Thanks so much to MM Good Book Reviews for hosting me on the tour for Running Wild: Havoc Book 1. This is the start of a brand new series, with different heroes for each book and HEAs at the end of each book. Sean Rush and Ryker stole my heart a long time ago, and I’m excited for you guys to meet all of them.
RUNNING WILD:
(Havoc Book 01)
by
S.E. Jakes
Embrace the danger…
Sean Rush is an adrenaline junkie. That’s why he was in the Army, why he steals and races classic muscle cars . . . and why he can’t stay away from bad boy Ryker, a Havoc Motorcycle Club lieutenant. Fortunately, Ryker can’t seem to stay away from Sean—he’s spent the last eight months breaking into Sean’s apartment and stealing into his bed, leaving Sean physically satisfied but increasingly restless.
Sean has always avoided relationships. He likes to come and go without being controlled. And Ryker is possibly the most controlling man he’s ever known. Still, he finds that he wants more from Ryker than their silent nighttime encounters.
Then one of Sean’s thefts goes bad, and Ryker’s protective instincts kick into overdrive. He takes Sean to the Havoc compound, determined to keep him safe. But Sean’s past threatens the safety of Havoc—and everything Ryker holds dear. Worse, Ryker’s hiding secrets of his own. Soon it’s obvious that the adrenaline rush can’t keep them together anymore. But maybe love can.
*Read an excerpt
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Here’s a snippet from a scene toward the middle of the book. Ryker has just proved to Sean that he doesn’t mind his MC knowing they’re together — by kissing the hell out of him in front of everyone. And then he tells Sean to get on the back of his bike, so he can take Sean home. Sean has objections…
***
Still, I kept my voice down so no one could hear when I told him, “I’m not riding in the bitch seat.”
He was trying not to grin, but failing. “Why not?”
“I know exactly what it means when you ride on the back of a guy’s bike.”
“Really?”
“It means you fucking own me, Ryker.”
“Don’t I?”
His words were a low rumble that shot straight to my dick and holy fuck . . . I had no answer. Well, obviously I did, but I refused to put voice to it.
I was out—that wasn’t the issue. And obviously being out wasn’t an issue for him either. But the MC shit, we’d never talked about it, what it meant for us. All these men knew about our relationship, knew he was looking out for me. Knew he considered me his.
I swear I had to remind myself to breathe.
“Get on the bike, Sean.”
This time, Ryker’s tone left no room for argument. If anything, it made me harder. I stopped thinking—par for the course when I was around Ryker—and I got on the bike behind him.
FYI, I’m also writing a m/f MC series under the Steph Tyler name—the first book of that series, Vipers Run is out now as well. And there’s a very light crossover in that you’ll see names of MCs that are main characters in my Vipers series—namely Vipers MC, along with the Heathens. Havoc’s friendly with Vipers, not so much with Heathens (they seem to be everyone’s enemy at the moment).
About S.E.
SE Jakes writes m/m romance. She believes in happy endings and fighting for what you want in both fiction and real life. She lives in New York with her family and most days, she can be found happily writing (in bed). No really…
You can contact her the following ways:
You can email her at authorsejakes@gmail.com.
You can post to her Facebook page: Facebook.com/SEJakes
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You can post on her Goodreads Group: Ask SE Jakes
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Truth be told, the best way to contact her is by email or in blog comments.
She spends most of her time writing but she loves to hear from readers!
SE Jakes is the pen-name of New York Times Bestselling author Stephanie Tyler (and half of Sydney Croft) — please go to my media kit to learn more!
Giveaway!
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Review
Title: Running Wild
Series: Havok 01
Author: S.E. Jakes
Genre: Contemporary, Action, Drama
Length: Novel (280pgs)
ISBN: 978-1-62649-153-3
Publisher: Riptide Publishing (30th June 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Tams
Blurb: Embrace the danger.
Sean Rush is an adrenaline junkie. That’s why he was in the Army, why he steals and races classic muscle cars . . . and why he can’t stay away from bad boy Ryker, a Havoc Motorcycle Club lieutenant. Fortunately, Ryker can’t seem to stay away from Sean—he’s spent the last eight months breaking into Sean’s apartment and stealing into his bed, leaving Sean physically satisfied but increasingly restless.
