Review: Ride Hard

RIDE HARD
Raven Riders #1
Laura Kaye
Contemporary MC Romance
320 pages
Avon
Available Now
Source: eARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Brotherhood. Club. Family.

They live and ride by their own rules.

These are the Raven Riders . . .

Raven Riders Motorcycle Club President Dare Kenyon rides hard and values loyalty above all else. He’ll do anything to protect the brotherhood of bikers—the only family he’s got—as well as those who can’t defend themselves. So when mistrustful Haven Randall lands on the club’s doorstep scared that she’s being hunted, Dare takes her in, swears to keep her safe, and pushes to learn the secrets overshadowing her pretty smile.

Haven fled from years of abuse at the hands of her criminal father and is suspicious of any man’s promises, including those of the darkly sexy and overwhelmingly intense Ravens’ leader. But as the powerful attraction between them flares to life, Dare pushes her boundaries and tempts her to want things she never thought she could.

The past never dies without a fight, but Dare Kenyon’s never backed down before . . .

MY THOUGHTS
Ride Hard is a fast-paced, swoon-worthy start to this series, giving us a delightfully mismatched leading couple with a rough and tumble hero and a sweet-as-pie heroine more than a decade his junior. Though they're miles apart in age and personality, unfortunate life experiences bring them together, and the romance that develops between them has us setting this one on that special shelf that houses all the books we plan to read over and over again.

Though Haven is initially as timid as they come thanks to an abusive father and life as part of a criminal organization, she never comes across as weak, merely a young woman attempting to survive in a potentially threatening environment the only way she knows how. She knows she's letting fear drive her in the beginning, and though she gets mad at herself for it, she still can't quite bring herself to be the life of the party the way her best friend Cora is. Slowly but surely however, we see her begin to find herself thanks to her new environment and the camaraderie with many of the Raven Riders, and by the end she has a spine of steel that causes more than one leather-clad biker to take a step back and give her space.

Dare is just the right amount of bad boy, running his MC as above board as possible while still being able to help those the law can't, giving a little kiss of danger along with our heart of gold. He's incredibly patient with Haven as she tries to figure herself out, never trying to be the missing piece that suddenly makes her whole, but rather content to be by her side as she completes herself and then shares her newfound wholeness with him.

As is always the case with a romance by Ms. Kaye, Haven and Dare sizzle throughout, but the heat is more than backed up by emotional substance. Dare and Haven are also surrounded by an outstanding cast of characters, many of whom are sure to get their own stories in future books, and I for one can't wait to dive back into this world with another one of the Raven Riders!

Rating: 4/5

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This book was sent to me by the publisher  free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.