Indulgences and Kristen Ashley

When I was younger I would make a list of books I wanted to read or re-read. This list was based off the idea that I needed to trim up or enhance my 'literary diet'. What you put in your brain is just as important as what you put in your body. (There's a reason my copies of Jane Eyre and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn are worn out). However. I'm also a huge believer in the well-balanced life and the every day indulgences.
Mine? Well. I'm pretty unabashed in my love for the heart-warming, cheesy-as-all-get-out, romantical reads. The one where the hero is super hunky and flawed but totally perfect at the same time. Where the heroine is in a rut or down on her luck and she's just like you because she *insert-relatable-coping-mechanism-here*. And then they meet (or re-meet) (or bump into each other, hate each other, have sexual tension, and then fall madly in love after a series of misadventures and/or all of the previous mentioned). If this resonates...

May I introduce you to :

Ride Steady (Chaos #3) by Kristen Ashley
Published: June 30th 2015
Publisher : Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Page Count : 640 (available in print, e-format, audio)
Genre : Romance, Contemporary Women.
Find the Author : Kristen Ashley (social media links on site)

Carissa is a struggling single mother whose life decisions decided to divorce her and shack up with a barely legal model. She's on the side of the road with her baby and a flat tire when a vaguely familiar biker rolls up to give her a hand. 
Joker (vaguely familiar biker) recognizes her immediately. Back in High School his name was Carson and she was the girl he put up on a pedestal. Romance, complex situations, and an incredible amount of warm fuzzies and hurrahs ensue.

Reading a Kristen Ashley is basically like experiencing a tv show or a movie series. You respect (but not really) that it might not everyone's cup a tea but you're obsessed and will go down with fangirl zeal for your favorite ships (books). I suppose one of the reasons she fills that literary indulgent need I was talking about above - is because she writes larger than life characters from some-what sketchy backgrounds with main characters that we want to root for. She's HBO crossed over with the Hallmark Channel. I love HBO. And I really love the Hallmark Channel.

Favorites about Ride Steady :

• Carissa's not afraid to cry. She's not afraid to dress up to bring a pie to a hot biker and NOT let herself overthink it. She's played all the 'right chips' and the right chips didn't work out. So now she's doing what she doing for her son's happiness and after that - her own happiness. 
• Joker's past is a big part of the story line and it's not forgotten when they hook up. It's a constant thread that weaves everything together. 
• That kid of hers pulls hair, bops heads, and acts like a typical baby. But he LOVES his Joker. And that's just adorable. I mean, biker and a baby. What's not to 'awww!' over? 
• You get to catch up with the girls! (If you want to jump into the series with Ride Steady you can totally do that, but there's a lot of names and faces that are focused on previously in the series). 

My only complaint would be...was when the girls take Carissa out shopping and they all climb into the 'handicap dressing stall'. You see, when the 'girls' get together I like to think of myself running into them and becoming friends and then you know, meeting a super hot alpha dude through them and then well, you know...lol. BUT. That would not happen if I had met them while they were crammed in an accessible dressing room. Because trust me - those babies are limited. I'm looking at this as more of a comment on how vivid the reading experience is. Although, if you ever have a group of girls in a dressing room - remember those big stalls are for wheelchairs, walkers, and small children (and the friend whose helps you wrangle out of a blouse that sort of accidentally gets stuck on your head). 

Ride Steady was the perfect, perfect way to balance out of my literary intake. It's desert. Nice, heart-warming, definitely soul-healthy desert. I think I'm going to pick up something heavier next time. (While finishing the Lunar Chronicles Series before the release of Winter!). 

Do you have a go-to for your indulgent needs? 

Jess