Review: Walk Through Fire by Kristen Ashley

Walk Through Fire 
by Kristen Ashley
Series:  Chaos #4
Pub. Date:  Oct. 27, 2015
Publisher:  Forever Books
Pages:  615
Format:  eARC
Source:  NetGalley


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

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 . . . 

Gah! These books! The FEELS are SO much! I always tell myself that I should not read these books in public... but I get so excited about the reading that I can't help it. So what do I do? I read it on my lunch break and turn into a watering pot. Then I had to explain to my boss that my face looked like a blotchy puffer fish because my buh-buh-book was so gah-gah-good. Le sigh. Thanks Kristen Ashley, I know I can count on you to make me ugly cry. Your books should come with a pack of tissues. For real.

Let's start with our girl Millie Cross. Millie is stuck in a rut - a 20 year rut. She always says she will cook gourmet meals, go to the gym, read great works of literature, and watch classy tv... but in reality she ends up with fast food watching Sister Wives. She goes to bed alone and wakes up alone - she exists but she does not live. Millie, girl. I feel ya. I had an instant connection to her because, I admit, I too am in a rut. Mine has not lasted 20 years, and I don't have a sexy-as-sin biker to blame, but its a rut all the same and I totally understood what she was going through.

So we know that Millie and Logan Judd ("High") were in a serious relationship and were super duper in love, but 20 years ago she pushed him away and broke both their hearts. It's pretty easy to figure out why she did this early on... and let me tell you that the ability to figure it out does not detract from the story. Why? Because you know what Millie knows and you are seeing/experiencing every bit of High's actions toward her - knowing what you know - and man, it's gutwrenching.

Moving on to our Chaos brother, High (aka Logan or Low). Going way back to the Dream Man series, we know that High is not one of the brothers who sided with Tack when he wanted to get the club on the straight and narrow. I think it was High, Arlo and Boz that had that tenuous relationship with Tack when we first start reading about Chaos. So we get some background here on High and learn what his motivations (or lack thereof) were back in the day. We also get a lot of info on the history of Chaos, which we had not seen before. We even have some memories of when the slain brother, Black, was still alive.

Oops, I got distracted. Back to High/Logan. Wait - time out. Can we talk about the cover real quick? PERFECT FREAKING COVER. I loved it. That guy is a perfect Logan with his salt & pepper hair - great hair, scruff and profile. Something all KA alpha males seem to have. So anyway, back to High/Low. Obviously you learn very early on that Millie cut him deep, and since then, he has been "walkin' around with a hole in [his] soul." So he is broody and damaged, but he does flowery poetic biker very well. He is also a supreme alphahole to Millie in the beginning... and you just knew he was gonna regret it. And it wasn't just him - the Chaos brothers banded together to be supreme dicks to Millie. It was bad and I was feeling it right along with her. Despite all of this, I loved Logan. If I only had one of these badass biker hotties to pull me out of my rut!?! Why is it all the bikers I see seem to be more Cuzn-It than Chaos?

As in most of KA's books, the sisterhood is represented by any combination of girls plus Elvira. In this case, it was Tyra, Lanie, Elvira, Cassie and Shirleen. I love how the girl posse works - and wish I could round up one of my own now that I have moved somewhere new. I also like how Tyra and Tack continue to play a role in these Chaos books - they will always be my favorite couple in this motorcycle dynasty.

Speaking of favorites, its no secret that Kristen Ashley is my very favorite author. For me, reading her books is like coming home. I know I am guaranteed to love it. However, I have noticed that when I read her books in single increments as they come out (versus reading them all together when I first discovered her), I end up rating them all 5 stars. So I feel like I did her a disservice by reading all her books together back in 2012 because then I was comparing each book to another one of her books, and so some of them got lower ratings.  So I think I need to have a KA re-read project soon, like one or two books per month interspersed with all my ARCs, to see if that changes the rating/review for me any.  I mean, I don't think I have rated ANY of hers below 4 stars... but I would still be interested to see...or I am just using this as an excuse because I want to re-read them all again and need to justify working them into my schedule.  LOL

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

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Chaos Series

Review: Falling Into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath

Falling Into Bed with a Duke 
by Lorraine Heath
Series:  Hellions of Havisham #1
Pub. Date:  Oct. 27, 2015
Publisher:  Avon Books
Pages:  384
Format:  eARC
Source:  Edelweiss


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

In the first in a dazzling new series, New York Timesbestselling author Lorraine Heath introduces the Hellions of Havisham—three charismatic rogues destined to lose their hearts...

After six unsuccessful Seasons, Miss Minerva Dodger chooses spinsterhood over fortune-hungry suitors. But thanks to the Nightingale Club, she can at least enjoy one night of pleasure. At that notorious establishment, ladies don masks before choosing a lover. The sinfully handsome Duke of Ashebury is more than willing to satisfy the secretive lady's desires—and draws Minerva into an exquisite, increasingly intimate affair.

