Ride Rough

Starred review from February 13, 2017
Kaye’s second Maryland-based Raven Riders contemporary (after Ride Hard) breaks hearts and inspires loyalty from the first page. Alexa Harmon has had a rough life. Her mother’s a hoarder, her brother is dead, and poverty is nipping at her heels. Alexa thinks her wealthy fiancé, Grant Slater, is her ticket to happiness—until the second time he hurts her physically, which is the umpteenth time he’s hurt her emotionally. Big, bad biker dude Maverick Rylan is desperately in love with Alexa, and she’s shocked when he puts his own life on the line to save hers. As Grant spirals out of control, Maverick proves that Alexa can trust him with anything. But Grant decides that if he can’t have Alexa, no one will. Maverick is the perfect antihero, and Alexa is a heroine with unbreakable strength. This tightly plotted and aptly characterized story pulls readers along for an unforgettable ride, leaving them hungry for the next story in the saga. Agent: Elinor Cooper, Diamond Kahn & Woods Literary.

February 15, 2017
When Alexa Harmon gets spooked by her fiance's increasingly abusive and controlling behavior, she turns to her ex-boyfriend Maverick for help, then gains additional help from his motorcycle club, the Raven Riders.Alexa has convinced herself she has it all: in two weeks she'll marry wealthy Grant Slater. But the closer the wedding gets, the more she realizes that something is very wrong and what she feels is dread: "Skin-crawling, stomach-dropping, run-while-you-can dread." Telling herself it's just pre-wedding jitters, she has to snap out of it when Grant becomes violent and verbally abusive. After he attacks her the first time, she runs to Maverick, the ex-boyfriend she broke up with after her brother died in a motorcycle accident. She's never forgotten him or his protective instincts, and once she feels threatened, she turns to him again. Maverick is extremely worried about Alexa but also has some problems to deal with in the Raven Riders--some of which are caused by businessman Slater, who hates the club. As the Riders work to raise their positive profile in the community, it's clear someone is working against them, and while they're all certain Grant has a hand in some sabotage, there's no proof. Meanwhile Alexa has to deal with her mother, a hoarder who is living in a property Grant owns, which makes it imperative to find her a safe new home, another challenge the Riders help her deal with. As Alexa rediscovers buried feelings for Maverick and accepts help from the club, Grant becomes more jealous, jeopardizing the club and the couple's happiness. Author Kaye consistently delivers layered characters, sizzling love scenes, and smart, fresh plots; in this second-chance-at-love storyline she also lightly explores mental illness and domestic abuse. A word of warning, though: readers who dislike profanity should beware, since it's set in a realistic motorcycle-club world. A sexy, textured, and wholly satisfying romance.

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March 15, 2017
With her upcoming marriage to real-estate mogul Grant Slater, Alexa Harmon is about to get everything she ever wanted. So why is she so scared? Just because Grant insists that everything be perfect all the time, and just because he sometimes loses his temper with her, doesn't mean he's a bad person. It just means that Alexa has to try harder to be the perfect wife Grant deserves. Until Grant, in a rage, locks Alexa out of their home, and she finally decides enough is enough. Alexa reluctantly turns to her old lover, Maverick Rylan, a member of Raven Riders Motorcycle Club, for help, and once he realizes exactly the kind of trouble she's gotten herself into, he vows that he will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. Readers who love biker bad-boy heroes with a heart of gold will find the second installment in Kaye's Raven Riders series, following Ride Hard (2016), utterly irresistible, as she revs up the danger and injects plenty of steamy sensuality into the story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)