Title: Crux Untamed
Series: Hades Hangmen (Book 6)
Author: Tillie Cole
Genre: Dark Contemporary MFM Romance
Blurb:
ONLY BOUNDLESS LOVE CAN SILENCE THE WHISPERS OF THE PAST . . .
A broken woman.
A damaged man.
A free spirit intent on saving them both.
Elysia ‘Sia’ Willis lives a solitary life. The only person in it is her big brother, Ky, vice-president of the infamous Hades Hangmen. She loves him, but she has absolutely no love for the outlaw MC he belongs to.
Raised in secret by her mother, Sia grew up separated from her brother and distant father. No one knew she even existed.
After the tragic murder of her mother, Sia spiraled into a rebellion against the rules of the Hangmen. A rebellion with dire consequences that now, years later, she still can’t escape.
As she lives once again in secret, happy on her own at her secluded ranch, a devil from her past comes calling. A devil who wants to possess her once again and take her from the simple life she never wants to lose.
And he will stop at nothing to collect what he believes is his: her.
Valan ‘Hush’ Durand and Aubin ‘Cowboy’ Breaux have finally found a home in the mother chapter of the Hangmen. The notoriously private Cajun twosome have, for now, put aside what chased them from their beloved Louisiana. But as threats toward the club build, Hush and Cowboy are given a task—protect Elysia Willis at all costs. Cowboy welcomes the job of watching over the blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty.
Hush fights against it.
Scarred by events from his past and a secret that plagues his everyday life, Hush refuses to let anyone else get close. Only Cowboy knows the real him. Until a certain sister of the club’s VP begins to slowly knock down his defenses, shattering the heavily built walls that guard his damaged soul . . . with his best friend leading the charge.
As lost and open hearts begin to meld, taking each other from indescribable pain to the never-before felt relief of peace, the newly-mended threesome must first endure one more rocky path.
Only then will they finally shake free of the shackles of their pasts.
Only then will they shed the bonds that have for too long held their happiness captive.
And there is only one way to survive that path . . . together.
Dark Contemporary MFM Romance. Contains scenes of violence and sexual situations. Over 18’s only.
Thoughts:
My first Tillie Cole book was “It Ain’t Me Babe” and since that time she’s been my #1 author. She has the Midas touch. Everything she writes is pure gold, MC romance, college/young adult romance, all are solid 5-star reads. Of the Hades Hangmen series though, I think “Crux Untamed” is my favorite.
The three main characters in this story are Sia, whose brother is Ky, VP of the Hangmen, and Cowboy and Hush. Sia has spent much of her recent time secreted away at her High Ranch, in Austin, Texas, where she competes under an alias in barrel racing and trains wild broncos for the rodeo circuit. It’s her safe haven and her therapy. She chooses to deny her MC princess status, much as her father denied her and ultimately caused the death of their mother. What she can’t deny though is her ex-boyfriend Garcia’s promise to her. “I can’t keep away from you bell. You’re mine, rose negra. And I’m never letting you go…” Garcia’s powerful reach threatens to cross the Mexican border and drag her back to a Hell her nightmares could never do justice.
Both Cajuns, Cowboy is a sweet talker and Hush, a blue-eyed, hottie with warm chocolate skin. The Stetson Cowboy wears upon his head isn’t just for show either. Cowboy rode wild broncos in competition before he mounted his first steel horse. He and Hush are a pair that have many of their brothers wondering just how close they really are. Hush is the quiet, broody one of the two. All his life Hush has drawn the ire, harsh words and more from those prejudice against his skin. His mother was white, his father black. A “mix-breed mongrel” they called him. Hush’s wall is impenetrable to all but Cowboy, his closest friend and confidante who knows the many deep secrets Hush keeps buried among the ashes.
When a deadly threat forces Sia to the safety and protection of the Hangmen compound, Hush fights his attraction, however Cowboy is ready for the ride. Rules are that unclaimed “ladies” in the clubhouse are free for any Hangmen. Club Prez Styx is quick to threaten in Church, as translated by AK, “You go near Sia—Any of you fuckers touch a hair on her head, I will take you down to the barn and do to you what we would have done to Rider that nights months ago. I will tear the flesh from your body until you scream, then I will kill you so slowly that you’ll soon be wishing for death.”
I was expecting the total darkness that’s caused me anxiety before a read in this series. Not that it didn’t have darkness to it, it just didn’t make me nauseous this round. Oddly enough, or not, I was a bit happy about that. “Crux Untamed” dealt with some serious issues, such as prejudice and a couple more that I’ll leave Tillie to delve into when you open this book. It’s just beautifully written and gives you the HEA we all desire. There are few who can write the angst and suspense that Tillie Cole can, and then find a way to bring such light and love amidst that crushing darkness.
Enjoy that brief moment of happiness, cause as you know, one-percenters are known for trouble. The next in this series is “Darkness Embraced.” It’s Tanner and Adelita’s story. Tanner is the former skinhead, now tech savvy member of the Hangmen. Adelita is the woman he loves, who just happens to be the daughter of Alfonso Quintana, the Mexican cartel boss. Yes, war is coming to the Hangmen’s gates, the foreshadowing of something twenty shades darker to follow. The Klan and the Mexican Cartel want a piece of the Hangmen and the chapters are called in to fight and die for the cause. Spilling blood is what they know, what many Hangmen lust for. They’ll need plenty of coins, because Charon will be ferryin’ many a Hangmen across the rivers Styx and Acheron to Hades when it’s all said and done in “Darkness Embraced.”
Tillie also announces a new accompanying series of Hades Hangmen novellas that should come out this summer (2018). Yes! I can’t wait!!
Grade: A+++
