ARC Review: Fire Inside (Chaos #2) by Kristen Ashley

Fire Inside by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure going into this book how KA was going to accomplish everything she had to make this book amazing. How was she going to answer the questions people had about Hop from Motorcycle Man? How would Lanie be made into a KA heroine that her readers could relate to? Could she pull it off and make her readers fall for this hero and heroine, as they had for so many of her fictional couples before them?

I don't know why I had these questions. I should have just trusted the woman. I mean seriously, someone smack me on the side of the head next time I even think of doubting KA's awesomeness and her ability to redeem characters.

First, let's start with Lanie. I did not like her in Motorcycle Man. I thought she was a materialistic, stuck up snob. And I didn't think she could ever do anything to deserve a Chaos hunk. But I was so wrong. After going into FI with trepidation about her character, I quickly saw the layers that went into Lanie and how she might SEEM materialistic and stuck up, but she was using that as a shield. She didn't have a great home life and did a lot of what she did to protect herself, to shield herself from getting hurt the way her father hurt her mother.

Now, let's talk about Hop. Hop in MM did something that many in the KA support addicts group deemed unforgivable. It seemed like, from the events in MM, that he cheated on his wife. During the wait for FI's release, I was one who tried to put my faith in KA and wait and see what the explanation was. After all, in MM we only get a glimpse of the events AND we only get in Tyra's POV. As a Writing instructor I know how important POV is. What one person sees or thinks can be no where near the truth of what is actually happening. Yes, he did have sex with BeeBee in MM. But so did Tack. So that in and of itself didn't make him a bad guy-just a guy with bad taste for the moment. And Tack tells Tyra in MM that she doesn't know the whole story, to leave it alone and that things are what they seem. This was confirmed in Own the Wind (Chaos #1) when Shy and Tabby talk about Hop. But again, in OtW, we don't get all the details and are still in the dark.

In FI, I am happy to say that what happened with Hop and his status during the MM motorcycle incident are realistically explained. KA did not change history or back story. I know some people think that, but she did not. I am adamant about this because the "history" we have in MM and OtW aren't the actual facts. They are perceptions built on assumptions and for Tyra, false assumptions. Tack tried to tell Tyra in MM to let it go.

Sadly she did not. She is what caused the drama (or some of it) for Lanie and Hop. This disappointed me about Tyra and I blame her hanging out with Elvira and Gwen for becoming more of a gossip. She rattles on about Hop to Lanie and Elvira and all hell breaks loose. Lanie runs, flips out on Hop and THEN we get the truth. We find out the most heartbreaking story, something that not only affected him but also his kids, and I was so mad at Tyra for her blabber mouth and Lanie for her idiocy that I wanted to reach into the book and smack them both. Hard. I know it had to happen-we needed the "big misunderstanding" for the truth to come out. But I do wish we saw Tack get pissed at Tyra for doing what she did and not being a good old lady-he told her she had to keep her mouth shut in MM and not to assume. She not only did neither of those things, but she blabbed club business to people she shouldn't have (namely, Elvira).  This was not good MC behavior.

But anyway, it served its purpose and we got the details about Tack and I can happily say he did not cheat. But what happened (i.e. what caused the incident itself and the subsequent mess that not only crushed Hop but could have devastating effects on his kids when they find out the truth; especially for his son) made me cry. And it made me hate his bitch of an ex-wife. Some may call it cliche-having the crazy or horrid ex-wife, but honestly, it's romance. There is always going to be some kind of trope like this used-a stalker, an ex, a crazy step-brother, etc, etc. There needs to be something in the characters' backgrounds that make them act the way they do, and in this case, it hurt to see how badly Hop was betrayed by his wife. And Lanie should have talked to him, not made an assumption and ran, believing Tyra's ridiculous and inaccurate gossip. The subsequent scenes were heart-wrenching and I was a bit worried that our MCs wouldn't get an HEA, or not one that they deserved. But again, my doubts were washed away with an amazing resolution and I loved the epilogue.

One thing I will say about this series is I love how the "action" is being built up. This book runs parallel to Own the Wind so we see the same (and additional) events regarding Benito, but from a different POV.  I'm assuming that things will ratchet up as the series progresses with it ultimately coming to a head in the final book of the series which will focus on Rush. I think there are two more between FI and Rush's book so things I am sure will continue to get interesting.

