Shade (The Last Riders Book 6)

When I first saw that Jamie Begley titled a book Shade after we already had Shade’s Fall, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Although incredibly long, I did enjoy meeting our Last Riders from the beginning, but through the eyes of a man everyone thought to be cold and unemotional.

Summary:
The moment Shade’s eyes met the sweet purple of Lily’s, he knew his life would never be the same. He’s made a career out of being unemotional, cold, calculating, and aggressively dangerous. And it was never an act. It’s who he was. But Lily was special. The secrets he carried could destroy all he hoped to have with her, so he endeavors to keep her while protecting her from the monster in her midst. He slowly reveals himself, but continues to keep the biggest and most damning secret for as long as he can. Shade had no doubt that he could help heal the wounds Lily carried with her, but he never expected his own past to pose a threat. It’ll take all of the skills he’s honed over the years to keep Lily and their future safe. But will moving forward jeopardize the hold he has on Lily’s heart?

There were parts of Shade I liked, some I didn’t, and even some I loved. When I sat down to start this book, I had thought it would be how Brooke was taken care of. In part, it was, but it was more how the events of all the books up to now led to Shade being in the situation he was. I liked seeing the stories of our previous Last Riders through Shade’s eyes. It gave their stories a different perspective to enjoy them, and it also showed us just how much Shade was involved in helping them achieve their HEA’s. It even made me want to go back and read them again. Lol. Shade is a complicated man. He thought himself unemotional, cold, and unable to love normally. He was a man who protected what was his by any means. In doing this, it would seem he had no emotions from which to care about anyone, but it was the exact opposite. He was the most caring, loving, and protective of the men. He did what he could for his brothers and the women to help when they called on him and even times they didn’t. Like Lily said, everyone expresses their feelings and emotions differently, and Shade is the perfect example. I love that we got a bit more of Shade during his winning of Lily. It helped me connect with him more, and made me fall in love. I could have done without all the detail when he was with the other women, though. Brooke was an evil bitch as usual, and I’m glad she got her comeuppance. I was hella surprised about who she was in cahoots with, though. I didn’t see that coming at all. I still want more of the characters we’ve met. At the top of my list is Train. I really want him to be with Killyama. She is an enigma, and I really want to figure her out, while being Train’s one. I also want Rider’s story. I wouldn’t mind some of the woman’s, either, Bliss, Jewell, and Raci, for example. There were parts I didn’t think we needed to reread, even from Shade’s POV, but only a few. I liked having another side to a scene we read in another book but was off -page. The epilogues (epilogues being my weakness) were great. I loved seeing Shade and Lily throughout the years. I cried, but it was sweet. Overall, it was a nice addition to the series. It also opened Shade up a lot more, which Ms. Begley’s fans are sure to love. I can’t wait to keep reading. Keep ’em coming. <3

I’ve read this book twice. I wanted to read about Lily and Shade. And then, a few months later, I wanted to read it again.

I love a good MC romance and I think this author writes some of the best out there. Shade is by far one of my favorite alphas. You gotta love this man!

I have read all of the books in this series and admit that I love The Last Riders series and that this author is a favorite of mine. With this series, either you love them or you hate them. I love reading about the flawed characters that include OTT/alpha/jealous/possessive men and women who are strong in one sense but aren’t afraid to show their love for their man. The author introduced us to Shade and Lily way back inRazer’s Ride. At that time, Lily was supposedly 17 years old, timid and suffering the after effects of horrible abuse inflicted upon her when she was a young child. Shade immediately wants her but agrees to wait until she graduates from college. Each subsequent book gives more information about Shade and Lily as a back story until Shade’s Fall when Shade and Lily are finally together. All of the discussion threads burned with each book release and a lot of the discussion was about Shade/Lily rather than the main couple. Everyone was captivated by their story.
I would recommend that you read the previous books in the series so that you can have a clear understanding of the events that occur in Shade. Shade includes a lot of going back over past events that occurred during Shade’s journey with his love/infatuation with Lily. I remembered each and every scene and never felt like I was re-reading old material. The author was able to present those same events with a fresh, new look from Shade’s perspective as well as a lot of additional details not included in the other books. So much of Shade’s behavior in the previous books becomes so much clearer.
If you are one of those who love to hate and malign the Last Riders for their sexual practices and “demeaning women” (which I do not agree with) then I recommend not reading the book. If you did not like the other books, you’re not going to like this book.
Already I’ve read the negative comments about Shade and his “expectations” of Lily but the way I read it, Shade makes major changes in his life because he truly loves Lily. Yes he was a man-ho as long as he had to stay away from Lily but once he commits, he becomes celibate until he can have Lily. Did he have sex with the female club members? Yes, before he committed to Lily. Does he protect Lily from the women who would say or do hurtful things to her? Yes. In fact he threatens to throw Bliss into the street, her clothes behind her and fight with any club member who doesn’t like him kicking her out of the club. He doesn’t want any other man touching her but then he doesn’t let any of the women touch him.
Shade has convinced himself he has an “attachment disorder” and cannot love anyone with the exception of Lily. He felt he came alive the first day he saw her. But he finds he is totally wrong when a tornado strikes their house and he thinks he has lost his infant son. As he digs his son from the rubble he realizes he is capable of love and later says “what I saw as loyalty to the people I care about was really love.”
Was Shade perfect? No. But I think, based on all of Lily’s abusive background, he was a perfect mate for her. She came first in his life, even before the club.
I loved revisiting the events in the previous books but what I loved most was walking through the journey of Shade and Lily’s epic love story. Lily was the blood in his veins and the beat his heart needed to keep going. We see the young Shade and Lily and we see them in the sunset of their years when their love has survived 50 years. Shade was true to his word when he tells Lily early in their relationship that his heart wouldn’t keep beating if something happened to her.
This book will stay with me a long time and it was well worth every one of those 800+ pages. Good job Ms. Begley.
My curiosity is peaked however with the knowledge Lucky’s son is the Last Riders’ president at the end of the book. Wonder what happened with Viper’s two sons? I am very much looking forward to more books in this series.