Mystery Man by Kristen Ashley Also in this series: Motorcycle Man
Series: Dream Man #1
on July 11, 2011
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Military Romance
Narrator: Kate Russell
Length: 14 Hours and 23 Mins
Pages: 494
Format: Audiobook
Source: Self Purchased
Night time is the right time...
Gwendolyn Kidd has met the man of her dreams. He's hot, he's sexy, and what started as a no-names-exchanged night of passion has blossomed into a year and a half-long pleasure fest. Sure, it's a little strange that he only appears in her bed at night, but Gwen is so sure he's the one, she just can't turn him away...
Hawk Delgado knows more about Gwen than she could ever imagine. She's gorgeous, headstrong, and skittish about relationships. But Hawk is facing his own demons, demons that keep him from connecting with anyone. Yet when Gwen is drawn into Denver's lethal underground scene, Hawk's protective nature comes out full force. The problem is, when Gwen gets a dose of Hawk's Alpha attitude in the daylight, she's not so sure he's the one anymore....
Mystery Man is the first book in the Dream Man series and after getting my Chaos fix I decided that I need to pick up this series since its connected and yeah its REALLY fun and I have been addicted to this series. The audio especially is very well done, I really think that Kate Russell implents the voice of Kristen Ashley so well and her books that she narrates tend to just come alive for me. Now Mystery Man is a bit different than I was expecting in that there was a bit of a love triangle….kinda. I mean its obvious who the heroine ends up with in the end, but there are other conflict of interests and I wasn’t sure if it would work for me but it really does.
Gwendolyn Kidd has been in a sexual relationship with her “dream man” who comes to her at night and for over a year they have lots of bouts of hot sex and Gwen doesn’t seem to want to tell him no. Even though she wants more than just sex with a man she doesn’t even know his first name to, she also can’t deny the connection she feels to him, a connection she has never felt for anyone else. But things dramatically change between them when drama comes to her door and her life will be turned upside down. Her sister is a troublemaker and Gwen has always had to bail her out. But when she goes to the man she believes is her sister’s boyfriend, it turns out she has burned her bridge because she finds out that her sister owes the Chaos club a few million dollars and that just isn’t the type of money that she has.
“About five seconds after I left you today, things between you and
me, they changed,” he informed me in a quiet voice.
I felt my brows draw together as my mind processed the fact that
this was not good.
“Changed?” I asked. “How?”
“You got attitude, the kind I like. So I decided I’m gonna ride that
attitude wave of yours, see how things work out.
And this is where she meets Tack, the head of the Chaos club and a man she is attracted to and reaches out a hand to offer her help because he knows that she is an innocent bystander and Tack doesn’t go after innocents. But Gwen soon realizes that there is more than just the Chaos club to worry about because her sister has betrayed all groups of people and they will come after her and this is where her dream man comes into play. She doesn’t know exactly what he does, but she soon learns his name is Hawke and is a leader of a team and Hawke isn’t going to let her go and put herself in danger. But now Gwen has to face up to the fact that Hawke isn’t a man she can cross because he wants her in his life and will fight for her and the life they could have together…..
“You’re bossy, arrogant, intrusive, annoying… ”
His minor grin amplified.
See! Totally unrepentant…
“Do I have anything going for me?”
“… you can be sweet, you’re a cuddler, and you carried me out of a burning building…”
“I’m a cuddler?”
“You spoon.”
His brows went up. “That’s important enough to be on your list?”
“Uh… yeah.”
[He’s grinning] “Fuckin’ ridiculous what women think is important.
WHEW….THIS BOOK!!! Okay so I have read quite a few of Kristen Ashley books so far and have pretty much enjoyed most of what I have read so far but I want to mention this might be one of my favorites its up there with Own The Wind and Golden Dynasty and Knight and one of my favorite alpha males that this author has written. She writes them so well but what I love about Hawke is he isn’t your normal jerk hero. He can be a jerk no doubt about that, but it isn’t him being an ass or anything. He has so many great qualities to admire.
In Mystery Man we do have a plot of suspense and mystery and trying to find out why Gwen’s life is in danger and how to resolve her sisters problem. But we also have the focus of the romance between Hawke and Gwen. Now granted, these two have been in love for a while but Hawke is so SMART. He knows that Gwen is closed off from him and won’t pursue anything deeper than sex until she is ready to open herself up to him. Gwen doesn’t fully realize how she has put Hawke at arms length in order to protect herself. Both Gwen and Hawke have painful pasts, and Hawke has a past that is more painful than Gwen could ever imagine and if both Hawke and Gwen have to realize facing their past and relying on each other is what will aid in the healing but they have to want to overcome the painful memories and fight for what they have.
