5 Smooches!
Synopsis
Truth Alan Reacher was a biker. He was a bladesmith. What he was not, was a fool.
The moment he walked in on his girl screwing his cousin on his bike, he does the only thing he can do.
He ditches the bike seat—and the girl—riding right out of her life without a backwards glance.
That is until he’s forced to attend the marriage of his cousin to his cheating ex-girlfriend. The only bright spot of the entire thing was watching some chick go off on the groom—the groom’s ex-fiancé—right in the middle of the bouquet toss.
***
Verity Ruthann Cassidy was supposed to be here today attending this wedding as the bride, not watching the festivities as a guest from the chairs she’d painstakingly purchased covers for while her fiancé—now her ex-fiancé—screwed around on her with another woman.
The icing on the wedding cake that she refuses to eat? She’s forced to attend the wedding due to her mother being the wedding planner.
However, the night doesn’t turn out quite the way she expects it due to the hot-as-hell biker sitting in the chair directly beside her. The man gave one hell of a speech during the reception that sounded like something that could have come straight out of her own mouth, and she enjoyed every single second of it.
***
Thrown together under similarly lousy circumstances, the two newly single jilted former lovers of the happy couple decide to go to Vegas on what was to be Verity’s honeymoon trip.
One thing leads to another, and the next thing they know, their night has gone from a celebration of being single to a marriage—to each other.
Verity and Truth now have to figure out if everything that happens in Vegas should stay in Vegas.
* * * * * * * * * *
Review
I adore Lani Lynn Vale’s books, and they never fail to disappoint me. Each month, like clockwork, I know I’m going to get something special within the pages of her newest book. I am not only a fan of her work, but I am also constantly impressed by her gift for turning out wildly creative, sexy and humorous stories so consistently and with such regularity. Son of a Beard is the third book in this series, and while it can be read as a standalone, the first two books were just as fabulous as this book, and you’d be doing yourself a disservice by skipping them.
Son of a Beard drew me in right from the start with an emotional one-two punch of anger and heartbreak. An action-packed, suspenseful romance with a splash of drama, Truth and Verity’s story was as entertaining as it was exciting. They’d both been through so much, it was virtually impossible not to root for this couple. Their initial meeting was perfect and exactly how you’d want it to play out given the circumstances. But following a wild weekend getaway, they learn—months later—that what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there.
This couple’s attraction was instantaneous, and their chemistry undeniable, a charge of electricity sparking between them. Lust wasn’t all they had right from the start, though, their back and forth banter was natural, organic and one of things I loved most about their relationship. Truth had been through a lot in his life, and trust and love were not things that came easily or were given freely by him. But when this big, gruff biker allowed his walls to fall, he loved deep and hard. Verity was one smart woman. She knew that Truth was it for her, and despite his repeated attempts to push her away, she just pushed her way back to him harder, showing him that they were meant to be together. I loved that push-and-pull, that will-they-or-won’t-they between them. Theirs wasn’t an easy road to travel, but it all came together to make their eventual arrival there sweeter.
In addition to a hard-fought romance, this story had an intriguing suspense plot along with some added drama courtesy of both of their exes. But Vale is no stranger to a complex plot line, and she forged Son of a Beard into a richly developed, well plotted, engaging story that kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time. I love this author’s unique sense of humor, and it was used liberally in this book. Vale is brilliantly adept at finding and capitalizing on the levity in almost any situation. She has this innate ability to turn an ordinary, everyday moment into something extraordinary with either her comical take on it, an outrageous slapstick type response or even just some of her naturally dry, slightly sarcastic commentary. Make no mistake, though, Truth and Verity had a lot of emotional baggage to overcome, some danger to diffuse and exes to deal with on the way to their happily ever after, but it was one heck of an exhilarating, smoking hot and amusing ride.
The Heroes of the Dixie Wardens MC series is one of my favorite series of hers, so it’s not surprising that I’m loving the spin-off Dixie Wardens Rejects series. I loved Truth and Verity’s story so much. It’s classic Vale, through and through, but just a bit sharper and edgier. A wonderful addition to a fantastic series, Son of a Beard by Lani Lynn Vale gets five smooches from me!
~ Danielle Palumbo
