Melancholy

By: Bella Jewel

Narrated by: Stella Bloom, Charles Lawrence

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

"There's never been a time I've cared about anything more than my club. Today that all changed. Today I got you."

Maddox is the president of the Jokers' Wrath MC. He's hard, he's determined, and he's never had to give his heart over...until the day he found and saved Santana. Sassy and headstrong, she's given him a run for his money for a solid five years. Their tension has built, and both of them have danced around a passion that's burning so deep in their souls, it's all consuming. They want each other - they're just too stubborn to admit it. Heat, lust, and sassy natures will have them fighting against what's real. She's feisty, he's stubborn. But everything will change the moment she gets her first taste of the rugged, broody biker.

There's one problem with this story...Maddox has a secret. A secret he knows will crush Santana. It will take her life and spiral it out of control, sending them into a world of danger that will risk not only their lives but everyone in the club's, too. Will their love withstand the battle? Or will Maddox lose forever the only girl he's loved? This story is the second book in a series.

©2014 Bella Jewel (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Ugh. Really?

What disappointed you about Melancholy?

Santana, the main character was such an immature, selfish and whiny brat. It was hard to see what exactly anyone would like about her. I really did not understand what the connection between Santana and Maddox was. The petty fighting and pathetic jealousy between them got old quick. It was hard to believe that Maddox was a 30 year old man and a supposed Bikie President yet he acted like a sullen 16 year old.

What could Bella Jewel have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Made the characters a bit more mature and realistic.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

She really emphasised the whiny tone of Santana which made me want to punch something.

What character would you cut from Melancholy?

Santana!

Any additional comments?

Don't bother listening to this book. It was hours of self indulgent, self pitying tripe.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Oh my, too much drama for me

This second book of the jokers warth was sadder and more dramatic than the first. I got bored sometimes and coild not stand the beatings and fights often happening.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Emotionally charged story

Where does Melancholy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

After reading listening to Precarious, I HAD to know Maddox and Santana’s story. I mean OMG you can’t leave it like it did at the end of Precarious; it’s like OMG what happens next!

I am so glad it was on audiobook! I normally take a few days to listen to an audiobook but this time I just couldn’t, I finished it way into the night, I had to know!

Let me give a quick shout out to Stella Bloom and Charles Lawarence right now; even though Melancholy wasn’t in my preferred format, of Stella voicing all the females and Charles voicing all the males, I still LOVED their performances.

Melancholy is such an emotionally charged story with such raw gritty intensity, I just couldn’t stop listing! I loved every minute, every heart pounding, tear jerking, thrilling minute! Melancholy gets 5 HUGE Boundless stars from me. I love, loved, loved it! I am moving on directly to then next book in the series Anguish....Sara

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Absolutely enjoyed

I am very much impressed with this author and her ability to have an "edge of your seat" story along with some pretty hot moments, along while portraying and convincingly the stong emotions the alpha male feels for the woman.

This has been an amazing series and I'm very much looking forward to book three.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Love this series!

One of my fave series! Great narrators! Narrators are able to express the emotions so well!! Loved it!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Maddox best of them all!!!

I have to say Maddox made me tinkle (LOL). He was the definition of bad-boy. I love Santana but I have to say she did something that made me give this book score one star less than the first book. You will know what I'm talking about when you read it.

I do have to say being with Maddox you will have to be able to live that life. This book had more violent than the first. So get ready to enjoy the Joker's Wrath book two series.

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

a weak 2nd book but still an ok tale

ok I'm totally on the fence with this. Santana made me wanna drop kick her ass off a fucking 10 story building.

How many bullets does a chick in danger need to dodge before she gets smart and stops running away from safety in the middle of the freaking night ALONE? She was selfish and childish and was only worried about her own wants and needs. Maddox saved her ass and did everything he could for her own good. He was wrong for not telling her the truth but for fucks sake she was an asshole for not seeing how things were.

story 2.25
narrator 2.5

should have been a dual narration. there was one chapter from Maddox's pov and the chick narrated it. Totally left me thinking WTF!

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

THIS COMPELLING LISTEN TOTALLY ABSORBED ME

Maddox is the President of the Joker's Wrath MC which he loves and that comes with responsibilities and hard decisions but what's pushing him over the edge isn't Club business it's the other love in his life..... Santana, the young junkie he saved all those years ago. And now the feisty woman is making his blood boil, his pulse pound and his libido go into overdrive because he's living under the same roof as her and desperately wants to let her know how he feels and claim her but he daren't have her.... because he's keeping secrets - secrets that he's sure will destroy her, him and their relationship.

Santana had a terrible and tragic past but Maddox was her saviour but now she's an adult she's confused and sees him in a whole new light.... he's handsome, sexy, has a body to die for and his mere presence makes her tingle and become aware. But aware of what because all they do is verbally bicker, bitch and fight and just when she thinks there's more between them Maddox, once again, turns to the Club's Whores. However, just when she rebels and rejects, her life is suddenly plunged into danger, bullets fly, the deadly threats increase and tempers rise but so too does the unquenched passion between them until it ignites and finally explodes.... but then she unlocks Pandora's Box and the awful heartbreaking secrets come tumbling out.

You can feel the tension and fired-up sexual chemistry build between Maddox and Santana as they verbally spar, throw hurtful looks and taunt each other which isn't really meant to wound the other and yet it does as their relationship spirals downwards. Then comes the final straw that breaks Maddox's tightly held back raw gut-wrenching feelings that he has for Santana which leads to an all too brief time of guilt-ridden euphoria when finally they share their thoughts, their feelings and their bodies. But all too soon he's suddenly plunged into a deadly gang nightmare which leads to a daring rescue that'll lead to betrayal, torture, death, destruction and a fight, on foreign soil, not only to win but to stay alive too.

Thankfully, I had very few pauses at the times when my own life would briefly interfere and stop all the emotional, sexual and deadly action playing out in my head which totally consumed me and so it was almost a non-stop, exciting, emotionally-packed, addictive and entertaining listen. There's the typical biker lifestyle filled with hot leather-clad Alphas with high sex drives, tempers and a tight brotherhood mentality, plenty of angst and drama and it was a very touching push/pull love story that had its funny parts too. Santana is young but she's no pushover and when she finally knows what she wants she lets nothing stand in her way to get it..... not even stubborn Maddox but she'll eventually have to try even harder to keep it. Dual POV's, good narrators and a full cast of loveable secondary characters.

Worth a credit? I felt involved, invested, wowed and thoroughly entertained.... so, of course it has to be a YES. And Bella Jewel thank you - you did it again... now can I have the next one pretty please.

6 of 11 people found this review helpful

Good story but bored of it quickly

I have listened to the others in this series and rated them well, but they really should switch up there narrators for any book series (not just this one), because it all began to sound very samey, hence the lower star.