Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
Oh. My. God. The grit, the angst, and the heartbreak in this book! The second book in this series starts with an undercover ATF agent searching for his lost brother. Bram’s investigation takes him to a notorious MC and into the path of the club’s president, Sweet. Bram is in hiding and still recovering from a horrific assault. Sweet has to figure out how far he can trust the man he can’t stay away from.

Bram and Sweet are fabulous together. Secretive, stubborn alpha males, these two don’t know whether to fight or fuck. I love the vulnerability behind their hard exteriors and the slow revelation of their difficult pasts. I also loved the smokin’ hot chemistry between them and the dirty sex that almost ventures into BDSM play.

This is an exciting read as much as it is a romance. Bram needs to find his brother and he’s scared to trust a MC – especially since the club that left him battered is still searching for him. Neither Bram nor Sweet knows who to trust and Bram finds himself crippled both by his physical pain and by PTSD from his attack. I loved the suspense as much as the action and I fell way too hard for the men of Havoc MC.

I’m so glad SE Jakes is back, and I can’t wait for the next book in this series. This book worked as a standalone for me. I going back to read the first book now but I don’t feel like I needed it to enjoy this one.


Kris – ☆☆☆☆☆
I had not read anything by SE Jakes before so it was with a pleasant surprise that I really enjoyed this book! I also have not read Havoc #1, so I believe that this can be read as a standalone – although, I would like to read Havoc #1 now! This is an MC book but with an M/M twist. I found the men of Havoc to be just the right amount of masculine and rough with the perfect amount of comfortable with their orientation. Sweet is the leader of the MC and he takes in Bram on a hunch. Bram is hiding from another MC and has his own secrets and lies. The whole story moves quickly and is full of great adventure. Really enjoyed my time in Havoc's world.

SE Jakes has always been an author I read no matter what the story is about, this cover was not one of my favorites, but with the name SE Jakes I knew I had to read and let me tell you I was not disappointed!

I received an arc from Netgalley. This was definitely not my cup of tea. It has an intense and rough tension throughout the whole book.

When I said yes to reading and reviewing I thought I had already read Running Wild but quickly realized I hadn't. So, I put Running Blind down and picked up Running Wild to get the full background. It wasn't necessary but it did help me with the whole story.

I liked Bram and Sweet together. They were good together and they could steam up the pages. Bram was tormented with his past and a bit of a martyr but Sweet helped to guide Bram the right way with his own version of being a martyr.

I'm always a fan of two strong men together so that part didn't disappoint at all. I'm looking to more from this series.

3.5 stars

Biker With A Twist

This is a first time author for me and even though it was the second book in the series I was able to jump right in and not miss a beat. Since I love MC reads and seen that bike on the cover I knew I had to check it out. This is an M/M biker book and of course the bad*ss alpha males were coming out of the woodwork.

Bram left the hospital after being nearly beaten to death by the Heathens MC of which he was a patched in member of and went searching for his missing brother in Havoc MC territory. This is where Bram met Sweet who was the president of the very powerful Havoc MC. A man like Sweet didn’t stay in power by trusting anyone and Bram was hiding a lot more than his association with the rival Heathens.

"But really, with the number of secrets and lies between them, how far could this really go?"

I read Running Blind as a standalone. It was my introduction to S.E. Jakes. Yeah, those that follow my reviews probably guessed right away that it was the motorcycle on the cover that got my attention. It's no secret that I'm a badass biker addict and MC Romance is my favorite genre.

While this is the second book in the Havoc series I read it as a standalone. I had no problem jumping right in. The characters that were featured in the first book were present but I wasn't lost at all. From the very first page, I was in Bram's head. At first that was a confusing place to be but eventually, all the pieces fell into place and I was fully on board with his predicament. He was hiding from the motorcycle club that he's been on the verge of patching into as an undercover ATF agent. Before that could happen he attempted to bail but was caught and beaten to within an inch of his life. He needs time to heal but the pain won't stop him from searching for his missing brother, Linc.

As S.E. Jakes is a new-to-me author I wasn't aware I was reading an M/M Romance until I got to the first sex scene, and boy was that an eye-opener. Let's just say that Sweet wasn't so 'sweet', and he liked it. 😉

Next thing I knew all hell had broken loose and he learns that Sweet is the president of Havoc MC and the other MC that wants him dead has learned where he is and they are coming for him. Will Sweets throw him to the wolves or protect him? Should he reveal his ATF affiliation or will that guarantee his death? Where is his brother and is he safe? Will Havoc help him find him or turn him over to his enemies? Does he want to be on top or does he prefer the bottom?

So many questions, right? You'll have to one click to get your answers. Just consider it Running Blind until you do.

He’s a dead man. One MC thinks he’s a traitor and he’s hiding what he really is to yet another. All while trying to help his brother. Talk about an adrenaline rush. I craved this one so much and it didn’t stint on the gut-clenching thrills and hot and dirty-style romance in the biker world.
Review

Running Blind is book two in the Havoc series. In a pinch, it could be read out of order, but I thought it had a natural build on the book before it which has ties to the author’s other series set in the MC world..

Running Blind picks up time-wise after the events of Running Wild, but shifts to two new characters and all new conflicts involving the Havoc MC. Linc, the best friend of the hero in book one goes missing and his brother Bram, in spite of his own troubles comes running. He’s an ATF agent who was embedded in a hellish world for two years. He saw and did things in the Heathen MC that ate at his very soul. Now, they’ve branded him a traitor and are coming to get him after someone sold him out. He suspects it was his own boss and he doesn’t even know why. Things get worse when he discovers its the Havoc MC his brother owed money and then skipped town. Bram doesn’t do things by half and the first guy he grabs to forget his troubles just happens to be the Havoc MC President.
Sweet knows that Bram is their way to Linc and that Bram is all kinds of trouble. He can’t help himself. From the very beginning this wild guy with death in his eyes and a nothing left to lose attitude is the first one to move him in years. He has given everything for Havoc and it has his full loyalty and duty, but for once he wants this for himself though he knows he should keep his distance from Bram.

This author is the queen of tough, gritty, hard spot situation romantic suspense. Her heroes are rough and wild and unapologetic. They are broken men who live on the edge, but they have a sense of honor. I’ve enjoyed several of her books in this world and her other romantic suspense worlds. There’s pulse-pumping sizzling hot loving and edge of your seat action. I like the pinch of suspense, but also that these are not easy and light. The characters are flawed and they challenge each other and never make it easy.

The clash between biker clubs and the setting of the Havoc world was well done as was the way the characters interacted with each other. The camaraderie of the Havoc brothers but also with a few other peripheral characters was great.

All in all, this fast-paced rush of a story dragged me along with it and flipping pages madly to see what came next. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. Those who like firecracker hot and gritty m/m biker romantic suspense should give this book/series a try.