From New York Times Bestselling author Laura Kaye, comes the first steamy standalone in her Raven Riders Series,
RIDE HARD!
A sexy romantic suspense, you might’ve first met the Ravens in the Hard Ink world, but this series about a different kind of a motorcycle club with a protective mission stands on its own and is even sexier, edgier, and grittier!
The Raven Riders Series takes you on a new adventure and kicks it into overdrive!
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Author: Laura Kaye
Publication Date: 26 April 2016
Publisher: Harper Collins
Series: Raven Riders, book 1
Genre: Contemporary Romance, MC based
Age Recommendation: 17 and up
Rating: 5 Stars
Book Description:
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 Review:
If you know me at all you know that I love myself a biker book. I love the nitty gritty of it all, the passion for their lives and their relationships, for their club and 'brothers', I love the description of the MC flying down the road, imagining the sound of all the motorcycles and the wind in my face.....what I love most about the Raven Riders though is that they aren't the typical dark club, they aren't really 1%ers...they are a group with a mission to protect those that can't protect themselves. They are all the things described above, a lot of hell with a large dash of heart and heaven thrown in.
Her two main characters Dare and Haven will have you falling in love. Haven is on the run from her past, an abusive relationship with her father, a man who isn't ready to let her 'go' and is now tracking her. She ends up in the best place she can, the Raven Riders compound and with their mission to protect the 'innocent' she finds herself safe for the first time in her life, unfortunately it can never be quite that easy. Dare is Raven Riders President and he takes their role seriously, the appearance of Heaven at his club peeks his interest and Haven makes him want something that he hasn't wanted since losing his mother and brother, to let down his walls and let someone in.
I loved the relationship between these two. It's full of passion and struggle. Watching them fight their growing attractions because neither feels good enough for the other can be sad at times, but we all know Laura Kaye isn't going to leave us crying in our beers and she gives up a beautiful story with our craved for HEA. Watching this couple grow, Dare coming to know that he can be more than the President of the Club, that he still has a heart to give, watching Haven become confident in who she is on her own and grow into a strong woman, is inspiring.
The secondary characters will have you craving more, I can't wait for each book and I am hoping it will be a nice long series similar to Hard Ink. The storyline will have you turning ALL the pages in one sitting because you can't put the book down! I love that our Hard Ink family make an appearance, it was so hard (no pun intended) to leave the Hard Ink crew behind. I really grew to love them and their stories. I was so happy that they made an appearance and I don't think this is even the last time we will see them, they may not make huge role appearances but I am hopeful they are there and we get peeks into their lives through out the entire series. The Raven Riders have a similar vibe to her Hard Ink men only more raw. If you liked Hard Ink you will love these guys but don't worry that you are getting more of the same these guys are different 'beasts'! Their stories are just as touching though...if not perhaps a little more.
~ HAPPY READING ~
Excerpt:
“So much better out here,” Haven said, the night air cool against the tingling warmth of her skin. Although she was pretty sure that not all of the heat burning through her insides was from the alcohol—her unusual flirtatiousness and closeness to Dare over the past half hour had made her desperate with a heat that had nothing to do with her drinking game.
She walked to the railing and leaned against it, chuckling a little at herself for needing the support it offered. She felt so damn free, and it was a heady, exhilarating thing.
“What’s funny?” Dare asked, settling a hip against the railing right beside her. Arms crossed, jaw ticking with tension, dark eyes blazing, he was staring at her like he wanted to reprimand her or devour her. Oddly, neither alarmed her the way she would’ve expected it to.
Haven shook her head, leaning it back and letting her gaze float over the night sky. Blurry points of light swam in the moonlit heavens. It was beautiful and peaceful despite the pounding bass beat of music thumping from inside the clubhouse. “Not funny, just good. Happy, you know? Being able to do something a little . . . scary, but knowing I’d be safe doing it.” When Dare’s gaze narrowed, she shrugged. “I don’t know.”
A long moment passed before Dare finally spoke. “You are safe here, Haven. Never doubt it.”
