Monday Book Review: Arresting Mason, by Amber Daulton

Arresting Mason, by Amber Daulton
Published by The Wild Rose Press, April 2018

About the Book:

Once you’re in a prison gang, you’re in it for life. That’s what Mason Harding thought until the boss accepted his resignation. After the State releases him on parole, a sexy divorcée behind the wheel of a car almost ends his life quicker than a shank. His chance encounter with Mia Eddison results in a night of passion, but her brother—his parole officer—catches them together and doesn’t approve.

Mia falls hard for the cocky ex-con, but not because of his chiseled body. She vows to break through his walls and discover his secrets, but never expects those secrets to threaten her life. 

When members of an organized crime ring kidnap Mia to force Mason’s return to the gang, he goes up against an old friend to save the woman he loves. Will his sacrifice be enough or will everything fall apart in a blaze of gunfire?

My Take:

In Amber Daulton's latest novel, she gives us an unlikely hero, recently released from a long stint in prison and looking for redemption. In an even more unlikely cute-meet, the heroine hits him with her car on the very first page of the story. This is a blue-collar love story, with not a billionaire in sight. A second chance love story where both of the main characters want a do-over with their lives, and hope to find it with each other, no matter what twists are thrown their way.

Mason Harding isn't hurt when Mia Eddison's car nails him in the crosswalk. Actually, he ends up consoling her after her full-on panic attack when she flashes back to the car accident that killed both her parents a few years prior. The pair flirt and phone numbers are exchanged, but even through their first date, very little actual information is shared. Well, Mason shares very little - Mia actually puts it all out there about her divorce and her family, and then invites him to come home with her after their pizza dinner date. The ensuing make-out scenes are steamy, but before they get out the condoms, Mason decides he has to tell her he's out on parole after spending ten years in prison.

"Prison?" She stepped away from him. "For what?"

"Attempted murder."

The End.

No, not really. I mean, if that was me? Yeah, I'd have said goodbye pretty quickly and felt betrayed that things had gotten so far along without that kind of Big Secret being shared. I don't think I would've continued the evening with mind-blowing sex and multiple orgasms. Mia is a lot more forgiving than I would be in a similar situation, especially with all the complicated backstory that Mason shares.

But he doesn't tell her the whole story.

Because as the reader already knows from the blurb, Mason was in a gang while in prison. He tries to keep that part of his life a secret for as long as possible. With good reason, as it turns out.

The relationship has more twists and turns than Space Mountain at Disney World, with each revelation a shock to Mia that she needs to overcome or accommodate. The past gang affiliations keep coming back to haunt Mason in new and different ways, finally culminating with the kidnapping alluded to in the book blurb. Can an ex-gang member ever get all the way out and live a normal life? Can an ex-con ever catch a break from the system?


The point of view switches between Mason and Mia, and Mason's way of thinking and looking at the world is pretty crude, which makes sense after ten years in a state penitentiary, so be warned that there are a lot of curse words and degrading of women in general throughout this story. If you like your alphas with a hardcore rough edge, try Arresting Mason.

Buy a copy on AMAZON.