Misled By Kathryn Kelly

He deals in a world of violence, sex, drugs, and crudity. As president of the Death Dwellers' MC, Christopher "Outlaw" Caldwell presides over a club in chaos after the death of their longtime president and his mentor, Joseph "Boss" Foy.

Megan Foy runs from her abusive stepfather, hoping for her daddy's intervention to save her and get her terrified mother away before it's too late. Only problem is, she soon discovers her beloved daddy is dead and the man who killed him is the man she's falling in love with.

Warning: FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY. CONTAINS PHYSICAL ABUSE, VIOLENCE, RAPE, AND EXCESSIVE PROFANITY.

This is one of those books where I’m not sure how to rate it.  I mean, I couldn’t stop reading it; it really sucked me in, but not necessarily because I was enjoying the story.  This is a tale full of some heavy stuff: cutting, molestation, unhealthy relationships, drugs, drinking, sexual depravity…not that those kinds of things will turn me off to a story right away, but they have to be handled delicately.  I’m not so sure these were handled to my satisfaction.

Megan has had a horrible life.  Living with her mother and stepfather, she is abused and degraded by her stepfather for years.  Her mother, in the know of what is happening, is being abused by her stepfather as well so she is of no help.  To deal with this pain, Megan is a cutter.  She numbs herself to the pain and waits patiently for the day when she can escape.  When she finally does get away, she seeks out her father who is the President of a Death Dwellers Motorcycle Club.  Little does she know, her father is dead, so when she is turned away from the MC she turns to life on the streets.  There, she has a run-in with some Death Dwellers and through that, she meets the new President of the MC, Christopher – aka “Outlaw”.  They are instantly drawn to one another, but Outlaw fights it for obvious (and not so obvious) reasons.  From there, it’s a bit of an emotional and wild ride, where Megan finds out what really happened to her father and to see if the womanizing douchebag that is Outlaw can perhaps grows a heart.

My biggest issue with this book is Outlaw.  I like Alpha Males; I even like gritty, badass Alpha Male badasses from MC’s.  But I really had a hard time seeing through Outlaw’s douchiness to find the tender heart inside.  I can look past a lot of stuff, but Megan is so young and fragile, and he definitely in many parts of the book does not take care of her in the way she needs taken care of.  Don’t get me wrong, Megan has her own annoying issues, but Outlaw just never grew on me.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it takes a special touch by an author to make an alpha male appealing.  There is a thin line between loveable and tough alpha badass and just plain douchebaggery.  For me, Outlaw was firmly on the side of douchebaggery.

For a debut novel, I have to say that the story was pretty good.  It’s not a flawlessly told story, but it deals pretty well with some heavy issues, and not so well with some others. Even with flaws, it was a story I got wrapped up in.  The mystery surrounding the death of Megan’s father, as well as the drama of some of the other “club whores” in the book kept me reading.  Overall, it was a solid debut.  3.5 stars from me.