Blog Tour: Saving Dallas Making the Cut by Kim Jones

Kim Jones is a personal friend to Raw Books and we love her immensely. Kim has a gift for storytelling, and it’s no different when she puts it on paper than when she entertains you in person. Kim Jones is a talented writer and we love the Saving Dallas series. For our reviews of Saving Dallas, Book 1, please go here.

5 out of 5

As Kim’s editor you may think that I am biased when it comes to reviewing her work, but I wouldn’t be her editor if I didn’t believe in her as a writer. And Kim is an amazing writer and storyteller; both drunk and sober. Making the Cut answered a lot of questions and resolved a lot of issues from the first book and the reveals were handled fantastically. Luke and Dallas have a scorching hot relationship, but it has been plagued with club business and others’ interference. Dallas has grown so much since we met her in Saving Dallas.

In the beginning of this saga, no one liked Dallas. Which was totally understandable, what with her being the bitch that she felt she needed to be to protect herself. Luke, and the Club, show Dallas another way to be and she steps up and shows that she understands the loyalty and love that come with life in the Club. Dallas deals with a lot of heavy shit in this book, and Kim did a great job of handling the emotional turmoil of the characters while also keeping me riveted on what would happen next without dragging out the angst or taking away from the love story between Luke and Dallas. Kim Jones is a talented new voice in the Indie book community and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. I am confident that whatever she writes will not only be a great story, but will be scorching hot. Kim writes damn good sex scenes that never fail to make me hot and bothered.

I am waiting just as impatiently as the rest of her readers for Saving Dallas: Forever which we can expect by early 2014. Maybe sooner, if I get my way in convincing Kim that letting me lock her in my guest room until she finishes writing is a great idea. I promised to feed her and everything. I’ll keep you posted on my efforts.

5 out of 5

Making The Cut was so damn good that I had a book hangover for two days after I finished reading it. Going forward, every single MC book I read will be compared to this one. I want to spend this whole review being a gushing incoherent fan girl, but I will try to refrain.

Kim Jones delivered a hard core, but kick ass story about the MC. Making The Cut picks up where Saving Dallas leaves off, and all of the unanswered questions are resolved. By the way, WOW, some serious shit that I definitely did not expect! While there is a third book scheduled (hurry, hurry Kim!), this one does not leave off with as heavy as a cliffhanger, though I have a feeling we’re in for some more twists.

Luke/LLC and Dallas are smoking hot together. Luke is the requisite alpha male and is supremely drool worthy. Dallas is full of attitude, and from the outside looking in probably comes off as a total bitch, but she’s the kind of bitch you wish you could get away with being, and I couldn’t imagine anyone being a more perfect match for Luke.

So, now I’m going to have my fan girl moment. It is a testament to the author’s skills when their story is so enthralling that the lines between fantasy and reality get blurred to the point that if I pull my face out of my kindle that it takes me a moment to figure out what is going on around me. Kim Jones has a true gift and I hope to see many more books from her.

Bonus Scene

LUKE

I stood in the doorway, helpless as the woman that I had devoted my life to lay lifelessly in the bed before me. Her nightmares were so frequent that I was afraid to even leave the room for fear she would wake and I wouldn’t be there. It had to be well past two in the morning, and my body was now running on adrenaline alone. Less than twenty-four hours ago my girl was being sexually assaulted by a man that I once called my friend. I felt my grip tighten around the coffee mug I held in my hand.

Breathe Luke.

Breathe.

The last thing I needed was to harm a part of myself in a way that would prevent me from holding her when she needed me. My hands no longer belonged to me. My eyes were only for her, and my heart was held in the tiny palms of the hands of Dallas Knox. I had no idea what they had done to her. Earlier, as I had washed her broken, dirty, battered body, I noticed the way she cringed when my hands fell to the places where she once enjoyed my touch. He had touched her. He had put his hands on something that was mine. I knew I sounded like some kind of barbarian getting territorial over my property, but that was not the reason I was so pissed. I was pissed because they had stole something from her that she would never be able to get back. Her pride, dignity and her right to say who could touch her had been taken. She was now a broken woman and I would spend my last days on Earth piecing her back together.

