Declan Reede: The Untold Story (Complete Series)

By Michelle Irwin

Synopsis

Experience Declan’s complete story. Includes all four novels, the RONE-nominated novella “Decide” and an exclusive bonus novella “Decode”.

As high school sweethearts, Declan Reede and Alyssa Dawson didn’t always see eye-to-eye. Especially when it came to his dream of being a driver in the ProV8 series. When he’s offered the chance at the career of his dreams, Declan straps himself in for the ride regardless of the cost.

Older, but not wiser, Declan is on the path to becoming a racing legend. Only, regret haunts him around the track and threatens to send him off-course. When a chance encounter offers the opportunity to correct his mistakes, Declan must learn to manage the curves if he wants to claim the ultimate prize.

Review

Please note: This review is for the bonus novella⎯DECODE⎯only, as I’ve previously reviewed the other books in this series separately. You can find my 5❤️ reviews for the rest of the series here:
DECIDE | DECLINE | DECEIVE | DECIPHER | DECLARE

DECODE takes place before the epilogue in DECLARE, and follows Declan and Alyssa as they extend their family while building up their racing empire. Compared to the tense and dramatic scenes found in all of the previous books, this was mostly light and fun, and included a good amount of humour. From the Santa Claus role-play to Declan trying to navigate the minefield that is Alyssa’s pregnancy hormones.

“How the fuck was I going to make it another six months dealing with the confusing logic presented by pregnant Alyssa?”

Things are still going great for them both, but it’s not all smooth sailing. Declan learns more about Phoebe’s condition, which explains his overprotective tendencies in PHASE, the first book in Phoebe’s series. I made the mistake of reading PHASE before DECODE, so now his reactions make perfect sense. Alyssa is still a little insecure in their marriage, and at times unsure how Declan will react when certain things are revealed, but he does a great job of easing her mind.

“I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“Lys, I threw the other fucking shoe away.”

DECODE is told only in Declan’s POV and the story takes place over the span of a year. It doesn’t end in a cliffhanger and comes with a HEA that left me smiling.