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"Down in Blood"
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“We were leather and wind.”
A traumatizing run-in with some Demons leaves four men dead and lands Michelle behind bars for manslaughter. After breaking the bank trying to appeal, Michelle realizes that there is no such thing as getting out of jail free. Then one day she is visited by a lawyer who represents a local motorcycle club, and he offers her a chance at freedom… except there’s a caveat. She will have to restart her life working for the club president. All seems well and fine until events surrounding the club begin to remind Michelle of the demons from her past, as several members of the gang try to protect her from those who seek to exact revenge for what happened. Between working for the club and trying to stay out of harm's way, Michelle struggles to regain her sense of self and fit in among the crew of outlaws, as she pieces together the intentions of those closest to her. There’s Walt, the club president, Indy, the cocky daredevil type, and Ice, a killer with an even keel who maintains a cool demeanor in face of danger.
A traumatizing run-in with some Demons leaves four men dead and lands Michelle behind bars for manslaughter. After breaking the bank trying to appeal, Michelle realizes that there is no such thing as getting out of jail free. Then one day she is visited by a lawyer who represents a local motorcycle club, and he offers her a chance at freedom… except there’s a caveat. She will have to restart her life working for the club president. All seems well and fine until events surrounding the club begin to remind Michelle of the demons from her past, as several members of the gang try to protect her from those who seek to exact revenge for what happened. Between working for the club and trying to stay out of harm's way, Michelle struggles to regain her sense of self and fit in among the crew of outlaws, as she pieces together the intentions of those closest to her. There’s Walt, the club president, Indy, the cocky daredevil type, and Ice, a killer with an even keel who maintains a cool demeanor in face of danger.
Readability
“Down in Blood” takes quite a bit of time to pick up speed in terms of pacing. The romantic aspects of the story are very one-sided, and I would say that the narrative mostly revolves around Michelle’s internal struggles as a very loose plot slowly develops from her first person perspective. The book has a clean format and my only nitpick in terms of prose was Wilde’s use of fragmented sentences. It didn’t take away from the story as much as it was just annoying at times while trying to follow Michelle’s thought process (it was most notable near the end). I think there was room for more emphasis, whenever the narrator got short with the reader, and missed opportunities to elaborate upon thoughts otherwise delivered through snippets of text.
Creativity
I’m not one to judge a book by its cover, but I have to admit that I find the way in which the romance genre is typically marketed to be quite a turn off. When I see a book cover prominently featuring the naked midsection of some young guy, call it what you will, but that doesn’t compel me (as a man) to pick it up. I say this for two reasons:
1. This particular romance novel happens to feature some pretty little jailbird trying to look like a badass, and although she probably has her liquor license, I thought to myself, “You know what? I want to pick this up and give it a try.”
2. I think that says something about the romance genre in general (or maybe it’s just me), and how indie writers (usually women) can expand their market based upon the way in which they present their product. It’s just a thought. If you’re going to anthropomorphize your novel by putting a human likeness on the cover, while associating that figure with romantic feelings, then expect your book to be “picked up” accordingly. What I’m saying is that maybe it’s not so much that I’ve been adverse to reading romance (as a man) as much as I’m just not interested in sampling beefcake. However, after reading this installment of The Destroyers’ saga, I am more apt to give the other books a shot, because I am now familiar with the characters featured on the other covers and would be interested to see the kind of relationships that they develop.
Let’s just say that I’m a fan of the whole outlaw “aesthetic” (as it comes in a variety of forms), and I think that Wilde did a pretty good job at bringing some authenticity to her fictional motorcycle club. The little details like the different types of patches, slang, and capturing some the culture surrounding the lifestyle was what I enjoyed most about this story overall. There was one notable faux pas near the end that made me chuckle, though. When Michelle’s character puts her love interest on the spot and says, “Are you asking me to be your old lady?” LOL! How romantic, I thought. Just for translation, she said, “Are you asking me to be your property?” It was a little bit ironic (perhaps tongue in cheek) considering the fact that Michelle had been struggling throughout the book with her own sense of agency.
