Raid (Unfinished Heroes #3) by Kristen Ashley
Contemporary Romance
February 27, 2013
Self Published
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “You’re my reward.“
Hanna Boudreaux lives in the small town of Willow, Colorado and has spent her life crushing on the gorgeous larger than life hometown hero, Raiden Ulysses Miller. Raid left Willow at age eighteen, joining the Marines and returned a little quieter and a lot more dangerous.
When Hanna finally decides to stop “stalking” Raid and begins to live her own life to the fullest, the changes are instantly noticed by all…especially Raid. But Hanna can’t figure out Raid’s sudden interest. Is it her new look? Her new outlook on life? Or does Raid have more sinister motives?
I’ll tell you all right now, before I go any further, I am a HUGE Kristen Ashley fan. When a blogger friend told me I had to read Sweet Dreams and read it RIGHT NOW, I balked at first but eventually broke down and a crazy stalker fan girl was made. I glommed her entire back list in about one week. I emerged stinky but triumphant. Regardless of the overblown, drawn out descriptions, and larger than life premises and characters, Kristen Ashley has a gift for storytelling. Her books are a cracktacular beautiful addictive hot mess adventure that suck you in, hold you hostage, and leave you feeling rueful when the journey is over.
Raid is the third book in Ashley’s Unfinished Hero series. Even though it’s shorter than her previous books, you still get Ashley’s trademark alpha hero, somewhat naive heroine, and a smoking hot romance.
Hanna Boudreaux is a self proclaimed Peggy Sue. She is sweet, cute, and nice. The town loves her and she loves the town. She is everything Raiden is not and she draws him in like a moth to a flame. She has loved him all her life, but it’s not until she decides to stop living her life around “Raid sightings” and actually start living for herself, does he finally see her.
“Home. Warmth. Comfort. Nurture. Love.”
So begins their love affair. Raid takes control and Hanna begins the ride of her life. Raid is an alpha male with a slight caveman mentality.
She deserved a spanking for this shit. But they were new. He had to break her into that.
He is a healthy mixture of some of Ashley’s more dominant heroes. Yet, he isn’t so alpha that he doesn’t listen. He has come back from war, suffering from PTSD and it makes for some tense times in his and Hanna’s relationship. He takes what he wants and he wants Hanna. Her happiness is his happiness. He has a dark side to him that reveals itself in some delish ways. I liked that he was always upfront with Hanna and pushes for the same from her. No going to bed angry with this couple. (nom nom) He reminded me of Ty from Lady Luck. Crude, hard, and temperamental. And, like Ty, Raid knows when he screws up and has no problem owning up to it and saying he’s sorry.
Hanna is the perfect match for him. She grounds Raid. She bathes him in pure light and allows him to see the goodness in life through her eyes. She’s not a doormat though. She gets upset by his cave mannish ways at times and when they have an epic fight, she doesn’t bow her head and accept his cruel words. She gives as good as she gets. Like many of Ashley’s heroines, she knows when to let her man have his way…and when to get up in his face and let him have it.
“I’m a dick,” he whispered into my skin.
Men thought they could get away with a lot if they admitted that.
Sometimes it worked.
Sometimes, like this time, it didn’t.“I crawled across a floor for you and I said one thing out of kindness and concern and you walked out on me, came back, called me a bitch and kicked me out.”
“Honey_”
“No one calls me a bitch, Raiden. You need to go.”
The story is told in increments, skipping a few days and weeks at a time. Fast paced with a solid storyline and well plotted scenes. Unlike her other stories though, this one doesn’t describe every little detail about external factors. The focus remains solely on Hanna and Raid’s romance. I admit, I missed some of the additional sub stories. There were also some scenes that didn’t quite pan out that way I hoped. The “other woman” scenario that Ashley’s famous for was a small two page scene that was addressed, handled right then and there, and never heard from again. Also, the climatic heroine in danger scene. We didn’t get to see Raid hunt down or extract his revenge. It’s all fade to black.
The secondary characters in here are as vivid and personable as her protagonists. Hanna’s grandma and Spot (Hanna’s grandma’s fat, sadistic cat) play pivotal roles throughout the story. I did like that for once, the heroine has someone at her back at all times. Grandma rocks it in here and so does Spot.
“There’ll be good times, Hanna. Fill yourself up with them, hold onto them tight, ‘cause when the bad times come,
You’ll need them.”
We also get scenes with Knight, Creed, Sylvia, and OMG… Marcus!!! If you’ve read Ashley’s Rock Chick series, then you know who I am talking about. Even though Ashley has said Marcus and Daisy’s story will not be told, I continue to hope she changes her mind. I love those two.
The ending assures us of our happily ever after and also gives us a lovely look into Hanna and Raid’s future.
