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

Find Laura:

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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.

 

Review: Hard as it Gets

HARD AS IT GETS
Hard Ink #1
Laura Kaye
Romantic Suspense
368 pages
Avon
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Tall, dark, and lethal...

Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.

With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge...

MY THOUGHTS
Hard as it Gets is a fast-paced, low-angst romance, giving us a lead pair who handle everything thrown at them with maturity and make communication one of their top priorities. The result is a relationship that brings a smile to our faces, the perfect amount of heat and tension combining to give us more than a little swoon while sparing us frustration with either party as they start unraveling what's clearly going to be a series-long military-based mystery.

Becca is everything we could want in a heroine, a young woman who's out of her depth when it comes to her missing brother and knows it, leading her to ask for the help she do desperately needs instead of going off half-cocked and trying to fix things on her own. Given Nick is ex-Special Forces, Becca could have easily fallen into one of two categories of heroine: One, she could have played a damsel in distress to the fullest, completely relying on him to save both her and her brother; or two, she could have been bound and determined to be the exact opposite, wanting to prove her mettle by tossing herself into the middle of everything dangerous. Thankfully, Becca creates her very own category, fully recognizing that Nick has skills she doesn't, but at the same time refusing to allow him to run roughshod over her and dictate her every move. She's honest at all times, both with feelings and with any information she has that might help the investigation, and even when she learns what a binding non-disclosure agreement keeps Nick from telling her, she handles it in a way that has us wanting to reach out and hug her for being awesome.

Nick, for his part, is as enjoyable as Becca, possessing an excess of alpha qualities but never once coming across as bossy or overbearing. He has every reason to bear a grudge against Becca's family, but after their initial meeting, he never once holds the sins of the father against either Becca or her brother Charlie, throwing himself wholeheartedly into helping them both. He respects what Becca brings to the table regarding her brother's disappearance, never once disregarding her opinion or relegating her to the sidelines because she doesn't have his training. They're partners every step of the way, and the two of them together delight from first to last page.

Overall, Hard as it Gets is an outstanding first installment to the Hard Ink series, introducing us to a military cover up that will span multiple books, but ensuring we turn the last page fully satisfied with a complete story in this first installment. We also find ourselves acquainted with the remaining living members of Nick's Special Forces team, a group of men who bring a sense of humor and camaraderie to the story, deepening our emotional investment as we look forward to seeing each of them find their own slice of happiness in future books.

Rating: 4.5/5
 

Find Laura:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

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

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