Dream Maker (Dream Team #1) by Kristen Ashley-a review

Dream Maker (Dream Team #1) by Kristen Ashley-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: RElease Date May 26, 2020

Evie is a bonafide nerd and a hyper-intelligent chick who has worked her whole life to get what she wants. Growing up, she had no support from her family and has only ever been able to rely on herself. So when Evie decides she wants to earn her engineering degree, she realizes she needs to take an alternative path to get there. She takes a job dancing at Smithie’s club thinking this would be a quick side gig, where she can make the money she needs. But with her lack of dancing skills and an alpha bad boy who becomes overly protective, Evie realizes this might not be as easy as she thought.

Daniel “Mag” Magnusson knows a thing or two about pain, but the mask he wears is excellent. No one can tell that this good-looking, quick-witted, and roguish guy has deep-seated issues. Mag puts on a funny-guy routine so he can hide his broken heart and PTSD. But when Evie dances her way into Mag’s life, he realizes that he needs to come face-to-face with the demons of his past if he wants a future with her.

•••••••

REVIEW:DREAM MAKER is the first instalment in Kristen Ashley’s contemporary, adult DREAM TEAM erotic, romance series. This is twenty-seven year old, exotic dancer/IT specialist Evan ‘Evie’ Gardiner, and thirty four year old, fixer Daniel “Mag” Magnusson’s story line. DREAM MAKER and the Dream Team series is a spin-off from the author’s Rock Chick, Chaos and Dream Man series.

Told from first person perspective (Evie) and third person (Daniel) DREAM MAKER follows in the aftermath of a blind date between Evie and Daniel that went all to h*ll. Evie’s brother Mick is in jail, once again, and has called in another favor from our story line heroine but said favor was about to put Evie in the direct line of fire forcing Daniel to claim Evie as his own, pulling her into a lifestyle she knew nothing about. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Evie and Daniel, and the potential fall-out as Mick’s involvement with the seedier side of the Denver underbelly places Evie and Daniel at risk, along with Evie’s friends and fellow dancers at Smithie’s club.

Evie Gardiner’s family is the poster family for troubled and dysfunctional, and the deeper Evie is pulled into Mick’s life, the more at risk our heroine becomes but Mick isn’t the only family member placing Evie at risk as the apples don’t fall far from the proverbial trees. Working two jobs in an effort help pay for future college tuition, Evie struggles with her family and their negative impact on all of her relationships.

Daniel ‘Mag’ Magnusson is a retired US army soldier, and struggles with PTSD, and issues of rage and anger having witnessed atrocities no one should ever have seen. Meeting Evie Gardiner gives Daniel hope for the future but Evie’s inability to say no to her family places everyone at risk including our story line hero.

The relationship between Evie and Daniel begins acrimoniously as Evie believes she isn’t worthy of love or affection. Their first date quickly spirals out of control, and soon thereafter, Daniel calls in his friends and co-workers, including members of the Chaos MC, and the Rock Chicks, for help and support. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and erotic but I struggle with the use of a certain four-letter word in my romance story lines.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and familiar, secondary and supporting characters including Hawk, Auggie, Chaos MC member Kane ‘Tack ‘Allen; Mo, Elvira, Tex, Duke, Lottie, Axl, Boone, the Rock Chicks and their significant others; as well as Evie’s mother and father, and her step dad Rob; brother Mick; the ‘Dream Team’ dancers Ryn, Pepper, Ava; Lottie, and their boss Smithie; and Cicso aka Brett. The Rock Chicks reputation and life stories precedes their introduction to Evie’s fellow dancer,s and in this, Smithie’s girls want to be recognized for themselves, thusly calling the group the Dream Team. Ryn’s story is next in Dream Chaser.

