intense.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful powerful and energetic secondary and supporting characters move of whom we have met throughout the previous series or two. We are introduced to Zyah’s grandmother Mama Anat, as well as Hannah Drake ’s (Sea Haven series) assistant Sabelia. The requisite evil has many faces.

RECKLESS ROAD, like the previous instalments, continues to focus on the graphic details, rape, torture and abuse inflicted upon the characters as children, children trained to be killers and assassins. The PTSD and constant reminders push at the members of Torpedo Ink, leaving guilt, grief and loss in its’ wake.

RECKLESS ROAD is a story of family, relationships, secrets and lies; of pain, tragedy and heart break; of betrayal, vengeance, acceptance and love. The premise is dramatic, dark, staggering and raw; the romance is edgy ; the characters are broken, wounded, and tragic.

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Barb’s Review:
Reckless Road by Christine Feehan is the 5^th book in her Torpedo Ink series. Brief refresher: Czar, who is married to Blyth, is the president of Torpedo Ink, and together with the men and women he brought with him to Sea Haven they built their Torpedo Ink MC club in Casper, which is close to Sea Haven.  Each of these members have suffered terrible abuse in their childhoods in Russia, being forced to all become lethal assassins; each still very much trying to find the light inside their darkness.  They are all determined to protect each other, and in each book, one of our heroes meets their mate.

Gedeon (Player), our hero, has a hard time dealing with his migraines and after returning to Casper and the Torpedo Ink MC Club, he quickly goes to his room, as he feels unstable.  Upon arriving, he sees a girl dancing in his room, which seems to calm him, and learns she was waiting for a friend in this private room, since she was a designated driver.  With his brain in overdrive, Player finds himself enjoying the girl’s company, and when he gets up in the morning, she is in the bed with him.  He thinks he is dreaming, and pushes her away, only to learn later on that it was not a dream, and when she left one of the members saw her crying.

Zyah, our heroine, is a beautiful young girl, who left her successful job, to come to Casper and take care of her grandmother.  Her love of dance promotes her special gifts of being able to read and heal fractured minds, especially those in dire need of help.  Zyah knew she had some king of bond with Player, but was hurt how he mistreated her when he pushed her away, after a wonderful night and leaving money on the table for her, which she did not take.

When Player finally explains to his club members why Zyah was crying, and how she was able to rid the horrific memories while she was with him; they insist he needs to find her and apologize.   In a short time, they discover that Zyah was working at Inez’s Country store, which they begin to notice some bad people hanging around the local neighborhood, and especially the homes being ransacked. The Torpedo Ink group take turns to spending time at both the store, and at Zyah’s grandmother’s house to protect them.  When a couple of the villians approach Zyah, Player steps in to protect her, and in doing so, gets shot in the head. 

What follows is an exciting and violent adventure, as well as a highly sexual erotic romance between two people who ended up needing each other.  I did love Player and Zyah together, as they made such a great couple, and her ability to heal Player, also brings them closer into solving a puzzle as to why Player was creating illusions of bombs.  This was a very interesting concept to this storyline. 

I love all the members of the Torpedo Ink family, including the equally lethal female members (Lana & Alena), and the ladies who become part of them (Blythe, Anya, Breezy and Soliel).  Each book we get to see how all our heroes were tortured as children, and suffered, with each of them doing all they could to protect each other.  I absolutely loved the scenes with Player and Hannah Drake (as well as Jonas), they were pretty funny.  Always great to see any of the Drake Sisters, which has always been one of my favorite series.

Reckless Road was so very well written by Christine Feehan, as well as being exciting, tense, and emotional story line.  The entire Torpedo Ink members are an amazing and wonderful group of characters that we fully care for.  Again, I will note that Feehan does have a lot of sex scenes, but at least the story was mostly in the forefront. Reckless Road was a great read, with a fantastic group of recurring secondary characters. If you have not read this series, you need to start with the first book.

Copies provided by Publisher

Excerpt provided by Random House Publishing