Series Recommendation #3: Dream Man by Kristen Ashley

The Dream Man series was one of the very first books that made me decide that I wanted to go back to book blogging. I have always wanted to talk about books and now I regret having taken the years off from doing it. Finding this series really helped me in getting back on it.

Book series that would focus on just one couple are okay. Great, even. There are those times that I don't want to say goodbye to the characters and just want to read about them forever. But sometimes there are also those times when one book is just about enough for one love story. Reading about my beloved characters in other books in the series and see how they have grown since I was "with" them never fails to put a smile on my face. 

This series was perfect. We have hot alpha males that own a security company, two cops, and the leader of a motorcycle club. I mean, what is not to like, right? That was why I had to go back to blogging because how else can I gosh about Hawk? At first. And then adding Brock, Mitch, and Tack into the mix was just lethal to my senses. Thank you very much, Ms Ashley.

Book 1: Mystery Man

Book 2: Wild Man 

Book 3: Law Man

Book 4: Motorcycle Man

And if this series wasn't enough to make me grin like an idiot, KA spun off a new series from the rest of the characters in this series. I shall commence going gaga. 

Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley

Stuck in a colorless world, Tyra Masters decides to chuck her old life and starts searching for something. She doesn’t know what it is until she meets her dream man. The goateed, tattooed, muscled, gravelly voiced motorcycle man who plies her with tequila and gives her the best sex of her life. But she knows it isn’t the tequila and sex talking. He’s it. He’s who she’s been daydreaming about since she could remember.

Until he makes it clear she isn’t who he’s looking for.

Tyra slinks away from his bed, humiliated. The problem is, he’s her new boss. She just may or may not have forgotten to tell him that part.

Kane “Tack” Allen has a rule. He doesn’t employ someone he’s slept with. And he lets Tyra know that in his motorcycle man way. Tyra fights for her job and wins it using sass and a technicality. Tack challenges her that if she hits his bed one more time, she loses her job.

Tyra is determined to keep her job and keep away from Tack. But she makes a big mistake. During their head-to-heads, she lets it all hang out and shows Tack she is who he’s looking for. And Tack has had a good woman slip through his fingers, he’s not about to let that happen again.

Although Tack colors Tyra’s world with a vibrancy that’s blinding, being with him means she has to live in his Motorcycle Club world. Full on, no holds barred. And since Tack’s world, not to mention Tack, is a little scary, Tyra isn’t so sure.

It's Tack's job to convince her.


I finally got the courage to start reading Tack's book. While there was the excitement what his story was all about, I delayed it as much as I could because I loved the men in this series so much that I didn't want it to end.

I had gotten to have glimpses of Tack in the first three books of the series that I know there is an awesome hero underneath all that badassness front. Sweet. KA gave us enough build-up to this story that you pretty much know everyone on the story and just knew what the blow-up was probably going to be. Be that there was that touch of predictability, Tack' story still managed to give me surprises. Very good surprises.

Who knew that the badass in the first book would turn to be a dad of two grown, teenaged children? And be great about being one? I knew I mentioned that I already knew he was awesome since I read him in the first book (I actually thought his book was going to the second book because he made that big an impact on me) but I probably had so many awww moments in this book because Tack turned out to be awesome many times over.

The only thing that really irked me was Tyra's propensity to give up on them as soon as they come across the next hiccup in their relationship. But I let that pass (sort of) because her character was indeed not of the badass biker world. She had to grow into that role but she managed to do it well during the entire course of the story. I loved it when shen actually admitted this weakness and promised Tack that she would stop running. Tack deserved that.

The perfect I was looking for was't perfection. The perfect I was looking for was the one.

This book wrapped with a little "goodbye" POVs from the first three couples from the series. I loved that. I may have loathed to have finally come to an end to a wonderful series but I have a feeling that KA knew her readers would feel that way and gave us this closure. Another awww moment right there.

Oh, hey. KA's next series will start with Tack's daughter's story. I bet there's going to be a lot of Tack in it. I cannot wait to read it!

And here's my favorite takeout from the book:

Live life. Do not delay. Ever.

Final verdict: 8/10. Great read, must have.


My reviews of the first three books of Kristen Ashley's Dream Man series:
Mystery Man
Wild Man
Law Man

Law Man by Kristen Ashley

Four years ago, Mitch Lawson moved across the breezeway from Mara Hanover and she fell in love with the tall, good-looking police detective who had an uncanny ability to dress well even though he’s single. It was not a stalker kind of love; she knows she has no hope since Mitch is way out of her league. That doesn't change the fact that he’s her dream man.


So I met Mitch Lawson in Wild Man. We did not get on very well at first. The man did not make the best first impression. But by the time that book ended, I was rearing to go to read his story.

And so here we are with this book, Mitch's book. *smiles*

First, there was Mara Hanover. Mara was Mitch's neighbor. Mara has been in love with Mitch for years. Unbeknownst to Mara, Mitch felt the same way. Being Mitch Lawson and probably getting the any woman he wanted, I don't know why he didn't makes the moves on her the soonest. But then Mitch being who he was, a gentleman, he didn't do anything as Mara dated with someone else.