DREAM MAKER is a story of family, friendship, betrayal and revenge. A story of a dysfunctional family unit who believe our heroine is expendable, using Evan Gardiner as their personal emotional punching bag. The premise is captivating and enjoyable; the characters are energetic and charismatic; the romance is seductive and intense-prepare for a case of insta-lust for Daniel ‘Mag’ Magnusson, and the use of baby and honey at every opportunity; and for fans of Kristen Ashley, a familiar formula as the heroine is kidnapped on more than one occasion.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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Rough Ride (Chaos 4.5 /1001 Dark Nights) by Kristen Ashley-Review & Excerpt Tour

ROUGH RIDE (Chaos 4.5 / 1001 Dark Nights) by Kristen Ashley-Review & Excerpt Tour

ROUGH RIDE
Chaos 4.5 / 1001 Dark Nights
by Kristen Ashley
Genre: adult, contemporary, MC, romance
Release Date : February 13, 2018

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 13, 2018

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Ashley comes a new story in her Chaos series…

Rosalie Holloway put it all on the line for the Chaos Motorcycle Club.

Informing to Chaos on their rival club—her man’s club, Bounty—Rosalie knows the stakes. And she pays them when her man, who she was hoping to scare straight, finds out she’s betrayed him and he delivers her to his brothers to mete out their form of justice.

But really, Rosie has long been denying that, as she drifted away from her Bounty, she’s been falling in love with Everett “Snapper” Kavanagh, a Chaos brother. Snap is the biker-boy-next door with the snowy blue eyes, quiet confidence and sweet disposition who was supposed to keep her safe… and fell down on that job.

For Snapper, it’s always been Rosalie, from the first time he saw her at the Chaos Compound. He’s just been waiting for a clear shot. But he didn’t want to get it after his Rosie was left bleeding, beat down and broken by Bounty on a cement warehouse floor.

With Rosalie a casualty of an ongoing war, Snapper has to guide her to trust him, take a shot with him, build a them…

And fold his woman firmly in the family that is Chaos.

Note: Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.

•••••

REVIEW: ROUGH RIDE by Kristen Ashley is instalment 4.5 and novella in the author’s Chaos MC series (a spin-off from the author’s Dream Man series) and the latest instalment in the multi-authored 1001 Dark Nights anthology. This is twenty eight year old waitress Rosalie Holloway, and thirty three year old MC member Everett ‘Snapper’ Kavanagh’s story line. ROUGH RIDE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Rosalie was first introduced in book one OWN THE WIND-Shy and Tabby’s story line.

SOME BACKGROUND: In book one OWN THE WIND Rosalie Holloway’s heart was broken when the biker that she loved (Shy Cage) fell in love with the Chaos MC president’s daughter Tabitha Allen. The daughter of a biker herself, Rosalie was desperate to find the love her mother and father once enjoyed before his death three years earlier, but finding love with a member from a rival MC meant Rosalie’s allegiances would be tested again and again.

WARNING: ROUGH RIDE contains scenes (some implied) of graphic violence that may not be suitable for all readers.

Told from first person point of view (Rosalie) and third person (Snapper), ROUGH RIDE focuses on the friends to lovers, building relationship between Rosalie Holloway and Everett ‘Snapper’ Kavanagh in the days and weeks following the beating and attack against our story line heroine by a man she once loved and the Bounty MC. Undercover for the Denver biker Chaos MC, Rosalie reported back what little information she could about the Bounty MC-a rival gang who vowed to make Rosalie suffer when it was discovered that she ratted back to the Chaos gang. What ensues is the building romance between Snapper and Rosalie, and the potential fall out as Rosalie begins to pull away from the people who vowed to save and protect her from the Bounty MC- people who needed to atone for letting down our story line heroine.

Rosalie Holloway barely survived the beating endured by the Bounty MC, a beating meant to send a message to the members of Chaos but a beating that provoked a violent reaction as most women are protected by honor and code-Women. Kids. Bike. Freedom. Vowing to protect Rosalie with his life, Snapper begins a slow seduction of the woman that has called to his heart since the first time they met

The relationship between Snapper and Rosalie has always been one of mutual attraction; a palpable sexual interest but Rosalie kept looking for what she lost- a replacement for the father she loved with all of her heart. From Shy Cage to rival MC member Throttle Beck, Rosalie was desperate to find love one way or another but it wasn’t until Beck discovered Rosalie’s betrayal did Snapper make a move to claim Rosalie as his own. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate and intense.

