Reviewer: Casee Ride Hard by Laura Kaye
Series: Raven Riders #1
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: April 26th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 320
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Series Rating:
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 . . .
I’m on a roll. I read this book in two days. I haven’t been reading regularly since the end of May, so that’s a record for me. I’m thrilled and excited. After reading Hello Again by Brenda Novak, I decided to try Laura Kaye who is a new-to-me author. I actually read the summary for Ride Wild which is the third book in the Raven Riders series and was intrigued so I picked up Ride Hard.
Dare Kenyon is the President of the Raven Riders MC. Aside from their racing business, the Ravens have a side business of taking in anyone that is in trouble or needs help. Haven Randall and her friend Cora Campbell fit that description perfectly. At twenty three years old, Haven has fled her tyrant father who believes that Haven is nothing more than a possession. Haven thought that when she turned eighteen things would change. When they didn’t, she held out hope that things would change when she turned twenty one. When twenty one came and went, Haven and Cora started planning their escape. Their plan was forced into action when she learned that her father was going to force her to marry one of his criminal business associates. On their way through Baltimore, Haven and Cora get caught up in a gang war. The gang that captures them learn about a $50,000 reward that Haven’s father has put out for her. It’s the Raven Riders that rescue the two women and give them a haven (lame pun, huh??) at their clubhouse.
Dare is deep in club business and doesn’t meet the women until a week or so after they arrive. He’s instantly and intensely attracted to Haven. He immediately realizes that she is a victim of abuse, though instead of keeping his distance, he pushes her to take back her power. At the beginning the fifteen year age difference bothers him, but he realizes that what Haven lacks in years she makes up in experience. As much as he tries to stay away from her, he can’t. Especially when he sees her bucket list. Knowing that she’s keeping something from him about the situation about her father, Dare goes snooping. That’s when he finds the list. He’s determined to help as many of her wishes come true as he can. While Haven opens up to him more and more, Dare realizes that he has to reciprocate, something he’s not sure he can do. He has felt responsible for the murder of his mother and brother since he was fifteen and not even Haven can change his mind.
When the situation with her father intensifies, Dare knows that he has to send Haven and Cora away. Getting the women started with a new life with new identities in a new city is the last thing Dare wants. After being a boneheaded idiot, he realizes that he loves Haven deeply. However Haven and Cora’s safety along with the safety of his club and its members come first. There is nothing that Dare takes more seriously than the safety of his club. After the death of two of its members, Dare and the top members have been even more vigilant. Now all they can do is wait for the new identities to put their plan in place and hope that they’ve done enough. While they’re waiting, Dare and Haven decide that they have no time to waste. Haven doesn’t want to waste a single moment with the man she’s fallen in love with even though it’s going to tear her in two to leave him. Dare feels the same way, he just doesn’t know how he’s going to let her go.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast, easy read. It introduced a lot of characters that will eventually have their own books and Kaye built a fascinating world of this MC that rides a fine line between the legal and illegal. They are also fiercely loyal to each other. I have to say that I wasn’t crazy about Haven being twenty three. I didn’t care about Dare’s age. I’ve not been into heroes or heroines in their early twenties for sometime. I often wonder how they have enough experience to go through what they do throughout the book. I got over it rather quickly in this book because Haven was an old soul. Not a lot of people go what she went through with her father and survive. And the way she protects Dare towards the end of the book? Those were the actions of someone young.
I would definitely recommend trying this series!
Rating: 3.75 out of 5.
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