One Step Too Close - Coffin Nails Mc Louisiana

Sex & Mayhem, Book 6

By: K.A. Merikan

Narrated by: Nathan Kelly

One love. One motorcycle club. Two stepbrothers.

Ryder. Controlling. Ambitious. Protective.

Jed. Self-destructive. Trapped. Lonely.

Their love? Forbidden. Taboo. All-consuming.

For Jed, the Coffin Nails Motorcycle Club is family. With them, he learned how to think, what to enjoy, and how to fight, but there is one thing he knows his friends can’t find about. They would never accept him as gay, and so his life is a constant struggle with desires that fill him with despair. Only there is a much darker secret lurking in Jed’s heart. His feelings for his stepbrother, Ryder, go far beyond brotherly. Trapped with a yearning that can never be fulfilled, Jed spirals out of control and unwillingly puts the love of his life in danger.

Ryder is climbing up the ranks. Recently promoted to sergeant-at-arms, he has it all: Drive, respect, and the love of his biker family. When his stepbrother gets into trouble with the law, Ryder decides to take the blame and save him from a long sentence. Deep inside, he knows there is nothing he wouldn’t do for Jed, but through a desperate attempt to suppress his own hidden desires, he might irreversibly break the man he secretly loves.

But finding out what they feel for each other will test their loyalty to the Coffin Nails MC and change their lives forever.

Possible spoilers:

• Themes: Outlaw motorcycle club, criminal activity, forbidden love, stepbrothers, blackmail, homophobia, alpha male
• Genre: M/M dark romance, suspense, drama (stand-alone novel)

Warning: Explicit content, strong language, violence. Discretion advised.

©2015, 2021 Acerbi & Villani Ltd. (P)2025 K.A. Merikan

Only wish the ride was longer!

Long story short:
Wow! Just wow! Definitely one of my favorites from K.A. Merikan.





Long story long:
***SPOILERS RUN AWAY***




Last chance... Spoilers.

Merikan does it again with their compelling characters, gritty backdrop, and diverse character perspectives. Forcing the reader to see the world in shades of gray.

Perhaps the best part of this book is the character Jed. Jed is a fascinating combination of violence and deep sensitivity. A duality forged through years of trying to alter oneself.
I loved the way Jed's perspective was presented from a lgbtq+ perspective.

As a member of the lgbtq+ community, it was nice to see a character who was gay, but who had been living as a straight person and had been having sex with people of the opposite gender.

In books and media, gay people are often portrayed as being physically unable to have sex with the opposite gender (like it's some kind of physical impossibility or something?). The reality is not every person in the lgbtq+ community knows their sexual orientation from birth, or is in a position to do something about it.
In the book when Jed comes out to someone they say:"What? But I've seen you having sex with a woman before?!"
It was nice to see this perspective in a book. Thank you for writing it!

I only wish it was longer, or that it had a sequel with these two characters. I feel that there was more to explore with their life and the story wrapped up just a bit too quickly. But overall a wonderful read.

Good story

Nowhere near as dark and depraved as the rest of the series.
Good story about coming out/secret love.
step brothers who both secretly love the other.
MC is never the place for gays... ha!! except them and move on.
K A Merikan writes awesome dark and gritty stories.
Wyatt Barker does a great job narrating the dark and depraved. Love his voice.
Waiting Patiently for the last books in this series...
well worth the credit and your time to listen..

A little bit Taboo

Wyatt Baker narration of One Step Too Close was entertaining. His delivery was upbeat and passionate. He sounded like he was having fun .

One Step Too Close is book six in the twelve book series Sex & Mayhem ; of those twelve , eight have been released in audio , thus far. I have listened and enjoyed them all.

I am a KA Merikan audiobook junkie . I love their unique brand of stories and storytelling. That said, I didn't love One Step Too Close. I liked it but I was expecting to be deliriously happy as with all others.

Why? Few things , among were the plot and many storylines; they weren't as tight and cohesive as with their other books and some went nowhere. They were introduced - in my opinion- forgotten and others illogically resolved. It took me a bit to warm up to Jed and Ryder, the MC . Jed , a 25 years old , was so impulsive and immature that it was difficult to connect with him . Ryder , I liked better though found him to be a difficult character to understand. Disliked all the side characters .

What I liked was the hot and I mean HOT AF sexy times. It had me burning up , in the most delicious way. I also liked how protective and caring Ryder was with Jed.

Great Audio

Jed and Ryder are step brothers and brothers in arms at the Coffin Nails Motorcycle Club.

Jed finds himself in trouble,  blackmailed and vastly unhappy with the situation he's found himself in.

This is an intense, dramatic, semi taboo story that was sweet at times but also tough and harsh at other times. A story about family, strength and trust.

The narrator did a great job. The inflections in his voice allowed me to get a really good feel for the characters.

Jed and Ryder

Jed is gay and in love with his "step-brother" Ryder. He's in fake relationship with Dana, who has blackmailed him with a video of him with another man and wants him to spy on the club. Ryder is bisexual and, in the closet, is in a relationship with Jess and is Sargent at arms for his club. He is smart, responsible and takes care of everyone. Jed comes out and he confesses everything, the blackmail, his sexuality and his love for Ryder. Ryder's reaction was simple, he kisses Jed the man he loves. I loved Jed and Ryder together their passion and interaction was amazing. I received an ARC of this audio for my honest review.