Review: Mystery Man (#1, Dream Man) by Kristen Ashley - Vilma Iris | Lifestyle Blogger

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Review: Mystery Man (#1, Dream Man) by Kristen Ashley

My Thoughts

Sexy, romantic, action-packed page turner full of good-hearted, loyal alphas that made me laugh and swoon the whole way through.
This book was all kinds of awesome!

5stars

Synopsis

MYSTERY-MAN coverWhile drinking cosmopolitans, Gwendolyn Kidd meets the man of her dreams. Then she takes him home. Then she wakes up alone. But her fear that she lost her dream man turns into a relationship with a mystery man when, night after night in the dead of night, he comes back for more. Hoping it will blossom into something real, she lets him.

But she doesn’t even know his name.

Gwen’s struggling with the decision to end their crazy non-relationship when her sister-from-hell, Ginger’s best friend pays a visit and warns Gwen that if she and her sister don’t get smart, they’ll both get d-e-a-d, dead. Gwen has no clue what’s going on but she’s used to Ginger’s antics and decides to lay the problem on her sister’s biker boyfriend’s doorstep. Bad choice. She hits the Denver Underground radar with a big, loud ping.

This means Gwen’s Mystery Man, Cabe “Hawk” Delgado has to step in to keep her safe. But when Hawk gets a dose of Gwen in the daylight, he makes the decision that he finally wants real with Gwen. However when Gwen gets a dose of badass, bossy, straight-talker Hawk in the daylight, she decides she’s done.

Thus begins the head-to-head of the Commando vs. Cosmo Girl as Hawk woos Gwen in his own unique way, Gwen survives firebombs, drive-bys, kidnappings, hot pursuits by biker hotties and gorgeous police detectives and discovers the heartbreaking reason why Hawk kept her at arm’s length.

And as all this happens, Gwen finds that her sister’s troubles are serious trouble and she must decide who to keep alive: her sister-from-hell or the man of her dreams.

My Review

Holy hot alphas!!! This book rocked my world! I say it each time, but Kristen Ashley writes the most addictive, fun-to-read books in the business. I mean, really… who doesn’t love a well-written, heart-pounding, super sexy story full of badass dudes? Not me, that’s for certain. Every time I pick up a KA novel, I’m sure to get consistently good writing, awesome storytelling, kickass characters, super hot sexy time, heartfelt moments and some sort of nail-biting situation that keeps me devouring the pages one after the other. Her books symbolize the reason I love to read so much. I can easily escape into the world she’s created, feel like I know the characters, love them, root for them. And after a story that’s always so well paced with the turbulent ups and downs that keep me captivated, I’m always left feeling happy and totally satisfied at the end. The consistency of being able to deliver that experience every single time is a huge feat and I bow down to her genius.  Hawk and Gwen’s story is an explosive push and pull with lots of drama, lots of complication and lots of passion… and I loved every wild minute of it.

I felt a warm hand on the skin of my lower back.
I twisted my neck, looked up and there he was.
I held my breath and he asked, “You comin’ or what?”
That was it. That was his pickup line. “You comin’ or what?”
I went.

Smart-sassing Gwen locked eyes with the man of her dreams one night while sipping one-too-many cosmos with the girls. That good-lookin’ man with the confident swagger took her to bed and both figuratively and literally rocked her world.  What she didn’t expect is for that man… her Mystery Man… to come calling night after night, shrouded by the dark, for over a year and a half. When trouble finds Gwen, Mystery Man makes a rare appearance in the daylight. Suddenly he identifies himself as one badass commando named Cabe “Hawk” Delgado who is bossy, drop-dead sexy and entirely overprotective. Hawk considers Gwen his woman and that means she’s living in Badass Commando World from that day on… whether she likes it or not.

“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.”

Gwen’s sister, Ginger, is in a whole lot of trouble, which in turns brings trouble barreling down her door. With commandos, cops, bikers and all-around bad guys after Ginger, Gwen and her family are right, smack in the middle of danger’s crosshairs. Gwen and Hawk embark on quite an adventure as they try and deal with all the trouble that relentlessly comes their way, while trying to get to know each other in a way that’s deeper and real. Their relationship is hot and explosive, with both of them being head-strong and direct. Their banter is sweet and funny at the same time, making you feel like you just know they are oh-so right together. And as if they didn’t have enough trouble to contend with, we get to meet both badass law man, Mitch Lawson, and badass motorcycle man, Kane “Tack” Allen (and of course, we also see one of my all-time faves, badass investigator Lee Nightingale!). Let me tell you, with all that hot alphaness in the story, I swore my Kindle was going to combust. I loved them all. And with these men tempting Gwen, bullets flying astray, and a past that makes her feel scared and vulnerable, she isn’t prepared when Hawk and her hit a major roadblock. There are some pretty charged moments between them that made me feel for both of them. You could tell their pasts were shaping their presents, keeping them from the happiness just out of reach. Hawk, especially, who is so private, hides a pain so deeply buried that when brought back to light is almost impossible to work through.

“I darkened your door and you lit up my life again so I’m not lettin’ that go.”

This book truly has it all. I loved the guys, the gals, the loyalty, the friendships, the action and especially the happily ever after. I think we all know that Kristen Ashley writes the world’s best epilogues and this one wasn’t anything short of pure awesome. I laughed, I teared up and I ended the book smiling big and feeling happy. At the end of the day, what more can I ask for?!

You’re in deep with me, aren’t you, baby?” I whispered my question just to confirm.
“Drowning.” he whispered back.”

If you’re new to Kristen Ashley books, I think this series (and this first book) is the perfect starting point for jumping into KA’s addictive world. I obviously started reading differently, but this is a great, all-around KA experience that will introduce you to some characters that will be making frequent appearances in other books from other series.

addseriestogoodreads

Reading Order and Links

Click on the image to order from Amazon U.S.
Visit this page for the complete Kristen Ashley series reading orders.

the gamble

Hawk & Gwen

the gamble

Brock & Tess

the gamble

Mitch & Mara

the gamble

Tack & Tyra

Connect with Kristen

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

 

 

 

 

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One Comment:


  1. Cristal Haynes said:

    You’re so right, Vilma! This is the perfect intro book to Kristen Ashley!

    Reply

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