Release Review: Dream Maker: Kristen Ashley
Dream Maker
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Release Date May 26, 2020
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Dream Man and Rock Chick series comes a brand new story about love, friendship, and the bonds of sisterhood.
Evie is a bonafide nerd and a hyper-intelligent chick who has worked her whole life to get what she wants. Growing up, she had no support from her family and has only ever been able to rely on herself. So when Evie decides she wants to earn her engineering degree, she realizes she needs to take an alternative path to get there. She takes a job dancing at Smithie's club thinking this would be a quick side gig, where she can make the money she needs. But with her lack of dancing skills and an alpha bad boy who becomes overly protective, Evie realizes this might not be as easy as she thought.
Daniel "Mag" Magnusson knows a thing or two about pain, but the mask he wears is excellent. No one can tell that this good-looking, quick-witted, and roguish guy has deep-seated issues. Mag puts on a funny-guy routine so he can hide his broken heart and PTSD. But when Evie dances her way into Mag's life, he realizes that he needs to come face-to-face with the demons of his past if he wants a future with her.
graphics from author's Facebook page
Dream Maker is the official start of a new Dream Team series and it feels like the old school Rock Chick books. It has the Hot Bunch, the Rock Chicks, Chaos, and a whole new set of commandos. We got a bit of a feel for them in the novella Quiet Man, but this first book features Evan and Mag.
Evan/Evie is an intelligent and hardworking girl. She is trying to get a degree and works two jobs (one being a stripper at Smithie's) in order to support herself and all her hanger-on family members. She is used to being the responsible one and caretaker. She is kind of a klutz and a nerd and digs technology.
Lottie sets her up with Mag--Daniel Magnusson who works with her man, Mo. Mag/Danny is a charming, funny, take-charge alpha. He has a bad history with love that turned him into more of a womanizer. His easygoing facade hides some serious anger issues and PTSD that still affects him at times. But one date with Evan makes him want to help her and take care of her. And she certainly needs the help.
Her brother has got her into a big, dangerous mess and now Danny is insisting his network take her in and help figure out who is after her and how it all relates. They both also come with a lot of baggage. Evan has always been a loner and never has had anyone look out for her, but now she has a whole crew jumping in to make her feel welcome and support her. She needs to not only find her sense of self-worth, but also her backbone to fight for what she deserves and also learn to accept help. And Danny needs someone to love and accept him as he is, bring lightness and joy back into his life, but also allow him to take care of her as well.
This was a comfy read. It felt like being back home with old friends. It has the formula that worked for the Rock Chick, Dream Man, and Chaos books and they are all along for the ride. I liked Evan. She is not an impulsive bad-as* like some of the RCs, but she tries to do what she can. And Danny is just that typical KA alpha hero who decides quickly when a woman is his and will do anything to make her life better. I liked that they could balance out each other and give the other what they needed.
I will admit I am a longtime KA fan, but have had a hard time with some books in the last couple of years because they are so long, detailed, and sometimes repetitive. It is just part of her style, but my personal reading habits have changed over the years. But sometimes it is nice to revisit characters and worlds that you have loved in the past. And sometimes the formula still works (kind of like the Star Wars movies). So I enjoyed all of them hanging out and working together and still being all nosy and bossy. Hawk is still my man and he just gets better and better with age.
I am excited about the other couples that Lottie is already trying to use her matchmaking skills on. I am liking these new guys Auggie, Boone, and Axl and the Dream Team girls from Smithie's. It seems they all have some stories to tell and issues to overcome.
I will admit I am a longtime KA fan, but have had a hard time with some books in the last couple of years because they are so long, detailed, and sometimes repetitive. It is just part of her style, but my personal reading habits have changed over the years. But sometimes it is nice to revisit characters and worlds that you have loved in the past. And sometimes the formula still works (kind of like the Star Wars movies). So I enjoyed all of them hanging out and working together and still being all nosy and bossy. Hawk is still my man and he just gets better and better with age.
I am excited about the other couples that Lottie is already trying to use her matchmaking skills on. I am liking these new guys Auggie, Boone, and Axl and the Dream Team girls from Smithie's. It seems they all have some stories to tell and issues to overcome.
From Kristen Ashley's website:
This is a mashup spin-off series from my Rock Chicks and Dream Man Series. In Quiet Man, you’ll meet Mo’s four best friends. And, Lottie (from the Rock Chicks, our heroine from Quiet Man), decides they need the perfect matches. And she’s going to make them! Let the dream making commence!
