Craving Constellations (The Aces Book 1)

Craving Constellations has everything that I love about MC books: the gruff, macho biker with a soft and sexy side, hard-as-nails heroine, and edgy, gritty action."How is it, that someone can make decision after decision attempting to get away from their past and somehow end up right back where they started?"Brenna has spent the past five years running from her life as princess of the Aces Motorcycle Club. Her father, Poet, is Vice President of the club and she has never wanted that life. She wanted the American dream with a normal husband."I wanted a husband who paid taxes and would take his car to a mechanic for routine maintenance. he wouldn't get his hands dirty, wouldn't raise his voice, and wouldn't carry a gun."The husband she chose, Anthony, was all of those things and more. He was a violent, cruel, evil man who used every opportunity to beat Brenna senseless. Confused, lost, scared, and suffering from unfathomable grief at an earlier traumatic event, Brenna bides her time until the moment she can leave him, with her daughter in tow.After selling her car on Craigslist and finding another to replace it, she heads out for her hometown of Eugene, where her father and the MC are. She knows that if she can just get back there that they will keep her safe. She never thought she'd ever have to go back, but she has no other choice. She's terrified to go there because that's where Dragon is. Her daughter's real father. And another man she's been running from."I'd never imagined the world I chose would be far worse than the one I had left."Being accepted back into the folds of the club isn't easy. She abandoned them, disrespected the brothers and shamed her father. The clubs President gives her one hell of a talking to. This is her last chance. If she leaves again, she will lose the protection of the club.Even worse than the shame of her father and the club members is the rage directed at her by Dragon. Even though they only spent one night together five years ago, he's been the only thing keeping her going. Dragon was beyond angry that she deserted him and kept his daughter from him. Her secrecy and deception reflects badly on him as well and he must suffer for sleeping with a member's daughter, even though he didn't know at the time.As the attraction between rekindles, will the other secrets Brenna's hiding keep them from finally being together? Can she handle going back to the MC life? And will her ex finally let things lie?This was one of those books that I knew I would immediately connect only a few pages in. I could feel that toe-curling anticipation that you get when you're reading a really good book. I literally didn't want it to end. I wanted to prolong that feeling.The Aces MC was portrayed as really authentic to me. Just enough information and action without being over the top or fake. I felt the connection between the members, it was real to me. I cannot wait to read more stories about this club.Brenna was amazing. She was real. She made a lot of bad decisions but she owned up to them in the end. She was strong and tough, a great mother, and sweet. Some of my favorite lines:My daughter has a mother. She is not and never will be yours. You stay the **** away from her. And if I ever see you look at her again the way you were earlier, I'll ****ing cut your eyes out with a dull spoon.I was the princess of the Aces MC, and I had the bloody knuckles to prove it.Dragon is one of my all time favorite characters...ever. I think I may have cast him as one of my favorite book boyfriends in the throes of reading as well. There's something about a rough, tough man who has to be hard but also has the ability to melt panties and be incredibly sweet that always endears me.--Sidenote, he hits her once after a pretty heartbreaking admission. Like Lahn in The Golden Dynasty by Kristen Ashley, I found this to be a tough pill to swallow. Especially considering the fact that her husband was violent. However, I found his apology and actions afterward warranted forgiveness, just wanted to give ya'll a fair warning, because I know most don't like that. I'll leave it up to you to see how you feel about this particular event when you read.--Once he made up his mind that Brenna was it for him, he drops his current old lady and moves in with Brenna and her daughter Bellatrix "Trix" (which is a freaking cool name) that means "female warrior". His entire attitude towards his daughter is what got me. He was so freaking sweet that I was swooning the whole time. Great fathers do it for me, too.There's a scene where he first sees Brenna's stomach for the first time, stretch marks and all, where he just sits and stares at her. She's uncomfortable because she obviously doesn't have the same body after having had a baby, but he doesn't let her cover herself. And he says:"I can't believe you had my baby. She was all curled up in here, and I never saw it." He shook his head. "This is all I'll ever see, Brenna. This is all I get. Let me look."He killed me there; I was his.Dragon was also incredibly dirty and dominant. I ate that up, let me tell you. Her husband being a douche didn't lead to her having such a healthy view about herself (not in anyway that put me off, it was the perfect amount of understandable self doubt). He quashed those feelings pretty quickly.It's the hottest thing I've ever seen watching you take me. Not sayin' you're a bump on a log, for ****'s sake. You trust me to give it to you. You know I will, and you let me do it. I know you haven't been with many men, but let me tell you, that ain't how it usually is. You're so ****in' sexy layin' there, sayin' my name, makin' those noises you make. Wouldn't trade that for anything.I cannot wait to read the next book from this debut author. Highly recommend!"I knew it was going to be a process for us to put things behind us, but I was willing to be patient. When I looked at him, I saw everything I wanted. That was enough."

