Smoke and Steel

Wild West MC, Book 2

By: Kristen Ashley

Narrated by: Joseph Discher, Regan Linton

She wasn’t a white dress type of girl....

Hellen Moynihan didn’t have dreams. She had goals. She knew who she was and what she wanted. She also knew what she didn’t. So when her long-term boyfriend didn’t make the grade, she moved on. And when her best friend’s boyfriend showed signs of being a scam artist, Hellen was on the case.

He wasn’t a white hat type of guy....

Dustin “Hardcore” Cutler didn’t have dreams or goals. A troubled past led Core to do something irredeemable. The only thing he and the men of the Resurrection MC could do was vow to live their lives making up for an unforgivable act.

And they did.

This duty leads Core to being a part of a covert protection detail, looking after Hellen Moynihan when trouble is coming to town.

At first, Core finds this dynamo of a woman intriguing, but he’s decided she’s off-limits.

Then Hellen and her friend wade into a multi-state swindling scheme.

Suddenly, off-limits for Core is out the window.

He’s got no choice but to get up close and personal.

©2022 Kristen Ashley (P)2022 Audible, Inc.

A bit different than KA's usual

This is book 2 in the Wild West MC series. You do NOT need to read book 1 first.

(This book comes after the Chaos series and talks about a lot of the history between the motorcycle clubs. I haven’t read those yet so I was a bit lost when it was all being recapped and characters from the previous books made appearances)

I was a bit surprised given that this doesn't have the usual Kristen Ashley elements: super Alpha's that border on being super controlling with stinted neanderthal dialogue. And I liked it a lot but that's not to say I don't like her other books. I'm relatively new to KA. I've read maybe 10 of her books so far so I'm certainly no expert. In a nutshell, I have a love/dislike relationship with them. I get sucked into the stories and love these Über alphas but want to chuck the book (or audio in my case) when they act like douches, the women go stupid, the descriptions of the house and what they eat and wear go on and on and they are 23 hours long. But I keep going back for me. She weaves a great story and as always in KA books the sex is super hot.

First off, this was nothing like book 1 and I'm glad for it. When I think about how that alpha-hole Buck treated Clara steam comes out of my ears. But that’s not what this is about.

What's refreshing for me in this book is that Core is likable as he actually listens to Helen, the FMC. Imagine that! A KA alpha who actually listens to his woman and her needs instead of telling her what she needs and how it's going to go down. And the book stayed at a reasonable 12 hours! I also appreciate that Helen stayed true to herself, was a really strong female and didn't back down when she and Core had conflicts. So many KA FMC's end up turning stupid the second their men come in the room and it’s not because they are so in love.

This is narrated by Joseph Discher and Regan Linton and is the first time I’ve listened them. It was a great paring. I felt Regan’s voice represented Helen’s strength well.

This was good but not memorable so it's at a solid 4 stars for me

Loved it!!!

As always Kristen Ashley did it again!!! Had a difficult time stop listening at the end of the night but had to finally to sleep.

Great!

Fantastic! I loved Core & Hellen! I'm still missing old KA stories but her new stuff as it's not bad at ALL.

what was that?

The entire time the hero was mentally tortured by his past. He and his brothers hurt a woman physically and left her. I found him weak.

KA's books used to be exciting. I miss Rock Chick and the str*pper series vibes.

if you want tormented hero for doing something unforgivable, then this book is for you.

I missed the romance. it felt like there was no romance in this

narrators were great

Preaching feminism and a not so alpha biker

Listened to this on a road trip and was frustrated with the repeated preaching. I am a “self made” woman and don’t feel the need to defend or preach about feminism. Story was ok and that is all. I used to one click Ashley’s books , not anymore. I read the reviews first now.

Great MC Romance

I loved this book so much! I wish there was going to be more. I already miss all the brothers. I highly recommend.

Ok…

This book was an ok listen. I didn’t love it or hate it. I did however feel like it drug on with no action at all.
I am used to a certain form of
Kristen Ashley writing and this didn’t hit the mark. I’m an avid fan so I’ll continue with this series but I have not fallen in love yet.

As always, KA comes thru

Her bad boy redemption story arc really works for me. I look forward to the continuation of this mc evolution.

Loved this book.

I have been a big fan of Kristen Ashley for years. Her books are always entertaining

Yay! I’m sooo happy…

We finally are getting to Chaos next Gen and I see the next possible couple.