Silver Bastard (Silver Valley #1) by Joanna Wylde #SilverBastard

  Silver Bastard (Silver Valley #1) by Joanna Wylde

First in the new Silver Valley series from the New York Times bestselling 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...

It is always a fine line to toe when an author writes alpha males who thrive on bossing around their female counterparts and who don't tend to take no for an answer. I must admit that I was a bit hesitant but I also was curious because I had heard a lot of good things about the author's books but still...I have a problem with any kind of glorified rape that is considered okay just because the characters fall in love and it somehow doesn't matter anymore (which sounds rather ...well, disturbing...either, in my opinion). Soooo...alpha male, the blurb describing Becca as still being terrified - yup, it could have gone both ways, right?

Truth to tell, though, I really loved this story. Becca is hesitant to trust and to fall for Puck as she knows far too well what life in an MC might mean for a woman but she is still attracted to him and feels safe with him despite (or because of) their history. Puck pushes her though he tries to hold back but five years is a long time, right? With Becca getting older and her starting to date other guys...well....that doesn't fly well with him. he makes his move and no matter how much she pushes back, he keeps pushing into her life and claiming her as his own. Yeah, she is not impressed...is she?

What I really loved is the fact that no matter what happened later on I never felt that she was in danger with him, I always knew that he would accept it if she didn't want him or anything that he did but like those around them, I felt that they belonged together and that she felt a lot for him, no matter how much she fought her feelings.
No, he is no saint, far from it, but his life is based on respect and honor and to respect her also means respecting her wishes. He pushes her boundaries, he pushes for a commitment but never in a way that felt offensive to me.

Despite this being a book set in a world of violence and guys that are more than a bit rough around the edges, this book was captivating and intense but never downright brutal so I really could enjoy every single page of it. The focus was on Becca and Puck though no matter what happened around them so some events towards the end that were important to the club, seemed to be a bit rushed or anti-climatic.

 On the whole, it was a well-written, interesting and thrilling story with great characters - did I mention that I already downloaded the next book by her?

★★★★