Design: 4.7/5

I totally dig it! The cover graphic, I love the juxtaposition of the black and white photo that is oh so provocative and hawwwt, with the two different font choices. Red is a color or lust – and love, but here in the font choice that it used for the “Life” in the title evokes such emotion with the image. The cover model is obviously supposed to symbolize Scuba and boy what a mental image does it draw! Let me check out that Nasty Bastards clubhouse if the likes of this guy are there! Phewww. The combination of the three lines of text with the image are simply perfect together, and at the same time it’s crisp and clear and has an elegance to it. I also like the subtle addition of the Nasty Bastards logo, that’s tucked so nicely into the text area. The interior design of the book is also very nice. All-around, extremely solid design! It might even be too refined for the content – we are talking about dirty bikers, right? (She says while winking).

Review: 4.3/5

This is not my first Hayley Faiman rodeo, but this was a first of some serious male chauvinism of sorts and even more serious possessiveness! Yet…. it was kind of hot… But this book had me seriously bothered – as in – there was such friction in the story that I was physically uncomfortable and bothered by it. I was irked, I was aghast, I was annoyed and frustrated with the circumstances and the characters – which kept me totally captivated. (These are all good elements, btw!).

This is the second book in the Nasty Bastards MC series, and whereas the first book displayed plenty of possessive Texas MC alpha-male chauvinism and possessiveness, well, Scuba (the main male character) took it to a whole ‘nother level in this second book! This book certainly works as a stand-alone, but why would you do that to yourself when there’s another book before this that frames the story? Like seriously! So start off with book one and then read this. In book one we’re briefly introduced to both Scuba and Alessia, but that book will frame this entire storyline. But before I dive into Alessia and Scuba’s… peculiar? particular? unique? … relationship, let’s get the basics out of the way: Faiman is a great writer and storyteller, per her usual. The writing and story setup, as well as the framing and character build-up is top-notch, based on the fact that each character couple has one book to tell their particular story. I personally always love details – the nitty gritty details – because it helps to draw the mental picture of what is happening in the story as well as the time and place – and Faiman accomplishes drawing that picture the best she can with the word count in each of the books in the Nasty Bastards series.

So the writing is on point – check. The story is interesting, flows well, and is believable – check, check and basically check (I’ll elaborate on the last point). The characters are well-formulated, matched, and believable – check, check, check all the way. The flow of the story and the twists and turns – all very much on point as well as so provocative that the story puts the reader on edge – checks all around. Now, speaking of that last point, I love to hate books that make me feel physically uncomfortable. These books are ones that I find myself putting them down because it’s so emotional or drives me to frustration or anger or just plain old anxiety – only to quickly pick them back up because I HAVE to! This book had me doing that on so many occasions.

Scuba and Alessia were interesting characters, and I really did enjoy them as such. Scuba is described in a delicious way, let’s not beat around the bush on that. But… he lost a little bit of that sex appeal with a few of his reactions and how his complete male chauvinism factored in to his reaction in the first third part of the book (such major macho male BS, as I refer to it, is a little bit of a turn-off for me). The next third revolves greatly around this “thing” that happened and the reactions to it from both Scuba and Alessia. But their growth and how they work through not only continues to character-build for the reader, but it builds up the relationship between the two – growing the chemistry, the attraction, the disdain, the hate and love. And without a doubt, the possessiveness factor just grows exponentially, but in such a good way. Take a moment to fan yourself off in those moments!

Now, the one point that I made two paragraphs above, about the believability of the book and said that that part is “basically” a check on the list… so I can totally believe that something like this [story] could / would happen. But just not in my life or world. I suppose that I can see that maybe this is totally a reality for some – but what a crazy reality that is! Scuba and Alessia’s reality really had me feeling quite vanilla, and that was the reason I – personally – had some “ehhh idk if that could happen in real life” moments while reading. But it makes for a damn fine story and book however!

All-in-all, another stellar book by Faiman. If you’re into truly possessive alpha males, have a thing for bikers, and don’t mind a little male chauvinism thrown in the mix – this is definitely the book for you!

Excerpt from Amazon:

She is mine to protect–always. He is untamable–until he isn’t.

Alessia’s life isn’t much of a life, not anymore. She’s been kidnapped, promised, sold, abused, rescued, and now lives with the Nasty Bastards MC. She stays out of sight, a fly on the wall, trying so hard not to attract any attention whatsoever.

The man who does see her knows what he wants… maybe.

Scuba lives his life one way and one way only–his way. His family is his club. The only thing he’s serious about is the club. He’s wild and free, but when he sees Alessia, he knows that there is something more to her than meets the eye. She intrigues him–consumes him.

When Alessia is given a choice for her future, Scuba takes that choice away and claims her for himself.