‘We would blow up this world and create something beautiful in its ruins’Jesse & Laney 1985We were each survivors of our upbringing: lost, unloved and afraid. But like moths to a flame, we couldn’t stay apart.We loved.We lost.We fought.We cried.And then we shattered each other’s hearts.Jesse was a hard man: a biker outlaw for the Devil’s Highwaymen MC. I was Laney: the daughter of a dead … Highwaymen MC. I was Laney: the daughter of a dead mother and a father that didn’t know or want me.
We were doomed right from the start.
But this was our romance.
And this was our disaster.
And hopefully, this would be our second chance.
Book One in the Ride or Die Devil’s Highwaymen MC series
What people are saying so far:
‘This author writes without apology and tells it bluntly like she sees it. This is NOT a sweet biker story…it is gritty and rough, and hard to read at times.’
‘You’ve already got my heart aching for the next book’
‘Pretty sure that you’re the only author that could cross me over to this genre and make me love it’
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“We were both human, and we both made mistakes but our mistakes were what made us and what defined us as people.”
Gritty
Angst
Alpha hero
Broken characters
Second chance romance
“He seemed just as broken and lost as me. And I wondered if we would fit together like a jigsaw if we tried. Because sometimes, two lost pieces are just made for each other, regardless that they weren’t from the same place.”
Absolutely loved this book by Claire Riley! Ride or Die #1 is the first book in the Devil’s Highwaymen MC series and wow did it start off with a bang! This book had what MC books should have- there should the violence, the unpredictability, the loyalty to the brotherhood, and the just overall grittiness to it that isn’t always the easiest to read.There are so many secrets with twists and turns you aren’t exactly sure who to trust or not, and if the main characters will even make it out to the other side.
Ride or Die #1 hops from the past to present, which can sometimes be distracting, but when coming to this story it really helped bringing everything full circle and was so well done. Jesse and Laney come from such messed up home lives and are just looking for their peace in the world and they find it with each other, for a little while at least. Problems in the world around them (club wars, death, insecurities, infidelity, etc) test to see if they can really make it though.
“It was Jesse, I realized. He calmed me—my soul. He made me feel safe, and like I belonged.”
After starting with the Devil’s Highwaymen Nomads Series, I decided to go back to the original and learn more about the Savannah branch of the Biker Gang lead by Hardy, a character I didn’t like much in the Nomads. It also may be worth mentioning that the first three Nomad Series is chronologically set before the Ride or Die series.
Ride or Die 1 has it’s main focus on Jesse (Hardy’s youngest son) and Laney (Gauge’s daughter). There are other characters I met briefly in the Nomad books, so it was nice to see a bit more of them too. The story spans several years of their relationship from their first meet as teenagers through to adulthood when Jesse is patched into the club. This is the element of the novel that didn’t sit well with me personally. I wasn’t a fan of the back and forth between past and present in this case. I feel that there would have been more of a connection if Jesse and Laney’s story was told in a linear format. I found it harder to build a connection with the characters and their relationship until the latter portion of the book.
That being said Claire’s writing is adept and confident, she is a great world builder particularly where so many characters are involved. The back and forth slowed the pace for me but once things started to go wrong in the club I found that the plot points began to draw the story together cohesively. In the second half of the novel Claire’s writing came alive and in rolled all the badassery MC stuff we love. Bring on the drama with members turning on their club, a new biker gang in town the Razorbacks, Jesse and his hotheaded self getting into all kind of trouble thanks to his fists. All this leading to some family revelations that reveal heartbreak and twists that I didn’t see coming. The end of the book left me craving Dom’s story so I am diving straight into book 2.
This is my first book by claire and I loved it.
I am mad about mc books so couldn’t wait to get stuck in to this book.
I’m not gonna put many spoilers in here and this is my first ever review.
it did start off slow and back and forth between past and present might annoy some people but it didn’t bother me at all, in fact I think claire wrote it beautifully. My heart broke for jesse and his brother butch with how their dad was towards them. Laney and Jesse’s love for each other grows throughout the book, they both had horrible childhoods and make mistakes. And omg the secondary characters are fantastic, can’t wait to read more about them.
This has sexual tension, cheating, angst, and hot bad men.
Jesse has his own demons to face, and the truth to find out. Unfortunately he finds out the hard way, and one has to wonder is it too late? Is it too late to save the club? Is it too late to save his relationship with Laney? Is it too late to save himself? Cee Cee Riley has done an amazing job capturing the reader in this novel. I loved every second of it, and it definitely got me out of my book slump! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series (once it’s released!) I can’t get enough of my Highwaymen!
I really enjoyed Jesse & Laney story.
I really liked Laney they are survivors of their upbringing. Laney you can’t help but love, her mother is dead and her father that didn’t know about her or want her.. I just really felt for Laney.
Jesse is a alpha male who annoyed me at times he is a biker and a hard man. He keeps pushing Laney away.. I understood why he was doing it the more you get into the book but…,.
Together they are hot but together there relationship is doomed from the start. Will they get a second chance at love you will have to read to find out.
I loved that we was told the story from past and present.. you really get to know the back story of the characters and understand them them more.
Really liked other characters. Some others not so much. I didn’t see the twist at the end coming.. there is enough going on to keep you turning the page to find out what is going to happen next and to see if Laney and Jessie get their HEA.. do they I am not going to say.
The book is well written.
Bring on book 2!