There is a very large ensemble cast of supporting and secondary characters including most of the Chaos MC: Shy and Tabby; Joker, Carissa and Travis: Lanie, Hop and Nash; Chaos president Kane ‘Tack’ Allen and his wife Tyra Masters; Logan ‘High’ Judd and Millie; Roscoe, Hop, Rush, Boz , Hopper Kincaid as well as Rosalie’s mother Renae; and several members of the Bounty MC including Rosalie’s ex boyfriend Gerard “Throttle’ Beck.

ROUGH RIDE is an emotional, heart breaking and sexy story line. The premise is complex, edgy and energetic; the characters are colorful and charismatic; the romance is intimate, tender and captivating. ROUGH RIDE is an energetic and sensitive tale about one woman looking for love in all of the wrong places.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

tHe spit on me.
I felt it land on the side of my chin and slide down.
I didn’t move to wipe it away.
I couldn’t.
Lying on my side, curled into a ball, the pain screamed through me. All of it—and there was a lot of it—demanding attention, I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t think, couldn’t move in case it got worse. I couldn’t do anything but lie there and pray that it was over.
It wasn’t.
He bent over me, grabbed my hair, yanked it back, and I felt his hot breath hit my face.
“See if he wants you now, you stupid bitch,” he hissed.
He let my hair go and I felt him retreat, but he still wasn’t done.
He kicked me so hard with his foot in its heavy motorcycle boot, my body slid across the cement.
I was too far gone even to grunt.
I felt something bounce off my hip, clatter to the floor, and then his voice came back, this time from further away.
“There you go, baby,” he drawled. “Your line to Chaos. We’re done with you. I’m done with you. Now they can have you.”
I heard boots on cement, more than just his, his Bounty brothers in the club. I sustained a couple more kicks as they passed. One of them grabbed the underside of my jaw and shoved my head back into the cement, also spitting, his hitting my neck.
And then they were gone.
I lay there, my focus on breathing and continuing to do it even though each breath was not only an effort but an agony. The fear I’d felt early when he took me, how he’d taken me, the way he’d handled me and I knew he’d figured it out, had dissipated as pain took its place. Now, the fear was returning that they’d come back and dish out more.
He’d come back.
Throttle

Follow: Goodreads / Facebook / Website / Twitter

Kristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA. She nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to accessorise and she hadn’t taken her first breath!).

Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana but has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.

Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multi-generational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland and existed amongst the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).

Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.

And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.

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Walk Through Fire (Chaos 4) by Kristen Ashley-a review

WALK THROUGH FIRE (Chaos #4) by Kristen Ashley-a review

Walk Through Fire

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / The Book Depository / BAM

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 27, 2015

Millie Cross knows what it’s like to burn for someone. She was young and wild and he was fierce and even wilder-a Chaos biker who made her heart pound. They fell in love at first sight and life was good, until she learned she couldn’t be the woman he needed and made it so he had no choice but to walk away. Twenty years later, Millie’s chance run-in with her old flame sparks a desire she just can’t ignore. And this time, she won’t let him ride off . . .

Bad boy Logan “High” Judd has seen his share of troubles with the law. Yet it was a beautiful woman who broke him. After ending a loveless marriage, High is shocked when his true love walks back into his life. Millie is still gorgeous, but she’s just a ghost of her former self. High’s intrigued at the change, but her betrayal cut him deep-and he doesn’t want to get burned again. As High sinks into meting out vengeance for Millie’s betrayal, he’ll break all over again when he realizes just how Millie walked through fire for her man .

•••••••••

REVIEW: WALK THROUGH FIRE is the fourth installment in Kristen Ashley’s contemporary, adult CHAOS erotic romance series focusing on the motorcycle club Chaos. This is event planner Millie Cross, and MC member Logan ‘High’ Judd’s storyline-a second chance romance for two broken souls. WALK THROUGH FIRE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous storylines is revealed where necessary.

Told from first person point of view (Millie), as well as several third person perspectives including Logan, WALK THROUGH FIRE follows the rekindling of a love between two people whose lives were destroyed when Millie pushed Logan out of her life twenty years before. Now in the early forty’s, Millie and Logan have once again crossed paths but Logan’s anger at Millie increases with every encounter and memory of the past. Millie wants to set the record straight why she walker away twenty years earlier but Logan wants nothing to do with the woman who broke his heart and destroyed his soul. But when a rival MC targets Millie, Logan is all about saving the first and only woman he has ever loved.