*I received this ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*



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Book Review: Own the Wind by Kristen Ashley (Chaos #1)

Title: Own The Wind (Chaos, #1)
Author: Kristen Ashley
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: April 2, 2013

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

Tabitha Allen has a not-so-secret crush on Parker "Shy" Cage. Shy thinks he knows the path Tabby's on and it isn't a good one. So he decides to teach her a lesson to lead her to the right path.

Unfortunately, he was wrong and his actions wound Tabby, breaking her heart. It's Tabby who then teaches Shy a lesson about casting judgment and Shy Cage learns what it feels like to be invisible. But when tragedy strikes and Tabby's heart is broken again, Shy does what he can in the background to help. Trying to forget her heartbreak, Tabby finds herself in danger. To keep it secret from her biker family, the Chaos Motorcycle Club, she calls Shy to rescue her. But when she lets him back in, she gets much more than she bargained for.

Proceed with caution. This review includes spoilers.

Loved loved loved. Beyond freaking loved. I read this over a week ago when I got the ARC and people let me tell you I never was so excited in my life! Now, I know. You're all probably out there rolling your eyes all "Of course she loved it. She fan girls over KA the same way she does over Mal and Firefly." But seriously. I have to admit with this book I was worried. First Tabby is young, about 22 or 23 in the book. I was worried if KA could reel in Tabby's younger voice, and maturiry in some ways, realistically given most of her heroines are late twenties plus. And I also worried that, since this was her debut with a traditional publisher, an editor would take away her amazing  detailed, descriptive voice. So weith trepidation I loaded it on my Nook and dove in head first.

Why did I doubt KA? She nailed it. Tabby was young, she was wild and Shy messed up big time trying to get her to straigthen her life out. Both Shy and Tabby suffered for this mistake. But they also both grew up, grew apart and then were brought back together in a friends to lovers that had me tearing up at several points. And I think that part, the section where Kristen Ashley writes Shy and Tabby re-connection  Shy helping her, being there for her as her friend, was amazing  Shy held himself back for Tabby. He let Tabby work through her emotions, the tragedy she had to go through, and waited.

But Tabby was almost too late. And that part nearly killed me. The confrontation between Shy and Tabby, ohmigod. My heart stopped. I couldn't breathe. And then he left! And then, she was leaving. And I was all, oh no she didn't! But she did! But then Shy got word and thank god stopped all that nonsense. I was so freaking relieved.

Seriously. Kristen Ashley can make your heart thump, your eyes burn with tears and your gut hurt from laughing all in the same book. This is not an easy feat. and this is why she is my hero, biotgh as a reader and a writer. As a reader I want to read stories like this-feel good, sweet, sexy, romances with a happily ever after that leaves me grinning like an idiot for days. And as a writer I want to know how to make my readers feel like that. (Well, when I get some. I'm not published. Yet. lol)

One other aspect of the book I liked was the way Kristen Ashley did the time jumps. Sometimes as a reader it is hard for me to grasp the ides of insta-love in about 2 weeks and the characters are already planning for weddings and babies. Now, in some books and with some characters I can deal with this and even is some Krsiten Ashley books it's believable. But with Tabby and the loss she experienced I was so glad to see MS. Ashley take a slow, measured progression of the two, taking Shy and Tabby from barely speaking to friends, to lovers. It didn't feel rushed and it made the story that much sweeter for me. We see the growth of both main characters, as well as the good times and the bad that they experience.  There are times jumps here and there (sometimes only a week, or a day,. sometimes 2 months, sometimes longer) but the time doesn't effect the story or the characters other than to show just how well Shy and Tabby fit together.


Shy's back story was tragic, heartbreaking and brought tears to my eyes, but he was so controlled and mature about it. Sure he freaked at one point and I was worried he was going to go all SOA on the guy, but he pulled it together, for Tabby, for his brother  and for himself. I like seeing that maturity in a character and not someone who goes off all half cocked and has to beg for forgiveness all the time.

Okay, so now I need to talk about Tack and Tyra. Many of you know that I love the book Motorcycle Man. Tack is my favorite book boyfriend. He is in so many ways the ideal alpha male. I didn't think my love for him could ever, ever, wane. But oh Tack. He fraked up in this book.  In fact, I was so angry at Tack and Tyra I had to put my Nook down and do some meditative breathing exercises. I was pissed at Rush too. Those judgmental ba%&$#*@! It took me a lot longer to forgive them, Not calling her girl back? What was that about? And then the confrontation at the Clubhouse? Oh no Tack, do not even go there. Tabby has a seriously big heart because I think I would have held that grudge a lot longer if that happened to me and my guy. I was really disappointed in their reaction, but eventually, redemption was made and well, I am back to loving Tack. Sort of. *glares at the Motorcycle Man cover on my Nook*

There is an overarching mystery, which I knew would have something to do with Natalie the moment she was seen on the page, is interesting and has me waiting impatiently for Fire Inside, which is now releasing a whole month early (June, 2013 *squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*) .  Benito seems like one serious bad ass given what he is a part of, and the last bit, from Tack's point of view, freaked me out a little. He seems to know that this could go bad. Really bad. And Tack thinking that, well hell. I think this means we're all in for a rough ride.

Lastly, let's talk about the hotness factor. The steamy scenes? Well they are scorching. I'm always impressed with Kristen Ashley and how well she can convey emotions during these scenes, but with Shy and Tabby, well holy hell, those two have some serious stamina. But it wasn't just about the sex. These two characters brought forth the intensity of their emotions for each other and I liked that just as much as the steam factor.  I did think they were a tad tamer than some of her other books but I'm not sure if this was a conscious decision or editorial.

And now, as I wind down this review, I need to talk about my man, Hopper. So many folks on the GR boards was freaking out that Hop was a cheater, how could Kristen even think of making him a hero and well, blah blah blah. I was a staunch defender of Hop and vowed not to judge him until I heard his side of the story. And not to say I told you so, but well, I did.  I knew, I just knew that KA would not have made Hop a cheater.  Kristen Ashley made perfectly clear that, like I surmised, he was technically not with his wife when he slept with that whore from Motorcycle Man. *Cue Ross on Friends. "We were on a breakkkkkkkkk!*

Oh and I can't leave without mentioning the cameos. There are a lot of freakin Denver cameoes that had me squealing all over the place. I won't say who but let me just tell you I nearly fainted at the mention of the first Denver bad ass, and then, the scene towards the end, I was Kermit-flailing all over the place. I know, getting all these guys working together is going to be so much hotness and awesome my Nook might burn up by the end of this series.

I wonder who book three will be about. (We know the last book in the series will be Rush)  It could be Joker, or maybe one of the older Chaos boys. Or Lan maybe? Not sure. But seriously, Joker has me intrigued. There is something about him that. Oh and the reference to SAMCRO had me giggling since I love that show to pieces.

All in all this was a great story and well worth the wait. I can't wait to explore more of the Chaos world and June can't come fast enough!  I am giving props to KA for a great publisher choice and to her publisher for letting Kristen Ashley be who she is and let her awesome light shine through.

Here are the purchase links:  Amazon / Barnes and Noble

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

Book Review: Raid by Kristen Ashley

Title: Raid (Unfinished Hereos, #3)
Author: Kristen Ashley
Publisher: self-published
Publication Date: February 26, 2013

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5

From Goodreads:

Hanna Boudreaux has lived in the small town of Willow, Colorado all her life. The great-granddaughter of the town matriarch, she's sweet, cute and quiet.

Too quiet.

Hanna has a moment of epiphany when she realizes her crush for forever, Raiden Ulysses Miller, is not ever going to be hers. She sees her life as narrow and decides to do something about it.

Raiden Miller is the town of Willow's local hero. An ex-marine with the medal to prove his hero status, he comes home, shrouded in mystery. It takes a while but, eventually, Hanna catches his eye.

But after all these years of Raid and Hanna living in the same town, the question is, why? Is Raid interested in Hanna because she's sweet and cute? Or does Raid have something else going on?

This has some BDSM.

My Thoughts:

Okay, a couple things. First, everyone knows I love Kristen Ashley's books. But even though I await each release with breathless anticipation  I try to stay objective when I review books, even hers, cause I know not everyone is a huge fan like me. So, that being said, let's get into the book. (And beware, possible spoilers ahead).

