REVIEWED by Anna Lynn

TITLE: The Ballerino and the Biker

AUTHOR: Rebecca James

SERIES: The Hedonist #1

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 186 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2018

BLURB:

Most of his young life, Morgan Wentworth has dreamed of becoming a principal dancer in a prestigious corps de ballet. After years studying the art in Milan, Morgan comes home to New York City to apprentice with the Manhattan Ballet Company only to be hit by the unexpected death of his older brother, Jake. The grieving dancer learns his life is threatened by a dangerous rival motorcycle gang and that pierced, tattooed, HOT biker Zeke Ivers has been assigned by Jake’s MC to guard him. Saddled with the constant presence of the infuriating man, Morgan juggles the demands of an exhausting dance schedule as well as his new responsibilities as CEO of his family’s multi-million-dollar company. He never expects to develop an attraction for the straight, obnoxious biker, but that’s exactly what happens.

Estranged from an abusive family, Zeke Ivers has lived at the Sentinel’s club house and worked on cars since he was a teen. When fellow club member Jake Wentworth and a rival club president’s girl are killed on Jake’s bike, the Sentinel’s president delegates the protection of Jake’s little brother, Morgan, to Zeke. Zeke would do anything for the club that pulled him off the streets, but Morgan’s a ballet dancer, for Christ’s sake, as well as annoying as hell. Still, Zeke finds himself inexplicably drawn to the young man. The more attracted Zeke becomes to Morgan, the more the biker is forced to examine his sexuality and decide whether two people from opposite sides of the tracks could possibly have a future together, or if Zeke should do what is fast becoming too painful to consider: let Morgan go.

REVIEW:

A Ballerino and a Biker, what a pairing!

I have always loved tropes that involve an image, not necessarily true, of a bad guy with a sort of good guy or someone opposite, just like what we have here. The main characters are total opposites. It will be interesting to see their chemistry, if there is, and how they would navigate through their friendship. Add to that another trope – “gay for you” or a late bloomer when it comes to realizing one’s sexual orientation.

Morgan is on his way to become a Premiere Ballet Dancer. Back from going to school in Milan, he is now an apprentice in the Manhattan Ballet Center. He has worked hard to reach this level of his dream. And as the last member of his family, he also owns the majority of his family’s business.

Zeke is a biker with a motorcycle club in which Morgan’s older brother was a member. Having finished his GED and being really good at fixing cars, Zeke dreams of owning his own car repair shop one day. The Motorcycle Club is doing things legally and they are not trying to get the attention of the local authorities, they have legitimate businesses that they take pride in.

Jake, Morgan’s brother, had gotten involved with a girl from a rival club. The girl was with the leader of that club. Jake died in an accident, with the girl riding on the back of his bike when it happened. And because of what happened, they want Morgan to pay for what his brother did.

Although a bit of history was mentioned on each main character at the beginning of the novel, we will get to learn more as we go further into the story. At first I thought it was going too fast, but as I read on, we learn more and more about our main characters’ back story.

There was instant attraction between Morgan and Zeke the first time they met even if Morgan was scared of Zeke at the time. Zeke was assigned to protect Morgan. They get to learn more about each other the more time they spend together. Feelings get developed but Zeke thinks he is not suitable for Morgan because of their economic status and position in society. Morgan thinks those things are insignificant.

Ms. James is able to entice the reader to read on and find out what happens next in the manner in which she writes. I love how Zeke’s character comes to a realization about his sexuality, how he thinks of his past, and what it means to him now. You can empathize with Morgan and really feel his loneliness. Good writing style of a very popular trope/s; thank you and Congratulations Ms. James!

RATING: 

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