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Our reviews
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Ashley comes a new story in her Dream Man series…
Charlotte “Lottie” McAlister is in the zone. She’s ready to take on the next chapter of her life, and since she doesn’t have a man, she’ll do what she’s done all along. She’ll take care of business on her own. Even if that business means starting a family.
The problem is, Lottie has a stalker. The really bad kind. The kind that means she needs a bodyguard.
Enter Mo Morrison.
Enormous. Scary.
Quiet.
Mo doesn’t say much, and Lottie’s used to getting attention. And she wants Mo’s attention. Badly.
But Mo has a strict rule. If he’s guarding your body, that’s all he’s doing with it.
However, the longer Mo has to keep Lottie safe, the faster he falls for the beautiful blonde who has it so together, she might even be able to tackle the demons he’s got in his head that just won’t die.
But in the end, Lottie and Mo don’t only have to find some way to keep hands off until the threat is over, they have to negotiate the overprotective Hot Bunch, Lottie’s crazy stepdad, Tex, Mo’s crew of frat-boy commandos, not to mention his nutty sisters.
All before Lottie finally gets her Dream Man.
And Mo can lay claim to his Dream Girl.
**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
Dream Chaser
(Dream Team #2)
December 22, 2020
KRISTEN ASHLEY
Dream Chaser
(Dream Team #2)
December 22, 2020
KRISTEN ASHLEY
Kristen Ashley is the New York Times bestselling author of over sixty romance novels including the Rock Chick, Colorado Mountain, Dream Man, Chaos, Unfinished Heroes, The 'Burg, Magdalene, Fantasyland, The Three, Ghost and Reincarnation and Honey series along with several standalone novels.
She's a hybrid author, publishing titles both independently and traditionally, her books have been translated in fourteen languages and she's sold over three million books.
In March of 2020, as a surprise to her readers, Kristen released the finale of her Mathilda, SuperWitch series, as well as re-released the first book in the series with new formatting. From November 2019 to February 2020, as Audible Originals, Kristen released the fantasy series, THE RISING. A serial of four books telling the story of four heroes and heroines on the continent of Triton. These books will be available in digital and print in Summer 2020.
Kristen's previous release was FAST LANE, an epic rock and roll romance told in both an oral history and narrative style.
Kristen will launch the Dream Team series Kristen with Grand Central Publishing, beginning with DREAM MAKER in May of 2020.
Kristen, born in Gary and raised in Brownsburg, Indiana, was a fourth generation graduate of Purdue University. Since, she has lived in Denver, the West Country of England, and she now resides in Phoenix. She worked as a charity executive for eighteen years prior to beginning her independent publishing career. She now writes full-time.
Although romance is her genre, the prevailing themes running through all of Kristen's novels are friendship, family and a strong sisterhood. To this end, and as a way to thank her readers for their support, Kristen has created the Rock Chick Nation, a series of programs that are designed to give back to her readers and promote a strong female community.
You can learn more about Kristen and the Rock Chick Nation on her website: www.KristenAshley.net
She's a hybrid author, publishing titles both independently and traditionally, her books have been translated in fourteen languages and she's sold over three million books.
In March of 2020, as a surprise to her readers, Kristen released the finale of her Mathilda, SuperWitch series, as well as re-released the first book in the series with new formatting. From November 2019 to February 2020, as Audible Originals, Kristen released the fantasy series, THE RISING. A serial of four books telling the story of four heroes and heroines on the continent of Triton. These books will be available in digital and print in Summer 2020.
Kristen's previous release was FAST LANE, an epic rock and roll romance told in both an oral history and narrative style.
Kristen will launch the Dream Team series Kristen with Grand Central Publishing, beginning with DREAM MAKER in May of 2020.
Kristen, born in Gary and raised in Brownsburg, Indiana, was a fourth generation graduate of Purdue University. Since, she has lived in Denver, the West Country of England, and she now resides in Phoenix. She worked as a charity executive for eighteen years prior to beginning her independent publishing career. She now writes full-time.
Although romance is her genre, the prevailing themes running through all of Kristen's novels are friendship, family and a strong sisterhood. To this end, and as a way to thank her readers for their support, Kristen has created the Rock Chick Nation, a series of programs that are designed to give back to her readers and promote a strong female community.
You can learn more about Kristen and the Rock Chick Nation on her website: www.KristenAshley.net
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