Sean has always avoided relationships. He likes to come and go without being controlled. And Ryker is possibly the most controlling man he’s ever known. Still, he finds that he wants more from Ryker than their silent nighttime encounters.
Then one of Sean’s thefts goes bad, and Ryker’s protective instincts kick into overdrive. He takes Sean to the Havoc compound, determined to keep him safe. But Sean’s past threatens the safety of Havoc—and everything Ryker holds dear. Worse, Ryker’s hiding secrets of his own. Soon it’s obvious that the adrenaline rush can’t keep them together anymore. But maybe love can.
Purchase Link: http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/running-wild
Review: Sean Rush lives his life on the edge, it’s how he works best. A mechanic by day and a muscle car thief by night he has no rules and answers to no one. Until Ryker storms into his life, turns it upside down, inside out and makes Sean question everything. Sean joined the military when he was still a teenager in an attempt to escape the same fate of his father, who is serving a life sentence on two counts of murder. While he was in Iraq he lost a friend and the combination of that and just the war have left him suffering from PTSD. It’s while he’s home on leave that the affair with Ryker starts, and while Sean doesn’t realize it at the time, it’s what gets him through the last few months in Iraq.
Ryker has a dark past himself, but he keeps it well hidden. As the muscle of the local Motorcycle Club, Havoc, Ryker is large and in charge and while Sean pushes his buttons and pushes back every time Ryker tries to tame him… something about Sean keeps him coming back. In the beginning it’s a casual thing. Ryker somehow gets into Sean’s house that is locked up like fort knox and fucks him until he can’t see straight, much less remember his own name. Then Sean wakes up alone. The only evidence of the wild nights of passion, lust, sweat and screams are Sean’s sore throat from his vocalization, sore ass and that single red rose that Ryker always leaves behind.
While Sean questions everything about the situation, Ryker is steadfast and unyielding through the entire process. Which consists of a lot of inner turmoil, anxiety, self doubt and a little psychosis from Sean. There are a lot of obstacles to them being together long term though. A local cop that would like nothing more than to bust Sean’s balls, an undercover agent that has infiltrated one of the MC’s, the muscle of BOTH MC’s wanting nothing more than to get Sean into their beds and lets not forget Sean’s own method of self destruction. But throughout all of it, there is one thing Sean is certain of, Ryker. So when his faith in his new lover is shrouded in doubt, it may prove to be that proverbial final straw.
From about two chapters into this book I started seeing Son’s of Anarchy with a gay storyline. I was seeing Sean as Jax and Ryker as Opie which added a very distinct visual element to the story for me that gave it a grittier edge. And this story is very gritty already. Anger, love, lust and betrayal run rampant in this book. But what I really enjoyed was this inner monologue rolling around in Sean’s head, and the way it’s written you are left wondering if Sean is truly saying all this shit out loud? Or is Ryker just so atuned to Sean that he’s reading his thoughts. The push and pull of these characters is electric and dangerous, and Sean has to make a conscious effort to resist sometimes, just so he can pretend he is indifferent about their relationship. But god almighty when they connect it is white hot and intense. And Ryker will take Sean on any surface that will hold their weight, including the hood of the car, in broad daylight, in a parking lot, Wow!
I absolutely loved this story. Two extreme alpha males learning how to navigate the rough waters of love with handle bars and tattoos. There are a few twists and turns along the way as well, a few hysterical moments and a lot of HOT HOT HOT as Hell sex. Surely a must read. And if you are a fan of SOA and you’ve always had this little niggle in the back of your mind about certain characters, you should be awarded the fruit of your imagination come to life with Running Wild!
Filed under: Blog Tour, Book Review, Guest Post, MM Romance Book Review, Publisher Giveaway Tagged: GLBT Action/Adventure, GLBT Contemporary Romance, Havok series, Riptide Publishing, S. E. Jakes, Tams' Reviews