Hell on Wheels: Black Knights Inc. [Kindle Edition]

Julie Ann Walker (Author)

Book Description

Black Knights Inc.—Behind the facade of their tricked–out motorcycle shop is an elite special ops team assigned the jobs too hot for anyone else to handle.

Hold On Tight...

Ex–Marine Nate "Ghost" Weller is an expert at keeping his cool—and his distance—which makes him one hell of a sniper. It's also how he keeps his feelings for Ali Morgan in check. Sweet, sexy Ali has always revved his engine, but she's his best friend's baby sister...and totally off limits.

Rough Road Ahead

Ali's never seen anything sexier than Nate Weller straddling his custom Harley—or the flash of danger in his eyes when she tells him she's in trouble. First something happened to her brother, and now she's become the target of a nasty international organization. With Nate, her life is in the most capable hands possible—but her heart is another story altogether.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In her riveting debut, Walker delivers a mystery laced with red-hot romance." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

About the Author

Julie Ann Walker is a full-time author of wickedly sexy romantic suspense novels. Her debut, Hell on Wheels, marked the beginning of the Black Knights, Inc., series. A former high school math teacher, Julie Ann lives in Chicago with her husband. Abby Craden works in all aspects of voice-over and can be heard in numerous commercials, animation, video games, and audiobooks. AudioFile magazine has awarded her an Earphones Award as well as named her One of 2012's Best Voices. Abby is an award-winning stage actress and a resident artist with the prestigious theaters A Noise Within and the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Los Angeles. She also works in film and can be seen in the Emmy Award-winning documentary Bloody Thursday. Abby hails from the East Coast and currently lives in Los Angeles.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 566 KB
• Print Length: 380 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1402267134
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (August 1, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008B8A8JQ
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,144 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #44 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Military

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Explosive New Series!!! August 11, 2012

By Carla Gallway

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Carla's Review:
HELL ON WHEELS is the first book in Julie Ann Walker's new Black Knights Inc series and what an amazing new series this is!!!

I am a huge fan of romantic suspense so when I came across these books on Amazon, I knew I had to read them. I was extremely lucky to gets ARCs of the first three books in the series and I am so happy I did. Once I finished the first book I couldn't wait to start the second. I ended up reading all three books in 2 days. I am a sucker for tortured heroes and the "big brothers best friend" relationship so this book was right up my alley.

Black Knights Inc is a group of ex-military men working as a top secret private agency under the guise of a motorcycle shop that is owned by Becky "Rebel" Reichert, who is one of the team members younger sister.

This is the story of Nate "Ghost" Weller and his best friend Grigg Morgan's baby sister, Ali Morgan. Nate has always been attracted to Ali since the very first day he met her. He was also threatened by Grigg that very moment he met Ali that Grigg would kill him if he ever touched her LOL. So, Nate has always tried to limit his time near Ali so she would never find out how he felt. Now that Grigg is gone, Nate still feels obligated to not betray his best friend and stay away from Ali. Nate is also tormented by Griggs death and feels extremely guilty. After delivering the news of Grigg's death to Ali and her parents, Nate and Ali share comfort with each other. He knows now, more than ever that anything between him and Ali could never be, because when she finds out the truth about what really happened to Grigg, she'll never forgive him. Nate decides to just leave Ali alone. That is until Ali shows up at the Black Knights Headquarters and needs protection.

Ali Morgan is an innocent kindergarten teacher. She has always been attracted to Nate, her older brothers best friend. But Nate has never even given Ali a second glance or has barely even held a full conversation with her, leading her to believe that he doesn't really like her. After Ali is mugged and attacked she decides to go to the Black Knights Headquarters and ask Nate for his help. Ali doesn't know much about Black Knights or what they do because Grigg could never tell her the full truth, but she knows her brother was involved in something. A big something that has now gotten her on the bad guys hit list and only Nate will be able to find out what Grigg was involved in and help keep her safe.

The chemistry between Nate & Ali was scorching. I couldn't wait for Nate to finally give into his feelings. Ali has always known Nate to be surly and a man of very few words and emotions. As Nate starts to break down, Ali is surprised to find out that he actually likes her, and is surprised when Nate reveals his true feelings to her.

The story of Nate and Griggs past and the truth about what really happened was heartbreaking. I was in tears when we finally find out the truth, and the horrors of what Nate and Grigg had endured and what Nate was keeping secret from Ali.

We also learn a lot about the secondary characters and I fell in love with them as well. There's Frank "Boss" Knight who runs Black Knights Inc.. We learn that Frank is secretly pining for Becky but will never allow himself to make a move on her for many reasons, two of which are, he's 13 years older than her and her boss. I instantly fell in love with Ethan "Ozzie" Sykes who is the light hearted, geeky computer tech of the group. There's also Becky's older brother, Bill "Wild Bill" Reichert and Dan "The Man" Currington who is married to Patti, Black Knights secretary. There is a horrible, heart breaking event that occurs with Dan & Patti that had me crying my eyes out again!!

All in all, this was a great start to a new series and it has now become one of my top favorite series. I cannot wait to get my hands on more Black Knights Inc. books!!