Peering up at him, she nodded, all kinds of words sitting on the tip of her tongue, challenging her to let them fly. “It’s weird feeling safe—or at least safer—after a lifetime of not. It makes me want to try things I could never let myself try before. It makes me . . .” She shook her head and dipped her chin.
Dare stepped closer, his thighs coming up against her hip. He lifted her chin and made her look at him. The contact combined with the command in the gesture lanced white-hot desire through her veins. “Makes you what?”
“Want to feel alive,” she whispered, her heart suddenly racing in her chest.
Dare’s jaw ticked again as his gaze swept over her face. She didn’t think she was imagining the raw emotion pouring off of him and wrapping around her, but she wasn’t sure if she was reading that emotion right or projecting her own desire onto him.
“Do you feel alive, Dare?” she asked, the alcohol flowing through her and the night spinning around her like she was walking through a dream.
“Jesus,” he bit out.
The rough desperation in his voice made her wet between her legs. “Just once,” she whispered, not sure what she was asking him for.
But he seemed to know. Because his hand was suddenly tangled in her hair and his mouth was suddenly on hers, claiming, probing, tasting.
Haven moaned and parted her lips, inviting him deeper.
Dare jerked back from her, his fingers rubbing roughly over his lips. “Fuck, I’m sorry.”
On instinct, Haven’s body pursued his, pinning his back to the railing. “Please don’t stop,” she said as her hands gripped his shoulders. She had the strongest urge to climb him, to wrap her legs around him, to grind against the hard bulge pressing electrically against her belly.
“Please,” she whispered, tilting her mouth toward his. “I liked it.”
Dare’s hand cupped the back of her head. “You’re killing me.”
“Dare,” she said, her body restless against his.
In a move that sent the world spinning, he flipped them around so that she was the one pinned against the railing. He pushed his legs between hers and leaned down over her, forcing her to arch her back, to yield, to open to him. “Tell me what you want from me. Say the words,” he said, his eyes absolutely on fire.
Her heart was a runaway train in her chest, frantic and picking up speed. The thought of giving voice to her desires was terrifying and thrilling and dizzying all at once.
“I want your mouth,” she said. The words sounded odder out loud than they had in her head, but they were more accurate than asking him to kiss her—because her mouth wasn’t the only place she wanted his.
“Jesus,” he rasped again, his mouth coming down on hers once more.
The whimper she released was part relief, part anticipation. It had been so long since she’d kissed someone that she felt a little uncertain, but Dare’s intensity barely allowed her the capacity to worry about it. He was like a dark storm bearing down on her, relentless, magnetic, all-consuming.
Rough callouses from his hands scratched against her cheeks as he guided her. Hard breaths spilled over her lips, and the wet slide of his tongue tasted like whiskey and desire and man. Her hands found the soft length of his hair, and her breasts pushed against the hard plane of his chest.
Then her lips were freed as his mouth slid over her skin—exploring her cheek, her jaw, her ear, her neck. He hiked her up to sit on the wide railing, the move surprising a gasp out of her, especially as he crowded the space between her legs, pushing himself closer, bringing his erection against the place between her legs craving friction, hardness, so much more of him. Maybe even all of him.
One strong arm wrapped around her back and held her steady, while the other hand stroked her hair, her face, her breast. The soft groans and breathy grunts spilling out of him were delicious and thrilling, and bolstered her confidence that she wasn’t the only one losing herself in this moment, in these touches. She almost couldn’t believe this was happening, and part of her was certain she must be dreaming. Because Haven Randall didn’t have beautiful things in her life. At least, never before.
And don’t miss all the books in the Raven Riders Series!
HARD AS STEEL now available
RIDE HARD now available
RIDE ROUGH coming April 25th, 2017
RIDE WILD coming October 31st, 2017
Get a Bonus Short Story
for Pre-Ordering Ride Rough, Coming 4/25/17!
Order a signed Ride Rough through the Virtual Signing!
GIVEAWAY:
( $10 Amazon or B&N Giftcard for three winners)
About Laura Kaye:
Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirty books in contemporary and erotic romance and romantic suspense, including the Hard Ink, Raven Riders, and Blasphemy series. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.
Laura Kaye’s RIDE HARD – Review Tour Schedule:
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