Reaper's Stand by Joanna Wylde

Carolyn: I've been waiting for Picnic's story, it seems like forever. Picnic is hawt, just the right age, and has a softer center than I expected. See, what happened ... well, let me put up the blurb first.

As Reapers Motorcycle Club president, Reese "Picnic" Hayes has
given his entire life to the club. After losing his wife, he knew he'd
never love another woman. And with two daughters to raise and a
club to manage, that was just fine with him.

These days, Reese keeps his

relationships free and easy--he definitely doesn't want to waste his time on a glorified cleaning lady like London Armstrong

Too bad he's completely obsessed with her.

Besides running her own business, London's got her junkie cousin's
daughter to look after--a more reckless than average eighteen-year-old.
Sure she's attracted to the Reapers' president, but she's not stupid.
Reese Hayes is a criminal and a thug. But when her young cousin gets
caught up with a ruthless drug cartel, Reese might be the only man who
can help her. Now London has to make the hardest decision of her
life--how far will she go to save her family?

Yeah, London has to make a decision. That's the whole crux of the story for me and I don't agree with what she decided. Totally don't agree, to the point it's affected my whole perception of the book, which up until then I'd been enjoying immensely.

Lori:  I just finished the book maybe like 10 minutes ago and let me say that this book did not work for me at all. Not at all.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

To begin, I wanted Picnic's story. He's older, is a widower with two grown daughters and the president of the Reapers. It should have been a great story. Instead, his "heroine" is a woman with big breasts. Seriously. His attraction to her from the beginning is that she has large breasts he wants to fuck.

I was moderately repulsed.

But they get involved and in no time at all, London, the big bazoomed lady, is in a HUGE family crisis where her only way out is to betray the MC... and then to kill Picnic. Which isn't much of a spoiler since the book begins with that scene.

Could London have told Picnic what was happening and would he have been able to fix it? Why, yes. Yes she could have told him and yes, he would have rescued the damsel in distress and won the day. So why didn't she?

No damned reason at all.

That's right. For no reason at all, London decides that killing the man she's fucking who is the powerful president of a motorcycle club and could solve all her problems makes more sense than talking to him.

She's not just TSTL, she's too stupid to be readable.

Carolyn:  Totally agree with you, Lori. Haven't seen anything written about this in the reviews I've read. Seen stuff about almost non-consensual sex, but not murdering THE MAN YOU MIGHT LOVE! Not a spoiler, happens in the prologue. She pulled the damn trigger, ya'll. Now my next opinion may be a spoiler:

POSSIBLE SPOILER

As far as she knew, the gun was loaded with real bullets. She pulled the trigger, fully intending to kill him, and like Lori, I'm going "tell him, tell him - he can fix it!' Even London thought Picnic might be able to fix it but she just wouldn't take the chance, No, she'd rather MURDER THE MAN SHE MIGHT LOVE! Yes, her cousin was in Cartel hands, but did she really think ... but, of course, she wasn't thinking because she was TSTL.

I cannot tell you how disgusted I am with her.  But, even worse, this book has a HEA, so y'all know what that means, right? Yeah. I can't imagine how he could ever trust her again.

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I am so disappointed in this book, so disappointed. Lori gives it a D. I'll give it a C, because the writing was good and hey, it was Picnic.

But man, oh man ...