Tina's Reading Books

The strongest and my favorite of the Dream Man series.

The weaknesses that plague the writing and editing of this author continue in this book. I won't go into detail since I have in my revies of the earlier three books.

However the thing that puts this book over the top is that never, not once, was I unconvinced of the romance and connection of Tack and Tyra. As a matter of fact, the exact opposite was true. I was totally convinced by them every time I turned the page. And it was all there on the page all the time.

There was some great internal conflict between them. Tack and Tyra meet at a barbecue, drink lots of tequila and have sex. To him she's just a girl he picked up and had sex with. Women like that are put in a certain category so he put her in it. To Tyra, she had just met the man of her dreams. Their differing interpretations of that night get tested right away since Tyra realizes he's her boss at the new job she is just starting the next day. Needless to day they have words. This being a Kristen Ashley book and Tack being a biker in a motorcylce club, those words are not gentle. In fact they are crude. They hurt Tyra's feelings but they also open her eyes.

That initial meeting and that differing interpretation of what it meant to both Tyra and Tack resonate throughout the book and it gets revisited and re-discussed as their relationship builds and they begin to learn about each other. It was gratifying to read on and watch as Tack began to get how much he had initially hurt her and as he subsequently sets about to redeem himself in her eyes.

I liked Tyra because she simply did not take Tack's shit. And he doled it big time. There was this pretty awesome scene that occurs after Tyra rescues Tack's 16-year daughter from her skeevy boyfriend. Afterward Tack is pissed because Tyra didn't call him to take care of it. The scene between the two of them was intense, the argument was harsh and it bordered on a little violent. As I was reading I was very tense and pretty pissed and at one point I even said "Oh, no he didn't!" But the scene felt 100% real, every emotion that came out of it felt totally authentic to these two people. And Tyra's reaction afterward gratified me because she did not allow herself to gloss over what she thought was his disrepect of her place in his home and with his kids. She demanded her due. And later as he explained his side of things and his reactions, it too felt totally plausible. It was a great piece of writing and scene crafting. It is scenes like this and the emotions that it elicits from me that causes me to forget some of the technical issues I have with the book.

Also enjoyed the cameo pop ups of all the other Dream Man couples and of course the ever present Elvira.

Good book.