3/2/16

Book Review: ALL CHAINED UP (Devil's Rock #1) by Sophie Jordan

Available 03/29/2016
There are bad boys and then there are the men of Devil's Rock

Some men come with a built-in warning label.  Knox Callaghan is one of them.  Danger radiates from every lean, muscled inch of him, and his deep blue eyes seem to see right through to Briar Davis's most secret fantasies.  But there's one major problem:  Briar is a nurse volunteering at the local prison, and Knox is an inmate who should be off-limits in every way.

Knox feels it too--a shocking animal magnetism that drives him to risk his own life to protect Briar's.  Paroled at last, he tries to resist her.  She's too innocent, too sweet, and she has no idea what Knox is capable of.  But a single touch can lead to a kiss--and a taste...until the only crime is denying what feels so right...






* * * * * *  REVIEW  * * * * * *

All Chained Up is the book version of the tv show PRISON BREAK.  OK, not really, but dang it if Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies) didn't breeze through my mind a couple of times while reading this.

I think this book, and the series it belongs to, are fascinating simply for the type of hero that is featured in it:  an inmate.  Let's face it, when you think of a heroic leading man, a felon/inmate is not usually at the top of any reader's list.  They come with a fairly huge strike against them:  they're in prison for committing a crime.  And author Sophie Jordan does not shy away from this flaw, she embraces it and makes it work for Knox.  Knox and his brother North, are in prison for murdering the guy who raped their cousin.  Jordan makes this work for Knox because he doesn't shy away from what he did and he certainly doesn't think he's a hero because of it.  Would he do it again?  Probably, because at his core, Knox is an honorable man defending his family.

Now that the elephant's out of the bag, so to speak, on to the rest of the book.  Briar Davis is a timid nurse when we first meet her.  Jordan portrays her nervous reluctance to accompany her boss to the local prison, Devil's Rock, in an extremely believable way.  Briar wanted to volunteer, but when at the prison realized she bit off a bit more than she could handle.  Briar is not written as a sterotypical prison bunny ("Oh, you're in prison?  OK, let's get it on!"), but as a gentle soul who has an abusive past.  She doesn't understand or necessarily like that she's attracted to prisoner Knox Callaghan.  That changes after Knox rescues/protects her during a "riot" in the medical bay.  His actions get him an early parole.  The story picks up from there and the chemistry between Knox and Briar is scorching! The themes of redemption, personal forgiveness and strength are threaded throughout the story and bring a nice depth to the plots and characters.  Knox is a hero readers will love.

Ms. Jordan lays the groundwork nicely for the rest of the series--the next book in the series features Reid Allister (Knox's "gang" leader in Devil's Rock).  And I'm hoping that Knox's brother North gets his own book.  Kudos to Sophie Jordan for a wonderful story and for not romanticizing felons/inmates.

XOXO,

Teresa

~*~ Avon Romance provided me with an ARC/Galley. ~*~

Rating:  3 out of 4 stars.  Wonderful series starter; Readers who enjoy slightly damaged heroes and heroines will enjoy this, as will readers who look for spicy reads.

Book Facts:
ALL CHAINED UP  (Devil's Rock #1)  by Sophie Jordan
Avon Books  |  April 2016
ISBN:  978-0-06-242368-9
Buy it:  Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble 
Connect with Sophie on  Facebook  |  Twitter

Next up in the Devil's Rock Series:
Available 07/26/2016

HELL BREAKS LOOSE (Devil's Rock #2) 
August 2016

Hell hath no hunger like a man let out of a cage . . .
Shy and awkward, First Daughter Grace Reeves has always done what she’s told. Tired of taking orders, she escapes her security detail for a rare moment of peace. Except her worst nightmare comes to life when a ruthless gang of criminals abducts her. Her only choice is to place her trust in Reid Allister, an escaped convict whose piercing gaze awakens something deep inside her. Reid is nothing like her other captors.

He’s tougher, smarter…and one blistering look from him makes her hotter than any man ever has.
Reid spent years plotting escape and revenge . . .years without a woman in his bed. For this hardened felon, Grace Reeves isn’t just out of his league—she’s from another planet, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting her. Escaping Devil’s Rock was tough, but resisting this woman could be the end of him. For a man with nothing to lose, protecting her . . . claiming her as his own, becomes more necessary than his next breath.

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