My name’s Rosie and I come from a dynasty of sorts… the Sons of Templar, maybe you’ve heard of them.I just happen to be the daughter of one of the founding members and am the sister of the current president.The fact I’m a woman means I don’t wear the patch, but it’ll never change the fact that I’m a Templar by blood.We’re known as royalty in the outlaw world. Though, the dynasty is dancing on the … the dynasty is dancing on the right side of the law these days.
That doesn’t mean that the law and those who enforce it are friends.
It will remain the one constant in my tumultuous life. The one rule in our law-free existence.
Befriending the law and those that enforce it is a betrayal.
Which means me being one half of a doomed love is that much more comical when he’s a cop.
Or was.
Before I went and ruined it all.
Before he shattered that shield he wore to protect society in order to protect me.
He saved me and I damned him.
I damned myself too, but to be honest, I was damned long before that.
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“Running was the easy part. It was coming back that was the bitch. Nothing went away while you were hiding; everything stayed exactly preserved, like a fossilized demon of all your mistakes.”
Rosie, Rosie, Rosie…I love you. You’re badass and beautiful and broken. You’re my hero. So much pain and still you put everyone before yourself. You don’t let the darkness keep you from loving and protecting those that are important to you. And, you’ve got the most awesome family, Sons of Templar. They would protect you with their lives if only you’d tell them your secrets.
Rosie is Lucy’s bestie, and the two of them together is a recipe for trouble of the best kind. I admit I’ve been excited to spend more time with these two and the other women that make up their inner circle. They’re all badass and funny. The only problem is that Rosie runs when life gets too hard and the pain gets too much. She’s breaking her own heart when she leaves her home in Amber, but staying is just as painful. Their love is forbidden. Different time, different life, we woulda been perfect.” But nothing could keep her away when her family needs her, and that includes her soul sister, Lucy.
I was so excited for her to return and see him again. He’s changed. He’s different when not standing behind the shield. It’s always been the symbol of what stood between them. But, she feels responsible for him walking away from what she believes he was meant to do. Her guilt keeps her from listening when he tries to get past the walls she’s built up to protect her heart.
“La douleur exquise. The heart-wrenching pain of loving someone completely unattainable.”
She fell for him when she was only five years old. He’s always been off-limits. Maybe that’s why they wanted each other so much. My heart fell with them and broke right along with theirs. “You’re not a sinner,” he murmured. “And I’m not a saint.” I’m exhausted from wishing on stars and shaking my Magic 8-Ball.
Well, as you’ve probably already figured out, trouble follows Rosie. Of course, there’s danger and suspense involved and plenty of badass bikers and sexy alpha guys on the security team. “I totally got why Greenstone was the most popular security company in LA. You threw a rock in those offices and it would hit a hot guy.” No worries, I’m still searching for their website to verify this information…in person. The line forms here…
I have loved everything that Anne has written. She has such a gift with storytelling. In Shield, the second book in the Greenstone Security series, Luke and Rosie. With the SOT series we have gotten glimpses of them in the background. Well now they get their story. And what a story it is. Loved this battle that they have gone through, both are so strong in their beliefs of what Rosie should or should not do. As we know not everything is clear, nor is it black and white. Their struggle and journey is one emotional ride that only Anne can write so beautifully. I said it once but i will say it again, love this author and love this series! If you have not read the SOT series it is not required, but i would recommend it. It helps to understand the world and the characters mentioned. Overall, a fantastic read that will leave you feeling like you just read a damn good book.
At this point, I feel like my reviews are just repetitive and people are getting sick of me rambling on about the same old thing. But when I tell you, THIS SERIES. THIS AUTHOR. Mind-blowing! Anne Malcom continues to push boundaries with her love stories. These Greenstone Security men are something else, that’s for damn sure. What is it about these men that have me ready to give up everything I own for them? Every single character in this series, in this book is someone with the potential to take up space in your heart.
Read this book. It’ll surprise you and simultaneously wreck you but you will definitely thank me for it.
h: Rosie
H: Luke
(Dual POVs; Rosie 1st person, Luke 3rd person)
Rosie sees Luke for the first time when she steps foot on school grounds for her first day of kindergarten. Luke is getting out of his father’s police cruiser. Luke notices Rosie for the first time when he is riding around with his father in his cruiser and his father makes an unexpected trip out to the compound. Someone had been shot and was laying on the ground in a pool of blood. From that moment on, luke feels protective over Rosie and feels like in order to protect her, he needs to bring down the club that brings all the death to her doorstep.
