J.C. Valentine | April 19, 2016 | MC Romance
Spartan Riders, book 1
★★★★★
SOURCE: PURCHASED
TOUR HOST: INDIESAGE PR
Gabby Morgan isn’t looking for love. Not even a little romance. Following a rocky past that she’d just as soon forget, she’s determined to focus on the future. One that most certainly doesn’t involve the tough-as-nails, short-on-words, hot-as-hell biker…or his kid.Blake Mahone may not be done with women, but he’s finished with relationships. Then Gabby Morgan enters the picture. She’s flawless, refined, and as his kid’s teacher, way out of his league. She acts like she hates him, but her eyes tell a different story. Before he knows it, Blake finds himself hot for teacher, and he’s more than ready to learn all her secrets. Now all he has to do is convince her to give him a shot…without getting them both killed in the process.
{ about j.c. valentine } .
J.C. Valentine is the USA Today and International bestselling author of the Night Calls and Wayward Fighters Series and the Forbidden Series. Her vivid imagination and love of words and romance had her penning her own romance stories from an early age, which, despite being poorly edited and written longhand, she forced friends and family members to read. No, she isn’t sorry.
J.C. earned her own happily ever after when she married her high school sweetheart. Living in the Northwest, they have three amazing children and far too many pets and spend much of their free time together enjoying movies or the outdoors. Among the many hats she wears, J.C. is an entrepreneur. Having graduated with honors, she holds a Bachelor’s in English and when she isn’t writing, you can find her editing for fellow authors.
Staring into the fire, watching the flames dance toward the sky and burning embers scatter to the wind, she found her innermost thoughts rolling from her tongue. “You’re not what I thought, Blake Mahone.”
His face tilted down and to the side, Blake slanted her a questioning look. “How’s that?”
Stretching her legs out, Gabby wiggles her bare toes, enjoying the ambient heat that warmed her soles. “You’re a pretty scary guy,” she started. “This is the first time you haven’t been all growly and mean.”
A low chuckle percolated in his chest. In his arms, Ash’s sleeping form shifted, nuzzling in closer to his father’s chest, his angelic face buried in the side of Blake’s neck. Wrapping his arms tighter around his back, Gabby watched Blake run his lips over Ash’s scraggly blond hair and thought she’d never seen a more perfect sight in her life.
She turned in the lawn chair to face him. “You know, you’re not as intimidating here either. I mean, you are intimidating, but it’s more…subdued.”
Running one of his large hands in practiced circles across Ash’s back, Blake considered this. “It’s a learned skill. My father taught me and his father taught him. It’s a trait you need to be in successful in the life.” His lips returned to his son’s hair, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “The only time I don’t need it is when I’m with him.”
“Kids are pretty great that way,” she agreed. “They see straight through the bullshit so it’s better to leave it at the door.”
“Truer words…” Turning his head and pressing his cheek to the top of Ash’s head, he stared back at her. “You’re not what I thought either.”
Rolling her bottom lip between her teeth, Gabby felt a kind of nervous anticipation at his words before handing them back to him. “Yeah, how’s that?”
His smirk grabbed the light reflecting from the fire. With only half his face lit, the other cast in deep shadows, he represented the battle between light and dark in her mind perfectly.
“I thought you were an uptight priss with a stick shoved up her ass.”
Her face heated and Gabby’s voice grew small. “And now?”
“I still think you have a stick shoved up your ass, but I’m sure with some special attention, we can get it out.”
J.C. earned her own happily ever after when she married her high school sweetheart. Living in the Northwest, they have three amazing children and far too many pets and spend much of their free time together enjoying movies or the outdoors. Among the many hats she wears, J.C. is an entrepreneur. Having graduated with honors, she holds a Bachelor’s in English and when she isn’t writing, you can find her editing for fellow authors.
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{ playlist } .
{ excerpt } .
* I love this scene. I absolutely adore Blake with his son.
Staring into the fire, watching the flames dance toward the sky and burning embers scatter to the wind, she found her innermost thoughts rolling from her tongue. “You’re not what I thought, Blake Mahone.”
His face tilted down and to the side, Blake slanted her a questioning look. “How’s that?”
Stretching her legs out, Gabby wiggles her bare toes, enjoying the ambient heat that warmed her soles. “You’re a pretty scary guy,” she started. “This is the first time you haven’t been all growly and mean.”
A low chuckle percolated in his chest. In his arms, Ash’s sleeping form shifted, nuzzling in closer to his father’s chest, his angelic face buried in the side of Blake’s neck. Wrapping his arms tighter around his back, Gabby watched Blake run his lips over Ash’s scraggly blond hair and thought she’d never seen a more perfect sight in her life.
She turned in the lawn chair to face him. “You know, you’re not as intimidating here either. I mean, you are intimidating, but it’s more…subdued.”
