Lawless

Steel Demons MC, Book 1

By: Crystal Ash

Narrated by: Keira Stevens, Troy Duran

Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

The Collapse changed everything. Good men became killers. Strong women became property.

And every day turned into a fight for survival.

I once dreamed of becoming a nurse. That dream went up in flames the same day I graduated nursing school, when women were banned from holding any kind of medical license.

Now as an unlicensed medic, I travel what was once the southwestern United States, trading medical services for food, transportation, and shelter with the hopes of reaching Canada.

Because the United States is no more. And the lawless land that’s replaced it is a deadly place for a woman.

My worst fear comes true when I’m captured by the Steel Demons MC, the most ruthless biker gang in the Southwest. These men thrive on the violence and chaos brought on by the Collapse, and they’re eager to unleash it all on me.

It doesn’t even matter that the President’s dog likes me. I’m as good as dead.

Sons of Anarchy meets The Handmaid's Tale in this dystopian reverse harem adventure! This wild ride is not for the faint of heart and contains adult themes that may be triggering.

Listening order:

1. Lawless
2. Powerless
3. Fearless

©2019 Crystal Ash (P)2020 Crystal Ash

so good

Troy and Keira did an outstanding job on bringing this story to life and had me wanting to keep listening to find out what was gonna happen next and I highly suggest listening to this audiobook
"Sons of Anarchy meets The Handmaid's Tale" sounds about right. Dystopian future where the US Government has collapsed and states/provinces/territories are constantly at war to defend (or expand) their borders and 'topple the king' uprisings change who's in power. Leading up to "The Collapse" (the event), human rights were being stripped away, particularly for women and BIPOC. "Post-Collapse" there are no rights, laws, or protections that can be counted on, it's whoever is ruling the territory at the time for the law (or outlaws) of the land. Peoples' experiences leading up to and following the Collapse varied depending on where they were located, who was running their area and the state of the border wars, what privilege and protections were afforded to them, and what baser natures came to the surface. Everything devolves into lawlessness, predators vs prey, and in continual survivor-mode more so than living.

"The Collapse seemed to bring out the worst in everyone. Self-preservation became the only goal at the forefront of everyone's mind, which ironically, only led to more widespread suffering."

The story follows Mariposa, who was in school for her nursing degree when the Collapse happens. She makes it to graduation just before her local capitol is taken over and the new powers-that-be have forbidden women from holding any kind of medical license. She leaves East Texas to head West, bartering her medic skills and services for food, shelter, and supplies on her trek. She hopes to find a women's group or community that she can feel safe in or at least practice her nursing degree, providing medical aid to others, without fear of being imprisoned. Mariposa is a healer, not a fighter, but she's smart, fearless, and compassionate.

Our FMC (Mariposa or Mari) stops for a layover at a service center (I thought of it like a saloon with room and board, food, prostitutes called "service girls", and other services/trade depending on the location and who is there) near "Old Phoenix", where she trades her medic services for two week's room and board and also helping out the kitchen staff and cleaning. This is where our FMC meet the officers and small group of Steel Demons MC, as this service center is one of their regular stops for R&R on a supplies route. Mari has plenty of reasons to distrust and fear the MC given the rumors and general state of societal depravity.

MCs in this future are more like gangs than "clubs for enthusiasts", but the Steel Demons totally have a SOA vibe, and I love it! Some MCs have more autonomy than others, but are often used by the local powers-that-be in a disposable way.

"Why is their president called Reaper?" ... "Because seeing his club is a death omen. The minute you hear their bikes in the distances, someone's time is up." ... "The Steel Demons control the southwestern desert... and they didn't do that by asking nicely. Wherever they go, hell follows."

The FMC is kidnapped by the Steel Demons MC president, and she fears the worst. The not-so-spoilery-spoiler is that she finds things that she didn't think she would have again in this lifetime like friends, love, and hope for a better tomorrow. Her new fear is a broken heart. Mari is learning MC life and figuring out her place (what she wants and could she really call this her new home). The MC discovers a new threat/enemy to them, which becomes a major part of the plot carrying into the next book.

Multi-POV in this book is done really well. Even when it overlaps a scene, so you read it from two perspectives, I found that it was additive, not repetitive. Multi-POV adds great depth and dimension to the characters and the world-building. If we only saw things from the FMC POV, we would only have her assumptions, perceptions, and experiences to go off of, and with a story like this I think that would be very limiting and multi-POV is a richer experience for the reader. Each character does read uniquely, which I love and is a sign of a strong writer IMO. I also really liked how each character POV had a unique icon accompanying their name at the chapter headings. The author also does a really great job of developing things through actions and experiences, not just stating things at you.

The Hs: Reaper, Jandro, Gunner, Shadow - I grew to love them each for different reasons, definitely gain more depth from their POV chapters.

So obsessed

This story is killer. I love this dystopian world that was built and I LOVE the FMC. She’s not a fighter and doesn’t pretend to be, but still strong in her beliefs and convictions.

The production is perfect! Narrators did beautifully.

I am liking this MC series

I am liking the post world collapse MC series. I started listening and got hooked. Narrators are great I just wished the did the same sex voices. Keria did a great job playing both roles but Troy female voices not so good but man his male voices ..fan me.

A medic and Lawless land

Set in the 22nd century, the world is different as we know it.

Good character building, world building, and intense scenes.

The narrators did a great job!

Good story and Steam

This is a 5 star book in my opinion. I wish it was longer but the book was to good to reduce stars for that reason only. The sex scene is very well written and hot! The story kept me interested the entire time. The main female character starts off cringy but starts to show her strength and bravery more as the book progresses.

great narrators

great narrators to a great series. Keira Andrews and Troy Duran are my favorite male / female pair. Troy has a gift of making each man of harem voice distinct so you don't confuse them.

Very good listen!

Very interesting listen, keeps one wanting for more! Love how the story has been narrerated.

I totally have been missing out on this series!

Why haven't I read/listened to this series before now?!?! Holy moly I looooved books 1 through 3 of the Steel Demons MC book, I couldn't stop listening and cannot wait for book 4! This series sucks you in and won't let you go. I know the other books are out on ebook but I want to listen to them so I am dyingggg for more haha. The book hangover from these 3 was pretty bad, but totally worth it!

Story: I love how Mariposa is so stubborn and strong yet shows her vulnerable side here and there, especially when dealing with how men treat women and going to that next step with a guy/trusting them enough to move forward. I loved the various characters (main and side) and cannot wait to see what happens with some of them in future books! I won't go into who is my favorite but honestly it would be too hard. I think if I had to, my favorite guy from book 1 would be Jandro but Reaper after he gets the stick out from his butt is a close second haha. I am totally intrigued by Shadow and Gunner is sooo yummy hahaha. I thought Crystal did a phenomenal job really setting the stage in this book, without boring us with too many details/backstory. I mean I love that stuff, but it wasn't overdone/gave us some answers but left a lot unsaid. It is one of the better 1st book in a longer series I have read in awhile. Amazing job! I think some of the story had tough issues to go over, I mean this is a dystopian world where women are 2nd class and men can do whatever the heck they want to them without consequences. You know there are going to be some darker themes. I did get hit in the feels by a couple even in book 1, but they weren't throwaway scenes. Each one had intention and brought another element to the story, which I greatly appreciated.

Narration: I haven't listened to Troy Duran before but I thought he did a great job bringing the Steel Demons to life! He has a smokey (and super adaptable) tone that he can bring the grit up a notch, especially with Reaper and Shadow. He brought Gunner and Jandro's playboy personalities out, and their cheekiness haha. I thought the intonations/inflections were spot on. Couldn't be happier with his performance! I haven't listened to an audiobook with Keira Stevens either and again, she did a great job bringing Mariposa and the other side characters to life. I totally teared up with some of the darker parts in book 1 and the anguish you could feel and hear in her voice. 5/5 easily for the both of them.

I can easily say this series is a 5/5 for me so far, and the would definitely (and already have) recommend these audiobooks. I cannot wait for more and know this will be a re-listen series for sure. The Steel Demons aren't what you think they are, and their story just keeps getting better and better with each book ❤️ Oh and this animal companions.....so mysterious hahaha

An Unexpected Delight

I loved it! This is my first RH MC and it was so much better than I had hoped it would be. The setting is similar to the Handmaid’s Tale, and with just as much astuteness. The characters stories have depth, though they haven’t gotten into much detail yet. Along with the narrators whisking you off into their telling of the wonderful drama, this is a great story that is definitely far from lighthearted and a true possibility of where our world is heading.

Bada$$ woman in the lead

So I didn't really doubling into the summary before purchasing the book. It wasn't aware that the people in the book are kind of super-humanish. Some weird traits going on between humans and humans. Overall the story is engaging