Dream Spinner, an all new action packed standalone with heat and heart from New York Times bestselling author Kristen Ashley, is out now, and we have an excerpt!

 

Amazon  |  Nook  |  Apple Books  |  Kobo  |  Google Play  |  Paperback  |  Audible

 

---

---

Blurb

In this steamy and emotional contemporary romance from a New York Times bestselling author, two damaged souls must overcome the pain of their pasts to have the love they’ve always dreamed of.

Hattie Yates has finally met the man of her dreams. Yet years of abuse from her demanding father have left her petrified of disappointment. She’s already failed to reach her goal of becoming a professional ballerina—she can’t handle the terrible consequences of another dream becoming a nightmare. But when a stalker sets their sights on Hattie, there’s only one man she dares to hope can help . . .

Axl Pantera knows Hattie is the only woman for him. Yet despite the attraction burning between them, Hattie refuses to let him in. The former soldier is determined to woo her into letting down her walls. And when danger comes calling, he’s up against more than her wary and bruised heart. Axl will do anything to prove to Hattie that they’re meant to be, but first, he’ll need to keep her safe.

 

Add to Goodreads

 

---

Review

4 stars!

I loved this book. A fantastically sweet, sexy and swoony romance with an alpha hero who completely stole my heart. This is KA doing what she does, and I loved it!

Axl and Hattie are the third couple in this series to be set-up by their mutual friend Lottie. He is a badass commando working with Hawk, and she is a stripper working in Smithie’s bar. They have met, there is a mutual attraction, but although Axl has made a movie, Hattie has knocked him back repeatedly, terrified of being hurt again after a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her father. She’s also feeling a whole lot of shame after Axl witnessed her at her lowest, and as a result, she has withdrawn from everybody in her life.

Axl gets that Hattie has walls up, but when she becomes the target of a stalker, he wades on in like the badass alpha that he is, giving Hattie the wake-up call that she needs, and setting her on the path to letting those close to her in – and that includes finally giving Axl a chance.

I really enjoyed watching this relationship begin. Axl and Hattie already have a bit of murky history between them, but they address everything head on. They are honest and open, and they work through their issues to get to the place where they both want to be. They don’t rush it, which builds the chemistry beautifully, and there’s this great sense of anticipation waiting for them to get where we know they’re going to be. It’s a really gorgeous journey watching them come together.

“Is there … making up?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed.
“Don’t you have to kind of be together to make up?”
“Hattie, this is the longest non-relationship relationship in history. We’ve been together since the first time you shot me down for a date and I think you know that better than me.”

I love Axl so much! He’s the same kind of hero that KA writes so frequently, but this one actually smiles! He smiles, laughs, and teases, and he has this wonderful playfulness about him. Plus, he’s completely open about his feelings, and he guides Hattie into a functional relationship that is sweet, emotional and super sexy.

“One kiss and a whole lot of mindfuck and we’re here. We’re here because we both want this, we both know it and we both know how bad we want it.”

And when they finally get to a place where they’re ready to be together, they throw themselves in whole-heartedly, and they have a wonderfully entertaining dynamic. I just love them together.

I’d never really noticed how magnificent lips were when they moved.
Especially lips like Axl’s.
“Hattie?”
“Yes?”
“Do you wanna kiss me?”
“Yes.”
“Then, baby, kiss me.”

But while Axl and Hattie are falling in love, they’re still dealing with Hattie’s stalker, and the ongoing case of crooked cops that the boys are investigating with the help of the Rock Chick, Dream Man and Chaos boys (love those cameos!). There’s also family drama in this one, with both Axl and Hattie having issues with their parents, and I really enjoyed those storylines. There are some fantastic ‘come to Jesus’ moments, and great character development, and though I would have loved to have seen some of those issues teased out a little more, I loved the way they were handled, and I was fully satisfied with the resolution.

I really enjoyed this read. Axl and Hattie’s love story is just beautiful, and I smiled and giggled and swooned my way through it from start to finish

“I can dare to dream. Because I have what I need. I know who I am. And the thing that makes it safe is that I’m in love with a really great guy who also loves me.”

And after all of the teases dropped in this one, I cannot WAIT for Auggie and Pepper’s book up next!

4 stars!

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

Dream Team 

 

---

Excerpt

“Yo, Axe,” Hawk greeted.

“You got a minute?”

In answer, Hawk tipped his head to the chair opposite his desk and tossed his phone on the top of it.

Since Hawk rarely sat, the men who visited him didn’t either.

But for this, Axl closed the door behind him after he entered, moved to a chair, and put his ass in it.

Hawk watched this, and he hesitated, but then he joined him, sitting behind his desk.

“Is everything cool?” Hawk asked.

“I got a sitch. Personal. And I was hoping you might talk it through with me. Maybe have some insight.”

“Hit me,” Hawk invited.

And there was one of the bennies of working for Cabe “Hawk” Delgado.

He was a good boss, generous with his knowledge, gave credit where it was due, didn’t get in your face if you fucked up and held up your hand that you did…

And he had time for you even when he didn’t.

“I met Hattie’s dad last night.”

Hawk’s lips thinned.

Right.

His boss might not be in on their chats, but not much happened with his crew that Hawk didn’t know about.

So he knew about Don Yates.

“I got blindsided,” Axl told him.

“How?” Hawk asked.

“He loves her, Hawk.”

Hawk held his gaze a beat before he sat back in his chair.

Yeah.

This was going to be a conversation.

Hawk’s voice was lower when he inquired, “He loves her, and he hits her?”

Axl shook his head. “I got no excuse for that. Or the verbal abuse he keeps doling out. What I know is, recently, he called her a whore.”

“Jesus,” Hawk clipped.

“She didn’t tell me that. She told Ryn, Ryn told Boone. And I got it from Boone. But before…” He paused, then got to it, “I can’t step in with her dad. She knows their relationship is dysfunctional. She feels beholden. I could only have her back. Until I heard that. Then I shared I was going to have to have words with her father.”

“Good,” Hawk murmured.

“Then I got there, and the man was practically beaming, he was so fuckin’ happy Hattie brought her boyfriend over to meet him.”

“Fuck,” Hawk grunted.

“So we sat down. He gave me the ‘What do you do for a living’ and ‘How’d you meet my daughter’ gig. I answered. All was good. Then I told him I couldn’t have him upsetting Hattie like he did by calling her a whore. He tried to explain it by saying he was in a bad mood. I told him, in future, if he was in a bad mood, he needed not to take that out on Hattie.”

“On your first meeting,” Hawk noted.

“On our first meeting,” Axl confirmed.

“Which happened…what? How long have you been seeing her? A few days?”

“Yep.”

“You laid down the law with your woman’s father the first time you met him after you’ve been with her a few days,” Hawk laid it out.

“Yep.”

“Christ, Axe, you don’t fuck around,” Hawk muttered.

 

---

About the Author

 

For more great reads, check out our Kristen Ashley Author Spotlight!