RIDE HARD by Laura Kay is book 1 in the new Raven
Riders MC series. This is a spin-off from Kaye's
previous Hard Ink series. Hard
Ink is about
a group of ex-Special Forces soldiers who run a renegade
operation against an organized crime ring out of the back
of a tattoo shop (as one does). When these ex-soldiers
got into an all-out war with the crime ring in Baltimore,
they teamed up with the Raven Rivers, a motorcycle club, to
beat back the evil Church Gang. Now we get to meet the men
in the MC, or motorcycle club, as they find their own
Happily Ever Afters. Readers familiar with the Hard
Ink men will be pleased to see glimpses of them in Ride
Hard, but newbies to the world will find it easy to slide
into the mix without missing a beat.
Dare Kenyon is the Raven Riders club President. That's
a testosterone-filled manly man's name, right?! Dare and
his fellow club members are not the typical motorcycle club
guys, though. As Dare tells Haven, "we made it our mission
to be something more. To serve the community we live in.
And we do that by fighting for those who can't fight for
themselves, and by defending those who can't defend
themselves." Although some readers might find this idea a
little over-the-top, Kaye shares that the impetus for this
MC comes from a real-life organization, BACA, or Bikers
Against Child Abuse. This is a nice way to
make the oft too darkly written motorcycle club members be
kindler and gentler sort of heroes for this romance
series. I have struggled with some other MC books where
the world and the people are too gritty for my personal
taste, and the Raven Rivers definitely seem more
sanitized.
Haven and her best friend Cora are temporarily living at
the club compound because the Raven Riders rescued the two
women from the Church Gang. The Church Gang had been
holding the women for the reward promised by Haven's
father, who has a bounty out on his escaped daughter's
head. Haven is fleeing her rabidly controlling father who
is a small time-ish criminal warlord. Haven's nasty father
forced her to drop out of school and slave for him and his
henchmen at his house, cooking and cleaning up behind them
in captivity, slaving away for them as they plotted their
nefarious acts. Haven has been abused and beaten down, but
now that Dare and the Raven Riders are telling her she'll
be safe to live her life as she would like, she is starting
to spread her wings and dream a few modest dreams about
what she would like to do and become. While Haven is naïve
and fairly sheltered, it is still satisfying to watch her
begin to bloom under Dare's supportive care.
RIDE HARD is fairly predictable, but enjoyable given the
kindly motorcycle riders and the steamy bedroom (and
bathroom and MC club room...) scenes. The book does set up
two couples whom I expect to be the focus of the next two
books, and I do plan on picking these books up to see what
happens between these secondary characters. Readers who
enjoy motorcycle club books but are not big fans of serious
crime or marauding outlaws will enjoy this seductive read.
In describing RIDE HARD to someone after I finished, I
said, 'it's like if Disney decided to do a motorcycle club
story'. Kaye's RIDE HARD is pleasant, but I hope the
storylines will become more complex and nuanced as the
series continues.
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...
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy