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Thursday, May 26, 2016

Book Review: Gonzo (Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club Book Seven) by Candace Blevins

Gonzo (Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club Book Seven)
by Candace Blevins
Genre:  MC, Bikers, Werewolves,
PNR, Bad Boys
Publisher:  Excessica
May 13, 2016
Word Count: 105,300
Cover Artist:  Syneca Featherstone
Gonzo has not only had to come to terms with the loss of his entire family, but he also barely survived being shot in the chest multiple times while still a human, and was then later turned into a werewolf during a vicious attack while hiking as he tried to put his life back together.
Constance has had her own losses to deal with, and while nowhere near as bad as Gonzo’s, they’ve left a mark on her as well. She’s determined to live her life without a partner though, because her two sexual experiences in college convinced her she’s asexual.
Gonzo’s a biker people cross the road to avoid, while Constance has multiple doctorate degrees and works as a research scientist for a leading pharmaceutical firm. Gonzo doesn’t trust women, Constance has no use for men — and yet they’re going to find themselves working toward the same goals.
Can they form a team to do what needs to be done?
Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club Book Seven, can be read as a stand-alone

I love motorcycles, men with beards, and paranormal romance, so obviously I was immediately sold on Gonzo. Sadly, the book fell short of my expectations and my first foray into the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club is likely to be my last.

Dwight “Gonzo” Wells is left reeling when he’s unceremoniously informed he’s unwittingly fathered twins. Almost instantly Gonzo accepts responsibility for the children and is forced to deal with his baggage before he can fully embrace his new role as father. The four-year-old twins quickly embrace Gonzo as does their aunt Constance.

Gonzo was promoted as a potential standalone read, however, I feel I may have missed a lot of pertinent information on the characters and the club by jumping in at book seven. Gonzo isn’t such a tough customer, in my opinion. He gardens, hosts family barbeques, lovingly wraps leftovers in tinfoil, and is concerned with maintaining strict hygiene during anal sex. I was expecting a slow and complex character transformation. I did not connect with Connie as the female main. For such an educated and accomplished character, she doesn’t have much substance. And while Blevins goes to great lengths to describe the ordinary throughout the book, I’m not even sure what Connie looks like or enjoys outside of Gonzo, southern food, and the children.

Blevins’ writing style is distracting. Too many scenes are stalled by mundane description and dialogue. I found the pacing slow and frustrating. Moreover, I’m not really sure I can identify the central conflict of the book. Gonzo seems willing to be a proper father to his children from the start and his relationship with Constance “Connie” a given. The strife experienced within the MC (motorcycle club) is passively described, quickly resolved, and doesn’t amount to much.

I’m not sure this book can be properly classified as a paranormal romance. Yeah, Gonzo and his biker brothers are werewolves, but this is a minor element within the story. It affords Gonzo and his crew certain abilities (like changing the shape of their penises), but it’s certainly not in the forefront. The magic of paranormal romance is rather absent in this novel.

Given that I wasn’t swept away by a whimsical storyline and extraordinary characters, I found myself questioning a lot of the text. I don’t have extensive knowledge of biker gangs outside of a few episodes of Sons of Anarchy, but I couldn’t blindly accept the rampant misogyny in the book and the misrepresentation of asexual people. I realize this is a work of fiction, however, I wasn’t sufficiently lost in the fiction to forget the social implications.

On a potentially positive note, the romantic scenes within the book are abundant and graphically vivid. If you’re looking for an erotic read, this book might interest you. The author also has written sexy shorts set in the same world that might be worth a look.

2 ½ sheep





Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:
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Candace Blevins lives with her husband of 18 years and their two daughters. When not working or driving kids all over the place she can be found reading, writing, meditating, or swimming.

Candace writes Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Contemporary BDSM Romance, and is currently writing a kick-ass Motorcycle Club series.

Her urban fantasy series, Only Human, gives us a world where weredragons, werewolves, werelions, three different species of vampires, as well as a variety of other mythological beings exist.

Candace's two paranormal romance series, The Chattanooga Supernaturals and The Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club, are both sister series to the Only Human series, and give some secondary characters their happily ever after.

Her Safeword Series gives us characters who happen to have some extreme kinks. Relationships can be difficult enough without throwing power exchange into the mix, and her books show characters who care enough about each other to fight to make the relationship work. Each book in the Safeword series highlights a couple with a different BDSM issue to resolve.

You can also joinfacebook.com/groups/CandacesKinksters to get sneak peeks into what she's writing now, images that inspire her, and the occasional juicy blurb.

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