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• BLURB •
Rocker Charlotte Justice longs to escape her hectic life. Her estranged twin sister, Scarlett, owns Badlands, a biker bar outside Vegas, and has always wanted a chance at the limelight she feels was stolen from her.
On a whim, they decide to switch places like they did when they were kids.
What harm could it do?
Charlotte had no idea that the escape she planned would leave her on the receiving end of creepy texts, phone calls and “gifts” left at her door. Flying blind in her new role, pretending to be someone she’s not, Charlotte learns more about her secretive sister than she ever imagined.
On top of all of that, she’s doing everything she can to escape the sexy-as-sin MC President demanding she pay back the debt she owes him–that or sell him the bar.
Could the person stalking her also be the President of the Evil Dead MC’s Las Vegas Chapter? An alpha male who’s come-on to her in a won’t-take-no-for-an-answer kind of way that has her wondering just how badly she wants to say no.
Does he want Badlands badly enough to scare her into selling out?
Or is he the only one who can save her from a madman?
Charlotte will have to solve the mystery if she’s going to save the bar, and possibly her very life.
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• MY REVIEW •
“For a girl like you, I’m willin’ to put in the effort.”
I’m flailing my arms in excitement and in desperation of the next book! Eeeep! Nicole James has smashed it again! See, this is why she is an auto-buy author of mine. She never fails at keeping her readers engaged with her stories and invested in her characters— and this little reader right here was hooked from the second Charlotte and her twin sister Scarlett started swapping clothes and spontaneously decided to temporarily trade lives!
Nicole has plenty of books under her belt and all the ones I’ve read so far have had some pretty amazing storylines. This one stood out with its intriguing premise. It’s a trading places storyline weaved into a light MC romance. It has a more contemporary romance feel in comparison to Nicole’s other MC romance books. With its small town setting, the world-building heavily revolves around the protagonists, Charlotte and Daytona. There was an immediate connection between the two that automatically had me sitting up in attention. Despite some serious tension and danger in the air, the story still had an overall light atmosphere to it.
Similarly to Nicole’s other books, this one had plenty of heated banter between its hero and heroine, alongside some lighthearted comic-relief ribbing courtesy of the secondary characters— who so happens to be the brothers from the bright and shiny new Evil Dead MC Las Vegas Chapter! 😍😍
If you’ve read her Evil Dead MC series, then the introduction of a brand, spankin’ new Chapter would make your eyes pop-out-of-its-socket giddy! It practically means new blood, and I for one, am all for it!
Daytona is the President of this chapter but right off the bat I discovered he’s different from the other Evil Dead MC Chapter Presidents. He may be a badass alpha biker, but he’s openly affectionate, straightforward, and doesn’t play games. He knows what he wants, and it’s evident when he first lays eyes on Charlotte.
Charlotte is rightfully skeptical of Daytona and his motives, especially considering she’s currently living life as her sister. I would’ve loved to have seen more character development from both (especially Charlotte) but with how the story played out and especially how this book concluded, I’m hoping there’s a lot more to reveal in the next book.
The story is told from first person, dual points of view, and progressed in a relatively fast-pacing. There’s a lot of things happening that’ll keep you on your toes. It’s insta-romance with a layer of crime thriller added. There’s lots of suspense and second-guessing that it was hard to predict where the story would lead.
Please note, there are certain sensitive subject matters within the story that may be triggering for some readers. Besides the mature sexual content, it also contains violence, stalking, and kidnapping. This book is for mature audiences 18+ only.
The romance elements are swoony and had just the perfect amount of sweetness. It might have been on the insta-love side as far as romantic relationships go but it wasn’t at all unconvincing. They may have gotten together relatively quickly but there’s genuine interest in getting to know each other in more depth. You get Daytona’s backstory and an understanding of his mentality and how he lives his life. And with the arrival of this new Evil Dead MC Chapter, I was instantly curious about all the new club members who were introduced right alongside Daytona in this book. They may have only had minor roles in this story but they definitely made quite an impression! 😊
It’s a relatively shorter full-length novel but it was jam-packed full of detail and dimension, and the story didn’t stray away from its initial narrative. Nicole created a vivid world that I was effortlessly transported to. These characters go through a whirlwind of emotions and a rollercoaster of drama that you can’t help but sympathize. Even though this is fictional and some of the plots are dramatized, the situations that Charlotte and Daytona find themselves in are real-life, relatable experiences. Their lives are complex and their feelings are understandable and seem realistic.
Overall, I found it to be a hearty story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. There was constant buzz and build-up throughout that it was hard not to be gripped by it all. I was truly bummed to see it end and knowing I’d have to wait a little while for the release of book two. It ends on a cliffhanger but I’m relieved to see it concluded in a way where this particular part of Charlotte’s and Daytona’s story was somewhat settled…? Their relationship may be up in the air for the time being but the cat’s outta the bag and now we’ll just have to see how it all plays out from there. *dun dun duuuuun* Eeep.
If you enjoy reading about alpha heroes who have a gentlemanly side to them, and fiery heroines with backbone, then I recommend you give this one a try.
Definitely a must read for any Nicole James fan. I think this story is a great introduction for romance readers wanting to try MC romance books— whilst it certainly contains MC romance elements, it’s not completely MC heavy. It’s also technically an age-gap romance but it’s hardly noticeable, in my opinion.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🔔 Interested in reading Charlotte? Grab your copy here: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU
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💀 Read more reviews for Nicole James’ books!
The Evil Dead MC Series
Evil Dead MC Series by Nicole James
Wicked by Nicole James
The Biker’s Second Chance by Nicole James
The Devil Kings MC Series
Dirty Deeds by Nicole James
Dirty Deals by Nicole James
Dirty Desires by Nicole James
Brothers Ink Tattoo Series
Brothers Ink Tattoo by Nicole James
Royal Bastards MC Series
Club Princess by Nicole James
Kings Of Carnage MC Series
Saint by Nicole James
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Happy reading, guys! Catch you in my next one! Xo
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