Intriguing start…

This was a first read of this author and it was jam-packed with romance and friction. Lucy and Evan had been frenemies for years, fighting on the same side of the law but not always agreeing on things. When Evan went from cop to vigilante the rules changed completely and Lucy, a dedicated defense attorney, wasn’t sure what to make of it. Honorable goals didn’t mean how you achieved them were right. Especially when family was involved! Before, at least, they seemed to be working towards a common goal. Now, only chemistry seemed to keep them together…

I struggled to write this review, I have to admit. The start of this story was slow and I had a hard time connecting with the characters. There was a lot going on with the main story arc as well as plot bird walks popping up regularly. An inconsistent delivery meant I struggled to keep up and, quite frankly, care. Then something changed. Not sure if it was the main characters bonding more and at the same time clicking with me or the solid main story arc but suddenly I was invested and riveted to the pages.

Overall, I would recommend it. A few misses but a lot of hits and, by the end, completely worth it.

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story.The side characters were such an integral part of this story as well. This is the love story i needed to read at this time. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you

A steamy, hot, male lead who is also loyal and unrelenting in all the good ways. Slow burn romance, fantastic sex and chemistry, well-written characters, and only the necessary amount of drama. It was an interesting read with a solid storyline, a nice balance between romance, action, sex, and a couple of twists along the way with one that I, surprisingly, didn’t see coming. Evan and Lucy were perfect together but I did find it difficult to connect with them until I was almost done with the book.

Loved the passion between Evan/Evil and Lucy; some hot times there. Enjoyed the bits of suspense and action to the story. I just didn't care for the feel of the story. I was hoping the guys in the club would have more honor and be mostly good people, but they all were pretty much jerks. These people are ex cops/military type people, so I was expecting more, but they were just disgusting and immature. They have this vigilante thing going on, but it seems to me that they just mostly get drunk and party at their bar; sleeping with tons of random easy girls. Also, Evil asking Lucy to defend a drug mule prostitute was just so stupid when the girl chose that life. That girl has been given plenty of opportunity to live a better life, but has continued to choose the prostitution lifestyle; she wasn't even grateful to Lucy for helping her. Evan wasn't so bad, but I still don't trust that he'll be fully honest with Lucy. It also took him years to go after Lucy; I guess he finally got tired of banging all those randos, how sweet! Honestly, I wanted to feel like he wanted to be a better man for Lucy, but I just didn't. There's only 4 people in the club; 3 men and 1 woman. Sentinel and Warden are both disgusting men and they are sluts; they banged some random druggie woman at the same time, which is just so gross. Have some standards boys; I have no desire to read their books. Actually, the majority of the people in this book are loose and sleep around, which I suppose you get with an MC type story; I'm just going to stay away from MC's books in the future. I'm tired of the whole skanky atmosphere at the clubs. I forget what the woman's name was; she doesn't seem to sleep around, but she's not a nice person. I'll probably just skip the rest of this series. The writing isn't too bad, but the vibe to this series doesn't suit me. I liked Lucy okay, but she's too needy and doesn't have common sense. Also, something odd was that Evil was a retired cop; there's mention that he retired early with a full pension, but isn't 62 the earliest you can retire? If he were injured during duty maybe, but that's not mentioned, so is the character in his 60's? If so, that's just weird. It doesn't seem like he's that old, so that's good. Maybe it's a possibility to retire earlier; still weird though. I do like some of the ways the story branches off; some cool ideas there, I just didn't care for most of the characters.

This is not a true MC story. This is a club made up of ex-cops, agents, and soldiers who dish up vigilante justice. The first book deals with Evan/Evil and his love interest Lucy. Story had some drama, but the chemistry between them was intense. Great start to a new series.

