Laura’s Review of Ride Steady (Chaos, #3) by Kristen Ashley

Synopsis

The ride of her life . . . 

Once upon a time, Carissa Teodoro believed in happy endings. Money, marriage, motherhood: everything came easy---until she woke up to the ugly truth about her Prince Charming. Now a struggling, single mom and stranded by a flat tire, Carissa's pondering her mistakes when a vaguely familiar knight rides to her rescue on a ton of horsepower.

Climb on and hold tight . . . 

In high school, Carson Steele was a bad boy loner who put Carissa on a pedestal where she stayed far beyond his reach. Today, he's the hard-bodied biker known only as Joker, and from the way Carissa's acting, it's clear she's falling fast. While catching her is irresistible, knowing what to do with her is a different story. A good girl like Carissa is the least likely fit with the Chaos Motorcycle Club. Too bad holding back is so damned hard. Now, as Joker's secrets are revealed and an outside threat endangers the club, Joker must decide whether to ride steady with Carissa---or ride away forever . . . 

What I Loved

          

           Once again Kristen Ashley has created a heartfelt gritty love story that steals your heart immediately and doesn’t let go.  The prologue sucks you in to Joker’s story and makes it impossible not fall in love with him immediately.  Carissa as well grabs your heart and you instantly became her number one fan.  Kristen Ashley has such a magical way of writing characters, making them seem so real and down to earth.  It allows the reader to get sucked in to each and every story and it stays with you for a long time afterwards.  I can definitely add Ride Steady to that long list of Kristen Ashley books that will stay with me for quite some time.

      We first meet Joker/Carson and Carissa in high school, both having a hard life but for very differ reason and then we meet them again years later trying to settle into their lives.  I loved that this story kind of broke away from the typical Kristen Ashley mold; boy meets girl and girl being in denial of a new relationship.  I love that Carissa met Joker and realized quite quickly how amazing this man was and that she was going to become someone important in his life.  Joker might’ve put up some walls at first but Carissa liked the challenge and went at him full throttle. 

          There is nothing not to love about Joker, growing up hard but finally finding support and a family in Chaos.  He is such an amazing character and there wasn’t a chapter that would go by that he wouldn’t amaze me.  I loved watching these two people fall in love with each other and build a happy life together.  

Not So Much

          

My only complaint about this story is that there were many times I felt like the plot kind of stalled and there was too much rambling going on.  I know it’s the way Kristen Ashley writes and I totally understand that so I’m not trying to knock it.  But there were a couple times to me that I felt like the plot got kind of boring and I wish the characters would just get to the point.

To Sum It All Up!

         

Another awesome Kristen Ashley story! I especially love the overall arc to this series, it adds to the anticipation of the climax and it is very different from other Kristen Ashley series.  We aren’t quite there yet but I have a feeling it’s coming soon and I’m not going to lie, ’m freaking scared when it finally does (but only in the best of ways)!  I love that not only did we get to see more of the Chaos family, we also got some Rock Chick action as well as a little Knight Sebring and of course Hawk.  It makes me miss these guys so much and at the same time adding to the plot and to the emotions of the reader.

          This was such an amazing story built around truly awesome characters.  The foundation was laid out immediately in such amazing detail and I loved the character development.  Kristen Ashley books have always been my measuring stick of details in other books because she writes them in so exquisitely and thoroughly.  Ride Steady gripped my heart; Joker and Carissa’s love for each other poured off every single page and these two will stay with me for a long time.

Lauren and Laura's Review of Own the Wind (Chaos #1) by Kristen Ashley

Summary: Tabitha Allen grew up in the thick of Chaos--the Chaos Motorcycle Club, that is. Her father is Chaos' leader, and the club has always had her back. But one rider was different from the start. When Tabby was running wild, Shy Cage was there. When tragedy tore her life apart, he helped her piece it back together. And now, Tabby's thinking about much more than friendship...

Tabby is everything Shy's ever wanted, but everything he thinks he can't have. She's beautiful, smart, and as his friend's daughter, untouchable. Shy never expected more than friendship, so when Tabby indicates she wants more--much more--he feels like the luckiest man alive. But even lucky men can crash and burn...