I accidentally found this MC romance and I am so glad that I did. The story does have trigger warnings that it is not as dark and gritty as some of the series out there. Dragon is the perfect MC alpha, who waited five years for his happily ever after I was not a fan of. Brenna, but I guess she had to have some weaknesses so there was a storyline. I highly recommend this story. Looking forward to the next in series.

Weekend Pick Me Up - Craving Constellations by Nicole JacquelynEvery once in a while I find that I'm taken aback when I wrongly judge a book by it's cover and find that my assumption, or perhaps presumption, rewards me with a very generous boon. When I read the synopsis of Craving Constellations and compared it with the cover I let my mind do a good amount of cancelling out. I will not allow you to do the same. This novel by Nicole Jacquelyn is phenomenal, but it has nothing to do with how attractive the cover is; it is pure gold inside it's the wrapper.For many people this will more than likely be a love or hate and all or nothing read for you. The subject matter is pretty offensive. The characters are rough and and often times unlikeable; many times their behavior is downright despicable. The lifestyle is in all likelyhood something that many could label white trash. But if you could get over your squabbles for two seconds on the color of the draperies and thread origins of the tapestries to think about the world that Nicole Jacquelyn has created, the credo of the brotherhood of the Aces MC and Brenna and Dragon's story you would have to see that she successfully wrote an emotionally, compelling love story with amazekittens depth and fascinating dynamics between an incredibly large cast of secondary characters. This book, if not your preferred taste, is quality storytelling at it's best. It might be harsh and Dragon might not be your ideal hero, but damn does Nicole deliver a poignant tale of desperate times in life on the edge.Brenna grew up in the Aces MC, her father is actually the Chapter president and after escaping the lifestyle and finding out that the grass is just still grass on the other side--and not even any safer--she finds herself running back to him and the Aces for sanctuary. She is returning not only bearing the marks of abuse she has been living with from her respectable husband's beatings, but the child of one of the MC members who has never known his daughter exists. These revelations aren't happy ones at the Aces' clubhouse despite how welcome both Brenna and her child are back to the fold.The Aces are a tight Brotherhood and there are some lines you never cross and some rules never to be broken. Had Dragon know that it was Poet's daughter he was coming on to the night he got his cut he would never had looked at Brenna twice. Even though he didn't know who she was, she still should have known better not to let him make such a serious misstep and spend the night with her. By the time he had learned what it was he had done and who she was he was already so deep into his lie that he had broken many of the rules a man in an MC does not break. Looking at his baby girl certainly is the cat out of the bag and he's not that ashamed of it; merely regretful. Brenna keeping her from him and letting the guy who beat her raise his child is something he can't forgive.The rules of the world do not apply in the Aces Motorcycle Club world. Being lawless to the outside and having their set of code within make life for both Dragon and Brenna subject to a constant scrutiny that is not unlike the times of Lords. The members are subject to a societal hierarchy and presentation of respect is more important than what might happen behind closed doors. Dragon is an Alpha male and he is demanding and controlling. Brenna and Trix are his and he will take care of them, protecting them and providing for them in all that they need. He is a prideful male and he will be recognized for being the man of the house. If he shows any weakness at all in the hierarchy at home it could affect his reputation in the clubhouse and how much respect he is given.I think for me the hardest part of this book was probably how casual it was for the people in the club to react to some of the harsher things--although they are drug and gun runners so what was I supposed to be thinking? Brenna and Dragon playing house so quickly felt strange too. But then I think about people back home where I grew up. Life is a little bit rougher in the rural backwoods where there isn't much money and less education; people truly live day to day. You don't necessarily fight when someone comes to protect and provide for you when you are alone and vulnerable and it's questionable about how you will feed your kids. You find away to stay safe. So I was constantly reframing my thoughts while reading this from, "That's not what I would do." to "Does that make sense for Brenna to do?" And for the most part I found that the way Nicole wrote Brenna made sense.After reading this book I picked up a few more similar books and the only one that I liked as much as this one was Reaper's Property by Joanne Wylde. (This review was written for my blog All The Things Inbetween at Alicrean.com)

