IT AIN'T ME BABE By TILLIE COLE
Wow, that's all I have left to say. This one completely caught my off guard.
So I started this one, knowing it was about an MC, a girl and guy that'd met before, and nothing else. Once I started though, I didn't know if I wanted to continue. The mention of the Commune and all made it sound kinda dystopian that I actually stopped reading and went on to another book. But the voice in the back of my mind wouldn't let me focus on the other book and so I thought I'd give this one a try. All the hype had to mean something right? Well, it definitely did. Surpassed my expectations.
The hero and heroine - now that's the type of love you dream of. It's definitely not easy, it's not always fun, it can be treacherous at times, but at at the end.. love surpasses all and happiness is what stays behind.
A fortuitous encounter.
A meeting that should never have happened.
Many years ago, two children from completely different worlds forged a connection, a fateful connection, an unbreakable bond that would change their lives forever…
Salome knows only one way to live—under Prophet David’s rule. In the commune she calls home, Salome knows nothing of life beyond her strict faith, nor of life beyond the Fence—the fence that cages her, keeps her trapped in an endless cycle of misery. A life she believes she is destined to always lead, until a horrific event sets her free.
Fleeing the absolute safety of all she has ever known, Salome is thrust into the world outside, a frightening world full of uncertainty and sin; into the protective arms of a person she believed she would never see again.
River ‘Styx’ Nash knows one thing for certain in life—he was born and bred to wear a cut. Raised in a turbulent world of sex, Harleys, and drugs, Styx, unexpectedly has the heavy burden of the Hades Hangmen gavel thrust upon him, and all at the ripe old age of twenty-six—much to his rivals’ delight.
Haunted by a crushing speech impediment, Styx quickly learns to deal with his haters. Powerful fists, an iron jaw and the skillful use of his treasured German blade has earned him a fearsome reputation as a man not to be messed with in the shadowy world of outlaw MC’s. A reputation that successfully keeps most people far, far away.
Styx has one rule in life—never let anyone get too close. It’s a plan that he has stuck to for years, that is, until a young woman is found injured on his lot… a woman who looks uncannily familiar, a woman who clearly does not belong in his world, yet a woman he feels reluctant to let go…
As I said before, at first I was a bit hesitant about this good. There's a Commune that's located literally in the middle of no where and they're basically an evil cult. The "prophets" and "elders" (the wise guys basically) run the place and rape girls and use women and basically are the head honchos. This book started out pretty dark and it continued to be dark.. gory details were shown. But it all was part of this big, great, thing that showed that there's light at the end of the tunnel, there always is, even in the worst of times. And amen to that, no pun intended lol.
River, "Styx," was an amazing character, you could see his shift from complete badass bad boy with no care for hurting anyone or using anyone, to being vulnerable and crazy in love with Mae. He had been pining after Mae for 15 years. 15 YEARS! Finally losing all hope of seeing her again, he goes on with his life, but something is always missing. Sure, he's a whore, a drinker, does extremely gruesome stuff (a lot of killing, folks - this is not for the faint of heart), but Mae changes everything. EVERYTHING. And I really enjoyed seeing that shift in him, seeing that careful protectiveness in him. He did not lose his bad ass ways, in fact, with her they grew, but in a different way. Like he was a badass, but a good one, if that makes sense. All those gruesome things didn't look as bad, because you knew how he could be with the one he loves. AND his SIGNING! Uhhh, killed me! I think the fact that he had trouble talking and signed most of the time made him even more vulnerable. This was me most of the time:
I loved how the book made me FEEL. You don't get that often, where a book really messes with your emotions, makes you think you're in the book, makes you hurt for the characters and cheer for their happy ending. But here, I'm not ashamed to say I actually had tears in my eyes for a couple scenes.
SPOILER: like when Mae found Bella and she was dying in the cage. The love they had for one another and the way you could see that with Bella, part of Mae's heart died, I couldn't keep the tears at bay.
The book goes from having butterflies in your stomach and goosebumps on your arms because it's so dang cute and romantic and loveydovey to having you fearful, on the edge, gritting your teeth in suspense. And just when you thought that everything went smooth sailing, all this crazy shit just blows up in your face out of no where. Completely unpredictable! And you're like waiiiit what just happened?!
Basically. Such a good book. I'd recommend it to everyone! Well, unless you can't deal with a bit of suspense, some blood, hunky and sexy as sin motorcycle men, and a whole lotta lovin.
Oh and Mae, the heroine. She was so naive in the beginning, coming out of the Commune where she's completely sheltered to a world of Motorcycle Men with tattoos and whores lying around and cursing. Everyone wearing leather and the Hades Hangmen as their icon. But, she was dang strong. She put up with the shit they gave her and slowly but surely made her way around. She found her place and knew how to live the life of the sinners, but with a good heart. She found freedom. She found a life worth living. Riding behind Styx on his bike, the wind in her hair, holding her love, this was what life was supposed to be.
And Rider: I don't know what to say about Rider. Going from one extreme to the other, living a life of God, being thrust into a life of sin. Must be tough brotha. There were times I felt so sorry for him, but there were definitely times I wanted to kill him myself. But at the end, I'm glad with what happened. Mae truly is a sweetheart and I'm happy with the choice she made, but waitttt..... Prophet Cain?! WHAT?!
SOME QUOTES:"I-i-if you c-can hear m-me, p-p-pull through. W-wake the f-f-fuck up. I've b-been w-waiting on you coming back to me for f-f-fifteen fuckin' years. No d-dying on m-me now, you hear me?"
(Swoon)
"I hope you're the end of my story. I hope you're as far as it goes. I hope you're the last words I ever utter. It's never your time to go..."
"You need a st-strong man, babe. You n-n-need a man to l-love you, to pr-protect you, to be your f-fuckin' world. It's m-me, babe. It's s-so fuckin' me."
(I'd take you anyday Styx, no questions asked)
