Through
good times, bad times and times of war, Cole “Rush” Allen grew up in the Chaos
Motorcycle Club. Along this journey, he watched his father, Tack, and his MC
brothers fight, sweat, bleed and die to steer the Club to legitimacy.
And they’ve
got one more battle on their hands.
A battle
they have to win.
But when
Rush meets the woman who put herself right in the thick of it, he knows he has
to stop at nothing to get her out.
Rebel
Stapleton has lost someone she loves to murder and she’s the kind of woman
who’s going to do something about it. She puts her career on the line, and her
life, to bring the man who did it to justice.
That is, she
does this until Rush Allen intervenes.
Chaos is at
war and they’re about to face the ultimate showdown. They’ll have to negotiate
skeletons from the past, enemies becoming allies, and loved ones in the line of
fire on their ride to be…
Free.
It
was a bittersweet experience reading Free.
As much as I longed for Rush's story, I knew it would sadly mark the end of
this exceptional series. And with story-lines and tensions escalating across
several novels, I was consumed with both excitement and fear re-entering
Chaos's world, worried about the welfare of all the brothers, especially my man
Tack. As expected, Kristen Ashley led me on another incredible journey as she
penned a moving tale of undeniable love, vengeance, forgiveness, seeking
redemption, finding salvation, and most importantly the unbreakable bonds of
family, friendship and brotherhood.
I
adored the young Cole "Rush" Allen in Motorcycle Man and fell completely in love with the man he became
in Free. As promised, he matured to
be every bit as sexy, growly, protective and possessive as his dad, but with a
gentler side. Being his father's son, Cole possesses great wisdom. He's a man
who immediately recognizes what he wants, and will stop at nothing to seize it.
True to his character's name, Rush quickly falls for the spirited woman who
caught his eye and wastes no time in claiming Rebel Stapleton's heart. All in
all, Rush was the ideal swoon-worthy hero and a total dream man.
When
first introduced to Diesel's sister in More
than Everything a Honey Series
Novella, I knew Rebel would be perfect for Rush. A fiery and feisty redhead
who's compassionate, quirky, has a great sense of humor and lots of sass ~
she's a cross between Rock Chick cool and badass biker babe. A woman who feels
deeply and has a heart of gold, Rebel selflessly gives all of herself to those
she loves. Her connection with Rush is not only passionate but instantaneous,
easygoing and virtually drama free.
This
read differs from the others within the series, whose focus revolved around the
couple, their courtship, and a fair share of angst. Here, the romance was
entwined within the several ongoing plot-lines. I found myself both wanting more
time with these endearing characters, as well as missing the relationship
tension I'm used to from these gritty bikers and their women. Regardless, Free is so much more than simply Rush
and Rebel's story. It was Kristen Ashley's final love letter to the Chaos
brotherhood as she paved their well-deserved and overdue path to freedom.
The
story flowed from various points of view including that of Rush, Rebel, Tack,
Snapper, the lunatic Benito, and others who were involved in the club's
decades-long problems. It was fascinating experiencing events unfold through
different eyes. So many memorable moments made this read captivating and
enjoyable. The brothers' hilarious banter and the sheer craziness of some
lovable secondary characters had me giggling. Holding my breath during several
intense, heart-pounding scenes as the villains in this saga had me utterly
panicked. Feeling anxious over the Benito situation and conflicted with its
outcome. And savoring the passion not only between the main characters but
another couple who I ABSOLUTELY ADORED. However, the most unforgettable and
heartwarming moments were those between father and son. Tack and Rush have a
unique bond and the level of love, trust, respect, and loyalty they shared overwhelmed
me.
Free was tremendously
emotional, and there are no words to describe how remarkably KA wove each
story-line together to tie every loose end into one spool of thread. A definite
must-read, but know that with its beginnings rooted in Motorcycle Man, and plot-lines developing throughout each installment,
this is not a standalone novel. Thrilled to see cameos from so many past loves
like Knight, Raid and some of the Hot Bunch/Dream Man hotties. Additionally,
fans of the Honey Series will be
happy to see D, Mad, and Sixx made an OTT grand appearance ~ which added a new,
unexpected and different vibe to this story.
