1805. Laurent. Indentured servant. Desperate to escape a life that is falling apart.
2017. Beast. Kings of Hell Motorcycle Club vice president. His fists do the talking.
Beast has been disfigured in a fire, but he’s covered his skin with tattoos to make sure no one mistakes his scars for weakness. The accident not only hurt his body, but damaged his soul and self-esteem, so he’s wrapped himself in a tight cocoon of violence and mayhem where no one can reach him.
Until one night, when he finds a young man covered in blood in their clubhouse. Sweet, innocent, and as beautiful as an angel fallen from heaven, Laurent pulls on all of Beast’s heartstrings. Laurent is so lost in the world around him, and is such a tangled mystery, that Beast can’t help but let the man claw his way into the stone that is Beast’s heart.
In 1805, Laurent has no family, no means, and his eyesight is failing. To escape a life of poverty, he uses his beauty, but that only backfires and leads him to a catastrophe that changes his life forever. He takes one step into the abyss and is transported to the future, ready to fight for a life worth living.
What he doesn’t expect in his way is a brutal, gruff wall of tattooed muscle with a tender side that only Laurent is allowed to touch. And yet, if Laurent ever wants to earn his freedom, he might have to tear out the heart of the very man who took care of him when it mattered most.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: time travel, servitude, serial killer, cruelty, motorcycle club, alternative lifestyles, disability, demons, tattoos, impossible choices, deception, crime, self-discovery, healing, virginity, black magic, gothic
Genre: Dark, paranormal romance
Erotic content: Scorching hot, emotional, explicit scenes
Length: ~135,000 words (Book 1 in the series, can be read as a standalone)
WARNING: This story contains scenes of violence, offensive language, and morally ambiguous characters.
Lost in a Book - 4 Hearts
Time Travel
Indentured Servant
Motorcycle Club
Branding
Infernal Being
Serial Killer
Ancestry Buff
This book had everything but the kitchen sink in it and yet, it worked. Worked really well. The byproduct of all of those elements are two MCs that are polar opposites. Beast is the brawn to Laurent’s slight. The “damaged” to Laurent’s beauty. The insecure to Laurent’s confidence. The self-hatred to Laurent’s self-acceptance.
Laurent and Beast had two completely different lives that shaped who they are. As stated in the synopsis, Laurent was an indentured servant in the 1800s. Through this and other horrific life circumstances, he developed a lack of trust and freedom became what he coveted most.
Beast is a broody Motorcycle Club VP in the “future” (2017) that was badly burned in a fire. This fire left him disfigured and was the catalyst for his self-hatred and motivation behind every thought, feeling, and action for every
The connection between these two men came from the “Devil.”
“Am I the lord of the Underworld in the way you Christians see it? No. Am I a devil? Perhaps I am. And I have the power to give you a new life. A life where you can have all you’ve ever dreamed of.”
The infernal being showed up in the worst moment of Laurent’s life and offered him a way out. He gave him a task to complete.
“And in exchange, I will make you free in a world where you can fulfill your desires for men without fearing the law. You will gain your sight back. You will be able to forge your own destiny. But if you fail, you will come back to this very room and suffer the consequences of what you’ve done. Kneel, Laurent.”
Laurent finds himself in the future but isn’t quite sure what to make of it. He is found and cared for by Beast. They discover that he has been branded with a mysterious symbol that matches the marking on King. This sets off a series of events that lead to loyalty, manipulation, sabotage, (mis)understanding, and magical discoveries.
With every little nugget that was revealed throughout, I had so much anticipation for what was to come. It was comical to see how Laurent managed the future. He was enamored by everything, especially plastic.
There was some heat and sexy times. Laurent was an eager little beaver. He wanted to experience everything and Beast was devoted to worshipping Laurent in a way he would never want to leave. Laurent and Beast loved each other deeply. Yet, their past thoughts and feelings prevented them from accepting it for what it was. Beast’s blinding self hated and Laurent’s refusal of anything less than total “freedom” led to a lot of misunderstandings, arguments, and slowed their relationship from fully developing for most of the book.
“It was as if this wholesome beauty was the compensation for all the years Beast had spent in the body that used to be his personal hell.”
The ending of this book was kind of anticlimactic IMO. For so much world and character building, the ending left me just meh. The pretty bow it was wrapped in didn’t quite fit, it was too pretty. The epilogue focused on building up book #2 instead of providing the much needed continuation for Beast and Laurent. Knight, who is Beast’s best friend and fellow MC member is a complete ancestry buff. Knight was an important character in this book and will be a MC in book #2. I get wanting to set up the next book but the ending could have been crafted better while giving us more with Laurent and Beast instead of switching right to ancestry and book #2.
This isn’t a book that will leave you warm and fuzzy while swooning at the perfect love. It's raw and imperfect just like the MCs. There is a depth to this book with all its interconnecting pieces that was enjoyable. There were a few errors throughout; more-so in the 2nd half. Did I love it? No, but I really liked it. Would I recommend it? Definitely, if the elements listed above are your thing.
”I once knew an incredibly handsome man. When you looked at his face, his beauty made you assume he was the perfect gentleman. But deep down, in his heart, he held evil you wouldn’t comprehend. People are wrong to judge you by your scars.”
Chelsea - 4 Hearts
That was really enjoyable! I love it when a long book captures your attention and keeps you staying up late to see what will happen!
There were lots of aspects I loved about this book. Laurent, a twenty year old man from the year 1805 who is hopeful, innocent and secretly a very determined and brave man.
Then Beast, who was given his name due to his tattoos from the top of his head to the tips of his toes and his burn marks down one side of his body. He is undervalued and constantly degraded by his father, lives within his insecurities about his looks, but is a gentle, caring person who really really just wants a cuddle.
Obviously the sex is super hot, I mean virgin and superbad biker boy (and gentle giant... *ahem* when he's not torturing people), hells yes! I really liked the depth to these characters, we got to know them both well and saw how positive they were for each other's lives. However this lost a star for the near constant back and forth fighting between Laurent and Beast. I felt like Beast never really knew Laurent until the 95% mark, it was probably due to Laurent’s secret and Beast’s inability to look through his insecurities… and they finally opened up to each other only for the book to be over.
One of the best elements of this book was the magic. It was done is a very dark supernatural way, not scary but super creepy! Loved it!!
In true Merikan biker book style, the ending had me sweating and wanting to seriously punch something, but it was good and I had fun, so that's all that really matters!
If you like KA Merikan's Sex and Mayhem series, you'll definitely love this and if you're just a paranormal fan and don't get squeamish with morally ambiguous characters, give this a go! Can't wait for more in this series.
Well girls, I loved it. It really worked for me. xx
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