Necessary Evil is HOT HOT HOT!! The author did an amazing job of creating 2 very strong willed & passionate characters & I loved their interactions. It was fun to watch 2 people who were on the opposite sides of the law come together to respect & love the other.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

copy received courtesy of Netgalley
Interesting twist on the MC story. The MC in this book is actually a vigilante crew. When bad guys get away with vicious crimes, these guys give justice. Evan is the leader and a retired cop. He and his crew are a dangerous bunch but have the best of intentions. He and Lucy have been circling each other for a couple of years. Lucy is a defense attorney working for public defenders office. She is a straight by the book attorney. Guilty or not, she makes sure her clients get a fair trial. So combining a vigilante and a by the book lawyer was an interesting concept. Lucy knows Evil(Evan) is bad news but she throws caution to the wind and grabs on with both hands. Things get interesting and dangerous when people realize they are together. Add in a troubled brother, vengeful MC club and internal affairs and your will get action, adventure and danger. This was good angle to take. The story will keep you interested until the end.

Necessary Evil was my first read by this author, and I really enjoyed her writing style. Jamie writes in a way that sucks you in and keeps you captivated until the very end. Each page held value and importance to the story. After reading Necessary Evil, I will definitely read another book by Jamie.

Necessary Evil is nowhere near anything that I would normally read. It pushed me from my comfort zone to read this, and I was not disappointed. The story is an MC romance, which tends to be one of my least favorites. As with anything, you have to have the right introduction in order to find an interest. Jamie delivered a story that simply changed my mind about MC romances. I loved both of the main characters, how can you go wrong with a defense attorney and an ex-cop? This story had so much to offer. It was packed full of suspense, passion, heart, and a bit of rebellion. With every page, I fell in deeper. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

This is the first book in a new series called the Sentinels of Babylon aka as the SOBs.

Evan known as Evil's to his fellow bikers is an ex cop who after retiring opened up a bar. He along with several friends and a judge helps get rid of criminals when they get out of being punished based on a technicality.

Lucy is a public defender who believes in the system and disagrees with everything Evan stands for. They have had several run ins in the past and there has always been major chemistry between them. When they finally get together, Evan finds out that his next "assignment" is to take out Lucy's brother who was being tired for murder but got off on a technicality.

There were a few twists in this book that made it really enjoyable and not completely predictable. Seeing how Evan and Lucy solved their issues made for a great read. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

NECESSARY EVIL - Jamie K. Schmidt

#1 in the Sentinels of Babylon romance series

GREAT CHARACTERS - 2.5 stars

Plot - 2.5 stars - Lucy is an attorney with the public defender's office, working with people who really need her help. But she's has had an inexplicable attraction for a retired cop-now motorcycle-riding bar owner for the past couple of years, and he with her. Circumstances are now bringing them together. It is definitely hot and heavy between them.

Writing - 3.5 stars - Schmidt always writes smoothly and easily, getting my attention from the beginning and keeping it. Her characters are appealing, and the story is complex enough to keep my interest but not so complicated that it loses me.

Characters - 1.5 stars - Unfortunately, this is where the book falters for me this time. It's not that the characters weren't appealing, because they were. I'm torn because I enjoyed the characters' personalities and particularly their interactions. But their basic beliefs were questionable, and their decisions seemed self-deluding. Lucy is a caring and strong attorney who wants to do the right thing, working hard to help the downtrodden even though she has a contentious relationship with local cops who dislike that she often gets people off that they feel should be in jail. Her ability to stick up for herself, either to the cops or to the Sentinals, is admirable to a point, but her tendency towards violence bothered me a bit. I think it was meant to show that her professional demeanor was just a coating over her basic tough interior, but it made her seem a little low-rent to me. Evan (Evil) is a retired cop who now owns a bar. He's attractive and wants to do the right thing, but I have a major problem with his methods. Basically he's a vigilante, even going so far as to kill people to "clean up the streets." He justifies it by saying they're scumbags, better off dead, etc. but he's definitely taking the law into his own hands, along with his other motorcycle gang members. Even though the other members are (or were) all upstanding members of the community, they are now breaking the law and getting away with it. Evan makes a point of saying to Lucy, "I'm one of the good guys, you've got to believe that..." Uh, no you're not. You're a killer who doesn't even make your own choices. You were supposedly a good cop, but now you're killing people because someone named "The Judge" tells you to, without even doing your own investigation. How dumb is that? I just couldn't get past this, and it made me disappointed in the whole story.