Finally,
of all the series in KA's literary world, Chaos is undoubtedly my favorite, and
I am beside myself with sadness that it has ended. Hopefully, we will see these
characters sometime in the future, perhaps in romances featuring Dutch and
Jagger Black.
In this manner, they guided me onto 6th Avenue
and all the way down that long, heavily trafficked, three-lane bastard into the
foothills. I lost my side bikes on the small mountain town roads that led to
back country roads, the guy to the left going forward to lead the pack, the guy
to the right falling back.
It did not make me feel cozy and happy when we hit a gravel
road, in the middle of nowhere, that was winding and ended at a remote cabin
that did not look like it was set up to play its role as a vacation relaxation
station.
More like where Jason might show with an ax.
I stopped, cut the ignition to my Subaru, tossed open my door,
hauled myself out, slammed my door and advanced fast on who I was guessing was
the leader of the pack.
The guy who’d rode to my left.
He was off his bike when I got there.
He was also taller than I’d have guessed.
He definitely rocked that leather jacket.
And he had a great head of thick, dark hair that was overlong.
So long one side of the front was tucked behind his ear and it was flippy messy
in the back in a way that practically begged a woman to grab hold.
I did not grab hold.
I got up to the toes of my boots and shouted in his face, “"You
could have killed yourself, asshole!"
"Calm down",” he growled.
Oh yeah.
Growled.
His voice was deep and gravelly, rumbling up his chest and out
his mouth in a way I could almost trace that shit.
I ignored this additional nugget of awesomeness that made this
biker and yelled, “"Calm down? Calm down? Are you insane?"”
I took a step back and threw out both arms. “"I'm in the middle of nowhere at
Jason’s Lodge o’ Ax Murdering Fun with a pack of bikers when I should right now
be home, meditating or some shit."”
His head tipped to the side. “"You meditate?"”
I said, “"Newsflash. When a bunch of dudes on bikes wearing
leather jackets with patches surrounds a woman’s car, she’s not gonna go Thelma
and Louise on their asses on the exit ramp off Speer Boulevard to
I-25, which is right in the heart of the city, which means right in the
heart of Denver traffic. She might hurt them. More, she might
hurt herself. But most, she might hurt some unsuspecting single mom
on her way home from work to feed her kids and later, lament her choice of
their deadbeat dad who’s off banging his secretary.”"
"It gonna sink in we're here safe, so you can be done yelling at
me?"” he asked.
"Am I safe?" I asked back.
"You gotta ask that, you don’t know Chaos,"” he retorted.
"Well, another newsflash, stud, I don’t know
Chaos,"” I shot back.
I smelled leather, fresh air, and the remnants of some sharp,
tangy aftershave that I kid you not, actually tightened my clit.
"Well, you’re about to know Chaos, so let’s get on to that,"” he
rumbled at me. "Get inside." ”
"I want your promise right here you’re not gonna ax murder me
when I go inside that cabin," I snapped.
From around us, I heard a deep chuckle, actually a few of them.
"We’re not gonna ax murder you." He sounded beleaguered.
 Kristen
Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA and nearly killed her mother and herself
making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around
her neck (already attempting to accessorize and she hadn't taken her first
breath!). Her mother said they took Kristen away, put her Mom back in her room,
her mother looked out the window, and Gary was on fire (Dr. King had been
assassinated four days before). Kristen's Mom remembered thinking it was the
end of the world. Quite the dramatic beginning. Nothing's changed. Kristen grew
up in Brownsburg, Indiana and has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West
Country of England. Thus, she's blessed to have friends and family around the
globe. Her family was (is) loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you
want to write. They all lived together on a very small farm in a small farm
town in the heartland. She grew up with Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO
Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched). Needless to say,
growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow
up. And as she keeps growing, it keeps getting better.
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment