3 out of 4 stars
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Joker’s whole life boils down to one truth: the Devils MC is his life, his everything. After being shunned by his biological family, Joker will do anything to keep the family he has built for himself – even bury a part of himself so deep it never sees the light of day. That all changes when Lady’s Man joins the club. Feelings are brought to the surface and Joker faces the terrifying threat that his brothers will uncover his secret and will cast him out for who he is. Fighting his feelings for one man and his inner demons, Joker must decide whether he wants to spend his life with the Devil’s or the love of his life.
Joker’s Fool surprised me with its authenticity. The author, Manda Mellett, has a gay son and it is clear that the book and Joker and Lady's story is very dear to her. The contrast between Joker and Lady - who had grown up with a supportive mother – is a stark, sad and very real representation of the way homosexuality is viewed. It was heart-wrenching at times to read.
Joker’s Fool is a romance novel, but I absolutely loved how it often jumped the ‘fluff and love’ wagon to address the real issues and the feelings of someone who is struggling with who they are. While I did feel like the romance between Joker and Lady was a bit rushed at first, I came to love them more and more as time went on.
The book spans three years and is very fast paced. The action scenes are more quick overviews as they are incidences that happened in the previous books in the series. Because of this, there is much more focus on Joker and Lady and not as much on the other characters.
While I did enjoy this book and I found myself giggling from time to time, I wished the scenes had been a bit more descriptive, especially the ones between the different motorcycle clubs. I also wish the interaction were a bit deeper.
Joker’s Fool is professionally edited, and I only noticed a few misplaced commas a one spelling error. The fast pace coupled with the shorter sentences had this book flying by without me realizing it was almost the end. Joker’s Fool is part of a series and is, in fact, the 8th book of the series. While I understood what was going on, I would recommend reading the whole series first. The other books are all M/F but from what I have gathered they all sound terrific.
A small disclaimer: there are many sensitive scenes in Joker's Fool and there is talk of abuse and torture. Joker has a lot of self-loathing and doubt about himself and who he is. It could be challenging or triggering for some to read.
I rate Joker’s Fool 3 out of 4 stars. This story was lovely, and the ending was beautiful. The struggles were real, and it heartens me to read more and more stories that aren’t of the ‘traditional’ variety. I would recommend Joker’s Fool to those seeking a new steamy read with a lot more depth than your regular romance.
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Joker's Fool (Satan's Devils MC)
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