Deacon by Kristen Ashley

Reviewed by Lucy
Adult read 18+

(Warning: Dark Read) I'm a huge KA fan and have read all of her books. I preordered this book and couldn't wait to devour it as soon as it hit my nook. This series, while darker than her others, are great reads if you enjoy the genre. Deacon was mentioned in the Raid novel, another great read, so you have some background into his history.

The book starts out with Cassidy, a young woman who recently bought property with vacation cabins in the Colorado. It had been a dream of hers since the age of 13, one she included her current boyfriend Grant in on. Unfortunately, Grant's promises to help her but doesn't follow through, preferring to drink with his 'buds', and enjoy the outdoor activities the mountains have to offer, leaving Cassidy with all of the labor he never seems to get around to doing.

During a particularly ugly argument, a knock comes at the door. Enter John Priest, aka Deacon. The the man is large and menacing, coming to the counter requesting cabin 11, he refuses to give a credit card and pays cash. Cassidy is pretty sure his name is an alias and doesn't feel right renting him a room. But she needs the money as Grant reminds her, so does so anyway. Something about the stranger, while she does fear him, intrigues her.

Always cold and a man of few words, over the years, and long after Grant is gone, randomly he continues to come back, always for cabin 11. Cassidy finds herself looking forward to his return, even though he remains distant and cold, finding herself wondering about the stranger and his life, until one day something happens to change all of that.

I won't say any more, not wanting to spoil the book for anyone else. But what you will find are devastating secrets, heartbreak, beauty, and pain. Kristen Ashley doesn't disappoint as she pens the story of her latest damaged alpha male. As always I can't wait and see what she does next. I gave this book four instead of five stars because I thought the conflict resolution at the end needed something more after what happened between the characters. Other than that, a solid KA read. Links listed below

http://www.amazon.com/Deacon-Unfinished-Heroes-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00M8T7P86

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deacon-kristen-ashley/1120028661?ean=2940046068276

Knight by Kristen Ashley

Reviewed by Lucy
Recommended 18+
Adult read

In anticipation of Deacon, the next to be released in Kristen Ashley's Unfinished Hero's series on September 23, 2014, I thought to rewind and go back to the beginning to her first novel in the series titled Knight. I have enjoyed nearly all of what this author has created over the years, some more than others, but I will say overall, she rarely disappoints. This book and series for me was no different.It is by far one of her darker novels, telling the story of characters who have survived trauma and unusual upbringings that have left a lingering effect on their lives for better or for worse.

Our story begins with Anya, a woman who has struggled most of her life, including financially after being orphaned as a young girl and raised by an alcoholic neglectful aunt. While begrudgingly attending a party, she meets Knight, a young wealthy mysterious and harsh man. The two couldn't be more different. Knight is mysterious with a dark edge and well off while Anya is sweet, kind, good natured as she struggles from week to week to make ends meat.

Knight decides to leave Anya alone despite being enamored with her, believing her to be better off with a normal traditional man, something Knight most definitely is not. That changes when Knight finds Anya in his nightclub. Finding her in a bad situation, he decides he doesn't care if he's right for her. He pursues her, deciding he's going to take care of her by making her life easier and goes about doing just that. This is something Anya hasn't had since the passing of her parents.

Throughout this book, most of the time I found Knight to be either a bastard or the best thing since chocolate. I won't say anything more, no plot spoilers. What I will say is this is by far more than a boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, girl falls for boy and both live happily every after. Kristen Ashley in my opinion delivers yet again. This is definitely an anti-hero type book, darker than your average romance read. For $3.99 it's a good value, a recommended 4 star read.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Knight

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/knight-kristen-ashley/1110498584?ean=9780615803838

Wildest Dreams by Kristen Ashley

Reviewed by Lucy
Recommended for 18+

Kristen Ashley, known to many readers as the queen of Alpha male novels, has a fantasy series called Fantastical where magic, adventure, and the fairy tales worlds come alive. Having read and loved many Kristen Ashley novels over the years, starting with her Rock Chick series, I must admit, I was tentative about this series. I put it off until I had devoured most of her straight forward romance adventure novels. Part of it was I had high expectations due to previous works, that I feared she wouldn't hold up when switching genres in this way. I should have had more faith in you Ms. Ashley. Once again, I fell into a all night book-a-thon, continuing into the following day, unable to put the book down until finished type state. I was in total story junkie mode with this one.

The story begins with a young adventure seeking junkie named Seofin, Finnie for short, who contacts a witch known as Valentine, who for a large sum of money, promises her the ultimate adventure. A trip to an alternate universe, one parallel to ours, one where our twin exists, though different from ourselves, in a world very different from our own. Having made contact with the other Seofin, the Finnie of this world and of the other agree to trade places for one year. Our Finnie is driven by adventure, but more so out of the desire to see her parents, who in this world have since perished, but live on in the parallel universe.

The switch is made, and shortly thereafter, our Finnie finds herself in a magical winter wonderland as a real live princess. What the original Seofin forgot to mention however, is that she was set to marry the Drakkar in mere moments. He is an immensely large man with a surly disposition and apparent dislike for Finnie, which also the former Seofin forgot to mention. After getting hitched and ditched by her new husband in a remote part of this frozen foreign land, Finnie gets exactly what she was looking for, an adventure. Finnie, being strong willed and determined makes the best of what she was given, and finds herself enjoying this strange yet wonderful world. As time passes, she also gets more than she expected in the Drakkar.

For me, Kristen Ashley always meets expectations when writing her alpha male characters. In this novel she also does a fantastic job in writing strong female characters of substance. If you are looking for a good adventure romance, in a fantasy setting with sci-fi elements, then this is the story for you. Magic, elves, dragons, and a wonderfully crafted world await you within these pages. At over 500 pages for $3.99 it's a great value for a rich story with great characters giving it 4 1/2 stars. Links listed below for amazon, barnes and noble, and author's web page.

http://www.amazon.com/Wildest-Dreams-Fantasyland-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B005HH1HVM
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wildest-dreams-kristen-ashley/1105099123?ean=2940011458903
http://www.kristenashley.net/menu/titles/fantasyland_series.html