“Luke.” I heard her whisper in her sleep. I knew a nightmare was soon to follow. She often called out my name as if she was preparing me for what was to come, although I knew that was not possible. If Dallas could control the torturous dreams she would.

I sat down my now cold coffee on the night stand and climbed into bed behind her. I was no longer the man I once was. Many people who saw me every day in my cut, proudly sporting that Devil’s Renegades patch would not think that I had succumbed to a man who was willing to cradle his woman like a baby just to reassure her she was safe. Some would say I was losing my edge, or going soft, but that was not the case. Dallas might have my heart, but the blood that ran through my veins was cold. Frankie would die and it would be me who pulled the trigger to end his life, if he was lucky. I would much rather cover him in peanut butter and bury him alive in an ant hill somewhere, but I would probably be forced to take a more humane route. I felt Dallas’ small frame curl deep into the mattress and I was pulled from my thoughts of Frankie and back into the situation at hand.

“Please.” I heard Dallas cry as her body started to convulse into shudders that made my heart clench and my eyes fill with tears.

“I’m here, baby. I’m here.” I turned her to me and buried her face in my chest, rocking us back and forth as I whispered reassurances in her ear. I felt her body take a sudden deep breath and I squeezed my eyes shut at what I knew was to come.

Screams.

Loud, blood curdling screams echoed off the walls of the bedroom. I pulled her closer, tilting her head back so I could look in her face as I shook her gently, waking her.

“Dallas. Wake up, baby. You are safe. No one can hurt you anymore.” I had said the words so many times, but each time hurt just as much as the first. When her beautiful green eyes opened up to me, I could see the sorrow that filled them. Her right eye was barely visible through her swollen lid that was so many shades of blue and purple that it looked almost unreal. Sobbing always came next, and this time was no different. It was like she was ashamed to look at me, and the thought made me a die a little on the inside. I rubbed her hair continuously until her breathing slowed and I was sure she knew she was safe. We had followed this same pattern every few hours for the last day. I knew she would request something to drink, and since I couldn’t leave her alone for even a moment, and she wouldn’t go by herself, I cradled her in my arms and carried her to the kitchen with me. I had become an expert at maneuvering around with her in my arms. With her legs wrapped around my waist, and her arms wrapped around my neck, I moved around the kitchen to service her every need.

Water.

Pain reliever.

More water.

Another round of tears, as her need for me sunk in.

Apologies from her.

Apologies from me.

Reassurances from her.

Reassurances from me.

Bathroom.

Back to bed.

As I carried her down the hall and to the bathroom, my anger flared, just as it always did. My strong, independent, talented, thoughtful, wonderful girl couldn’t even take a piss on her own without fearing for her life. Yes, Frankie the Cutter was going to die, and the pleasure was gonna be all mine.

She went searching for a one night stand and ended up falling in love with Luke Carmical, President of the Devil’s Renegades Motorcycle Club. Now she must decide how to handle the aftermath of Frankie’s brutal assault and the knowledge that Luke has been lying to her- about everything. Secrets are revealed and more lies exposed as Dallas Knox, CEO of Knox Companies, becomes more involved in the MC. She wonders if this life is enough for her, if this family is really what she wants. When circumstances present her with an unusual twist of fate, Dallas knows without a doubt, that this is the family she has longed for. New problems occur, traumatic events take place and lives hang in the balance as Dallas has to decide what is really most important in life.

The journey is long.

The outcome is uncertain.

Can she make the cut?

Kim Jones is a writer with big dreams and a creative imagination. Her infatuation with the MC lifestyle inspired her to write a short story about a love affair between a prestigious young woman and a bad-ass biker. After falling in love with her characters, she turned the ten-thousand word short story into a novel. Juggling her full time job as a payroll clerk, her writing, and her role as ol’lady to her husband, Reggie, her first novel, Saving Dallas, was published in May of 2013.

Kim resides in Collins, MS with her husband and two dogs. She plans to write three books in the Saving Dallas series. The final book will be released in early 2014.

Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website