Book Review – Mystery Man by Kristen Ashley

Mystery Man (Dream Man)
Kristen Ashley’s done it, yet again. I went crazy for the infuriating bad-boy alpha guy. LOVED IT!! And this one is at the top of the list with Tate. I gotta say… it’s getting crowded up there.

Sure… sure… there’s some repetition, in a few parts, some similarities in the alpha characters, of course. Even some conversations (or should I say Alpha vs. his woman “do it my way” arguments) that were familiar. But ya know what? I’m still not bored of it. In fact, I find the more I read ’em, the more I crave yet another Kristen Ashley mega-alpha-dose. I’ve noticed they’re even more exciting when I read a little something different between her books, but I always want to get back to ’em, I’m always always right there with her. It’s an addiction. What can I say? *shrug*

And here’s why each book keeps me coming back for more. Because despite the similarities, each male is special. Each one has his own reasons for his *freak-outs* and each one handles his freak-outs differently (and usually… terribly). But I LOVE that. I love how terribly they handle things, and ache with them (and even more so, with the heroine) as they find their way back to love. It’s those moments that keep my heart racing.

So what makes Hawk a bad-boy?

Well, once upon a time, Gwen went to a bar that her friend was working at. She looked hot! And as Gwen was laughing it up with her friend, in walked Hawk. Tall, dark, brooding, and utterly gorgeous. Heart stoppingly so. He sat near her in a booth and she did everything in her power (albeit subtly) to get his attention. Body language, laughing, sexy leg moves.. the works. He ignored her. LOL!!! YES!!! I love it. Hard to get, aloof… uninterested.

And as he got up to leave, and seemed that he was about to bypass her altogether…

… I felt a warm hand on the skin of my lower back.”

I twisted my neck, looked up and there he was.

I held my breath and he asked, “You comin’ or what?”

That was it. That was his pickup line. “You comin’ or what?”

I went.

*squeeeee*

Yep! She went! I LOVED that premise. And even better yet, he stole into her house, late at night, weekly, for a year. No promises. No talk. No names. Just Hawk for a few hours, once or twice a week. She never knew when… but she never refused him. She was THAT into him. And I know that sounds far-fetched, but just go with it. The ride is super crazy, and very fun.

‘Cause you see, when her sister gets involved with the wrong crowds, and makes a mess of a few “business dealings”, and then hightails it out of town, the bad-guys start stalking Gwen. Bad things happen. And when she goes to the local biker gang to discuss her “sister’s issues”, she attracts the attention of yet another bad-boy hottie, lead biker-dude, Tack.

“You strutted your ass into Ride, and got Tack’s attention and, trust me babe, you do not want Tack’s attention. And doin’ that you made yourself visible to a lot of people you do not want to know you exist.”

And with all of the criminal action and danger suddenly surrounding Gwen, sexy Mitch Lawson (tee hee! Lawson!!), the head detective on her case develops his own personal interest in her well being. Very personal.

Hawk closed the door behind him but didn’t tear his eyes from Lawson and me.

Then he put his hand on is hips, the bag banging against his thigh.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” I said hurriedly.

“Yeah,” Lawson replied at the same time.

I took a careful step back and Lawson’s hands fell away.

This was when Lawson and Hawk went into a macho man, death match stare down.

Which spurs the elusive Hawk into territorial action.

“Clue in, Sweet Pea, I keep tabs.”

“You keep tabs?”

“You’re mine so I keep tabs.”

I felt my eyebrows shoot together.

“I’m yours?”

And Hawk goes into full protection mode for what’s “his”. But the thing is… Hawk’s got his own bad-boy reputation, and when it starts coming to light…

Yep. I freaked and twittered Kristen:

“BTW Kristen… about Hawk. Grrrrrrr!!! *spoiler*!!!?? OMG I … *speechless* LOVE IT when books make me speechless!

And then, there was a second part… (I mean there are lots of infuriating parts along with all of the sigh inducing parts) but there was one in particular. A monumental Ty-style freak out, where I said to Kristen:

“… he ticked me off TWICE!!! Kinda like Ty did. A mini “tick off” moment that was very bad in itself, but then…

OH NO HE DIDN’T!!!!”

which in turn, prompted Kristen to respond:

“Hawk is a master of the mini-ticked-off moments (Oh yes he did! The jerk!) then makes them worth it.

No, maybe Ty is the master at that.  .”

I loved all of Gwen’s options. I loved the territorial “pissing matches”, and better yet, I especially loved her on-the-spot very real (at least to me) reactions to some of the truths she was suddenly confronted with. Excellent read!! Made me feel every emotion one could feel. Anticipation (for her intense romantic interest in Hawk), confusion (at what they were to each other), apprehension (when she doubted who she was to him), excitement (when she was suddenly the main interest of three mega-alpha-men, including the one she was so deeply into), fear (you know.. ’cause despite all of the sudden heart-action she’s getting, there are still bad-guys out to exact revenge), love, anger, deep heartache, sadness. Loss. It’s all there. All of it.

And so much of it felt real. That’s the most important part for me. I don’t just want to know it. I want to feel it.

5 stars!

Interested in the series? —> Kristen Ashley – Dream Man Series Reading Order