Alone on Earth by Susan Fanetti Series: Signal Bend #4
Published by Createspace on February 28th 2014
Amazon
Signal Bend, Missouri and the Night Horde MC gained notoriety after a shootout on Main Street brought down major players in the Midwest meth trade. The media have turned the Horde into folk heroes, and Hollywood wants a piece of that action.
Riley Chase is America's Sweetheart, with a starring role on a popular television series, and now she's the lead actress in the movie about Signal Bend. In Hollywood she's hounded by the press, without the luxury of privacy or secrets, forced to play out her most intimate moments, even tragic ones, on a public stage. In Signal Bend, she's nearly anonymous, able to discover who she is behind her image.
Bart Elstad is the Horde Intelligence Officer. His responsibility is to keep the club's secrets buried, especially while the world is looking their way with a long distance lens. He's in charge of the actors while they're in town to research their roles.
Bart and Riley forge a quick but intense connection. A casual connection without expectations soon deepens, far more than either of them could have predicted. He sees the woman behind the starshine. She sees the man under the leather. Two very different worlds merge for a brief moment, but reality can't be suspended forever.
Chaos breaks loose both within and beyond the club. Tensions that have been simmering boil over, with catastrophic consequences. The Horde's most powerful allies, concerned that their secrets might be exposed in the spotlight of fame, become dangerous enemies. Riley gets caught in the middle. With the future of the Horde in the balance, Bart makes a sacrifice that will change the club, and his life, forever.
Note: Explicit sex and violence.
I love the Signal Bend series. Susan Fanetti has a way of keeping me on edge whenever I read her books. I know I can never get too complacent because she will rip the rug right out from under my feet in a heartbeat. This isn’t your mama’s cute little oh-look-I-found-me-a-sweet-bearded-biker-let’s-ride-off-into-the-sunset romance series. It’s raw, passionate, and gut wrenching, and I can’t get enough of it. Alone on Earth tells Bart’s story.
There were a few things that separated Bart from the rest of the Horde. His love of gaming, his collection of comic books and science fiction and fantasy books, his lack of interest in football (he liked soccer and rugby), his college degree, and the fact that Signal Bend was not his hometown.
Bart, the clean-shaven e-geek, seems to be the very antithesis of a stereotypical biker. Yet despite his progressive Kickstarter campaign to save Signal Bend and his crush on movie star Riley Chase, he proves himself to be a loyal Horde badass over and over.
It was difficult to get onboard the Riley/Bart insta-love train, but I really enjoyed their chemistry. I liked Riley and was by no means bored by her story, but of the two there’s no question that Bart is the more fascinating character. I wish Fanetti hadn’t lingered so long on Riley’s issues and sped through Bart’s plot in the final quarter of the book though. I felt slighted.
The series’ signature tension, violence, and heart are all present, and as usual Susan Fanetti’s writing skills are phenomenal. I adore Lilli, Isaac, and Show, and I know they are the central figures in the Signal Bend series. However, I hope Bart is featured prominently in future books because he deserves to have more of his story told.
About Susan Fanetti
I was born and raised in the Midwest–Missouri, to be precise. A few years ago, I was transplanted into the dusty soil of Northern California and have apparently taken root there. An inveterate geek and gamer, I am a fan of many things considered pop culture and maybe even lowbrow.
As a reader, my favorite genres are science fiction and fantasy, but as a writer, I’ve found my home in romance–or perhaps it’s better to say simply “love stories.” I have a yen to try other genres, too, at some point, but for now my muse wants to tell stories about lovers and families.
I write for the joy of it, and I write stories that I want to read. If others like them, too, that’s just the cherry on top. I’m not interested in rules and formulae. I follow my muse and my characters and let them take me where they want to go, wherever that might be. I like big emotions, dark and light.
I like complicated characters with flaws and weaknesses as well as strengths, and I like each character’s strengths and weaknesses to be different from those of other characters. I’m much more concerned that my characters be interesting and diverse than that they be widely considered to be likable. I try to create people, not types.
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