5 Smooches!
Synopsis
Aaron ‘don’t ever call me Fatbaby’ Sims is lucky to be alive. Or at least that is what everyone keeps telling him. He doesn’t feel lucky, though.
He’s scarred, has more than a little bit of a bad attitude, and there isn’t a single day that goes by that he doesn’t wish his wife would’ve just finished off the job.
After being denied his old position at the fire department, he leaves, and doesn’t look back. He heads straight to Alabama and into the semi-welcoming arms of The Dixie Wardens MC. There he becomes a part of a brotherhood that forces him to get back in the land of the living.
—
Imogen is a smart girl. A girl who doesn’t always make the best decisions.
Her heart is in the right place when she walks into that prison, but it doesn’t take long for her to realize that her heart shouldn’t have had any say so in the matter. Especially when one wrong move lands her in the arms of a scarred man that looks frightening enough to scare any sane woman away.
Immediately enthralled by the angry man, she tries to get closer to him. But the harder she tries to get to know him, the further he pushes her away.
—
The only thing Aaron wanted to do after his now ex-wife was sent to jail was escape. Escape the awful memories. The pity-filled eyes. The curious glances.
He does a damn fine job at ensuring he draws as little as attention as possible, but then that annoying woman with her startling blue eyes starts hammering away at his resolve. Makes him feel when he doesn’t want to feel.
Imogen comes into his life and carves out a place for herself, obliterating his defenses one heated kiss at a time.
Review
Beard Mode is the first book in Lani Lynn Vale’s new series, The Dixie Wardens Rejects MC, the highly-anticipated spin-off series of her bestselling Heroes of the Dixie Wardens MC series. When Lani first started hinting about the series, I immediately paid attention. I am a huge fan of the Dixie Wardens MC series, so I was very interested in this series. In 2016, Lani took some big risks with her writing and tried new things as evidenced in her edgier, grittier Uncertain Saints MC series and her Kilgore Fire series. All of that experimentation has definitely paid off, and the results are obvious in this series. I’ve always loved her writing style and the way she tells a story. She’s returned to her roots in Beard Mode, but with a sharper and more polished writing style that translated into a richer and fuller plot. She’s introduced a whole new slate of intriguing characters in a new location, and I can’t wait to get my hands on these books!
Beard Mode is more intense than the Dixie Wardens MC series with an exciting, interesting plot that kept me on the edge of my seat until late into the night. One of the hallmarks of any Lani’s novels is the way that she weaves her unique sense of humor into the story, so I was very happy to find plenty of her wit throughout this story. I’ve been waiting for Aaron’s story since he was introduced in the Kilgore Fire series. He has been through so much, both physically and emotionally, and I was very much looking forward to seeing him make his way to the other side of all of that. Imogen was the perfect heroine for this damaged man. She was patient, she was loyal, she was kind and honest. She was exactly what he needed, she gave as good as she got, and their love story was very sweet and sexy.
Now that I’ve read this book, I am even more excited about the whole series than I was before. She has given her readers the start of something special in this series, and as a fan of hers since the very beginning, I’m beyond thrilled. Beard Mode by Lani Lynn Vale gets five smooches from me!
~ Danielle Palumbo
