Book Review: Ride Hard

RideHard (Raven Riders #1)

Author:Laura Kaye

PublishedBy: Avon/Harper Collins

PublicationDate: April 26, 2016

PageCount: 384 pages (paperback)

Buyit at Barnes & Noble or Amazon

Source:Kindly Provided by Publisher

Audience:Adult (18+)

Genre:Contemporary Romance

If I were to write this review in only three words, it would be this: Read. It. Now! In Ride Hard, Laura Kaye brings to life the sexy world of the inked up, leather-wearing, motor-cycle riding bad boys. They are hard,and built, sexy, and sinful. Men who have lived hard lives and wear the proof on their bodies, in their walks and talks, and in the set of their eyes. The men of the Raven Riders series do not disappoint, and the main character of Ride Hard, Dare Kenyon, is as sexy as they come in all of his bad-assed glory.  He’s the president of the Raven Riders Motorcycle Club, and for good reason.

Haven Randall is escaping an abusive father with the help of her best friend. She’s as cliché-ly sweet and innocent as they come, but some how manages to be likable. Violence brings her to The Raven Riders for protection,and these bad boys make it their mission to keep her safe. It’s not a new mission for them, but it becomes personal when Haven and her best friend Cora work their ways into the heart and soul of the club… and Dare finds himself unable to resist letting Haven into his own heart.

The violence of the streets bursts through the pages,between mobs and motorcycle gangs and races, as the life Haven is running from threatens the Raven Riders. Now Dare has to figure out a way to keep his brothers safe, even if it means sending Haven away. Ride Hard has it all;action, brotherhood, sex, and love. The story flows effortlessly without a single lull and even the secondary characters come to life with amazing clarity.

Laura Kaye weaves a tale that makes the reader imagine possibilities and scenarios for what’s coming next, even while she’s wrapping up the first story. This is one of those books that as I finish it, makes me want to put everything else aside and go out and pick up all of the other books written by this author. I’m not ready to leave the world that Laura Kay was so effortlessly built around me, and it makes me want to immerse myself in the other worlds she has waiting for me.

A lot of times I contemplate what actually makes a 5 star book. If it’s a really good book that I loved and would recommend to friends,is that enough to make it a 5 star? A 5 star book, by Reading Lark After Dark definitions,is an “I couldn’t put it down!” book, and when I sit down to rate a book, I really have to hold myself to that rating. In this case, there wasn’t a question in my mind. Ride Hard was literally painful for me to put down.When I wasn’t able to read, I was thinking about the characters, and the story,and I was itching to get my hands on it again. I finished the book in only two days, and that’s during the busiest time of my year where I have little to no reading time during the day. 

For the first time in a long time, I found my self carrying the book with me everywhere and sitting in parking lots to get a few pages in, or even soaking in a few lines at a red light because I just couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t stop reading… but at the same time, I didn’t want it to end. My favorite books to read are those that are in a series because they keep going even after one book ends. In this case, I have to wait an entire year before the next book comes out. That makes my “To Be Read” pile very happy… but if I could get my hands on the second book, Ride Rough, tomorrow, I would stop everything to jump back into the world of The Raven Riders.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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 . . .