The Grief We Hold by S. Cole
Iron Outlaws MC: Colorado Book 1
Contemporary MC Romance
January 23, 2024
😠 Grumpy Sunshine
💔 Widowed Hero
🏍 MC Romance
💘 Afraid to commit
🔥 Forced proximity
🥵 Let’s bang it out of our system
🌶 Wax play
From USA Today best selling author, Scarlett Cole, writing as S. Cole, comes an electrifying MC, grumpy/sunshine, widowed hero romance.
Raven
I don’t know where my husband has disappeared to, but I know I’ll do anything to keep our son safe from the men he conned before he fled.
If that means moving to a small town in Colorado to live a different life, I’ll do it.
But what I wasn’t expecting was the grief-stricken biker who feels the urge to protect us both.
Even though he clearly resents every minute of it.
Wraith
Two years ago, enemies of my motorcycle club took my wife and baby daughter from me, killing me without stopping my heart.
From that day, I’ve lived for one thing.
Vengeance.
Until a single mom shows up in town with her young son, reminding me of the life I lost.
And when danger finds them, I’m forced to make the choice that will change my life forever.
Start reading today: https://buff.ly/3DxoIo0
Available in Kindle Unlimited
The Grief We Hold by Scarlett Cole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***
The Grief We Hold is book one in the brand new Iron Outlaws MC Colorado Series. This is a second chance at happiness, widowed hero, single mom, grumpy/sunshine, romance. This story focused on Wraith a.k.a. Axel and Raven.
Wraith is the Colorado Chapters Sergeant at arms. He’s responsible for ensuring that the laws and rules of the club are not violated and he’s responsible for safeguarding all club gatherings. He’s lethal, loyal, and protective. He’s also angry and vengeful after enduring the worst kind of loss.
Raven is trying to get her life back after her ex threw her to the wolves. She also has a slew of vulnerabilities, but she’s determined to get her and her son back on their feet. She’s brave, hard working, sassy, and stubborn. You can feel the chemistry between these two and appreciate their character growth throughout their journey.
The title says it all as the story hit hard with the grief and emotional aspects. Mix in the violence, action, angst, strong supporting characters and a spice mix of praise kink, primal play, and wax play, and we’ve got ourselves one heck of an MC romance!
Cole just keeps knocking her MC stories out of the park. It was extremely entertaining to get to know an entirely new set of Iron Outlaws while also getting guest appearances from our favorite OG’s. And after getting a sneak peak of the next book in the Colorado series it’s clearly going to continue with a bang!
The Grief We Hold by Scarlett Cole
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well, I finally finished! I don’t want anyone reading this review to get the wrong idea and think this story was lengthy or drawn out and that’s why I took longer than release to finish, because that isn’t the case. I hadn’t been inside a Scarlett Cole MC world in a while, so I wanted to really pay attention and absorb everything and honestly, if you send me an ARC less than a week before release day, these delays are bound to happen. So, here we are …
For as much as I loved this story, there were some aspects of it that just didn’t make me happy. I wasn’t happy with the lack of depth in Raven’s character. Not just the depth, but also her entire concept of the world. That was contradictory and weird. She has an “abusive” background, yet it doesn’t show in her personality, actions, mannerisms or even thought process. She didn’t get a “prologue” so as a reader, I didn’t experience the moment in time that caused her to “run” except when she told the story. Having that prologue would have gone a long way in establishing her present circumstances. Who says you can’t have two prologues in a story? This story called for it and I hate that the opportunity was missed. I’m not going to detail the many ways her character didn’t make sense to me as a woman running from abuse because this will turn into a short story LOL except to say she knows “bad” men are after her husband, yet she doesn’t do anything much to erase her footprint … 👀👀👀
I honestly thought that the conflict the club was having with the Bratva would somehow either fuse, crossover or intertwine with the conflict Raven was facing because of her husband’s bad behavior. That was a missed opportunity that would have gone a long way with their “at first sight” connection.
The bones of this story make for a deeply emotional journey. Raven and Wraith both have individual paths that are part of the bigger picture that will tug at your heart in many ways. That’s the part of this book I feel is exceptional. Raven’s devotion to all things Fen is endearing and is what caused me to really connect with her character. Wraith’s struggles from his past are real and relatable and seriously broke my heart.
Two quotes stood out for me because I have lived and will always live with an imaginable loss that was sudden and abrupt and changed my entire trajectory in life. I wasn’t prepared for it then nor am I now, truth be told.
“Sometimes grief is sticky.”
“Grief is a weird thing. It changes form and intensity. It’s like a receding tide that occasionally rushes back to shore thanks to a big wave.”
Scarlett’s portrayal of Wraith’s “process” was very well developed and is what I connected most in the story. I was so caught up in his storyline that the big picture didn’t really matter in the end for me. And that’s the reasoning behind my rating. Without his personal journey I honestly don’t think I could have rated the story favorably as a whole. But, don’t misunderstand, this is still a really good “story”, but it just had too many superficial aspects to make it a great Scarlett story.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
The tattoo across my right hip says it all really. A Life Less Ordinary. Inked by the amazingly talented Luke Wessman at the Wooster Street Social Club (a.k.a. New York Ink). Why is it important? Well, it sums up my view on life. That we should all aspire to live a life that is less boring, less predictable. Be bold, and do something amazing. I’ve made some crazy choices. I’ve been a car maker, a consultant, and even a senior executive at a large retailer running strategy. Born in England, spent time in the U.S. and Japan, before ending up in Canada where I met my own, personal hero – all six and a half feet of him. Both of us are scorpios! Yeah, I know! Should have checked the astrological signs earlier, but somehow it works for us. We have two amazing kids, who I either could never part with or could easily be convinced to sell on e-bay.
I’ve wanted to be a writer for a really long time. Check through my office cupboards or my computer and you’ll find half written stories and character descriptions everywhere. Now I’m getting the chance to follow that dream.
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For more information on S. Cole and her books visit: http://www.scarlettcole.com/
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