With Rosie being on the opposite side of the law from officer Luke, they refuse to give into any desires or urges that they have for one another.
Unfortunately, I don’t think this author is for me. Which is okay! You cannot make everyone happy. There is a lot of backstory in this book from past events and other characters’ relationships. I haven’t read any other books by this author but I didn’t feel like I needed every other character’s backstory. Another thing that made it hard to connect to the story was the timeline was hard to follow. It was confusing when the flashbacks didn’t seem to be in order.
Favorite quotes:
”Real?” I whispered, choking out the word. “I’ve had a brutal and continuous education on real, Luke. I’m not a child. I don’t live in fantasies, don’t entertain myself with them. I’m all about real. So trust me, I didn’t want to feel this for you. I didn’t trick myself that forbidden romance would be exciting or passionate or magnificent. That’s the fantasy. But the real? The real is fucking ugly. Because it’s not what I can’t have. It’s what was never mine in the first place.” -Rosie
”They’re rare, those men. Not everyone gets them. Definitely not enough women who deserve them. So don’t do the ones who are never going to have that a disservice by throwing it away because of fear. Because that love isn’t recyclable. He isn’t going to use it on another woman, just like you would never go through all the pain and suffering you’ve been through for anyone but Luke.” -Lucy
Rosie Fletcher’s dad was the President of The Sons of Templar MC and then the job became her brothers and she grew up knowing there were two sides of the law. By the age of 30 Rosie had turned into a bit of a criminal herself and she takes off to another country to avoid everything going on at home, and the one man she can never be with.
Luke Crawford grew up with his dad being the town Sheriff and when he got older he became a cop himself. His heart has always belonged to Rosie but die to their differences on how they grew up she continues to push him away.
Yet life works in mysterious ways and both Luke and Rosie have made their share of mistakes and certain events that overlap and Rosie blames herself for Luke’s actions.
When Luke drops everything to find Rosie when she disappears will she be willing to give him a chance to prove himself to her once again?
This is such a great series and I am loving these books so far!
I loved Rosie in the first book with Lucy but I was mad at her when she disappeared and I knew something had to have been wrong but I never suspected what she was up to! Rosie is kind of an enigma as you have no idea what she is capable of until this book ends and you absolutely love her!! There were things that Rosie went through that just broke me and I was shocked at how things went with her and Luke when she did certain things. Yet Luke still was there for her and came to her rescue and yet Rosie still ran.
Luke was another great character and I loved how he saw more in Rosie than she was able to see in herself. He continually was there for her and would do anything for her which was evident after what happened with her ex-Kevin.
I was absolutely shocked at what Rosie was doing when she returned to town and I was glad that Luke and Keltan had a proposal for her. I also really liked that Keltan was open and honest with Rosie about how Luke was doing when she was gone as it was great to have another perspective and it really made you cheer for Luke a little more.
I was definitely worried when Luke began to make progress with Rosie and then she would clam up again. The end began to get intense with everything that happened after Polly and Rosie went shopping and things began to get extremely heated and I was super surprised at who was involved with everything.
The very end was awesome and I can’t wait for more!!!
By Rebecca
The writing is beautiful and the story is perfect for Rosie. Raw, real and intense!
Have you ever tried to push two magnets together when their poles are facing the wrong way?
The converse power of magnetism how when the poles are in the wrong position they repel each other so effectively. But, align the poles in their correct position, and you have a force to be reckoned with and try as you might you cannot pull them apart, that is the story of Rosie and Luke!
Throughout the Sons Of Templar series we have seen this battle storming in the background, these two headstrong stubborn and passionate apparent polar opposites, Luke on the good side, the law man with his shiny shield and Rosie, the biker princess from the criminal underbelly of the MC.
This battle of wills is built on loyalty, Rosie’s to her MC family, her girls and their way of life that has nurtured her and who she would die to protect, and Luke’s to his misguided fight to protect Rosie from the darkness that he believes the MC continues to bring into Rosie’s life.
But not everything is cut and dried, black and white, as even Rosie would have herself believe, and as this story takes you back and forth in time revealing their story and the complexity of their love, from their childhood beginnings to the events which threaten to push them further apart, both Rosie and Luke learn the truth of where their power lies, in their love and aligning their strength to tackle their demons together.
Anne does a beautiful job of painting this tale with such vivid colour, that is not always pretty, as love often can be, it wounds, it hurts and the pain lingers, but it always worth it whatever the challenges, whatever the outcome.
Rosie and Luke most certainly have their challenges but as their family remind them they are not alone in the fight, and love can triumph in the end.
5 painful lovely stars!!