Silver Bastard (Silver Valley #1)

Joanna Wylde

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Expected April 7, 2014

First in the new Silver Valley series from the New York Timesbestselling author of the Reapers Motorcycle Club Novels 

Fourteen months. For fourteen months, Puck Redhouse sat in a cell and kept his mouth shut, protecting the Silver Bastards MC from their enemies. Then he was free and it was time for his reward—full membership in the club, along with a party to celebrate. That’s when he saw Becca Jones for the first time and set everything in motion. Before the night ended he’d violated his parole and stolen her away from everything she knew.

Five years. It was five years ago that Puck destroyed Becca and saved her all in one night. She’s been terrified of him ever since, but she’s even more terrified of the monsters he still protects her from... But Becca refuses to let fear control her. She’s living her life and moving forward, until she gets a phone call from the past she can't ignore. She has to go back, and there’s only one man she can trust to go with her—the ex-con biker who rescued her once before.

Puck will help her again, but this time it’ll be on his terms. No more lies, no more tears, and no more holding back what he really wants...

Ignoring him, I settled back on my stool and surveyed the room. We sat in Becca’s section, and what I saw wasn’t making me happy. I knew she was a good waitress, but she’d just started here and it showed. Not only had she fucked up several orders, she didn’t quite seem to get the rhythm of the bar. That wasn’t my problem, though.

My problem was that despite these fuckups, nobody seemed to mind. I had a nasty suspicion this was due to her perky tits, friendly smile, and tight little ass that seriously just needed a bite taken right out of it.

She really, really needed to get a new job—every man in the place wanted her. Including me. Especially me. I hated them. All of them. I shifted uncomfortably, because just like every time I shared a room with her, my pants had gotten tight.

Torture. Becca was just so fucking fine on every level, and not just her looks. There was something about the way she carried herself . . . I couldn’t put my finger on it. Like she was dancing through life to some song nobody else could hear. Never met another woman like her—she wasn’t just sexy, she was a survivor and I admired that.

She’d grown up so much since the first time I’d met her. Bigger boobs, a nice fullness to her ass that was nowhere close to fat but would be perfect to hold tight while I fucked her. Her lips had plumped, too, and over the years she’d gained a sparkle in her eyes that turned her from pretty to 100 percent spectacular.

Not to mention how she’d tasted.

Nearly blew in my pants when I’d taken that mouth. Just the memory got me hard. Make that harder. Fucking basket case.

When I’d pulled up to find her sitting outside with Collins, a thousand murder scenarios ran through my mind. And yeah, I know I covered that already, but if anything ever deserved emphasis, this was it. Collins needed to die. I didn’t care how nice he was. After that I’d throw Becca on the back of my bike and make a run for the hills . . .

Okay, so there were a few problems with the plan, the top one being she hated me. Or she should—I’d certainly given her cause. Boonie nudged me.

“Did I mention you’re pathetic? You want her, take her. Otherwise let it go because you’re an embarrassment to all men in general and to the Silver Bastards in particular.”

When Puck Redhouse was ready to celebrate his release from Prison, being patched into the Silver Bastards, and being with a woman for the first time in over a year, he had no idea it would be both one of the best and worst nights of his life. After an eye opening night with Becca Jones, the whole situation went to Hell fast. But from that day on, he vowed to get her out of her bad situation and protect her.


Now five years later, Becca has made a new life for herself. She is in school, working, independent, and has good friends. But Puck's reappearance into more of her daily life starts shaking up her world and has her wishing for things she knows aren't good for her. 

Puck has stayed in the background and away from her due to their history, but he has about lost patience.

I will admit that I had a hard time warming up to Puck at first. He was definitely rough around the edges. He was so mixed up over Becca, it made him even edgier. He was bossy, unfiltered, possessive, and at times made mistakes. They avoided their connection and attraction for five years and there was a a lot of tension.

Becca was not so easy either. She was stubborn, impulsive, quick tempered, and often spewed mean things. She had valid fears and trust issues based on her history. She knew enough about MCs to know that they could be bad news and she did not want to be used up by them. But she lumped the Silver Bastards and Reapers in with the less desirable Longnecks that she was raised with. It was like Puck had to pay for all of their sins.

But just as they exhausted me, about halfway through, I began to feel more of their connection and began to like them together when they channeled their energy into more positive things instead of fighting it. That does not mean they stopped fighting. They definitely did not always agree, even on the status of their relationship. She really had an issue with the idea of being property or an Old Lady. But Puck was just as stubborn as she was and was determined to get his way. So there was still a push and pull even as they began exploring how a relationship could work between them.

"You get that I'm keeping you, right?...We can call it whatever you want, but it's real. Admit it."

In the background she had family and work drama going on. He had club business. And those issues at times affected their personal lives and caused frustration and agitation. But it basically comes down to them having to decide if they can trust each other enough and mesh their lives together. And Becca being able to push past her fears.

"You're mine. I fought for you five years ago and then I let you go. That was your free pass. Now  you've invited me back in and I'me here to stay. I'll kill for you. Die for you, too. But I will not f***ing let you go, Becca, and I won't let you distance yourself, either. Get that straight."

Even though this another Joanna Wylde MC book, it had a bit of a different feel...it is hard to describe but maybe less dramatic and bit quieter. The background stories were more family based or community issues instead of focusing on more standard cartels, club wars, etc. Although the MC business did definitely play a part and there was definite suspense and drama.

This one was disturbing, rough, raw, feisty, tense, and emotional. I enjoyed getting both of their points of view, and I came to like Puck and Becca more and more as the story went on. I really liked seeing Puck and Painter's brotherly bond. And the more snippets we get about Painter and Melanie, the more excited I am for their story Reaper's Fall.

Silver Bastard exists in the Reaper’s world, but in a new location. There are new characters, new challenges, and a new club and community to get to know.

The Silver Bastards MC protect and live in Callup, Idaho. A tiny community where gossip runs rampant and everyone knows everything about anyone who’s ever lived there. A town dependant on mining for it’s economic well being, and the Silver Bastards for it’s protection. While not all books in this series will focus on the MC, it certainly plays a major role in this one.

No one has ever said MC reads are easy, and this one is no exception. From the get-go this felt like a gut punch. As the night Puck and Becca meet wore on into the next morning, things turned ugly fast, and I was left with a sick feeling in my stomach. This was far beyond what I had expected when I picked up the book, but fit the MC theme to a T. 

Thankfully, that sick feeling didn’t stick around long (unless I returned to thinking about the events that played out in California) and I quickly grew to love both Becca and Puck.

Becca worked hard to not turn into her mother. Most of her decisions were based upon doing the opposite of what she felt her mom would do. She was one of those characters who was trying so hard to not become what she feared that she missed things along the way that would have made her decision making process easier. She also had a hard time letting people in, so her circle in Idaho was a small, though protective, one.

Puck was a little harder to love, simply because he wasn’t the most open of characters and frankly spent much of the time acting like a big ol’ jerk. But as he opens up to Becca his internal conflict becomes clear and it’s easier to overlook his hugely alpha ways.

There was a lot going on in the background of Puck and Becca's relationship. Her family drama took up a lot of her time and effort. Because of her past, she had a deep-seated distrust of MC practices -- a hurdle that lasted even after it was Puck and an MC responsible for pulling her out of a horrific situation. He often had club business that took him away and that he couldn't discuss. 

Though several of the Reaper’s MC members and characters from previous books play a large role in this book, it absolutely stands alone and would be a great introduction of this author’s works to new readers. It is gritty, holds nothing back, and pulls every heartstring by the time it’s all finished.

I look forward to continuing this series. Politics in Callup have been established and the background tension that built over the course of Silver Bastard makes me itch to get my hands on the next book to see who the focus will be on and how things will continue to play out with the various groups around town. 

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.