Calm & Storm by Susan Fanetti

Item: Calm & Storm
Rating: 5
Author: Lily

April 5, 2016 Lily Book Review 0 ★★★★★

Calm & Storm by Susan Fanetti
Series: The Night Horde SoCal #6
Published by Freak Circle Press on October 27th 2015
Genres: Biker / MC
Pages: 440
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THE NIGHT HORDE SOCAL SERIES CONCLUDES.
Ronin Drago has always been a fighter, a warrior, a soldier. Not one to take the lead or the limelight, he stands stalwart with his brothers, but he keeps his own counsel.
The Night Horde SoCal has been taking too many hits lately, and he fears that they are cracking under the strain. Every run seems to bring more chaos and less clarity, and Ronin no longer sees the purpose in their fight. But he is a loyal man, and long ago the club gave him a family when he had no other, when he came home from war to an empty life that had once been full of love and promise.
Lorraine Milligan loved the young man that Ronin had been in that long ago time, and she loves him still. But she broke his heart and left his life empty. She’s regretted it ever since, but she never thought to have the chance to make amends.
In the years since she ran from their young love, she has made a good life, successful and content, but shadowed by her regret, her Great Lost Love.
When their paths cross unexpectedly and the old spark between them rekindles, they have a chance to remake a future together. But first Ronin must come to terms with the full dimension of what he lost when Lorraine left him.
And then they both must decide if his club and their love can fit together at all.
**This volume also includes Home & Safe, the epilogue novella to the Night Horde SoCal series.
Note: explicit sex and violence.

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

Wow, what an ending!

If you’ve been following Susan Fanetti’s Signal Bend and Night Horde SoCal series you have been through the emotional wringer more times than you care to count. Tragedies have been in abundance but for each and every horror the Horde has endured they have always had support and goodwill from within to carry them through the tough times. The way they overcome their hardships is what has made this series so memorable.

Calm & Storm is as much about Rainy and Ronin’s story as it is wrapping up both series in a natural and moving way. Be ready, though, I am not a crier but I read with a box of kleenex within reach and I will admit to wiping my tears away a few times. The ending took me by surprise despite the warning at the beginning of the book…

It was so good to read a second chance love story where the characters took a realistic approach to the heavy issues they were battling in order to start again. Risking opening up their hearts to each other again is a risk they cautiously approach and at times the thought of the pain of losing what they had all over again is too much to bear. For Ronin, it causes him to question what he values most in life, what will bring him contentment and of course where his loyalties lay.

What made Ronin stand out from so many other men in this genre was the way he sat back and observed his surroundings before acting. He had a need for a calm sanctuary within and around him. He had more in common with his hippy girl than he let on. At times, it felt like they were both as far removed from the Horde as they could be, not just physically but emotionally as well. It provided an objective observation of the Horde and its ongoing battles.

Signal Bend and The Night Horde SoCal have firmly anchored Susan Fanetti as one of my favourite authors. She has the honour of being one of the few that can evoke the strongest of emotions within me while still have me wanting to come back for more!

What I struggled with: