Ride Wild

Starred review from September 25, 2017
Kaye returns to the testosterone-fueled Raven Riders Motorcycle Club (Ride Rough) for this wrenching story, which teams a too-serious single dad and a young woman struggling to find herself. Biker Sam “Slider” Evans meets Cora Campbell after she and her best friend take refuge from events described in the earlier books at the Maryland motorcycle club, and he hires her to babysit his two sons, who quickly come to adore her. Cora and Slider’s corrosive histories—her father’s sexual abuse, his late wife’s infidelity—make them question their worth and their relationships, and their combined vulnerabilities will rip readers’ hearts out. Kaye’s sassy dialogue and inner narration are hilarious (“It was entirely possible that his glances appeared in the dictionary next to Intimidating as Fuck”), and her taut plotting easily carries readers through the story. Though part of a series, this tale can be read as a standalone, thanks to a concise opening summary of relevant events. Fans who are just discovering the series will undoubtedly search out the other books set in this rough-and-tumble world. This story honors a powerful definition of family: “perhaps not related by blood, but people who claimed you, no matter what.” Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary.