Kristen Ashley

Mystery Man

Lover of Romance 

Mystery Man is the first book in the Dream Man series and after getting my Chaos fix I decided that I need to pick up this series since its connected and yeah its REALLY fun and I have been addicted to this series. The audio especially is very well done, I really think that Kate Russell implents the voice of Kristen Ashley so well and her books that she narrates tend to just come alive for me. Now Mystery Man is a bit different than I was expecting in that there was a bit of a love triangle….kinda. I mean its obvious who the heroine ends up with in the end, but there are other conflict of interests and I wasn’t sure if it would work for me but it really does.

Gwendolyn Kidd has been in a sexual relationship with her “dream man” who comes to her at night and for over a year they have lots of bouts of hot sex and Gwen doesn’t seem to want to tell him no. Even though she wants more than just sex with a man she doesn’t even know his first name to, she also can’t deny the connection she feels to him, a connection she has never felt for anyone else. But things dramatically change between them when drama comes to her door and her life will be turned upside down. Her sister is a troublemaker and Gwen has always had to bail her out. But when she goes to the man she believes is her sister’s boyfriend, it turns out she has burned her bridge because she finds out that her sister owes the Chaos club a few million dollars and that just isn’t the type of money that she has.

 “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.

And this is where she meets Tack, the head of the Chaos club and a man she is attracted to and reaches out a hand to offer her help because he knows that she is an innocent bystander and Tack doesn’t go after innocents. But Gwen soon realizes that there is more than just the Chaos club to worry about because her sister has betrayed all groups of people and they will come after her and this is where her dream man comes into play. She doesn’t know exactly what he does, but she soon learns his name is Hawke and is a leader of a team and Hawke isn’t going to let her go and put herself in danger. But now Gwen has to face up to the fact that Hawke isn’t a man she can cross because he wants her in his life and will fight for her and the life they could have together…..

 “You’re bossy, arrogant, intrusive, annoying… ”
 His minor grin amplified.
 See! Totally unrepentant…
 “Do I have anything going for me?”
 “… you can be sweet, you’re a cuddler, and you carried me out of a burning building…”
 “I’m a cuddler?”
 “You spoon.”
 His brows went up. “That’s important enough to be on your list?”
 “Uh… yeah.”
 [He’s grinning] “Fuckin’ ridiculous what women think is important.

WHEW….THIS BOOK!!! Okay so I have read quite a few of Kristen Ashley books so far and have pretty much enjoyed most of what I have read so far but I want to mention this might be one of my favorites its up there with Own The Wind and Golden Dynasty and Knight and one of my favorite alpha males that this author has written. She writes them so well but what I love about Hawke is he isn’t your normal jerk hero. He can be a jerk no doubt about that, but it isn’t him being an ass or anything. He has so many great qualities to admire.

In Mystery Man we do have a plot of suspense and mystery and trying to find out why Gwen’s life is in danger and how to resolve her sisters problem. But we also have the focus of the romance between Hawke and Gwen. Now granted, these two have been in love for a while but Hawke is so SMART. He knows that Gwen is closed off from him and won’t pursue anything deeper than sex until she is ready to open herself up to him. Gwen doesn’t fully realize how she has put Hawke at arms length in order to protect herself. Both Gwen and Hawke have painful pasts, and Hawke has a past that is more painful than Gwen could ever imagine and if both Hawke and Gwen have to realize facing their past and relying on each other is what will aid in the healing but they have to want to overcome the painful memories and fight for what they have.

 “Would have made a deal with the devil to…Don’t have that chance so nothin’ I can do about that. But I darkened your door and you lit up my life again so I’m not lettin’ that go.”

We are introduced to many characters that will be couples in future books which was really fun and I adore the supporting cast of characters and most especially Tack and Elvira!! I found Mystery Man to be a outstanding story that will delight you in every way you can imagine….unstoppable read that will capture hearts!!