Title - 3.5 stars - I understand the title, and it's clever, obviously referring to Evan (Evil) and his feeling that he "needs" to be a vigilante in order to get things done. But I was uncomfortable with the whole concept.

Cover - 2.5 stars - Fairly typical romance genre cover, but attractive.

Overview - 2.5 stars - The vigilante-ism of the story was its basic downfall. The romance was great, and the attraction between the two main characters was clearly combustible. The sexy scenes were well-done, not too over-the-top, but definitely hot. It was just unfortunate that Schmidt created the drama around good vs. bad, imbuing our hero with questionable values. I usually like Schmidt's romances, and she definitely succeeded in creating a hot couple that had charisma and appeal. But I just couldn't get past the "I'm-doing-this-for-the-greater-good" mentality that just seemed so self-serving.

I received this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Meet Evil: an ex cop that has retired early to form a motorcycles' gang slash hit squad to kill the criminals that escaped justice.
Yeah, is hot, but I'm not into outlaws. He gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Lucy I liked, she's a tough defense attorney. But really woman, to fall for an outlaw? So not your style.
It was a nice book, well written, but I just wasn't into it.
3 stars

Thank you so much for allowing me to read Necessary Evil by Jamie K. Schmidt. Unfortunately, this was not a book for me, It has taken me awhile to circle back to this book thinking that I would resonate with the writing and the characters. I just couldn't get into it. Some books are for some and some books are for others. This book was just not for me.

Because it is a 3 star review, I will not be posting this review on our social media out of respect for the author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I couldn't put it down, and in fact finished it in a sitting. Well formed characters and a great story line, this book doesn't disappoint!

This book just wasn't for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Hot, steamy and exciting!
Evil and Lucy burn up the pages in the exciting twist on a MC romance!
Evil is a retired cop who got tired of the system putting bad guys back on the street. He and his 3 best firends start a MC vigilante club.
Lucy is a defense attorney who just wants to give her clients the benefit of the doubt. Her fear of spiders being borderline comical.
When Lucy's brother, Bobby, gets in trouble, she doesn't think twice about defending him. But when Evil has been given an order to take Bobby out, he starts to wonder if their vigilante justice is right.
Just when you think you have everything figured out, you'll find yourself questioning what you think you know. And I had to fan myself more than once.
5 stars! Can't wait for more!

A great read about your non traditional MC that really makes you think about how our justice system works. The book felt a little slow to me in the beginning, but did pick up towards the end. At the same point, the ending seemed rushed to me. I expected the book to go in a different direction than it did. I don't mind the direction it went, but I was left scratching my head trying to figure out what not only why it went that way but why the character did what he did. I didn't feel like we had closure. What was the motive in all of it?

That said, I still plan on reading the next book in the series because I like the characters and what the MC stood for.

This may be my new favorite MC series! I have never read anything by this author and what an introduction to her work this was! I was blown away by her characters and the plot. It kept me truly guessing until near the very end. I hated having to put this book down for anything. The characters were highly dynamic and extremly magnetizing. Lucy has a great balance of being a strong female as well as knowing when she needs help and accepting it. Evan is the epitome of hard as nails bad boy biker. He has background, charisma, looks and so much more going for him. When he finally gives in and goes after what he wants, look out because it gets HOT!!

The suspense ratchets up and keeps the reader on edge. Keeps us guessing. This book has been phenomenal. I can not wait until the second book Sentinal's Kiss comes out! I highly recommend Necessary Evil.

My heart hurts for Lucy and how the things happening in her life. It dampens her spirit and the positive view she has of people. Evil is a vigilante but with a good purpose. the only thing is that there is someone who pulls the strings and I am curious of who that can be. Who is the Judge and why is he doing what he is doing. Is he going to get worse or wait? I can't wait to find out what happens in the next book.

Awesome book! I loved the connection with the characters! It was action pact and H-O-T hot! I would definitely read it again.