Rating: 4 stars

What I Loved: This is my first Kristen Ashley book. Apparently, I have been living under a rock and finally decided to climb out.  Her books are all over my TBR list and one of our fellow bloggers encouraged me to finally pick up one of her books...and I am glad I did :)  I fell in love with Shy and Tabby right from the beginning. Own the Wind has a great story line with loveable characters.  Kristen Ashley did a wonderful job developing the love story between Shy and Tabby and allowing the reader to witness the growth between them. I could really relate to their relationship for example, the fact that he won't do the laundry (and it is worth breaking up over) or that they got in a three day argument over what fridge to buy because she wanted the one that made crushed ice.  It made their relationship real that they are having the typical day to day drama that normal couples have.  Also, for some reason, I loved that his nickname was Shy...even though we later learn why and then I wasn't so crazy about it but initally, it made me dig him immediately. Plus, I am a lover of all alpha fictional males :)

Apparently, Ashley ties her characters together- Shy and Tabby appear in her book Motorcycle Man (Dream Man series) and her next book in the series, Fire Inside, features the story of Lanie and Hop.

For some reason I tend to stay away from books that continue the story of other characters in a series. It is a pure me thing. I just get so invested in the original characters that I cannot let go and focus on other characters that make small apprearences in the first book of a series. When there are multiple books in a series, I prefer that it a continuation of the original main characters. Does that make sense??

Cons: Nothing crazy...just a couple of scenes dragged towards the end that I could have done without.

My Next Read: Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A Tucker

Laura’s Review Own the Wind (Chaos #1) by Kristen Ashley

What I Love About This Book:  Since Lauren put the basic summary I’m not going to repeat it for you all.  Unlike Lauren I have been reading Kristen Ashley novels for quite some time now and she is by far my favorite author.  Her books make me laugh out loud, cry, scream, and giddy all at the same time.  Own the Wind does not fall short of any of this.  I like the fact that it takes a while for Tabby and Shy to get together.  I love that it’s not right after Tabby’s fiancé Jason dies, and that there is some bitterness between them because to me it adds another element that makes Shy and Tabby’s relationship different from the others that Kristen Ashley writes about. 

                I love that Shy is who helps Tabby through her grief and calls her on all of her bull shit when she needs to put in line.  Tabby had a secret crush on Shy for a long time before they finally got together and I love stories when a girl really gets the man of her dreams.  This story definitely has its ups and downs and there was times when I wasn’t exactly sure they were going to make it but of course

in the end they pull their shit together and voila, awesome love story!!!

                Also I see with this series Kristen Ashley has kind of mixed it up a little bit with kind of having an overall storyline throughout this series instead of individual plots in a series.  This is a break from typical Kristen Ashley and I like it! It’s a breath of fresh air in an already hot and highly anticipated series. 

                The sex scenes in this book are amazeballs and make me want more Shy and Tabby action!  There is a lot of lead up to their finally getting together but there is so much going on that it doesn’t feel like it’s dragging down the story and I wasn’t frustrated at any point that nothing happened between them for a while.

                I have also read the next book in this series Fire Inside (Chaos #2) and that book runs parallel to Own the Wind time wise.  Again including the same type of storyline that is in both books and I am assuming will be the focus of this series which I kind of love because it gives more build to the bad shit that is obviously coming Chaos’ way.

Cons:  Natalie in the book was really annoying, I have a hard time reading about people that make stupid decisions over and over again so that’s why she annoyed me so much.  But I guess that was the point of this character, to be the best friend that is a horrible best friend and has a drug problem and annoy the hell out of the reader. 

Overall:  I love Kristen Ashley books, I’m truly a KA addict and hope get off that habit! Own the Wind is awesome, that scene where Shy is confronted by Tack and the rest of Chaos when Tabby is there and then her mother walks in! OMG probably one of the best scenes in the book, other than the ending! I like that Kristen Ashley is trying something new with the plots for this series.  I loved Motorcycle Man which is Tyra and Tack’s love story and it definitely sets a great backdrop to this book and the rest of the Chaos series.  Own the Wind makes me want to permanently move to Denver and never look back!