Reviewed by Cheryl K
TITLE: Outlawed: Lords of Chaos MC
SERIES: Road to Carnage Series
AUTHOR: Nicholas Bella
NARRATOR: Keith Folz
PUBLISHER: Nicholas Bella
LENGTH: 6 hours 11 minutes
RELEASE DATE: October 25, 2021
BLURB:
Bikers, bullets, and blood.
Noah “Ace” Murphy, Sergeant at Arms, brother, and son. He’s a Man of Carnage, who is loyal to his club. One night, coming home from visiting his brother, Diego, in prison, he almost literally runs into a young man desperate for help. Kenshin Yamoto is everything Ace knows he should stay away from. But one look into those pleading, soft, brown eyes and he finds that he can’t turn Kenshin away. Now, they just have to hope the threat Kenshin is running from doesn’t destroy everything Ace holds dear, including Kenshin.
Diego “Dragon” Murphy, who’s doing a nickel upstate, is looking forward to the day he can give the prison his middle finger. But before he can do that, he gets a visit from his brother, Noah, and is given a mission to eliminate an imprisoned DEA snitch before he can testify against a powerful mob boss. With his plate full, he doesn’t expect to get a new cellmate. To his shock, Richard Harrison stokes a fiery desire within Dragon that he’s never felt before. Richard claims he’s straight, but Dragon wants to put that to the test…
Warning: Mature listeners only. Outlaw MC life, prison life, mafia, dark themes. Graphic violence. Strong adult situations. Colorful and intense language. Listener discretion is advised.
REVIEW:
I’ve mentioned this before, but I love when an author and narrator collaboration is a match made in the literary world. This was the first narration from Keith Folz, that I’ve listened to. I was very pleased with the end result. There were distinct differences in each characters voice, and I found his accent work was on point for me. They weren’t overdone or exaggerated. Keith was spot on bringing out the humorous dialogue, the dark elements, and the sexy times to life. I found that Keith’s voice lends itself nicely to the outlaw motorcycle club genre. He enhances the dark, gritty world Nicholas Bella has created, as he brings the written word to life. He brings a smoldering, gravelly voice to not only the sexy times, but to all the in between times as well. I look forward to hearing him complete the rest of this series.
In this book, we are thrown into the dark, gritty world of the outlaw motorcycle club. An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture and can be organizations, whose members use their motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises. Well, I would say Nicholas has definitely hit the nail on the head with the Lords of Chaos. Lords of Chaos reign supreme over their territory of Florida. He describes how the hierarchy of how this club works and exactly what it means to be in a motorcycle club. Especially to be a member of an outlaw motorcycle club, where violence, criminal activity, and prison – create a backdrop for love.
Nicholas’s characterizations are top notch. He provides for a diversified set of characters – all colors of the rainbow and sexuality are represented in this story. Noah “Ace” Murphy and Kenshin Yamoto, and Diego “Dragon” Murphy and Richard Harrison are the two main couples in this story. He shows the dichotomy of slow burn verses immediately getting down and dirty with these couples. Which I found very refreshing. Each couple moves their relationship along based on each other’s needs and wants, not just to satisfy a plot point. Ace meets Kenshin, when he almost hits him with his motorcycle as Kenshin runs into the street. Dragon and Richard meet in Prison. In a change from some of his previous series, the gritty erotica takes on a less intense aspect of the story line. The relationship between Ace and Kenshin is almost a bit of a slow burn. Dragon and Richard create some prison heat but not in an overwhelming manner.
Nicholas embraces world building with such detail and with Keith bringing voice to these characters, it propels you into the story and you feel like you are right there experiencing everything along with the characters. He has created a dark and gritty outlaw world for his characters to reside in. From the clubhouse of the motorcycle club to the inside of the prison, he creates the environment that forges and forces the characters to react in a certain way to each new circumstance they face.
As I previously mentioned, this is a series and we are left with a cliffhanger, which sets up the next book in the series. I can’t wait for those stories with Keith’s narration to be brought to life. I’m anxious to see how Ace and Kenshin take revenge on Kenshin’s attackers. I’m extremely curious to see how Dragon and Richard progress under such intense circumstances. Will each couple survive to love how they need and want? Well, I suggest starting this series and joining me on the roller-coaster, that are Nicholas Bella stories.
RATING: 
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