“Would have made a deal with the devil to…Don’t have that chance so nothin’ I can do about that. But I darkened your door and you lit up my life again so I’m not lettin’ that go.”
We are introduced to many characters that will be couples in future books which was really fun and I adore the supporting cast of characters and most especially Tack and Elvira!! I found Mystery Man to be a outstanding story that will delight you in every way you can imagine….unstoppable read that will capture hearts!!
Wild Man by Kristen Ashley Also in this series: Motorcycle Man
Series: Dream Man #2
on October 4, 2011
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Military Romance
Narrator: Kate Russell
Length: 13 Hours and 55 Mins
Pages: 343
Format: Audiobook
Source: Self Purchased
She's about to walk on the wild side . . .
While filling the display case in her bakery, the bell over the door sounds and Tessa O'Hara looks up to see the man of her dreams. Within thirty seconds he asks her out for a beer. But after four months of dating, she discovers he's an undercover DEA agent-and he's investigating her possible role in her ex-husband's drug business. For Tess, this means their relationship is over.
Brock disagrees. He's committed to his anti-drug mission, but he's fallen in love with the beautiful woman who's as sweet as her cupcakes-and he'll do anything to win her back. Standing between Tess and Brock are their own exes, one of them a drug lord who's determined to get what he wants. Now as danger threatens, can Brock break the rules he's lived by and let loose his wild side to protect the woman he loves?
*May Contain Spoilers*
Wild Man is book two of the Dream Man series. Now Wild Man wasn’t necessarily a book I was looking forward to because the hero in Wild Man, we are introduced to in Book One and I just didn’t like what he was willing to do for his job especially with Gwen. And those you have read Mystery Man know what I am talking about so I knew that I wanted to read this series in order but wasn’t sure how I would feel about this book but I can tell you I loved it almost as much as Mystery Man, not quite as much but just a step below it.
In Wild Man, Tessa O’ Hara runs a bakery shop and then a sexy man comes into her shope and asks her out on a date with drinks and she ends up in his bed and life for four months. Even though he is sexy and hot and makes her toes curl, she doesn’t really know that much about him. She does care for him deeply though but one night, he leaves her bed and the next thing that she knows is a team of SWAT bursts into her home and takes her to the police station for questioning. She has no idea what is really going on only that it has something to do with her ex husband. Which is where we learn she had a miserable marriage where her ex beat her and raped her and she divorced him. But now she has moved on despite the fact that her ex keeps calling her wanting her back and she doesn’t want him, she knows that she deserves better than what he gave her.
Babe, you think I found the woman of my dreams at forty-five years old and I’m gonna let anything happen to her, think again. That’s a long fuckin’ time to wait for what you want. I waited. I found it. I’m pullin’ out all the stops to take care of it. I know you feel the same for me so I’m doin’ the same to keep me safe for you
But she learns that the man she has been with for over four months, betrayed her, where he wanted to get close to get information about her ex husband and three months have passed. And her dream man walks into her shop wanting her back and she has no idea how determined he is. Brock is dedicated to his job and he wants out of going undercover for the DEA, he knows if he doesn’t get out soon he is going to lose an important part of himself and he has two sons he adores that he wants in his life more actively and there is one woman who has made him want more in life….Tessa O’Hara. Tessa doesn’t know if she can trust Brock with her heart again, but she does know that he cares for her and despite what her girlfriends think she should do, she wants to give what they have a second chance. But there will be drama with his ex wife, and with her ex husband but both Brock and Tessa will discover what they have created with their family is worth the cost.
I turned my head so my lips were at his ear and no lies, no masks, no bullshit, no games, I kept whispering when I told him, “I love you, Brock.”
I have a fun FUN time with Wild Man and these two were so well written. I was so captivated by their story but also by Brock’s family and his boys and well his ex wife is a piece of work. She is really a horrible human being and love seeing her lose everything in this book. We also see Brock and Tessa face whatever comes at them as a team….they work together to have the strongest relationship so nothing can ruin what they have together. I loved seeing this partnership develop through the story, and seeing them overcome past hurts and betrayals and where healing and forgiveness are a focus point. It was quite refreshing to see a more mature couple that don’t play foolish games, that are confident in who they are and in the love they feel for each other and work at it continually.
