“Wreck took me on a wild ride that I didn’t want to come back from. Raw, gritty, intense, & all-consuming. Wreck wrecked me in the best possible way.” – Claire C. Riley USA Today Bestselling Author Screw the rules.Army veteran Richie Tallin returns to South Dakota from a disastrous war with nothing to gain and nothing to lose. With no real home, his family in shambles, his dad’s old … shambles, his dad’s old motorcycle becomes the key to a new life as Wreck, the Road Captain of an outlaw motorcycle club. Now he’s living the life he’s always craved—freedom, good times, loyalty, no regrets, and, hell yes, no rules.
But when he finally gets a chance with Isi, a feisty girl he’s had his eye on for years, everything shifts. As fiercely independent as Wreck, Isi is determined to restart her life and keep her family’s business afloat while she hides a wounded past. She and Wreck light a fire in each other that’s unexpected and wild, and what begins as a casual fling becomes passionate and serious real fast.
Life is good.
But when a war of revenge, payback, and power breaks out, everyone gets caught in the crossfire. Choices are made. Sacrifices that can never be undone. In a crazy 80’s world of drug dealers, rock and rollers, and rival outlaws, Wreck and Isi are determined to hold on come what may.
And come it does.
Few know how the One-Eyed Jacks MC of Meager came to be. And fewer still, how the love of one woman changed the destiny of a small town in the Black Hills of South Dakota forever.
This biker saga / motorcycle club biker romance / romantic suspense / romantic adventure / small town romance / coming of age / women’s fiction / inspirational family saga novel takes place before the Lock & Key Series and is a standalone set in the late 1970s through the 1980s and can be read before OR after the four book series. This book contain adult language, sex, violence, drug use and is intended for mature audiences only
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4 Cranky Stars
This was a big book with a lot of story. It took me awhile to get into it I will admit. It encompasses several decades and tells the life story of Richie AKA Wreck. It starts in the 70’s and travels on till what I’m guessing is the late 80’s early 90’s. It’s an MC with violence and death and amazingly a love that will last a lifetime.
Richie is home from Vietnam. His life isn’t the same as when he left. His home he shared with his dad is quieter now since his death. He just feels stagnant and needs a reason to belong in this dingy trailer in this dead end town. His one true passion is his motorcycle and the open road and that is where he establishes his MC. It’s mainly a group of guys who ride more a pleasure club than anything at first. He first meets Isadora at a bar where she sang a few songs. He was enamored by her despite never believing in love. They dance around each other for a few years before she finally makes a move. Their love becomes one for the ages. Sadly around this time rival MCs are stirring up trouble and they decide to join another MC to stake their claim on Meager. It’s not without tragedy and strife and fighting for territory. It’s brutal and ugly but this is Wrecks life and he wants to keep Isadora safe from it all. Yet there is someone from his past he has never considered until now.
Ok I will admit this might have been too much book for me. It’s a lot of story with a lot of little plot bunnies happening in it. Like story inception if you will. Lets make a club then somehow drugs popped up and then Isadora then tragedy then Miller. My head was spinning. It was reminiscent of a series I read once that I adored but they are not the same. The Dust and The Roar was very good some epic storytelling so kudos to Cat Porter for that. She covered almost all of Wrecks life in those chapters. I could relate to Miller because my grandmother is also part Native and part white and it was really a struggle in those days. I was glad I got to read this story and I think if you were alive during the 70’s and 80’s you might really connect to this story.
Rated 4.5 Stars
The Dust and The Roar wrecked me emotionally. I cried so hard and uncontrollably for a while. This is probably the fifth or sixth book that made me cry. I loved this story and characters but they did a number on me, completely destroyed me. I ran through a gamut of emotions while reading it. It made me angry, happy, so sad and anxious. I had a ball of dread lodged in my stomach for fair part of it. I definitely recommend it but be forewarned that it packs an emotional punch.
Copy provided by author
If you’ve read the Lock and Key series then you know about Wreck. The Dust and the Roar brings us back to the beginning and tells us the story about Wreck and the beginning of the One Eyed Jacks. It was such an amazing read and I just couldn’t get enough. I loved Wreck and Isi, their love was everything. I loved seeing a young Dig, Boner and Miller. Loved them! This book and the Lock and Key series is a definite must read!
From the beautiful dedication to the poignant epilogue, The Dust And The Roar enraptured my heart. Cat Porter brought her A-game to this prequel to the Lock & Key series and it’s everything I could have asked for and so much more.
To me, it reads like a love letter to Porter’s faithful. Those of us who are true Meager aficionados, who have been there from the very start, falling for Dig and his Grace and all of those who would follow through the hallowed halls of the One-Eyed Jacks clubhouse. There has always been a bit of a curiosity where Wreck Tallin was concerned. The pioneer of sorts who brought together the Jacks of Meager and made it the club it was always destined to be as their Road Captain and true soul of the group.
This book is not a romance per se. Yes, we get the passionate love between Wreck and his wildflower in Isi as bittersweet as that was. And it is glorious and full of longing and a tenderness neither had ever known. A true shining moment in both of their troubled lives. But what stands out for me most are the struggles Wreck must face and ultimate strength he gleans from being a part of a group of men he proudly calls his brothers. Past mistakes no longer need to matter and the loyalty he finds in this motley crew ultimately gives him the tools to find his last remaining family member in his baby brother, Miller.
With answers to the whys of how this sometimes ruthless group of men found their footing, it all comes full circle as Miller enters into the fold all the while knowing (from all the books before this one) his ultimate part in the future of the Jacks. It’s almost poetic as Porter shows us the sweet in the friendships formed between Miller and the rest of the Jacks I have come to know and love. Getting glimpses of a young Dig and Boner and even Jump, made me all kinds of happy. To say I want to go back and re-read the entire series is an understatement. This prequel brought all the warmth and yes, even the heartache, back to me once more. The richness of Porter’s words is undeniable and there is no way a reader wouldn’t want to know more about these men and the lives they have led since Wreck showed them the way.
Knowing the ultimate outcome might deter some readers from getting the ‘before’ about an unsettled figure. But Porter carefully crafts a story that checks all the boxes and leaves us on a high that shows just how committed and protective she is of her characters. Like the eagles that caught Wreck’s eye as both a young boy and as a hardened adult, his spirit will forever soar as the ultimate protector of all things One-Eyed Jacks.
Not to be missed, The Dust And The Roar is the masterful prequel that will have you clamoring for more. And lucky for you, there is a whole series to satisfy your palate.
5 magical stars!