Overall Rating: B-
Recent Reviews:
Dear Author – B
Scandalicious Book Reviews – 5/5
Goodreads
Author Website l Series Listing
Note – The first two books in this series, Knight and Creed are $.99 right now.
Kristen Ashley is also hosting a big giveaway – see more details in the Rafflecopter below!
Loved this review Tori. I can’t wait to read more KA. I bought the first two on sale at amz yesterday. And I need to read the Rock Chick books too. If I didn’t hv to sleep once in a while I could read more!!
Have you read the others?
I’ve only read the Dream Man series. You told me about the Colorado series..but I have not read yet-or Rock Chicks. So many books, so little time.
Heh :P
Hi,
I am a silent reader of this blog and I love your comments/reviews. You all crack me up. I have to say I am a KA fan and have read a lot of her books.
I am looking forward to reading this one. Thanks for your review.
So glad you decided to join us today. Thanks so much for the kind words-we try. :)
I was really surprised at how much I liked the heroine in this one. She was funny and quirky. This is probably the best in the series so far for me.
Hanna rocked. I liked that she didn’t put up with Raid’s BS.
I can relate to your description of KA’s books! I’ve read the Colorado Mountain series and some of the Dream series before she alphaed me out. Or maybe it was the heroines I needed a break from.
But your review reminds me of the reasons I inhaled her books in the first place, so thanks. Question: I haven’t read Knight or Creed…should I before starting this one?
No. They are all stand alones though you will see some characters from other books in there but the story lines don’t carry over.
Great review, Tory. You had me at “[h]e reminded me of Ty from Lady Luck.” I love Ty.
I’ll definitely pick this one up even though KA is breaking my heart by refusing to write a Marcus/Daisy book. Breaking my heart, I tell you. *sob*
I <3 TY so much.
I know, *sob* I hate she won't write their story. Why can't she just write a novella. Just a tiny one. Something. Anything. SHE HAS TO GIVE US SOMETHING!!!lol
You made my birthday! KA’s website had Raid coming out tomorrow. As soon as I read this review, I downloaded the book. Just finished it. Definitely shorter than her usual books, but I think she wrote this one pretty fast. Creed was actually my least favorite book of hers. II was quite happy with Hanna, Raid and their storyline. I know she self published this book, but now that she has a real editor, I can’t help but wonder if her future books will be more like this one – shorter with fewer details. Sniff, sniff…I hate to say it, but I found myself wondering what the inside of Grams’ looked like!
I have heard that Hachette is doing some editing with may shorten the story line.
Tori – Thanks for introducing me to KA in your last post because I did become addicted to all of her books like you. Ty is my fav hero so I can’t wait to read this one since you compared the two! YES!
YEA!! So glad my pimpage is appreciated. :P
I’ve only read her Colorado Mountain and Dream Men series – should I be reading this series too?! Is it just as good as the likes of Motorcycle Man and Lady Luck and Sweet Dreams?! Cuz this review makes it very compelling!!
I like this series. It’s a little different from the other ones in that the men are rougher and walk on the dark side. Knight, in the first book, is a pimp with a stable of women.
I think I can handle that!! I think!! I loooooove her for her alpha men. I’m gonna try it, thanks Tori!
YEA!!!
Nice review. Her books are cracktacular..love that. Fell in love with Raid as well. Kristen sure knows how to write some alpha/jerky heroes that I love.
Anyway question for you. How would you describe her Rock Chick series? Are they hot just like her other titles? I’ve hesitated to try that series cause it sounds too much like the Stephanie Plum books…TSTL heroines kind of thing? Tell me there are smoking smex scenes???
I like her Rock Chicks series but not as much as the others. Some of the men in this series are a little too caveman for me. It’s like once they settle on a woman, that’s it. She has no choice. They don’t hear the word No at all. The woman all start out bad arse then are sucked into the men’s orbit and that’s it. They are no longer a separate person-decreed by their man. They aren’t all that bad, Hector is pretty cool and so is Hank but some of the other ones I just wanted to lunch repeatedly over and over.
Heh heh, she said lunch. Yummy alpha men!
I love Hanna and Raid, but it definitely felt like the story was not as, complete? The book was half her typical length, and I too missed the details and subplots. The ending felt rushed, and I’m not sure a clear enough connection was made between Willow’s drug activity, Nair, and Knight. Either that, or I read it too fast!
I agree. Shorter, rushed, and not as descriptive.
Tori, do you have to read Knight and Cree pd first or can you just jump on in?
No. You can jump right into Raid.
Thx Tori, good to know :)
This book was amazing and for me the best in the unfinished hero’s series. Everything this author touches turns to gold
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