Reaper's Property (Reapers Motorcycle Club, #1) (Ellora's Cave Moderne)

by Joanna Wylde

[stacey_is_sassy]

Not so new and shiny...

***WARNING - Incredibly spoilery. I couldn't help my thoughts spewing out in a spoilery way. Please proceed with caution.***

Slight adjustment to my rating after doing a re-read/listen to Reaper's Property. I've dropped this one down to a 4 star. I think for a while there (when I originally read this one), my ratings revolved around shock value. There was a definite changing of the guards when it came to what we wanted in our romance reads. What I think happened when it came to the MC world is, we, as romance readers, came to realise that it's OK to not be the good girl all the time. We want to see women take control of their sexuality and admit to wanting some satisfaction.

Sure, I think some of the sexy times were HOT but it's also a little squicky how inhibited the women become due to massive amounts of alcohol in their systems. Marie, the heroine, went from refusing to be intimate with Horse, the hero, when there were men in the next room, to the complete opposite. I can understand that some people can be turned on by public "affection" but I would imagine a lot would regret the impulse. Especially, in this day and age of multi-media.

So, I started Reaper's Property curious to see if it would still have the same appeal. Well, it did to some extent, but I also couldn't help but notice that the heroine was a bit of a twit. Marie seems to know she's making a bad decision but does it anyway. Your brother smokes weed constantly, hits the casinos regularly and hangs with bikers. Yeah, you'd have to be a twit to not realise he's in trouble. It was obvious that his troubles were going to mess up her world. Marie gave him one too many chances to come good.

I found myself a little cranky at the whole "Old Lady" and "Sweetbutt" mentality. How little respect these men show by treating women in such a degrading way made me a little sick. I get that some women want and like to be used and abused. There's this desperation in the Sweetbutts that makes you think they accept it as their due, or have no alternative, it just made me uncomfortable. To put the Old Ladies on a pedestal but still expect them to be OK with a bit of lap-dancing on the side from a stripper, just seems weird. The whole, you signed up for this when you became my property, just doesn't sit well with me. Obviously, there are exceptions to this and some devoted partners. It's just the fact that they know it's happening in the background and OK with it. Blows my friggin mind.

Honestly, I liked Reaper's Property, I just feel like my 5 stars were tied to experiencing a shiny new toy. Our romance authors were giving us something new that was gritty, very dirty and a wee bit titillating. I think there's a touch of curiosity that makes you question whether it could be as good as described. Something so far out of your comfort zone, you can't help but wonder whether there's fun to be had outside of your zone.

Stella Bloom is one of my favourite narrators. What made her outstanding in Reaper's Property is her ability to convince you she's just an ordinary woman stepping into an extraordinary world. I'm still a fan and I will definitely be more inclined to pick an audio if she's narrating.

Glad I listened to this one and stepped into this gritty world for a look around. Maybe it's my old age kicking in but I'm pretty sure I'm over the turning a blind eye to what's in front of me, storyline.