Chelsea Bates

Shawna Gavas

Despite the many recommendations I received for this book, I just didn't enjoy it. Maybe I was expecting too much. 

I found Gwen totally unlikable. She was beyond ditzy, and I spent a good portion of the book wondering what all these men see in her. Vulnerability? Possibly. Her rants were entertaining at times, but the constant reply's of "kay" began to annoy me.

And Hawk. What's not to like about a hot commando? I'll tell you. When the only word he knows is "Babe". I seriously wanted to buy this boy a thesaurus. 

The story itself was a jumble of commandos, cops and bikers. No one has that many close calls and rescues in such a short period of time but still manages to meet her editorial deadlines.

I might have to try another of this author's books. Considering the large following, I feel I must be missing something. I just don't feel that "something" was in this particular book.

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


Last summer, my bookish bestie insisted I read a Kristen Ashley book. She's her favorite author and, since we were meeting her in September, I knew I had to see what the fuss was. I'm not generally big on reading series out of order, but she insisted I NOT start with this book because some of the themes might be off-putting to me. She wanted me to see KA at her best, so she told me to start with Motorcycle Man. I loved it. All caps LOVED it. I went on to binge the spinoff Chaos series and loved those just as much. But I still wanted to go back and read the rest of the books in the Dream Man series. She made the right call for me when it came to Mystery Man and me. I liked it. I more than liked it at some times. But it did take some time to really trust and fall for Hawk. I'm honestly not sure I would have the same love for KA had I started with this book. 

As with all of KA's men (at least those that I've read so far), Hawk is a total alpha. There's definitely some sweet under his hard exterior, but I did get frustrated with him at times. I'm not big on manwhores (if I had a dollar for every time I typed those words in a review...) and he doesn't start out the book as a one woman man. BUT once he's in, he's ALL IN with Gwen. He's a straight-talker, even when the truth was hard to hear and stung a little, but he was super protective and I really grew to love both of those things over the course of the book. I liked Gwen, for the most part. She made some questionable decisions at times, but I did like her wit and sassiness. Her need to run away instead of facing things head on made her seem pretty immature at times, but I did like how she grew over the course of the book.

The secondary storyline with Gwen's piece of trash sister took the book beyond just romance and made for some edge of the seat moments as I was reading. I enjoyed getting an introduction to the other men who would be featured in the Dream Man series – even if I was having a hard time remembering that Tack hadn't met Tyra yet and it was totally ok for him to be into Gwen. (This is why I don't like to read series out of order!) Mystery Man was sexy. Oh boy was it ever. It also had some funny moments and plenty of "tough guy sweet" moments. Before the end of the book, I was totally wrapped up in this couple and their story and I felt the feels along the way. It might not've been my favorite book in this series, but it was still one I really enjoyed.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

  "Gwen, baby, clue in. I was makin' you mine. When I make a woman mine, I do my homework."


  "But I darkened your door, baby, and you lit up my life again, so I'm not lettin' that go."


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

Kathy

WoW this book will make you laugh, cry and love. I love me some bad boys 

Thank you Kristen Ashley for a great book. You ROCK!!!

Nicky Morgan

Sofia Spinnato 

Night time is the right time... Gwendolyn Kidd has met the man of her dreams. He's hot, he's sexy, and what started as a no-names-exchanged night of passion has blossomed into a year and a half-long pleasure fest. Sure, it's a little strange that he only appears in her bed at night, but Gwen is so sure he's the one, she just can't turn him away... Hawk Delgado knows more about Gwen than she could ever imagine. She's gorgeous, headstrong, and skittish about relationships. But Hawk is facing his own demons, demons that keep him from connecting with anyone. Yet when Gwen is drawn into Denver's lethal underground scene, Hawk's protective nature comes out full force. The problem is, when Gwen gets a dose of Hawk's Alpha attitude in the daylight, she's not so sure he's the one anymore.... 130,000 words.

Mystery Man

Reviews