I love Hanna. She is quiet, shy, a book worm, and just the sweetest heroine ever. Some see her as weak, but not me. I think because I am quiet, shy and a bookworm I really related to her. I don't think I'm the sweetest anything though since I have a mouth on me. Anyways, Hanna was strong for the people she needed to be strong for-her friends, her family and of course, Raid. She had an unusual profession but this too I loved. It fit her well. Hanna was not someone who would fit in an office and she certainly wasn't a social butterfly. So her crocheting business was perfect. (Though I would have loved to see KA dive more into this aspect of Hanna's life. And did I mention my heart did a total flip-flop when she gave Raid one and he slept underneath it.)

Raid was amazing. He was hot, alpha, sexy and he liked to play as in play.  And he did this with Hanna. And when things didn't go right (i.e. she did something she didn't really want to do), like a good dom Raid sensed it and stopped it. He then reminded Hanna she had to speak up, that she had the power and he wanted her to have it to say no. This was awesome. KC, Hanna's bff, had a similar conversation, though it was centered around alphas in general and not sex. This was good. Hanna was naive when it came to knowing how to handle a hot alpha. So the talk with Raid and KC made a world of difference.

Some have mentioned the fact that Raid called Hanna a bitch during a fight and did some other things that this behavior was abusive. No. This was not abuse. Did he act like an ass? Sure. But that is not dv. (If it is, then I've abused one of my exes when I called him a name during a fight. It was a stupid thing to do and I regretted it almost immediately. But I never saw it as abuse since we weren't, well abusing each other, emotionally or otherwise. We said what we said in the heat of the moment and then got over it after apologizing, which is what happened in Raid.)  In addition to that, in the case of Raid, the whole fight started when Hanna brought up a topic he did not want to talk about. (His buddies who were killed in the war and his issues with PTSD resulting from that).  Did he handle it well? Nope. Did he deserve her walking out when he acted like a dick? Yup.  Was she weak for forgiving him? Nope. Not in my opinion. She loved him. He loved her. She wasn't going to give up on him because he called her a name. If he hadn't apologized (and if he doesn't eventually deal with his PTSD) my opinion would be otherwise. But he not only said sorry (which I gotta say is a hella lot more than Tate ever did in Sweet Dreams) but he also started dealing with his condition. Was it handled perfect? Did we see him going to counseling and all that? No. We're told he talked to a friend which helped. Would it have been cool to see how all this played you? Sure, but it wouldn't necessarily be practical or what I wanted. I wanted to read about Hanna and Raid, their romance. So yeah, Raid was an unmitigated ass but most of KA's heroes mess up at some point in her books and all work on redemption. Raid for me was redeemed at the end. (And let's not forget the fight between Ty and Lexi in Lady Luck. Or rather Ty's screaming rampage at Lexi, since she didn't get a word in edgewise. And what about what Chase said to Faith in the beginning of Breathe? Another asshole comment. I could go on, but I won't. I think my point has been made! :D )

So why wasn't this a 5 star read? It was shorter than most, but then I knew that going in since the Unfinished Heroes series is always shorter than her other books. So this wasn't so much a factor. I would have liked to see more of Hanna and her friend KC, and more of Hanna and Raid's sister and mom. Also, one of things I love most about Kristen Ashley's book is the descriptive writing (though I know some people don't like this) and I did feel Raid was missing this.  Lastly, I would have liked to see what happened at and after the hospital from Raid's point of view. But, these were in no way deal breakers for me nor anything that would drop this rating below the 4.25 I gave it.

I can't wait to see more of these characters in Deacon's story.  There is some D/s in the book but it is not anywhere near Knight levels. (And for me, Knight wasn't even that kinky.) The steamy scenes are just that and KA once again hits them out of the park. One thing I really appreciated was how the issue between Knight, Nair and Nick has weaved throughout these stories. I love going back and re-reading to see what clues Kristen has left for us and trying to speculate about what might happen.  (I love me a mystery!)

So check out Raid, and if you haven't met Knight and Creed, I suggest reading those first since Raid gives us a glimpse into their lives as well. (Creed! Yay!!!!)

Here are the purchase links:  Amazon / Barnes and Noble

*This book was a self-purchase and I was not in any way compensated for, or even asked, to review this book. All opinions are my own*