Despite the hard issues this book deals with, I loved every word. The emotions the book makes you feel and the characters really made this book special - I loved every flaw. So many hurdles faced this couple but despite their history, they managed to work their way through. Dragon was all alpha, the way he speaks might put some readers off, but if you love MC books you’ll understand that the language and the demands fit the lifestyle. I personally love reading about MC’s that are over the top crude and demanding and just plain bossy. Definitely going to be reading the rest of this series.

Wow, what a treat of a book. I love my MC club books so I was so happy to have been recommended this one to read.Brenna leaves the Aces MC club family and attempts to carve out a normal life for herself only to find her dream shattered by her abusive husband, Tony. Faced with only one course of action and needing to find a place if safety for her and her daughter Trix, Brenna returns home to her father Poet, the VP of the MC Club. It's been five years since Brenna has been home and five years since she has seen her father and Dragon, a Club lieutenant and unbeknownst to him, Trix's father.Brenna arrives battered and bruised from her husband's latest attack and falls into her father's arms. Having left the Club under a cloud, Brenna finds herself having to re-build relationships with those she spurned for a so called better life. Once their one night stand becomes widely known, Dragon Grease, Brenna's childhood friend who turned a blind eye to their one night stand all those years ago, find themselves facing punishment for their misdemeanours.Dragon has never forgotten his feelings for Brenna and immediately falls back into love with her despite his fury over her decision to allow another man, her abusive husband, to raise his child as his own. Now living in relative safety, Brenna and Trix start to turn their lives around only to find her husband doesn't want to let her go and decides to fight for custody of Trix.Brenna's story is sad but Dragon's story is heart-breaking as he comes to terms with losing the first five years of his daughter's life and other secrets Brenna has kept from him. Despite his anger and resentment at what Brenna did, he can't help but fall in love with her all over again and this time fights for what is his.I loved this story and can't wait for the next instalment in the Ace's series, Grease's story.

I enjoyed this book, it was gritty and rough, however I agree with other reviews that have pointed out that, even though this is fiction, as readers you want it to be some what believable, so to suggest that a few hours of sex is enough to build a deep love that has lasted over 5 years, a love so deep that she jumped into a marriage with another guy rather than the H because she wanted better than a biker, also it was his patch party which would suggest he’d been a prospect at that club for at least a year, she is a club princess who is close to the club but he has never seen her and has no clue who she is....these are small things that could easily be addressed. All in all I enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading the next one.

* * *SPOILERS* * *2 major problems with this story;1. the amount of time Brenna and Dragon spent together that 1st night wasn't long enough for me to believe there were true and lasting feelings. we're talking about 8pm til 10am. not enough time. even Friday night til Sunday morning would have been better, and i don't understand why the author didn't do this. it's not that unusual for a man to hole-up in his room with a woman all weekend!! lol speaking as an ex British soldier who has seen sharing quarters together, kinda like an MC.2. Brenna has escaped from a physically abusive marriage. so abusive her daughter knows to be gentle with mummy when she's bruised. so does somebody want to explain to me why she makes excuses when Dragon hits her?!! he doesn't just give her a tap, he floors her! the minute that happened, i was out. . .i get the idea, i think there is something there. but in its current state i was unable to get passed a few things to be able to enjoy the story.

I had some reservations which resulted in 3 stars and not the 4 I would have awarded.It was well written and entertaining although I didn't understand how a few hours together resulted in a love that lasted 5 years but meanwhile neither made any attempt to reach the other.I was not happy with the violence. I had no problem with the portrayal of violence and bullying in Brenna's marriage since this was the reason for her leaving but the casual acceptance of it by her later was shocking. I also found it difficult accepting as heroes men who were engaged in immoral and illegal activity.For all this, it was a good read.