Official Review: Joker's Fool (Satan's Devils MC)

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JR Mercier
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Official Review: Joker's Fool (Satan's Devils MC)

Post by JR Mercier »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Joker's Fool (Satan's Devils MC)" by Manda Mellett.]
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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.

******
Joker's Fool (Satan's Devils MC)
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Debjani Ghosh
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Post by Debjani Ghosh »

This seems to be an unconventional romance story. As I have never ventured out of the box, I will like to take the first step by picking up this book. Thanks for the review!
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JR Mercier
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Post by JR Mercier »

Debjani Ghosh wrote: 24 Sep 2018, 01:35 This seems to be an unconventional romance story. As I have never ventured out of the box, I will like to take the first step by picking up this book. Thanks for the review!
I am very glad you are branching out when it comes to romance and I hope you enjoy it. :tiphat:
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Georgia Lyonhyde
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Post by Georgia Lyonhyde »

There are a few punctuation errors in your review that seemed to have been missed by the review editing team. Devils MC should have an apostrophe in the first paragraph, and towards the end of the same paragraph you write Devils when it should have the apostrophe. Also when you are speaking of the errors you found in the novel, you have written 'a' instead of 'and'.

That aside, I liked your review and now find myself sitting on the fence about this book. It certainly is a different perspective on things to have a same sex couple but I'm really shallow and finding it hard to get over the names. I'm also a bit disappointed that you mention the neglect of other characters and lack of descriptions. I prefer well developed characters for the most part.

I think I would read this book if I was looking for a change to my normal literature rather than because I am intrigued to see how the story plays out.
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Post by daydreaming reader »

I love that there isn't any fluff. As the 8th in a series though, I definitely have a lot of reading to do before I reach this book. Thank you for your thorough review.
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JR Mercier
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Post by JR Mercier »

daydreaming reader wrote: 24 Sep 2018, 20:00 I love that there isn't any fluff. As the 8th in a series though, I definitely have a lot of reading to do before I reach this book. Thank you for your thorough review.
I get that. :lol2: Usually when I find a big series that I want to read I'm filled with dread but also a ton of excitement. I hope you enjoy and thank you for commenting. :tiphat:
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Post by topdan30 »

Your review really make me wanna read this book. will sure give it a try. Thanks for an interesting review
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JR Mercier
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Post by JR Mercier »

topdan30 wrote: 01 Oct 2018, 07:49 Your review really make me wanna read this book. will sure give it a try. Thanks for an interesting review
:lol2: I'm glad I helped and thank you for commenting.
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Post by Sweetp120 »

Was definitely surprised when I read that you stated this was a m/m romance novel but at the same time intrigued for the points you made it the spot this book is very untraditional romance but it hits realistic points of feelings dealt by someone in the gay community. I would honestly say that, although not gay myself but happily married with my own first born son, this would be a good reminder to accept others for who they are and to not let others make you feel like you cant be yourself. I truly think it is awesome that you mention that this book could be a trigger for some people as often times people do not think about things such as this for other prospective readers. thank you for the share!
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JR Mercier
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Post by JR Mercier »

Sweetp120 wrote: 08 Oct 2018, 12:16 Was definitely surprised when I read that you stated this was a m/m romance novel but at the same time intrigued for the points you made it the spot this book is very untraditional romance but it hits realistic points of feelings dealt by someone in the gay community. I would honestly say that, although not gay myself but happily married with my own first born son, this would be a good reminder to accept others for who they are and to not let others make you feel like you cant be yourself. I truly think it is awesome that you mention that this book could be a trigger for some people as often times people do not think about things such as this for other prospective readers. thank you for the share!
Thank you for such a kind and understanding comment. It's very hard to imagine ourselves in other peoples shoe but I believe books are the perfect place experience different types of people and to learn about their struggles. Thank you, again, for such a wonderful comment.
Dream up something wild and improbable.
-Strange The Dreamer, Laini Taylor
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