Answering Atlas
Chantal Fernando’s Answering Atlas didn’t quite, as the saying goes, hit rock bottom and then start digging. But it certainly put a big hole in the middle of the yard and put a major leak in the sewer line.
Natalie Ward is the daughter of a motorcycle club leader, so the one thing she knows is that she absolutely will not date a biker. I don’t really know why – her dad adores her mother, Natalie loves bikes, and she’s fine with club life – but hey, we need a separation device. Atlas, who probably has a last name but I don’t remember or care, is of course a biker for another MC. But don’t worry; it’s not a rival MC – in fact, the two clubs (the Knights of Fury and the Wind Dragons) are super cozy. The only conflict here is that Atlas’s feelings were hurt when Natalie told him she wouldn’t date a biker, and she has to grovel for a while and apologize for stereotyping him. Just to make sure Natalie learns her lesson, the author makes sure Natalie’s lawyer coworker, with whom she goes out for after-work drinks, turns out to be an egregious serial sexual harasser. That will teach all of us to be wary of men who join misogynist semi-illegal gangs!
And then things get bad.
See, Natalie is a lawyer. And her firm is hired to bail a guy out of jail who turns out to have shot Natalie’s sister in a previous book and is currently trying to murder members of both MCs. (If you have not been keeping up with this series, and for your sake I hope that is the case, you will not have any idea who these people are, nor will you be able to keep track if you do figure it out). Natalie faces a huge ethical dilemma: knowing the MCs have been looking for this guy, should she tell them he’s in jail and will be getting out soon?
Yes, that’s right. The ethical dilemma is NOT whether or not to advocate for bail for someone with a literal hit list. It is when and whether or not to tell the MCs, including her hookup and her family, that she has done so. Let me tell you – if my sister argued for bail for the man who shot me, my complaint would NOT be the timing of when she told me about it.
And then things get worse.
MCs are tough, violent guys. We can tell because, upon finding out that Mr. Murder is out on bail, the MCs watch him very closely. No, they don’t DO anything. But boy, do they watch him, until they don’t, and a bunch of characters die. I’ll give the author credit for originality, because rarely does Too Stupid To Live behavior actually result in the stupid characters not living. But personally, I’d prefer that they just… not be morons? Because books about morons who get their friends and relatives killed are not really for me.
‘Answering Atlas is an average/C grade book that manages to make itself worse’ is not exactly the kind of cover quote that would sell books, but it’s honest. Do with this information what you will.
I'm a history geek and educator, and I've lived in five different countries in North America, Asia, and Europe. In addition to the usual subgenres, I'm partial to YA, Sci-fi/Fantasy, and graphic novels. I love to cook.
Book Details
Reviewer: | Caroline Russomanno |
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Review Date: | March 18, 2023 |
Publication Date: | 02/2023 |
Grade: | D |
Sensuality | Warm |
Book Type: | Contemporary Romance |
Review Tags: | Knights and Dragons MC series | Motorcycle Club Romance |
You win the “Best Opening Paragraph of a Review” award.
Thanks! :)
Chantal Fernando’s Answering Atlas didn’t quite, as the saying goes, hit rock bottom and then start digging. But it certainly put a big hole in the middle of the yard and put a major leak in the sewer line.
CAROLINE THIS OPENING LINE I ABOUT DIED LAUGHING!
I am verry very picky about MC books and very few authors have managed to write this trope without getting under my skin. The pure research fail here is ridiculous- Natalie is personally involved in the case, no way would she not be called upon to recuse herself. Also her sister should disown her. Also Also I have not read a single word the hero has said but I hate him.
Also WIND DRAGON AN MC NAMED WINDRAGON?!
When I don’t have fun with the book I try to have fun with the review!
Relatable!
Agreed! Because I do like some MC romances, Fernando’s books have popped up occasionally on my Kindle recommendations. I did try one. I can’t remember the title—or even if it was an MC romance—and I’m too lazy to look for it now, but I knew it wasn’t for me within the first few pages: a woman’s husband (he was a cop, iirc) has been missing for 18 months, but because his body had never been found, there had been no investigation into his whereabouts or if the money in his bank account had been touched during that time. Wtf? An investigation starts when a person is reported missing, not when the body is found! I figured if Fernando couldn’t even arse herself (as the English say) to get that aspect of investigatory procedure correct, I couldn’t arse myself to read her book! Add to that plodding pace, inconsistent characters, and unimaginative writing, and I knew she wasn’t for me. It’s a shame because her backlist is huge (some people must enjoy reading her) and the plot summaries make her books seems interesting, but she isn’t for me.
*psst!* – it’s “can’t (couldn’t) be arsed” ;)
Well, I haven’t lived in England since 1968, so I stand corrected! Lol
You’re forgiven :) I don’t know it it was even an expression back then!
Probably wasn’t. I’ve heard family members use it—since the 1960s.