Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Review: Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley

Ride Steady
by Kristen Ashley
Series:  Chaos #3
Pub. Date:  June 30, 2015
Publisher:  Forever
Pages:  640
Format:  eARC
Source:  NetGalley
   

My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:


The ride of her life . . . 
Once upon a time, Carissa Teodoro believed in happy endings. Money, marriage, motherhood: everything came easy---until she woke up to the ugly truth about her Prince Charming. Now a struggling, single mom and stranded by a flat tire, Carissa's pondering her mistakes when a vaguely familiar knight rides to her rescue on a ton of horsepower.

Climb on and hold tight . . . 
In high school, Carson Steele was a bad boy loner who put Carissa on a pedestal where she stayed far beyond his reach. Today, he's the hard-bodied biker known only as Joker, and from the way Carissa's acting, it's clear she's falling fast. While catching her is irresistible, knowing what to do with her is a different story. A good girl like Carissa is the least likely fit with the Chaos Motorcycle Club. Too bad holding back is so damned hard. Now, as Joker's secrets are revealed and an outside threat endangers the club, Joker must decide whether to ride steady with Carissa---or ride away forever...


Ride Steady again proves why Kristen Ashley is my abso-favorite author. I have never read a book of hers that I didn't like, or a hero that I didn't want for myself. She is an expert at writing swoonworthy uber-alpha males with hearts of gold. And this installment of the Chaos series is classic Kristen Ashley.

It's gotten where I can't read KA books in public because I never know when I'm gonna start boohooing, donkey laughing, or squirming in my seat. It's like she has a direct path to my emotional chain because the feels in her books are amazing. I didn't even make it out of the prologue of Ride Steady before I became a watering pot. And it took Deanna yelling at me to go to bed at 3am for me to be able to put this book down.

Our hero, Carson Steele, had an extremely hard life growing up (that prologue I was telling you about). All he has ever dreamed of was building cars, and that golden girl cheerleader, Carissa Teodoro. Unfortunately Carson must escape his home life and never gets that chance with Carissa in high school. Years later, a chance meeting on the side of the highway sets off a series of events that lead toward healing and a HEA for our couple.

Carson (aka Joker) is one of our alpha male bikers, and a newer member of Chaos. He was damaged and broody, but he felt and he did it deep. His brothers worry that if he doesn't find some light in his life, that darkness could overtake him. I loved seeing Joker discover that he had people who cared about him, respected him, and that were his own family of sorts. The things he did for Mrs. Heely and Mr. Robinson were so selfless and heartwarming... the feels people, THE FEELS!

Carissa, a single mom dealing with a scumbag ex-husband, has been dragged through the ringer and is scraping by and trying to give her baby a good life. A flat tire on the side of a busy highway turns out to be kismet as it brings Joker into (or back into) her life. I also loved Carissa, she is the definition of a mama bear when it comes to her son, Travis. Through her relationship with Joker, Carissa discovers what real love is, which gives her the courage to stand up for herself against her ex-husband. Carissa and Joker had a great relationship dynamic, and I loved that they communicated very easily. Carissa could not stand to withhold any information from him, even when she did something that could make him mad. Like most KA heroines, she was cute with a side of goofy, and someone you would like to add to your girl posse.

Speaking of, we got cameos from other series in this book including Tyra, Elvira, the Nightingales, and Knight Sebring. Whenever I see this, I always want to go back and read the earlier books all over again. Now that they are in audio, I just may get started on that.

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review... and when I did, I squealed with delight! If I had one complaint about this book, it would be that wretched teaser for the next installment (Walk Through Fire) that was at the end. It got me all geared up for Logan and Millie's story, and now I have to wait. Gah!

View all my reviews

Chaos Series



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