Review: Beyond Shame – Kit Rocha

All Noelle Cunningham has ever wanted is a life beyond–beyond the walls of Eden, where only the righteous are allowed to remain, and beyond her stiflingly restrictive existence as a councilman’s daughter. But only ruins lie outside the City, remnants of a society destroyed by solar storms decades earlier.

The sectors surrounding Eden house the corrupt, the criminal–men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter. Jas clawed his way up from nothing to stand at the right hand of Sector Four’s ruthless leader, and he’ll defend the O’Kane gang with his life. But no fight ever prepared him for the exiled City girl who falls at his feet.

Her innocence is undeniable, but so is their intense sexual attraction, and soon they’re crossing every boundary Noelle barely knew she had. But if she wants to belong to Jas, first she’ll have to open herself to the gang, to a dangerous world of sex, lust and violence. A world where passion is power, and freedom is found in submission.

Series:  Beyond #1
Release Date:  September 16, 2012
Publisher:  Moira Rogers
Source:  NetGalley
Buy the book at:

Reviewer’s Thoughts:

I’d read a lot about this book and wondered how I had missed all the buzz about it.  So when I saw it up on NetGalley, I grabbed a copy so I could join in on the fun.  After reading it, I’m glad I picked it up.  It was different and had characters that I loved because of their grittiness.

I’m going to write this review a little bit differently and list what I liked and what I didn’t about the book.

~What I loved~

• The O’Kane Gang:  I loved them all.  They were gritty and hard, but they were a family who looked out for one another.  
• Lex:  She was a ball buster and took a lot of that out on Dallas, but I have a feeling all her bluster is her armor.  I get the feeling she’s hiding something, not sure what, but whatever it is it caused her to become this hardened woman that uses whatever she has at her disposal to get keep people at arms length.  Too bad we can see right through her when she’s Dallas.
• Dallas:  He could be a tremendous asshole when he wanted too, but it was in the name of protecting what was his.  His sector, his business and his people.  But you could see the caring side of him, especially when he was with Lex, Jas, Bren and Noelle.  He has that soft squishy center and if he ever manages to get his act together with Lex, we may just see it.
• Jasper:  He was a big white night in shining armor disguised under tattoos, bulk and silent, broody attitude.  The minute he had Noelle in his arms his protective instinct kicked in.  I doubt he knew what that meant as he carried her to safety, but she was his downfall from that very minute.  He really struggled with what he wanted versus what he though was best for Noelle.  He didn’t always make the right choices, but in the end he got it right.
• Noelle:  Poor Noelle had a lot thrown at her.  She’d been forced from the only place she knew into a world that was beyond her wildest expectations.  She had to let go of everything she ever learned in order to figure out just who she should be and what she wanted.  It wasn’t easy for her, especially as she looked for validation in what she was doing from Jasper, Lex and even Dallas.  But she eventually learned that she needed to make sure own decision before she could truly be happy.

~What I didn’t really like~