The storylines follows the rebuilding of a friendship; a relationship that was destroyed when Millie discovered that she could not give Logan what it was he wanted in life. Millie’s decision destroyed both she and Logan, such that Millie never had another boyfriend and remained faithful to the only man she has ever loved. Logan’s hatred for Millie, and the resulting destruction has found our heroine ‘persona non grata’ in the eyes of the Chaos MC. Millie was Logan’s old lady, and when she left she destroyed a good man whose life revolved around the woman that he loved. The $ex scenes are aggressive, erotic and intense. There is some dubious consent in the early pages of the storylines when our heroine gives into Logan’s demands and orders.

WALK THROUGH FIRE has a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Tabby and Shy (Own The Wind #1), Lanie and Hop (Fire Inside #2), and several members of the Chaos MC-Elivira and Malik; Boz, Hound, Big Petey, Tack and Tyra. We are introduced to Millie’s friends, employees, and her very protective sister Dottie and brother-in-law Alan who know that for Millie to walk away twenty years earlier has left a broken soul and deep emotional scars. And we can’t forget about Cleo and Zadie; Chief and Poem.

Told from memories of the past and present day text WALK THROUGH FIRE takes the reader on an emotional and heartbreaking journey of romance and love, revealing the growing love between two people meant to spend eternity in one another’s arms that was all but destroyed by a perceived betrayal and thoughts of what was to come. Logan’s treatment of Millie is heartbreaking, vicious and destructive. The world building continues to focus on the Chaos MC, and an impending war with a rival MC for territory and power.

I did have some issues with the storyline and there is some purposeful ambiguity in my thoughts to avoid spoilers but one in particular bothered me throughout the story:

As is pertained to the reason Millie walked away. We are given no details or explanation. There was no mention of seeking help or trying to correct the problem-what was the issue? Could it have been corrected? There are usually several methods to try and fix the problem but nothing was brought to light or attempted? It was as though our heroine gave up and walked into the sunset never to be loved or love again.

WALK THROUGH FIRE is an entertaining and engaging storyline about two people given a second chance at romance and love. There is plenty of drama, palpable anxiety and tension, and sexual energy. The storyline conflict is multi-layered; Millie’s re-emergence into Logan’s life upends family, the MC, and Logan’s plans for the future. The premise is gripping and profound; the characters are emotional and impassioned; the happily ever is revealing and hopeful.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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Cover Reveals-June 11, 2013

Cover Reveals-June 11, 2013

Bayou Heat 3jpg

 

TITLE: Sebastian/Aristide

AUTHOR:  Aexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

SERIES:  Bayou Heat (#4)

RELEASE DATE: November 2013

 

 

 

Fate Intended 2014

 

TITLE:  Fate Intended

AUTHOR:  Elizabeth Seckman

SERIES:  N/A

RELEASE DATE:  2014

 

 

 

Claiming His Mate new cover

 

TITLE:  Claiming His Mate (re-release)

AUTHOR:  Savannah Stuart (Katie Reus)

SERIES: Crescent Moon

RELEASE DATE: June 2013

 

 

 

Law Man

 

TITLE:  Law Man (new cover)

AUTHOR:  Kristen Ashley

SERIES: Dream Man

RELEASE DATE:  available

 

 

 

Motorcycle man-new cover

 

TITLE:  Motorcycle Man (new cover)

AUTHOR:  Kristen Ashley

SERIES:   Dream Man

RELEASE DATE: available

 

 

 

Dark Heat

 

TITLE: Dark Heat

AUTHOR: Donna Grant

SERIES: Dark Kings (previously released in ebook)

RELEASE DATE: December 2013

 

 

 

Dragon Awakened Dec 13jpeg

 

TITLE: Dragon Awakened

AUTHOR: Jaime Rush

SERIES: The Hidden

RELEASE DATE: December 2013

 

 

 

Magic Possessed Jan 2014

 

TITLE: Magic Possessed

AUTHOR: Jaime Rush

SERIES: The Hidden

RELEASE DATE: January 2014

 

 

 

Waterfell.nOct 13jpeg

 

 

