I am so excited to bring you the Hard as Steel Review and Excerpt Tour, hosted by InkSlinger PR. Stay tuned for teasers, an excerpt and a giveaway.
Title: Hard as SteelAuthor: Laura Kaye
My rating: ❤❤❤❤
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense
Publication date: September 22nd 2015
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Synopsis: After identifying her employer's dangerous enemies, Jessica Jakes takes refuge at the compound of the Raven Riders Motorcycle Club. Fellow Hard Ink tattooist and Raven leader Ike Young promises to keep Jess safe for as long as it takes, which would be perfect if his close, personal, round-the-clock protection didn't make it so hard to hide just how much she wants him—and always has.
Ike Young loved and lost a woman in trouble once before. The last thing he needs is alone time with the sexiest and feistiest woman he's ever known, one he's purposely kept at a distance for years. Now, Ike's not sure he can keep his hands or his heart to himself—or that he even wants to anymore. And that means he has to do whatever it takes to hold on to Jess forever. (synopsis from Goodreads)
Buy Links:
My
thoughts: "Jessica Jakes had been lusting after Ike Young from almost the day she met him, back when she was a newbie piercer at Hard Ink Tattoo and Ike first came looking for a job as an artist."
This was so much better than I expected. The characters, the writing,
the plot. It was great.
"No matter how hot Jessica Jakes was--and she was like goddamn molten lava with her tight Little body, inked porcelain skin, and smart mouth--she was precisely the kind of woman Ike had vowed never to get twisted up with again. A woman in trouble."
Let’s start with the best thing about this
novella.
Often in novellas, insta-love happens. I get why, but that doesn’t
mean I like it. Thing is, it doesn’t seem real to me. I don’t think you can
fall in love overnight, it happens over time. This is one of the main reasons
why I don’t often read novellas, unless it’s from a favorite author or series.
That wasn’t the case in this novella,
though. Jessica and Ike has known each other for a while, and there’s tension
and attraction there already, and a lot of messy emotions. There’s a lot of focus
on that, and less focus on the action, which I didn’t mind as much as I thought
it would, because the characters and their interaction with each other made it
plenty interesting and tense.
I
loved getting to know the characters.
They are realistic and have depth, and I
couldn’t help but want to know how it would work out for them. Kaye has done something
in this novella that I’ve never seen before; she has created something with the
characters that I’ve only seen in books, never novellas. I really got to know
them, and started to care about them. I couldn’t put it away, because I had to know
what would happen to them.
The writing is great.
It really pulls you in
and keeps you in until the very last page. At first, I was a little disappointed
in the lack of action, but then I realized that the tension between Jessica and
Ike was enough to keep it interesting. For the first time ever, it didn’t need
more action.
I am thoroughly impressed by this novella.
It’s one of the best novellas I have ever read. Hard as Steel is an intense, sweet, sexy read, filled to the brim
with emotion and heat.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laura is
the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty books in
contemporary and paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Growing up, Laura’s
large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving
angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination
with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and
cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.
Author Links:
Excerpt: Be Nice:
I’m thrilled to be
here celebrating the release of my 21st book, HARD AS STEEL! After a
midnight break-in at her apartment, close friends and Hard Ink Tattoo
co-workers Ike Young and Jessica Jakes are forced into hiding—and forced to
confront the feelings they’ve always denied for one another. I have always adored
friends-to-lovers and forced proximity stories, and HARD AS STEEL delivers that
and more, including a taste of both my award-winning and best-selling Hard Ink
and upcoming Raven Riders series! Check out this excerpt:
“Any
better?” Ike asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Jess
peered up at him. “A little.”
His
eyes narrowed. “You’re still cold now, aren’t you?”
She
shivered and pulled the cover tighter around her shoulder. “Yeah.”
“Fuck.”
Ike scrubbed a hand over his bald head and mumbled something she couldn’t quite
make out. “Maybe I shouldn’t have put you in the tub after all.”
“I
think it was the right thing, Ike. I was so out of it. It is better than it was before.” She worked at a small smile. No
matter how bad she felt, the last thing she wanted was to make him feel bad
given everything he was doing for her. As if he hadn’t already gone out of his
way in giving her a place of refuge and his personal protection for as long as
she needed it, now he had to play freaking nursemaid to a sicky. Which, on top
of everything, was super attractive.
The
only upside to that ice-cold bath was that Ike had gotten wet and tossed his
shirt, and Jess thought she might be willing to be sick more often if it meant
getting to see him shirtless. Because, holy bad-ass tattooed biker on a stick,
he was so freaking hot. Cut muscles, ink everywhere, two insanely delicious
indents low on his waist. And scars Jess had never seen before and had no idea
how Ike had gotten.
All
that goodness and Jess couldn’t even see the big Ravens tat that she knew
covered Ike’s broad back. But she’d seen it before, back at Hard Ink when
Jeremy occasionally did a new piece for Ike. She’d seen it enough to know that
she’d love to have a good reason to dig her fingers into that tat…
Oh,
for fuck’s sake, even sick she couldn’t stop fantasizing about what it would be
like to be with Ike. Just once.
“Jess?”
Her
gaze snapped to his eyes. “Huh?” Hopefully the warmth crawling up her cheeks
would pass for a fevered flush. Because she was so busted.
“I,
uh, asked if you thought it would help if I got in with you.” The expression he
wore said he was dubious about the idea.
And
as much as Jess loved the idea, she didn’t want him doing anything with her
that he didn’t really want to do. “That’s okay. Why don’t you go get some sleep
now? It’s gotta be almost morning.”
He
looked at her for a long moment, and then he tapped his hand against her arm.
“Scoot over.”
“Ike—”
“Damnit,
scoot your scrawny ass over already.” He cocked an eyebrow, humor sliding into
his eyes.
“Well,
I’ll scoot over,” she said as she made herself move. “But you and I both know
there ain’t anything scrawny about my ass.”
“Jessica?”
Ike said as he got in next to her wearing only his jeans.
“Yeah?”
The minute he was down, she nearly dove into the crook of his body, her
forehead against his neck, her breasts against his ribs, her bare legs
intertwined with his denim-clad ones. She wasn’t sure where to put her hand,
because the not-sick part of her brain wanted to touch him everywhere right now oh my god I’m in bed with Ike! But
she settled for resting it on his chest, the hair on his pecs ticklish against
her fingers.
“Shut
up and go to sleep.” He took the edge off the words by clasping her hand in his
and pressing it more firmly to his skin.
“Be
nice to me. I’m sick,” she said, burrowing in further.
Ike
wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tighter against him. God,
he felt good, warm and hard and strong. “Woman,” he said, his voice full of
gravel. “This is me being nice.”
Thank you so much! ~Jessica, InkSlinger PR
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