South Dakota Showdown by Nicole Helm is the first book in the series Badland Cops. The series focuses on 5 brothers (Wyatt) who have escaped their father’s ruthless gang called Sons of Badland. Jamison is the oldest of the brothers. He was the one who helped the other brothers escape and when he left, he took Liza with him. However Liza went back to the gang, tearing out Jamison’s heart. Jamison went on to become a sheriff and move beyond his past. So imagine how surprised he was when he ran into her breaking into his office.

Liza never explained why she returned to the Sons of Badland and she is not doing a lot of explaining why she returned looking for Jamison. All he knows is that Liza needs his help to save her youngest sister. Suffice to say, he has to help her, but not all is clear about who is saving who.

Jamison and Liza were two strong characters. I liked their devotion to their siblings and to each other (even if they were clueless about it). South Dakota Showdown by Nicole Helm was a fun read.

Liza and Jamisons life wasn't the best growing up with their fathers being leaders to a ruthless gang the Sons of Badlands. While both were able to get out of it Jamison made something of himself in spite of his father and became sheriff while Liza went missing. Now Liza is back around trying to get Jamison to help her get her younger sister out of trouble.

I love a good suspense novel. I loved seeing how they almost similar they grew up and chose different paths and it was interesting seeing how they got together once again after being away from eachother for so long. Then theres the who mission to retrieve Lizas little sister once they find out their cruel fathers are taking part of something even more sinister. There is so much that can go wrong but Liza will do everything she can to do whats right and save her sister. Overall it was a pretty great book I pretty much devoured it.

South Dakota Showdown was action from beginning to end! I love Harlequin Intrigues because they are fast-paced and action-packed but also a quick read. South Dakota Showdown did not disappoint in any of those factors. When you first meet Jamison, a small-town cop, and Liza, you know instantly they're old flames. They might hate each other now, but somewhere in their past, they were lovers. Within a few chapters you come to realize that Jamison doesn't hate Liza, he regrets that he couldn't keep her from the clutches of her father and his, the two men who run a South Dakota Gang called the Sons. Jamison rescued all of the Wyatt brothers and Liza, but Liza didn't stay out, she went back, and he never knew why. Now, fifteen years later, he knows. She went back for her sisters. She went back to try and do the same thing he did for his brothers. She went back to save them, even if she died trying.

When a bullet comes out of nowhere, it's obvious she might, but Liza has a 4-year-old sister being held somewhere by the Sons and she wants her back. She can't find her and the only person she knows who can and WILL help her is Jamison. She's desperate and even accepts his distrust of her, the one man she always loved, to get help for her little sister.

What ensues is a tense, high-pressure game of cat and mouse as they try to outwit Ace Wyatt and his band of not so merry men. Surprises crop up constantly for the two old flames, but the last thing they expect to surprise them is the love they've held onto for each other all these years. Faced with a tough choice, Jamison and Liza have to put aside their wants for the future and focus on the present, saving Gigi and other girls from a sex trafficking ring.

When all is said and done, Jamison and Liza know they still aren't safe from the Sons but they're willing to live their lives together despite that knowledge. I loved Jamison, Liza, Grandma Pauline, Gigi, Cody, and Dev (two of the six Wyatt brothers). I can't wait for the next book in the series to find out about the mysterious Cody and Dev and what they get themselves involved in. If you're looking for a fast-paced, well-written, quick intrigue read, then you'll love South Dakota Showdown!

South Dakota Showdown by Nicole Helm is the first book in her new Harlequin Intrigue series, Badland Cops, and while I liked its premise, I didn't love its execution for several reasons, and it gets 3 stars from this reader.

The first Badlands cop we meet is Jamison Wyatt, a sheriff's deputy in the small town of Bonesteel, South Dakota. He's the eldest son of the notorious Ace Wyatt, the leader of the ruthless, murderous biker gang, Sons of the Badlands. After his mother's untimely death/disappearance/possible murder, Jamison manages to escape from the gang, and eventually manages to rescue his three younger brothers over the course of several years. He even rescues Liza Dean, his teenage girlfriend, but after 4 years away from the gang, Liza suddenly and without warning, returns to the them, mystifying Jamison and breaking his heart in the process. He doesn't know why Liza left him, and he hasn't seen or heard from her in 15 years.

While Jamison is on patrol in town one night, he notices someone trying to break into the sheriff's office, and when he confronts the felon, it turns out to be Liza. Liza returned to Bonesteel to beg Jamison for his help. Her father, Tony Dean, is Ace Wyatt's second in command in the biker gang. She has reason to believe that he's already killed Callie Bright, her father's wife, as well as one of her sisters, and her remaining sister, 4-year-old Gigi, saw and described her dead body. Liza has also overheard camp rumors about the gang becoming involved in human trafficking, and she desperately wants to rescue the one sister she has left. Gigi was already missing when Liza looked for her. After having witnessed the murder or its aftermath, will the gang let her live?

Liza knows that she can't pull off a rescue by herself, and since Jamison has tried to keep close tabs on the gang and its activities over the years, he had no idea that they were now into human trafficking, and he finally agrees to help Liza after someone in a passing car shoots Liza in the leg. They both know it's gang-related payback for her escape. It's a pretty interesting premise for this novel, but what comes next is a bit of a letdown.

The middle third of this novel is about Jamison and Liza trying to get near enough to the nomadic gangs' location without being seen, captured, tortured and killed, and the length of that trek drags on and on, and on, much of it with Liza and Jamison on foot, after the truck they were in was discovered and torched while they were busy scouting the area on foot. Then, two of her father's scouts/henchmen get within killing range in the dark one night, and although they manage to overtake and hogtie them, they know that their presence in the area has been discovered. I think their long trek could have been shortened by half and still gotten the message across. I really didn't need to know every time they stopped for a drink of water or a protein bar. What saved this part of the book from the utter boredom of the slow pace was that although 15 years had passed since they'd last seen each other, Liza and Jamison finally start to reveal the feelings they still have for one another, despite their 15 years apart, and Jamison's mistrust of Liza.

The latter third of the novel is where the action really picks up, and it was fraught with danger for all concerned. It's good, solid, romantic suspense, and has you on the edge of your seat with tension and concern for Liza, Jamison, and little Gigi. If the middle third of this novel had been shorter, the final third and its HEA ending would have earned it 4 stars instead of 3. All-in-all, a relatively good read, but not a great one.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

4.5 Stars

This is the first book in the Badlands Cops series by Nicole Helm in the Intrigue line by Harlequin Books.

This is one of those books where the girl is stubborn and the boy is stubborn and you begin to wonder if the twain shall ever meet. To say their relationship was a challenge was putting it lightly. Her father’s a pretty nasty bad guy. His father is a pretty nasty bigger bad guy.

Jamison and all his siblings are cops. How does that even happen? Your dad is a Big Bad and you end up being a police man? Wow. They must have had quite a core of right and wrong deep within their soul to do such work.

Liza is looking for her sister who has been kidnapped by her father’s gang. She ends up working with her old flame, Sheriff Jamison Wyatt and they struggle considering their former relationship and how dangerous their father’s both are.

As they get closer to their goal, they realize that there is more than just one girl at stake which makes this a pretty exciting read, quite a page-turner, for sure! Great book and I enjoyed it immensely. This is an Intrigue series I want to continue on with!

If you love a good romantic suspense, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.