Running one of his large hands in practiced circles across Ash’s back, Blake considered this. “It’s a learned skill. My father taught me and his father taught him. It’s a trait you need to be in successful in the life.” His lips returned to his son’s hair, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “The only time I don’t need it is when I’m with him.”
“Kids are pretty great that way,” she agreed. “They see straight through the bullshit so it’s better to leave it at the door.”
“Truer words…” Turning his head and pressing his cheek to the top of Ash’s head, he stared back at her. “You’re not what I thought either.”
Rolling her bottom lip between her teeth, Gabby felt a kind of nervous anticipation at his words before handing them back to him. “Yeah, how’s that?”
His smirk grabbed the light reflecting from the fire. With only half his face lit, the other cast in deep shadows, he represented the battle between light and dark in her mind perfectly.
“I thought you were an uptight priss with a stick shoved up her ass.”
Her face heated and Gabby’s voice grew small. “And now?”
“I still think you have a stick shoved up your ass, but I’m sure with some special attention, we can get it out.”
{ trailer } .
#RIDE A SPARTAN
{ review } .
Get this book.
I'd like to end this with "That is all" but maybe I should give you a few reasons as to why you should get this book.
If you like a gritty (no pun, promise) MC romance... this one might not be for you. I found it held more contemporary themes with slight suspense than a full-out, bunch of bastards on the back of hogs, MC romance type of story. But if you like a romance with a gritty (intended that time) man who has harsh, sharp edges, who has been done wrong, who loves his son above all else, and who isn't expecting love but when he finds it, he fights for it (even if it doesn't always seem that way to 'her'), this is your book.
Gabby's very first impression of Blake isn't the best, but her reasoning was completely justified. I loved watching her talk to him like he was one of her pupils during their initial meetings. But like the badass biker he is, Blake takes her disdain and simply growls and shows his teeth. It takes his kindergartener to truly bring these two together.
The Spartan's were a fun group of bikers; I found myself really enjoying this group. They're more than just bikers; they all have their 'real' lives outside of the club, making them easier to relate to. Blake, though... That man hides a few things behind his scruff and anger, but it's when he's completely open and vulnerable, in simply moments like Ash sleeping on his chest, that his full abilities as a great man are showcased. I absolutely fell in love with Blake throughout the book, and watching as Gabby slowly got glimpses of him, opened herself up to his world... I enjoyed her just as much.
The Spartans are fighting an oncoming battle against someone though. Add to that, Blake doesn't trust those who lie, and Gabby's holding some cards close to her chest... Just when you fall in love with the characters and their sweet, easy ways, the crux of if all will explode -- and rather than annoying me, that everything happens at once, I found it to be put into the romance formula just right.
I can't wait for the rest of these books to come out. 1, of course, for more glimpses of Blake, Gabby, and Ash, but also 2, because I love these people! There are some lines that need to be tied up still in the series, so I'm excited to watch those clean up some. Country is next; I loved Tucker and can't wait to watch him fall!
I'd like to end this with "That is all" but maybe I should give you a few reasons as to why you should get this book.
If you like a gritty (no pun, promise) MC romance... this one might not be for you. I found it held more contemporary themes with slight suspense than a full-out, bunch of bastards on the back of hogs, MC romance type of story. But if you like a romance with a gritty (intended that time) man who has harsh, sharp edges, who has been done wrong, who loves his son above all else, and who isn't expecting love but when he finds it, he fights for it (even if it doesn't always seem that way to 'her'), this is your book.
Gabby's very first impression of Blake isn't the best, but her reasoning was completely justified. I loved watching her talk to him like he was one of her pupils during their initial meetings. But like the badass biker he is, Blake takes her disdain and simply growls and shows his teeth. It takes his kindergartener to truly bring these two together.
The Spartan's were a fun group of bikers; I found myself really enjoying this group. They're more than just bikers; they all have their 'real' lives outside of the club, making them easier to relate to. Blake, though... That man hides a few things behind his scruff and anger, but it's when he's completely open and vulnerable, in simply moments like Ash sleeping on his chest, that his full abilities as a great man are showcased. I absolutely fell in love with Blake throughout the book, and watching as Gabby slowly got glimpses of him, opened herself up to his world... I enjoyed her just as much.
The Spartans are fighting an oncoming battle against someone though. Add to that, Blake doesn't trust those who lie, and Gabby's holding some cards close to her chest... Just when you fall in love with the characters and their sweet, easy ways, the crux of if all will explode -- and rather than annoying me, that everything happens at once, I found it to be put into the romance formula just right.
I can't wait for the rest of these books to come out. 1, of course, for more glimpses of Blake, Gabby, and Ash, but also 2, because I love these people! There are some lines that need to be tied up still in the series, so I'm excited to watch those clean up some. Country is next; I loved Tucker and can't wait to watch him fall!
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