I give HELL ON WHEELS 5 out of 5 stars

78 of 92 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Puh-lease September 12, 2012

By vcameron

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

**spoiler alert** In light of all the great reviews, this was disappointing and underwhelming on many levels. First of all, I know this is a romance novel and that the tactical/militaristic aspects in any story like this are supposed to take a backseat to that, BUT- the Knights were pretty lame. I get that the whole motorcycle operation is supposed to be a sexy backdrop for their super secret cover, but come on, doing missions on motorcycles? There is absolutely NO tactical advantage to carrying out the type of missions they are supposed to be effecting while riding a motorcycle. You have no cover from from live fire and HELLO, they are supposedly riding Harley-style bikes, which are a) really friggin' loud (perfect for stealth situations - insert sarcasm) b) really heavy and not easily maneuverable and c) they are attention grabbers, especially when they are custom made and tricked out like Phantom (seriously?) apparently was - not really ideal when you are trying to blend in.

Also, despite being a "covert" special ops group, everyone seemed to know what they do and they ridiculously hang out at a biker bar. How cliche. It's almost as if the bar scene was added for - what purpose again? - oh yeah, so Ali could see Delilah (a one scene wonder) wrap her arms around Nate and make him laugh about something she says. Cause apparently in 12 years of knowing him, Ali's never seen him laugh so hard and she spends the rest of the book nagging him about what Delilah said to him that made him laugh. Cause we are in middle school apparently. Nevermind that they are in a life or death situation - she doesn't want to know what their next move is or anything like that, she wants to know what some random chick at a bar said to make him laugh. Ludicrous.

But alas, ludicrous moments like this absolutely saturate the book. When they are in the tree house to get the all important zip drive (the item carrying the spindly premise of the entire plot on its back), do they make haste and get in and out because they know people are tailing them? No, of course not! They decide instead to get nostalgic and talk about Ali's childhood, her lack of proper parental affection, her first kiss, and how much they miss Grigg. When Nate subsequently gets SHOT after an assassin comes after them as they depart said tree house- in Ali's parent's back yard no less - does he do any wazoo cool sniper shit to get them to safety? No, he takes them to your run of the mill motel, has Ali buy the room and then offhandedly tells her, oh yeah, don't forget to use an alias.

W. T. F.

This guy and his crew of misfits are supposed to be bad-ass military men? Alpha men they are not and, I'm sorry, I just didn't buy it.

Typically, however, I can set aside issues that bother me like this when there is a damn good romance playing out in spite of such common sense driven shortcomings, but even THAT is missing. Ali and Nate have no chemistry, no spark, and virtually no dialogue. Despite having known each other for so long, they even admit in the book that they don't really even know each other. Nate is so hot and cold in both his demeanor and his characterization and Ali, who starts off pretty strong, seems to get dumber and more annoying as the story wears on. I mean who actually uses, "crapola" "sheesh" "erp" "gosh darn" and "h-e-double hockey sticks" in not one, but multiple sentences? I get that she's a kindergarten teacher, but seriously.

And it's always a red flag when a sidekick romance sizzles more than the main attraction. Frank and Becky had more sexual tension and spark between them in one scene than Nate/Ali had throughout the entire book. And in fact, the book was so disjointed that I think Frank/Becky HAD just as many scenes as Ali/Nate - which I get, you are trying to create interest for the next book; but when it's done at the expense of THIS book's focal point - which it was - it makes me not WANT to read the next one - which I won't

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A thunderous read! August 9, 2012

By Kim Adams

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The perfect man? A poet on a motorcycle. ~Lucinda Williams

Julie Ann Walker roars on to the Romantic Suspense scene with her new series, Black Knight Inc. - special ops personnel turned private security company. They "hide" in plain sight as a custom motorcycle shop outside Chicago. HELL ON WHEELS, Book One, kicks off with a mission gone wrong, a promise made to a fallen friend, and the violence spilling over to a family member. Nate, aka The Ghost, steps out of the shadows to protect Ali, his dead buddy's sister. Nate may not read poetry, but Ali can't help but find him very appealing as the perfect man.

The ensuing ride takes the reluctant hero and the sexy sister through the gut wrenching notification of a brother's death, riveting action as they evade a nefarious organization, and an emotional connection that leads to their HEA.

HELL ON WHEELS is everything a reader could want from a romantic suspense - a tortured Aloha hero, "burning rubber" passionate encounters, and thrill-a-minute action that left me breathless.

I received an ARC from the publisher for this review.

More About the Author

Julie Ann Walker is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Black Knights Inc. romantic suspense series. She is prone to spouting movie quotes and song lyrics. She'll never say no to sharing a glass of wine or going for a long walk. She prefers impromptu travel over the scheduled kind, and she takes her coffee with milk. You can find her on her bicycle along the lake shore in Chicago or blasting away at her keyboard, trying to wrangle her capricious imagination into submission.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#43 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Suspense

#49 in Books > Romance > Romantic Suspense

#43 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Suspense

#49 in Books > Romance > Romantic Suspense