Title: Rising Tide
Series: Broken Chains MC: Book Five
Author: E.M. Lindsey
Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited
Length: 193 Pages
Category: Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
At a Glance: Rising Tide closes out the Broken Chains series in a satisfying way, with plenty of heart and, of course, a happy ending.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: Once upon a time, Ghost was the best enforcer the Reapers MC had ever known—until the Hydra appeared and destroyed everything he’d worked for. After witnessing corruption down to the very core of their club, his only option was to take off his cut and leave.
But no matter how far he’s run, or how many things about himself he’s changed, Nate has come to realize he will never be able to escape the man he was. Ugly monsters have risen from the ashes of everything he burned down, and now they’re threatening his future.
Nate understands that the only hope the Broken Chains have to win against Hydra is to cut out his heart. And he’s willing to risk anything to make that happen, including his own freedom, to ensure everyone walks away from that final fight. Especially Rory, the only man who has ever held Nate’s heart in a vise.
For Rory, Nate’s willing to be reckless. For Rory, Nate’s willing to take every single one of Hydra’s hits. For Rory, Nate’s willing to do anything.
Rory knows the chaos must end—one way or another, someone isn’t walking out alive. He’s tired of running, and he’s tired of hiding. He didn’t ask to be born into the MC life, and he knows it’s not his future, but a man with a Nomad patch on his cut and tenderness in his calloused hands gives him a reason to stay. All Rory really has to do is live.
Well, that, and to convince Nate that in spite of their age difference, and in spite of their history, they can survive this rising tide.
Review: Rory has been a key figure in the Broken Chains series despite not being a patched-in member of the club. He’s Smokey’s brother, which gives Rory some status by association, but he’s earned the MC’s respect by serving as their capable, take-no-BS negotiator while also working on his PhD. Personally, he’s my favorite character in the series, and has been since he was introduced as “brave and a little reckless and smarter than almost all of them put together.” He’s also salty and prickly, and he forever rises to the occasion where and when there is no other option. Rory is also blind, but those who don’t know him and think that’s a handicap, that it makes him an easy, vulnerable, unprotected mark, means underestimating what an absolute badass he is.
Rising Tide is not only the culmination and fulfillment of the long arc of the Broken Chains series, it’s also the fruition of Rory’s relationship with Nate, an infatuation that began years ago, when Rory was just a kid, and one that he’s determined will now end with them in bed together, even if it’s only once. This isn’t a taboo romance, but it’s definitely an age-gap love affair as Nate had taken on the role of Rory’s guardian angel not only as Smokey’s best friend/brother but as a shoulder to lean on for a preteen boy who was entirely hearty-eyed over the significantly older man. Back when Nate was known as Ghost. Back before he disappeared and became a cop, a traitor, and lost Smokey in the process.
Nate walking a fine line between re-earning Smokey’s trust and falling in love with Rory adds an undercurrent of friction to the story, along with the tension of taking down Smokey and Rory’s sperm donor, which gives the book its moral gray overtones. It’s kill or be killed in this world, so self-preservation and survival are the most primal of instincts, not to mention protecting those they love. But what E.M. Lindsey handles so beautifully throughout the series is the diversity. As I’ve already said, whether it’s deafness, blindness, or a severe stutter, it is not those characters who adapt to the others, everyone else gladly adapts to them, and I respect the complete absence of ableism. This wasn’t presented as a badge of achievement for the abled characters, either. There were no participation trophies handed out. It was simply a show of respect.
Rising Tide closes out the Broken Chains series in a satisfying way, with plenty of heart and, of course, a happy ending.
You can buy Rising Tide here:
[zilla_button url=”https://smarturl.it/RisingTideLindsey” style=”black” size=”large” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon/Kindle Unlimited [/zilla_button]