Monday, August 14, 2017

Scott Hilbreth -- A Man And His Book

Scott Hildreth was born into this world early and plans on leaving late. Between his arrival and departure, he has written forty novels and has every intention of writing many more.

Despite falling in love with his wife, Jessica, late in life, Scott professes to be an authority on the subject of love, and his writing is a reflection of this belief.

His preferred careers of being a biker, military hero, mafia boss, boxer, vigilante, and tattoo artist will always be favorites, but as writing has become a full-time gig, he must live vicariously through the characters in his books who share his admiration for these professions.


The above blurb is copied from his Goodreads author page and I felt it would be helpful to read what he says about himself.  Scott is a new author for me -- not new in the sense that I had never encountered his books before, but for some reason that I can't recall, I have now started reading his work.  Not many books at this point, but I have now finished one of his biker MC series.

Set in So. California, this motorcycle club was started by a retired Navy SEAL with the club base set in Oceanside.  This immediately captured my attention since hubby and I lived in Temecula for 5 years and visited so many of the locations mentioned in these six books.  I think each of the books really can be read as a stand alone, but I found they linked together nicely.

BOBBI - Tate Reynolds was muscular, tattooed, and handsome. Seeing beyond his physical attributes allowed me to understand that the man beneath all the muscles was a compassionate, kind, and understanding romantic. I wanted him so bad I could taste it. There was only one real problem. 

He was an inmate in prison. 

And, I was a prison guard. 

TATE - Bobbi Madden was gorgeous. We talked every day for two months. During that time, I learned more about her than any other woman I'd ever met. I wanted to get my hands on her so bad I ached. 

But. Ex-cons and prison guards don't mix well in the real world. 

And, I was hopping on my Harley and heading back to the real world. 
If only... 


This is the 6th in the 6-book series and I have posted the cover here simply because it is the latest to be published.  The main character was mentioned briefly in previous books and centered around a man who was set up by the ATF because he was (1) a member of a 1% biker "gang," and (2) he had already spent 27 months in prison for a crime he didn't commit (as it turns out).  

The romance aspect of this story is slow to develop, but actually that was perfectly OK with me -- the character development was so well done that I really didn't mind that the two main characters sort of glanced off each other for a good portion of the story.  

All the stories in this series were captivating in their own way.  As mentioned already, I could picture so much of the background scenery because of my own personal history living in that area of So. California.  I was also fascinated with the fact that unlike so many of the 1% biker clubs, the Filthy Fuckers MC didn't indulge in illegal methods of making money for the club.  Now that didn't mean that they were opposed to skirting the law if that was called for, but they worked at their own professions and were focused on keeping their community free of drugs and functioning as sort of a shadow guardian organization.  The members of the FFMC all had their own reasons for joining, and exploring their issues and their journey toward more stable relationships were at the core of each of the books.

Scott Hildreth writes with a deft hand, uses language in a wonderful and totally readable fashion, and his books are well edited (poor editing is one of the issues that self-published authors seem to struggle with and one of my personal pet peeves).    I found the characters to be fascinating -- some were interesting because they were edgy and colorful in their actions and their conversations with other characters.  Some were interesting because their ordinariness stood in stark contrast to the characters that were, in many ways, out of step with anyone other than themselves.  Yet the stories brought these individuals together in a cohesive way and made the story move forward at a steady pace.

I happen to like biker romances.  Don't know why, and I am not going to spend much time trying to figure out the answer to that question.  I know that I am always fascinated with characters who set a path for themselves that is strictly their own, people who are undisturbed if others are upset or find their way of life disturbing.  Perhaps it is a source of good reading for me because I have often encountered  human distress and brokenness in my own profession so I am drawn to stories about people who discover a renewed energy for living through the restoring power of friendship and love.

I hope you can see your way clear to investigate Scott's writing.  There are a number of series available as well as single novels.  This particular series is terrific!!  I am delighted with this new reading discovery.  I hope you will be as well.