✨Im Literary Anxious✨

Estimated Reading Time🕒 3 minutes

𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Scarlett Cole ✍🏻 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: 346 📖

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀:⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲:🌶️🌶️🌶️
𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁: Standalone (Book #1 in Interconnected standalones)
𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲: HAE
𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲: Dual POV

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: 3.5/5
𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁: 4/5
𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 5/5
𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4/5
𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 3/5

“𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲. 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲. 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁.”

💙MC Romance
🏍️Grief and Loss
💙Widowed MMC
🏍️MFC on the Run
💙Grumpy/Sunshine
🏍️One Bed
💙Forced Proximity

Scarlett was my introduction to MC romance. I stumbled upon Iron Outlaws MC and proceeded to inhale the series. I would’ve been devastated finishing book nine if I hadn’t known The Grief We Hold—and our Colorado chapter babes—were right around the corner.

Enduring all the IG teasers was absolutely worth it. While no chapter will ever surpass my OG Outlaws, and no outlaw to date could ever top Spark, Wraith pulled at my heartstrings and permanently owns a small corner of my bookish heart.

[Though, I’ll admit there was one moment—at the diner, when he tells Raven to “dial it down” if she didn’t want to call attention to herself—that gave me the ick and made me want to stab him in the hand with a fork.]

Scarlett does a great job walking us through Wraith’s grief and his developing feelings for Raven in a way that doesn’t feel rushed or unrealistic. Overall, I thought it was a solid portrayal of the nuances of grief and moving on—Wraith’s struggle with letting go and eventually realizing that moving on doesn’t have to mean forgetting.

“I realized that love can be different without being less.”

Wraith’s mother-in-law was NOT. IT.

Obviously, I felt for her—she lost her daughter and granddaughter—but she was holding Wraith emotionally hostage and actively trying to keep him from moving on. She sort of did better toward the end, but I’m still not letting it slide. Go to therapy, ma’am, and do better.

I’m trying to keep an open mind about the rest of the brothers, but Butcher is rough around the edges and rubbed me the wrong way a few times. I’m hoping that just means he’s about to get his ass handed to him by a badass woman. Who knows, maybe he’ll get his very own Colorado version of Rae. 😆

Random thoughts:

• Niro wearing a pink cupcake pin on his cut is everything I wanted in a cameo.
• Avery running away to live with Niro? 10/10.
• Raven: “I deserve it all and don’t have to accept less.” LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK.
• Wraith seems to have an unhealthy inclination toward entrails.
• The man was meant to be a husband and father, and that was one of his most endearing qualities.
• So far, not a fan of Butcher, but I’m hoping a woman comes along and kicks his ass straight into gear.
• Butcher [in reference to Avery wanting to start her own girls-only MC]:
  “What the fuck? We’re encouraging girls to start clubs? Next thing, they’ll be wanting to ride with us.”
  
  YOU SHOULD BE SO FREAKING LUCKY IF AVERY EVEN LETS YOU NEAR HER CLUB. 😤