Book: All's Fair in Love & Malice - Heathen Edition by Jenn Plummer
Reviewed by Suzy Wickedly Good Reads
Rating: 5/5
HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR MALICE'S BOOK. The completely unhinged member of the Heathens MC has been stealing scenes throughout this series, and I couldn't wait to find out what was underneath all that chaos. Apparently, the answer is heartbreak.
Malice (aka Crew) had a horrific childhood filled with neglect and trauma that went far beyond abuse. He was literally kept in a cage. Even the story behind how he got the name Crew had me wanting to grab the tissues. This book just hit differently than the others. Maybe it's because Malice feels like he's held together with duct tape and questionable life choices, yet somehow he's also the comic relief in almost every situation. He has absolutely NO filter. You never know what's going to come out of his mouth or what he's going to do next. He can go from carefree go with to completely off the chain in seconds. He lives in the “dungeon” beneath the clubhouse, has a revolving door of partners, doesn't particularly care which side of the equation he's on, and is pierced in places that actually had me stopping to Google a few things. Malice is...Malice. 😂
But then Rolo, his best friend, MC brother, and the man who once saved his life, is killed. And Malice breaks. Grief sends him into an incredibly dark place, teetering dangerously close to revenge he might not come back from. While making Rolo's funeral arrangements, he meets Monroe. Or, as Malice immediately decides to call her, Pixie. She's tiny, has rose-gold hair, and prepares bodies for burial at the funeral home. Naturally, Malice is smitten.
And what does a completely unhinged biker do when he thinks he's found the girl of his dreams? Break into her home and workplace and install cameras so he can watch her. You know. compeltely normal courtship behavior. (NOT CREEPY AT ALL, MALICE. 😂)
Maybe it's Monroe's profession. Maybe it's simply who she is. But Pixie takes Malice and all his many, MANY eccentricities remarkably in stride. Then you meet her family and suddenly it makes a little more sense. Monroe is 28 and the only biological child of parents, who went on to adopt seven more children, now ranging from 10 to 18. It's a wonderfully unconventional family filled with different personalities and needs, and her parents have created a home where being different isn't something that needs to be fixed. And somehow... Malice fits.
That's what got me. For all the outrageous behavior, filthy comments, violence, grief, and completely unfiltered Malice chaos, underneath it is Crew- a man who spent his childhood learning there was something wrong with him and that nowhere was truly safe. Then, he finds his Pixie. And with her comes this wonderfully accepting family that basically looks at everything that makes Malice Malice and makes room for him anyway. Watching this man finally find somewhere safe to land absolutely got me. Monroe doesn't magically “fix” him. Her family doesn't require him to suddenly become normal. They simply give him a place where his particular brand of weirdness isn't automatically a reason to reject him. I've loved Malice as the loose cannon and comic relief throughout this series. After this book? I love Crew. The duet style audiobook is amazing! Caden Hart & Keturah Quinn did an amazing job. Hands down, my favorite book in the series so far. 🖤🏍️