“Babe, he took your power. Tonight, you took it back. And it…” his arm gave me a squeeze, “was,” his hand gave me a squeeze, “fuckin’,” his forehead dropped to rest on mine, ” beautiful.”
I closed my eyes and pulled in a deep breath.
Then I opened them and said, “You had my back.”
“I always have your back.”
Overall I found Wild Man to be a superb addition to the series that is powerfully provocative and emotionally driven and will curl you toes!!
Law Man by Kristen Ashley Also in this series: Motorcycle Man
Series: Dream Man #3
on February 4, 2012
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Police Officers, Mystery, Suspense
Narrator: Kate Russell
Length: 14 Hours and 40 Mins
Pages: 535
Format: Audiobook
Source: Self Purchased
Love is just around the corner . . .
Sweet, shy Mara Hanover is in love with her neighbor. For four years, she has secretly watched her dream man from afar. Handsome police detective Mitch Lawson is way out of her league. She's a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, and there's no way a guy like Mitch would want anything to do with her. But when Mara has a leaky faucet that she can't fix, it's Mitch who comes to her rescue.
Mitch has been eyeing his beautiful neighbor for a long time. He jumps at the chance to help her, and soon their formerly platonic relationship gets very hot and heavy. But when Mara gets a disturbing phone call from her cousin's kids, she gets pulled back into the life she's tried so hard to leave behind. Can the hot law man convince Mara to let go of her past-and build a future with him?
Law Man is the book I have been waiting for since book one, I was so hooked on Mitch Lawson who is a sexy police detective. But even though this is one of the books I was looking forward to I also found that it wasn’t quite as wonderful as books 1 and 2. Granted I enjoyed Law Man in many ways but the heroine really drove me nuts. She didn’t have much common sense and her most common phrases are “umm” and once we know more about her past, seeing how she is become more understandable once we understand her past but still she still drove me crazy most of the time.
Mara has had a crush on Mitch Lawson and been half in love with the police detective for over four years. And when her bathroom sink has problems, he comes over to fix it and sparks fly and before she knows it Mitch is going after her fully speed ahead. But Mara has a weird people meter and she views herself as a 2.5 and views Mitch as a 10.5 and way out of her league. She grew up in a trailer park and the way her mother and aunt treated her has had Mara look down on herself and she doesn’t have much confidence in herself. But Mitch sees her for the woman that she truly is. He think her system is nuts and crazy and that people are just that….human beings. some are good some are bad and some are in between. But when there is a problem with Mara’s young cousins, Mitch helps her out. Now Mara has to deal with handling Mitch, become an adoptive parent to two children whose father is in jail.
I really enjoyed this book even though the heroine was a bit “wonko” and trust me that is me being nice because she can be a little cookoo at times. But what I LOVED was the hero. Mitch is such a nice guy and really genuine and has a clean record. He is great with the kids and he understands Mara and is determined to win her over despite how crazy she is in the head and wants to make her understand how the real world really works and that no one is better than another. Of course she doesn’t fully understand until her mother and aunt make a reappearance and we see such a vast different from Mara and her family members. We see how much Mara has done for herself. She has a job she enjoys and makes decent money, she is honest and doesn’t even have a parking ticket. She pays her bills on time and even has a savings set aside for a rainy day. She is smart and loves music and candles and a very good cook. She is such a good person despite those she was born to who are truly horrible and I love seeing Mara come into herself and discover her true worth and seeing her become more confident and sure of who she really is and not the person her mother tried to make her believe she is.
Let’s see if I can tear that cocoon wide open and let my Mara fly.
Then we have the two children who are simply adorable. They haven’t had the best father though, who throws him money away on cigarettes and alcohol instead of making sure they have food. But we see things change when Mara and Mitch come to save them when they run away, and come to their home to see their father (Mara’s cousin) high on drugs and discover he is a drug dealer and has messed with some bad people including the russian mob and that if Mara hadn’t taken in the kids when she did, that something worse would have happened to them. We see how strong Mara and the children love each other and they cling to Mitch. We see these four become a true family, step by step they resolve the problems and issues and become stronger together.
“I’ll go gentle, baby,” he whispered against my lips. “I promise. You’ll always be safe with me.”
Oh. My.
“Mitch,” I breathed.
His soulful eyes held mine captive as he repeated firmly, “Always.”
Law Man is a story that is packed with vibrant emotion and feels that you feel deep down to the soul, it’s a tale of healing, trust and personal growth!!! RIVETING from beginning to end.
About Kristen Ashley
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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