Steel & Ice

My rating: 4 of 5 ⭐️

Coming from a rough start, of which part was spent living on the streets, Elle has adopted a defensive attitude for every occasion. Only her two best friends know Elle deeper than the current mask she might be wearing, every one else is fitted into segregated and clearly labeled compartments, kept there for Elle's own feeling of security. And that includes the one night stands she only indulges in.... That is to say - until she bumps into a giant hottie named J, who seems intent on breaking down each and every one of her defenses.

A rebellious youth lead J into the path of an MC, the same club that now, after years of growing and wisening up, was still demanding he pay his dues. It had been a long time J had wanted out, but loyalties and duty kept him bound. A life not really his own, he never considered a woman as a possible permanent fixture in his own. But then he meets Elle, and everything about her draws him, and against his better judgement he falls.....

*****

Can I just say DAYUM!!
A very good and very different type of MC novel, with a focus more on the perifery than on the inside view.

This is NOT a standalone novel, it is the beginning of Elle and J's story.....and promising to be a bumpy one!

Yes, the pot-smoking, peddling and tough street-slang is not my kinda 'thang' either..... HOWEVER, that is simply the scene in which this story is set, and whether I can identify with the characters personally or not, they can speak to me..... And I have to say, Elle and J speak to me LOUDLY......

Their story is a very compelling one, with so many layers covered up by all that tough exterior - layers we have to patiently wait to see come unfolded. And if you are patient with the outwardly immature and most times obnoxious behaviour of Elle in particular, you will start to recognize that there is so much more to her than your first snap to judgement may have suggested.

Perhaps age makes me a little more cognissant of rebellious behaviour when I see it, but there is something very genuine about both Elle and J that supercedes their reluctance to part with their respective secrets. Their hearts are honest, their loyalties divided, their pasts are conflicted, but their feelings are true - Still, their future is uncertain. As you will find out soon enough........

My first introduction to Emily Eck and although I had to persevere a few pages to get a hold of who I had before me in terms of characters, I was immediately taken with the style of writing, which strongly appealed to me. In fact, I had a hard time putting it down. The contrast between the 'public' and the 'real' Elle so stunning, the transition so tentatively brought about by the patience of a decent man at heart, J, and described in a touching way.

Oh.....and did I mention the sex scenes?? I didn't, did I..... well, they were there, in EXPLICIT detail ....and they were delicious and that's all you're gonna get out of me. Better get the book to get the down and dirty!!

But here's a word of warning, if ever the term 'CLIFF-HANGER' was appropriate??? It is now!!!!

✨An intriguing, gritty and real look at life in the 'grey zone'.✨

**Copy provided in return for an honest review.**

Raw. Powerful. Gritty.