Delivery
I think the delivery in “Down in Blood” lacked depth. I understand that the narrator is a woman suffering from PTSD, but her point of view wasn’t helpful when it came to developing the plot. Michelle’s character was great at observing events and providing some vivid descriptions of the other characters, but her insights left me wanting. Her “enemies” seemed to come out of nowhere, because her character was so disconnected from her environment, and therefore the resolution didn’t thread well within her storyline. I never really knew what was at stake or why the other characters were engaging in these dangerous games that they were playing. Her perspective was like listening to a child trying to explain what was going on at the adults’ table.
The support characters in this novel have some colorful personalities, but they don’t seem to possess any personal motivations outside of Michelle’s best interest. That aspect of the story frustrated the hell out of me. I kept asking myself, “Why the hell is everyone being so generous to this stranger?” I wouldn’t say Michelle’s character is a “Mary Sue” (because “shit happens”, in that regard), but this “romance” definitely illustrates a kind of solipsistic fantasy that I really can’t relate with.
This isn’t the first time I’ve read a book by a female author that portrays romance in such a way. I kept wondering when the hell Michelle was going to start interacting with any of these overly compassionate folks in a way that illustrated some character on her part. She was like the helpless “object” of everyone’s affection, and was treated like a Fabergé egg. Aside from one scene where Claude’s character actually has the sack to step up and put Michelle’s feelings (for his friend) into question, nobody else from the club gives her a hard time or even wonders why they’re spending resources on this broad… or at the very least put up a stink as to why they’re expected to babysit/chauffeur her ass as if she was royalty.
I will say that this book does contain one of the better written sex scenes that I’ve read so far from a self-pub author. The way in which Wilde displayed sexual passion upon the page was a fair mix of realism and metaphor, which is what I like. I think if there is too much metaphor (especially if it’s taken out of context based on the narrative) then the sex scene becomes absurd or ridiculous in relation to how purple the prose. On the other hand, if the scene is overly descriptive then the feeling can be lost because it becomes too mechanical and may sound awkward to the reader based on what the characters are “doing”. I am a strong proponent of “less is more” when it comes to sex scenes. I haven’t read much from the genre, but when it comes to “romance” books, I would assume that most readers may be looking forward to that type of intimacy, and I think the payoff can be more explosive or have a greater impact if much of what happens on the page can be experienced through the reader’s imagination. Wilde hit the nail on the head.
“Down in Blood” takes quite a bit of time to pick up speed in terms of pacing. The romantic aspects of the story are very one-sided, and I would say that the narrative mostly revolves around Michelle’s internal struggles as a very loose plot slowly develops from her first person perspective. The book has a clean format and my only nitpick in terms of prose was Wilde’s use of fragmented sentences. It didn’t take away from the story as much as it was just annoying at times while trying to follow Michelle’s thought process (it was most notable near the end). I think there was room for more emphasis, whenever the narrator got short with the reader, and missed opportunities to elaborate upon thoughts otherwise delivered through snippets of text.
Creativity
I’m not one to judge a book by its cover, but I have to admit that I find the way in which the romance genre is typically marketed to be quite a turn off. When I see a book cover prominently featuring the naked midsection of some young guy, call it what you will, but that doesn’t compel me (as a man) to pick it up. I say this for two reasons:
1. This particular romance novel happens to feature some pretty little jailbird trying to look like a badass, and although she probably has her liquor license, I thought to myself, “You know what? I want to pick this up and give it a try.”
2. I think that says something about the romance genre in general (or maybe it’s just me), and how indie writers (usually women) can expand their market based upon the way in which they present their product. It’s just a thought. If you’re going to anthropomorphize your novel by putting a human likeness on the cover, while associating that figure with romantic feelings, then expect your book to be “picked up” accordingly. What I’m saying is that maybe it’s not so much that I’ve been adverse to reading romance (as a man) as much as I’m just not interested in sampling beefcake. However, after reading this installment of The Destroyers’ saga, I am more apt to give the other books a shot, because I am now familiar with the characters featured on the other covers and would be interested to see the kind of relationships that they develop.
Let’s just say that I’m a fan of the whole outlaw “aesthetic” (as it comes in a variety of forms), and I think that Wilde did a pretty good job at bringing some authenticity to her fictional motorcycle club. The little details like the different types of patches, slang, and capturing some the culture surrounding the lifestyle was what I enjoyed most about this story overall. There was one notable faux pas near the end that made me chuckle, though. When Michelle’s character puts her love interest on the spot and says, “Are you asking me to be your old lady?” LOL! How romantic, I thought. Just for translation, she said, “Are you asking me to be your property?” It was a little bit ironic (perhaps tongue in cheek) considering the fact that Michelle had been struggling throughout the book with her own sense of agency.
