Vendetta Road

Feehan’s overlong third Torpedo Ink romance (after Vengeance Road) teems with vigilante bikers and copious amounts of public sex. Isaak “Ice” Koval, secretary of the Torpedo Ink motorcycle club, is trailing suspected pedophiles on the Las Vegas strip when his gaze is snagged by a beautiful, unhappy-looking woman, the very sight of whom gives him his first natural erection in years. Ice is surprised when the same woman, orphaned heiress Soleil Brodeur, later stumbles into the biker bar where Torpedo Ink drinks, fleeing her physically abusive fiancé. Ice instantly puts her under his protection and the pair proceed to seduce one another over the course of the night, with Soleil eagerly committing to joining the motorcycle club lifestyle. Feehan’s thin plot is barely allowed to breathe between long chunks of backstory and explicit sexual encounters that don’t advance the narrative, and the investigation into the pedophile ring is dropped for long chunks of the book. Unlike Soleil, many readers will find Ice’s possessiveness (“You’re my property... Torpedo Ink will protect you”) disturbing rather than romantic. Teetering on the line between romance and erotica, this dramatic story will satisfy die-hard series fans, but turn off casual readers. Agent: Steven Axelrod, the Axelrod Agency. (Feb.)