TITLE: Waterfell

AUTHOR: Amalie Howard

SERIES: Aquarathi

RELEASE DATE: October 2013

 

 

Infinite 2014

 

 

TITLE: Infinite

AUTHOR: Jodi Meadows

SERIES: Incarnate

RELEASE DATE: 2014

 

 

Reaver.Dec 13jpeg

 

TITLE: Reaver

AUTHOR: Larissa Ione

SERIES:  Demonica

RELEASE DATE: December 2013

 

 

 

Crash Into You Nov 13

 

TITLE: Crash Into You

AUTHOR: Katie McGarry

SERIES: Pushing The Limits #3

RELEASE DATE: November 2013

 

 

 

High Risk Love July 13

 

TITLE: High Risk Love

AUTHOR: Shannon Mayer

SERIES: N/A

RELEASE DATE: July 2013

 

 

 

Wild Justice Oct 2013

 

TITLE: Wild Justice

AUTHOR: Kelley Armstrong

SERIES: Nadia Stafford #3

RELEASE DATE: October 2013

 

 

 

Wild Things Feb 14

 

 TITLE:  Wild Things

AUTHOR:  Chloe Neill

SERIES: Chicagoland Vampire

RELEASE DATE:  February 2014

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Cover Reveals May 8, 2013

Cover Reveals-May 8, 2013

-3

 

TITLE: Theory in Depth

AUTHOR: M.A.Abraham

SERIES: N/A

RELEASE: November 2013

 

 

 

After burn

 

TITLE: Afterburn/Aftershock

AUTHOR: Sylvia Day

SERIES:

RELEASE DATE: November 2013

 

 

 

The Midnight Breed Companion

 

TITLE:  The Midnight Breed Companion

AUTHOR:  Lara Adrian

SERIES:  Midnight Breed

RELEASE DATE:  May/June 2013

 

 

 

 

Obsession May 31 2013

 

TITLE: Obsession (Re-release)

AUTHOR: Jennifer Armentrout

SERIES: Arum

RELEASE DATE: May 2013

 

 

 

The Dragon Legion

 

TITLE: The Dragon Legion Collection

AUTHOR: Deborah Cooke

SERIES: Dragon Legion Novellas/Dragonfire

RELEASE DATE: N/A

 

 

 

DAngerous Seduction Oct 13

 

TITLE: Dangerous Seduction

AUTHOR: Zoe Archer

SERIES: Nemisis, Unlimited

RELEASE DATE: October 2013

 

 

 

What Really Happend Aug 13

 

TITLE: What Really Happened in Peru

AUTHOR: Cassandra Clare

SERIES: Magnus Bane Chronicles/The Mortal Instruments

RELEASE DATE: April 2013 (Series of novellas to be released throughout 2013)

 

 

Countdown Sept 13 YA

 

TITLE: Countdown (ya)

AUTHOR: Michelle Rowan

SERIES: N/A

RELEASE DATE: September 2013

 

 

 

Deception Cove aug 13

 

TITLE: Deception Cove

AUTHOR: Jayne Castle

SERIES: N/A

RELEASE DATE: August 2013

 

 

 

Blood Bond Aug 13

 

TITLE: Blood Bond

AUTHOR: Jeanne Stein

SERIES: Anna Strong, Vampire

RELEASE DATE: August 2013

 

 

 

Mine To Take June 2013

 

TITLE: Mine to Take

AUTHOR: Cynthia Eden

SERIES: N/A

RELEASE DATE: June 2013

 

 

 

Fire Inside June 2013

 

TITLE: Fire Inside

AUTHOR: Kristen Ashley

SERIES: Chaos Novel

RELEASE DATE: June 2013

 

 

 

biting Bad Aug 2013

 

TITLE: Biting Bad

AUTHOR: Chloe Neill

SERIES: Chicagoland Vampires

RELEASE DATE: August 2013

 

 

 

Beneath the Secrets

 

TITLE: Beneath The Secrets

AUTHOR: Lisa Renee Jones

SERIES: Tall, Dark and Deadly

RELEASE DATE: Summer 2013

 

 

 

Bronze Gods

 

TITLE: Bronze Gods

AUTHOR: Ann Aguirre

SERIES: Apparatus Infernum

RELEASE DATE: April 2013

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