Delivery
I think the delivery in “Down in Blood” lacked depth. I understand that the narrator is a woman suffering from PTSD, but her point of view wasn’t helpful when it came to developing the plot. Michelle’s character was great at observing events and providing some vivid descriptions of the other characters, but her insights left me wanting. Her “enemies” seemed to come out of nowhere, because her character was so disconnected from her environment, and therefore the resolution didn’t thread well within her storyline. I never really knew what was at stake or why the other characters were engaging in these dangerous games that they were playing. Her perspective was like listening to a child trying to explain what was going on at the adults’ table.
The support characters in this novel have some colorful personalities, but they don’t seem to possess any personal motivations outside of Michelle’s best interest. That aspect of the story frustrated the hell out of me. I kept asking myself, “Why the hell is everyone being so generous to this stranger?” I wouldn’t say Michelle’s character is a “Mary Sue” (because “shit happens”, in that regard), but this “romance” definitely illustrates a kind of solipsistic fantasy that I really can’t relate with.
This isn’t the first time I’ve read a book by a female author that portrays romance in such a way. I kept wondering when the hell Michelle was going to start interacting with any of these overly compassionate folks in a way that illustrated some character on her part. She was like the helpless “object” of everyone’s affection, and was treated like a Fabergé egg. Aside from one scene where Claude’s character actually has the sack to step up and put Michelle’s feelings (for his friend) into question, nobody else from the club gives her a hard time or even wonders why they’re spending resources on this broad… or at the very least put up a stink as to why they’re expected to babysit/chauffeur her ass as if she was royalty.
I will say that this book does contain one of the better written sex scenes that I’ve read so far from a self-pub author. The way in which Wilde displayed sexual passion upon the page was a fair mix of realism and metaphor, which is what I like. I think if there is too much metaphor (especially if it’s taken out of context based on the narrative) then the sex scene becomes absurd or ridiculous in relation to how purple the prose. On the other hand, if the scene is overly descriptive then the feeling can be lost because it becomes too mechanical and may sound awkward to the reader based on what the characters are “doing”. I am a strong proponent of “less is more” when it comes to sex scenes. I haven’t read much from the genre, but when it comes to “romance” books, I would assume that most readers may be looking forward to that type of intimacy, and I think the payoff can be more explosive or have a greater impact if much of what happens on the page can be experienced through the reader’s imagination. Wilde hit the nail on the head.
#LFLR Indie Rating: 5/10
I understand plot usually takes a back seat in romance novels, but I thought Wilde could have really ramped up the tension based on Michelle’s backstory in this one. “Down in Blood” features some strong personalities, and I would have liked to have seen Michelle’s character making an effort to relate with the support characters instead of using them as her personal anchors. I feel like that would have added some depth to her character arc.
All in all “Down in Blood” has my interest piqued to see the direction in which Wilde takes some of the other characters from The Destroyers MC. Aside from a feature in one SciFi anthology, Calia Wilde specializes in writing stories where the hero isn’t always the “good guy”. Aside from The Destroyers MC saga, she has published the “Desantos” trilogy as well as having works featured in other romantic and erotic anthologies like “My One and Only” and “Falling Hard”.
I understand plot usually takes a back seat in romance novels, but I thought Wilde could have really ramped up the tension based on Michelle’s backstory in this one. “Down in Blood” features some strong personalities, and I would have liked to have seen Michelle’s character making an effort to relate with the support characters instead of using them as her personal anchors. I feel like that would have added some depth to her character arc.
All in all “Down in Blood” has my interest piqued to see the direction in which Wilde takes some of the other characters from The Destroyers MC. Aside from a feature in one SciFi anthology, Calia Wilde specializes in writing stories where the hero isn’t always the “good guy”. Aside from The Destroyers MC saga, she has published the “Desantos” trilogy as well as having works featured in other romantic and erotic anthologies like “My One and Only” and “Falling Hard”.
THIS BREAKDOWN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE #LFLR NETWORK.
