💀💚

HARD KNOX (RBMC Knoxville TN 1: 6th run) by Morgan Jane Mitchell -review

💀💚

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 28, 2024

Knox
President of the Royal Bastards MC in Knoxville, my life’s a ride on the wild side. Besides my brothers, I ride alone. Then, Eliza comes crashing in, a beautiful light in my dark world. The moment I accidentally hosed her down at that charity bike wash, I knew she was something special. Eliza’s not just smoking hot when she’s soaking wet and angry. She’s a teacher and a single mom, trying to piece her life back together after a nasty divorce. A respectable lady, educated, when I graduated from the school of hard knocks. Yeah, she’s smart so she doesn’t date bikers like me. I don’t blame her. Just as I’m trying to win her over, showing her how a dumb guy like me could love her, her ex-husband turns up cold. Suddenly, I’m in the eye of the storm, a suspect. Sure, I decked him that one night, but I didn’t kill him. I’ve got to clear my name, not just for me, but for Eliza. She’s tangled up in this mess with me now, and I need to protect her, even if it means diving back into the darkness of my past – a past I planned to keep secret. How can a woman like Eliza possibly love an outlaw like me once she learns the truth?

Eliza
I’m a teacher and a mom, curvy girl and proud, but still healing from the sting of rejection. I never thought I’d find love again or attract someone as hot as Knox. He’s danger and mystery covered in tattoos and wrapped in a leather jacket. As much as I fight the pull of the bad boy, he’s determined to touch my heart along with the rest of me. He’s everything I never knew I wanted –protective and passionate, jealous even. Oh, the butterflies. But our potential romance is cut short when my ex-husband is found dead, and Knox is the prime suspect. Every instinct tells me to run, to protect my heart and my kids. Yet, I see the truth in Knox’s eyes, the honesty in his fight to clear his name and mine. I’m drawn into this mystery, not just for the sake of my own heart, but for the truth. But what do I do when the truth is darker than I could ever have imagined?

••••••

REVIEW; HARD KNOX is the first instalment in Morgan Janet Mitchell’s contemporary, adult RBMC KNOXVILLE TN slightly paranormal, erotic, MC romance series -a part of the multi-authored, sixth run RBMC series. This is elementary school teacher / single mother Eliza Martin , and RBMC Knoxville president Knox’s story line.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Knox and Eliza) HARD KNOX follows the building romance and relationship between our story line couple. Knox is the president of the RBMC in Knoxville Tennessee, and a school fundraiser will bring Knox up close and personal with elementary school teacher Eliza Martin. From their first introduction, Knox finds himself pulled into the aura that is our story line heroine but Eliza is trying to keep things slow, in the face of a heart breaking past but the past refuses to let go, and Knox is about to pay the price for some else’s jealousy and obsession. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Knox and Eliza, and the potential fall-out when Knox is accused of a murder he did not commit.

The world building focuses on both the present and the past. Knox reveals his past, his current situation, and the fact that he and several members of the RBMC are not quite fully human. Eliza tries to keep her past where it belongs but the past refuses to remain in the past, and with a little help from someone Eliza once trusted, the darkness takes hold threatening everyone Eliza holds dear.

The relationship between Knox and Eliza is one of immediate attraction but Eliza must keep up appearances. She is a grade school teacher whose students and parents question Eliza’s choice of a partner, and in this, betrayal is always at the forefront of Eliza’s struggle to move on from the past. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to several members of the RBMC:KNOXVILLE family: Sergeant at Arms Dynamite aka TNT, and Smokey: Eliza’s best friend Birdie, and Eliza’s ex Mark Martin.

HARD KNOX is a story of betrayal and vengeance, trust and misunderstanding, secrets and lies, power and control, acceptance and love. The fast paced premise is entertaining and enchanting but the paranormal aspect is virtually non-existent with only a small mention at the end of the book. The romance is seductive; the characters are energetic and engaging.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy