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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Killian's Masterpiece" by Jill Shannon.]

Killian's Masterpiece by Jill Shannon is a romance novel built around the power struggle between a motorcycle club and the mafia. Don Santoro spent years amassing a collection of priceless art, legally acquired and, more often, stolen by Rachel, the most talented art thief he knows and his daughter. After his entire collection is stolen at sea, he gives Rachel a two-week deadline to find out who orchestrated the heist and retrieve his pieces. Rachel acquiesces with the promise that after the art is recovered, she can step out of the life of crime that comes with being the daughter of a famous mob boss.

Rachel quickly hones in on the culprits and goes undercover as Angel Wings. Her first target is the vice president of the Celtic Demons motorcycle club, Killian Ramsey. Killian, or Yankee to his club, isn’t really interested in the stolen works of art. He just wants to use it as leverage to get Santoro and his drugs out of his club’s territory. A spark is instantly ignited between Angel and Yankee and they soon discover that they are both working toward similar goals.

Jill Shannon weaves a world of altruistic bikers going up against the infestation of drugs in their coastal town. She highlights the good that the men do for their community, mainly supporting the local economy and helping women and families in trouble. By doing this, she is able to create a gang of rugged and tough guys that are good at their core. In Angel, she creates a strong, intelligent woman who wants nothing more than to get out of the crime-filled life that circumstance pushed her into. They are the perfect elements to create an engaging modern romance novel.

Unfortunately, the book really fell flat for me. The sex starts early on and within hours of the main characters meeting; entirely before the reader could draw any attachment or real interest in their relationship. In their first encounter, Killian decides that Angel is a sexual submissive and despite her assertation that she isn’t, she starts calling him ‘sir’ completely unbidden. The dark romance, or BDSM, aspect to the book mostly centers around Killian spanking Angel for random reasons and demanding she not orgasm until he gives her permission. All the attention to repetitive orgasm denial and light bondage ensures that the plot doesn’t get as much attention as it needs. While there were a few twists and turns I didn’t anticipate, the Pollyannaish manner in which the book ended seemed rushed and too unbelievable.

It seems as if the novel was professionally edited but some annoying inconsistencies made it through the cracks. While on a boat and just about to go into port, Killian wakes Angel so she can watch the sun set over the ocean; unfortunately, this ignores the fact that the sun sets in the west and the book is set in South Carolina. There were also many instances of people shaking their heads in agreement instead of nodding. While I have no issue with plenty of sex in a romance novel, Shannon never got me invested enough in the characters to really care about them. Add in the constant unprotected sex with no mention of birth control, insta-love, and a flimsy Master/sub relationship and you don’t get a very compelling novel. I give Killian's Masterpiece a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. Readers who are into Sons of Anarchy and who want a more vanilla version of Fifty Shades of Grey (with better writing) would enjoy this book.

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Killian's Masterpiece
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The book sounds great! I have never read a book about gangs before so this will be an interesting read for me. Great review.

It becomes difficult to read the book if it is not properly connected to its main theme. Thanks for this honest review.

So this is the book with research errors, LOL. I feel like sometimes safe/proper BDSM relationships are not portrayed in mainstream fiction, which is such a pity. Thanks for the amazing review, nonetheless!

Thanks for a great review. U did good by pointing out what didnt get to you/.

I think I would probably have the same issues you did with the book. It's not for me, but I appreciate your candid review.

Well, you started out interesting enough with a motorcycle club and the mafia. But, it went downhill after that. It pretty much sounds like it's just about the sex. I'll pass. Thanks, though.

Thank you so much for this honest review. It gives me interest to read the whole book.

Thanks for another well-written, insightful review. I have never heard the phrase "shaking their heads in agreement" before. I wonder if this is a British way of saying nodding their heads. I am currently reading a novel by a British author and I've noticed many instances of what I think of as awkward phrasing. When I looked up a few of the phrases, I discovered the terms are commonly used in the UK.

The review started out so well! I was thoroughly intrigued by the premise and I am very disappointed that it wasn't well done. It is so difficult nowadays to get a premise that stands out, especially in the romance genre. I will probably still read this book, just because I do like the premise, and simply hope that I still enjoy it. Thanks!