Tuesday, June 30, 2015

ARC Review: Ride Steady By Kristen Ashley

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 . . .

With every Kristen Ashley book that I read I always walk away with a gift, that gift being a lesson to be learned, a bit of knowledge that I may not have taken the time to time on, and a feeling that even during the dark times in our lives that if we hang on to the hope that we will get through it and come out the other side into the light.  Now that is a lot to just know will happen but if you have read any of her books you know that I speak from my heart when I say that these things are true.  Ride Steady was no exception, like all of her books there is a lesson to be learned and it was one that I will always remember.

Joker’s past is one that could have turned him into a different man, one that would have been completely different than the man he is today.  Let me try to elaborate without giving anything away.  He is not an angel by any means, but what he is, is a man who lived through hell, rose above it, became the man he is today by being who he always was in his heart and isn’t going to apologize for some of the things he has done to become that man.  Joker is talented, smart, has a huge heart, but he is also Chaos which means he is alpha, badass, take no shit type of man, in other words he is a man who is a man and acts like a man. 

Clarissa was sweet, at times sassy, and I think the perfect balance of her sweet to Joker’s hard.  Her own life was in turmoil with her ex-husband and trying to take care of her infant son Travis.  She wasn’t weak, she had be beaten down emotionally but fought to pick herself back up to carry on for not just her but her son as well.  When some truths come to light, some women would have just walked away without looking back; but Clarissa made me proud by standing strong and not giving up.  I’m not going to lie I at first wasn’t sure if she was right for Joker, that thought lasted 2 seconds before even just a few pages in I was shown that she was the light Joker needed to his dark. 

I loved seeing old friends from other books play a role in Ride Steady, it felt like one big old reunion and for some authors I hate to say it doesn’t tend to work but Kristen Ashley knows how to make her readers feel as if we ourselves are a part of the family and are welcome to join in on the fun.  Ride Steady was written only as Kristen Ashley can write, beautifully with a dash of alpha badass and lessons to be learned.   I can’t personally wait for more of our Chaos men, the women who love them and the lessons we will learn.  Congrats Kristen Ashley on yet another amazing book!

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