When Mara rescued her niece and nephew from a cousin that had gone off the rails, Mitch was there to readily lend a hand. I love stories with kids in them and this may be one of the best. There was just this easiness between Mitch and the kids that was unexpected in storylines such as this. (Don't I just wish more men are like him in real life?) And these were not even Mara's children so the bond formed between him and the kids was really something special.

KA still had her trademark family dynamics mixed in into this book--in extremes of a very close knit one versus the seriously effed up one. Mitch's family was the former despite his parents being divorced (there are several interesting secondary stories here) and the Mara's was the latter. I cringed at the thought of being part of this family and having Mara escape it, making something of herself was a really inspiring note. 

My most favorite scene in this book was probably when Mitch confronted Mara's cousin Bill after his kids got abducted by people that Bill crossed. This was when Mitch informed him that if the kids survived the kidnapping, they were going to be his and that they were going to have his name and that their biological father would give up all of his parental rights towards them. Ahh, I only have love for this man.

But don't forget another KA trademark--the epilogue. This! (I don't have words for the epilogue of this book so I guess you just have to read it.)


Final verdict: 9/10. Great read, must have.

Wild Man by Kristen Ashley

While filling her display case in her bakery, the bell over the door sounds and Tessa O’Hara looks up and sees the man of her dreams. Within thirty seconds he asks her out for a beer. Thirty seconds later, she says yes. But after four months of falling in love, she discovers he’s an undercover DEA Agent investigating the possibility she’s involved in her ex-husband’s drug business

Obviously Tess decides this means it’s over.

After reading this book, I have become totally obssessed with Kristen Ashley. And this is only the second book by her that I've read. Like, obssessed.

First thing first. Let me just say that endearments are not corny. Endearments are adorable. Two KA books down and I'm already spoiled with how liberally she uses them all over her books. It's like candyland. It's that sweet. I love it.

Brock Lucas was a hotshot cop who did undercover work. Tess O'Hara baked cupcakes and owned a bakery. I loved both main characters in this book right away. I didn't have to wait for either of them to grow on me as I coast through my reading. I couldn't help but root for them even on that very first hiccup of their demi-relationship.

The chemistry between Brock and Tess is just up there that it didn't even register right away with me that these characters were actually older than what I was used to. By older I meant early forties, which, let's admit, isn't always the case in most books. I can count on my two hands the number of books I've read with older protagonists and I have never always liked them. But the best thing about this was that each character had so much history that it was just a joy to read their dynamics in the present time. But KA wrote the characters so well that it was easy to not even let the age factor kick in while you read the rest of the story.

The exes from hell. As I've said, both Brock and Tess had a lot history in their respective lives before they even met each other. They both had exes that provided the lows in this book, exes that just wouldn't and couldn't let go. Keep on the look out on what they could do. Don't worry though, Brock's kids will balance everything out. I loved those young men.

Okay, so I shouldn't give away too much. But since I already mentioned that KA has spoiled me on one thing, let me just add that she had, in fact, spoiled me with two more things. One: the family dynamics that she has in her books seem to be always on extremes--the best of the best versus the worst of the worst. Two: KA makes the meanest epilogues that leaves a smile on one's face. Definitely on mine.

I'm already looking forward to the third book in this series.

PS Is there going to be a Dade McManus book? Because that man needs a happy ending like no other.

Final verdict: 8.5/10. Great must read.

Mystery Man by Kristen Ashley

While 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.

I know I'm late to the party but this is my very first Kristen Ashley. I'm so new I almost called her Kristen Alley at one time. Yikes! When I decided to come back to book blogging, I realized that I need to come out of my reading comfort zone and need to pick up books from authors I haven't read yet. Hence, this. Who knows what made me decide to read this particular book out of the gazillion recommendations? But I did. And thank God for it.

And so my affair with Ms Ashley's Dream Man series started. I know I didn't like Gwen right off the bat. I wouldn't like anyone who anyone who sleeps (although not technically) someone for a year and a half and doesn't even know their name, not even their first name. Sounds judgmental but I don't care. It's just one of those WTF moments when reading some books. And note that this was mentioned at the very beginning of the book so I wasn't quite sure at that time if I made the right decision with starting the book in the first place.

But I'm glad I read on because whatever else I didn't like about Gwen, Hawk pretty much made up for it, Sweet Pea. If it hadn't been this book, I would've gagged about too much babe, baby, and honey. But somehow they all quite fit in into the book and the characters.

My most favorite secondary characters in the book were Meredith and Elvira. Meredith because great stepmother characters are always a treat. Elvira because what's not to love in a lady that can speak her mind. Please note though that the book is full of so many great characters and I'm already excited as to who gets to have a book of their own in the rest of the series. I have them but I haven't even read the blurbs--lucky me, I got to actually read the first and didn't stumble on somewhere in between in the series.

There are points that just made me want to edit the book, grammar-wise. But I left that as part of the book's character and just enjoyed the experience--I finished this in one sitting. I loved how the dialogue meshed right in with the first person narration. And just one book down and already I'm a big fan of Kristen Ashley epilogues!

Spoiler: Hawk bought Gwen expensive killer shoes! She didn't even ask for them, he just heard her mention about them to a friend. I looove this man to bits. 

Final verdict 8/10. Good read.