A man of remarkable talents, Ashe soon deduces that his bedmate is the unconventional Miss Dodger. Intrigued by her wit and daring, he sets out to woo her in earnest. Yet Minerva refuses to trust him. How to court a woman he has already thoroughly seduced? And how to prove that the passion unleashed in darkness is only the beginning of a lifetime's pleasure?

I'm not sure if this whole series is going to be a spinoff of the Scoundrels of St. James, but this first book involves the daughter of Jack Dodger and Olivia Lovingdon from Between the Devil and Desire. It's been so long since I read that book, that it took me a while to recognize the character crossover. It's not absolutely necessary that you read that book before this one, but it would give you some background on the characters if you did read it.

So Jack and Olivia's only daughter is a headstrong lass named Minerva. She has passed six seasons without finding a husband... and her blunt speech earns her the reputation as a termagant and shrew. I loved Minerva. She was quite sensible, not afraid to voice her opinion, had great ideas for business and investments, and was a good gambler. One of Minerva's quite sensible ideas is that women should not have to deny their urges when men flaunt them so openly, and this idea leaves her to the exclusive and secretive Nightingale Club, where ladies go to seek pleasure.

At the Nightingale Club, Minverva meets the mysterious Duke of Ashebury, one of a group of boys who were orphaned young and raised by a madman. Ashebury is a member of the Nightingale Club, but he never selects a woman more than once. But that is before he meets the intriguing lady in the white mask. I liked Ashebury just as much as Minerva. Though I tend to enjoy those broody heroes with tragic pasts.

This story had everything I most look for in a historical romance - a broody hero, a unique heroine, past tragedy, likable secondary characters, seduction, steam and romance. I am looking forward to reading about the rest of the Havisham Hellions... but I anticipate that Lockley may be my favorite.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Stackin' the Shelves #7

Hosted by Tynga's Book Reviews

Hello Bambinas!

Welcome back to Stackin' the Shelves, the weekly feature where I showcase all the books I have accepted for review, one-clicked, won or borrowed from the library!  There are SO many books and SO little time! It's hard to keep track of all the books that I hoard... particularly with my little one-click habit.  So this is what I have gotten over the past week! As you can see, I didn't get a whole bunch this time.  I'm still trying to recover from the big signing a couple weeks ago. Have you read any of these, or do you plan to? 

 

Review: The Griffin's Secret by Cate Masters

The Griffin's Secret 
by Cate Masters
Pub. Date:  May 12, 2015
Publisher:  Lyrical Press
Pages:  93
Format:  eARC
Source:  Author


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

In this contemporary re-telling of Grimm’s classic fairy tale The Griffin, two people must risk everything to free themselves from the invisible prisons that keep them from love…

Jackson Grant had it all—the girl he loved, his Harley, and his guitar. Until a tragic accident stole it all away. Now, more than scars and a tattoo remain. Jackson has a secret. Cursed by his dead girlfriend’s mother, he can never fall in love again or his beloved will die. With his heart on lockdown, he keeps to himself—until a roadie gig with Malcontent, the world’s most popular band, entwines his fate with sweet, wounded Layla’s…

Music is what Layla lives for. She has no choice. She’s bound by magic to serve Malcontent, cursed to propel them to stardom with her musical powers. Then Jackson appears and gives her hope that he’s the hero who will save her. A reluctant hero, yet one she can’t resist. But freedom will come at price—and who will pay…?

This is a short story re-telling of Grimm's Fairytale, The Griffin. Let me start off by saying that story is well-written and the pacing was fine. I have never heard The Griffin fairytale, so I have nothing to compare this to. However, I was feeling a little lost as I was reading. I did not know why things were happening or what Jackson's curse was. So after I got about halfway through the story, I found myself going back to read the synopsis. I did not read it prior to reading the story... sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I skip it because I like to be surprised by the book. However, this is the case where you absolutely NEED to read the synopsis. It's actually part of the story. If you don't read it, you will not know how Jackson got cursed (other than simple references to the curse until he tells the whole story to someone in the second half of the book).

So once I did the preliminaries (albeit late), I was more tuned into the story and understood what was going on. Since I didn't know the original Griffin fairytale, this was just a short story for me about a pair of curses, sacrifice and love. The griffin is Jackson (obviously), a bike-riding musician who can't risk falling in love. He joins the band Malcontent as a roadie, and is instantly captivated by Layla. Layla isn't part of the band, but is forced to travel along with them on tour by her own curse. I liked both Layla and Jackson well enough, but I didn't have a great connection with either character. This has more to do with the length of the book than the writing - there just was not room enough to provide the details that would draw you in to connect with anyone in particular.

Regardless, I liked the story and it was a nice way to spend my lunch break. I think maybe I should have looked up The Griffin tale before I read it, just so I had some background info. I would have enjoyed it more with the background, and also if it was longer and more detailed. I like really developed characters, knowing who they are and what their role is in the story. The secondary characters we meet in the beginning - I wasn't sure what purpose they had, so I would have like to see their roles expounded upon. Same with some of the band members and roadies who were under Mal's spell - I would have liked some info on how that was accomplished. But otherwise, it was not bad.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

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