Wow. It took me over 2 months of starting and stopping this one to get through it, which is actually very surprising as I’ve been pleased with much of Hope Stone’s Outlaw Riders Series.

This is the fifth book in the series. I actually read the sixth while I was still reading this one, because I had such a hard time getting through this one.

This is the story of Diego and Misty. Diego is starting a chapter of Outlaw Saints in a city away from LaPlaya. Misty is a local woman, studying to be a doctor. She has been involved in a relationship with a gang member before, and doesn’t want that life. Her brother, however is also the new President of the rival gang to Outlaw Souls.

Obviously, this is one of the hurdles between our two MCs.

It was very slow. The only personality traits that the author gave the main characters is that they are Latinx. I LOVE the inclusion of diverse characters, but it becomes a problem when all you do is use stereotypes and give them literally nothing else. The sex is even described as a “Spanish Explosion”. Diego is Argentinian. Misty is Puerto Rican. There is so much more to work with in those amazing cultures than stereotypes and being reminded, constantly that Misty is “a feisty Spanish woman” and Diego is a “hot Argentinian man”. I wish I would have counted the number of times this is referenced. I feel like we could have had more story, in less pages, without the constant reminder.

I also just wasn’t crazy about the book being about new characters. We have already met so many great Outlaw Soul characters, and this and the next book, Colt both involve completely new characters (and new locations). We do get a cameo appearance here from Ryder, Trainer and Jagger, but it’s not a great one. My favorite OS, Trainer doesn’t even speak. And we get no updates on how our girls are doing! I just would like to see the series continue more with the characters we already know, before branching out. This book actually felt like a completely different book. It doesn’t have the same feel as any of the previous OS books.

The sex scenes were also oddly written in this one. Maybe it’s been a while since reading a scene in one of Hope Stone’s books, but I don’t remember any of them feeling this off. “His touch led him all the way to the Garden of Eden”. What the fuck? That is just weird.

I will continue with the series. As I’ve said, I already have read ahead in this series, so I know it does get better. So far, however, for me it has yet to recapture the magic of Trainer or even of Ryder. I feel like the books were better in the beginning. I thought Ms. Stone was hitting her groove in the first four books, but something has changed and the previous books are far superior to both this one and Colt.

Here’s hoping that the magic of the earlier books is rekindled soon.