Review: Kristen Ashley's "Fire Inside."



Review: Kristen Ashley's "Fire Inside" by Surj Harvey

To order: 
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I’ve been on a bit of a roll recently when it comes to bad ass biker boy books. I just can’t seem to get enough of them so you can imagine my joy knowing that Kristen Ashley would be giving me another dose of Chaos Motorcycle club. Yup, this time I would be getting Lanie and Hopper’s book and I couldn’t wait. I knew exactly what Kristen Ashley would be giving me in their story and I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. In fact there isn’t a single one of her books that I wouldn’t wholeheartedly recommend. They are full of alpha males, romance (never the conventional sort... lol), sex and not forgetting a massive dose of drama. There’s always something that keeps you on the edge of your seat and this was no different. “Fire Inside” had me gripped from start to finish and I loved it.

So what’s it about?

Lanie Heron is kinda messed up. Elliott (the man she was supposed to marry) got himself mixed up with the Russian Mob just so she could have the wedding of her dreams. The icing on the cake was that she ended up taking bullets  trying to protect him and her best friend Tyra got stabbed. They both survived. Elliott didn’t. Seven years on and Lanie can’t move on. The blame for all of this lies heavy on her shoulders and she can’t forgive herself:

 “You did what you thought was right, Lanie. But you never stuck your girl with a knife.

You gotta let that shit go.”

I understood logically what he was saying but for some, malevolent reason,

that monster in me fed on the guilt and it was growing out of control.

 She hasn’t been in another relationship let alone had someone in her bed since but a girl’s got needs.... right? So she sets her sights on Hopper Kincaid. One night with no strings and no complications:

No complications, Hop. Just you and me and tonight. Tomorrow, I won’t expect flowers.

 I won’t expect a belated courtesy date. I won’t even expect you to take

me for a  cup of coffee. This isn’t about that. I don’t even want that.”

Really Lanie, who you trying to kid? Hop ( bad ass biker extraordinaire) isn’t sure what to make of the offer laid on the table. It’s never just sex and Hop isn’t after complications. His had enough of those to last him a lifetime. He tries everything to deter her: 

“Don’t wanna be a dick lady but bitches say that shot all the time. Then in

the morning, they expect breakfast coffee and to come home from

work to roses with a note sayin’ the guys never had better.”

 Unfortunately he can’t help falling for those “come to bed” eyes and gives in. One night turns into two, turns into a week, turns into more. Lanie is the best thing that has ever happened to Hop and not just in the bedroom. She’s in his head, under his skin and he can’t get enough of her:

“I go to bed, lie there and think of you. I wake up, you’re the first thing on my mind.”

 The problem is Lanie. She’s convinced herself that this is still just sex... no strings sex and that’s all it can ever be. She can’t allow herself to process what’s happening between them because that will lead to something that scares the shit out of her... a relationship. And look how the last one turned out. Hopper likes a challenge and Lanie has just become his. Will he be able to help her slay the monster that lies within? Will she find the strength to accept she wasn’t responsible for the events that haunt her and will she finally find the happiness she so rightly deserves? I think we all know the answer to that. :0)

I loved, loved, loved this book? Did I just say I loved this book? It had just the right amount of everything I expect from a Kristen Ashley novel and I devoured it. Hopper Kincaid stole my heart. I know he didn’t put himself in a good light when we saw him in “Motorcycle Man” but he definitely redeemed himself in this book. Yes he was your typical alpha male: strong minded and controlling but there was a softer side to him which just send me into a puddle of goo!!!! He was patient (and by god there were times when he needed to be), he was protective and he just gave the best advice ever. If you’re looking for a bad ass biker with a heart of gold, look no further, I just found him:

“Where am I?” he repeated and when I still looked confused, he went on,       

“Right now, Lanie, where am I standing?”

It sifted through me what he meant and left a warmth in its wake.

“At my back,” I answered. “At your back, baby, now and always.”

See, lines like these (and there were a few) just left me with the biggest grin on my face and my heart swelling to the size of Denver. Oh and there was a lot more to Hop than just being a biker. He could sing and he played the guitar!!!!! Holy crap I got myself a biker and a rock star all in one book!!!! (I’m still grinning because that scene in the bar just sealed the deal for me).

Now Lanie Heron, she was one tormented chick who was not about to let anyone in. With guilt eating away at her, the one person who saw straight through her was Hop:

“You’re hiding. Right out in the open, Lanie, you’re trying to hide. Hide from me. Hide from 

everybody. I don’t know about everybody, lady, but you gotta know, you’re not hiding from me.”

And to begin with, she fought it. She fought her feelings because she was scared. She couldn’t allow herself to go through loss again:

I had nothing left to give. I not only had nothing left to give, I just had nothing. 

And I was going to keep it that way. If you had nothing, you couldn’t 

feel more pain because you had nothing left to lose. 

She knew he wanted more. I wanted her to have more. God everyone that read the book wanted her to have more but not Lanie and she was adamant. She was stubborn and she dug her heals in:

 "We don't have a future," I informed him.

"We do have a future," Hop informed me.

"We don't."

"Lady we do."

But Hop, he tore those walls down and I loved that little by little she let him do it.

That’s not to say there wasn’t drama along the way. Now I know some have said that there wasn’t the normal dose of Kristen Ashley drama but I have to beg to differ. Maybe it wasn’t in the usual form of shoot outs or kidnappings but trust me, Hop and Lanie’s relationship was enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. Their misunderstandings and  miscommunication drove me nuts. These moments were heart breaking to read because I was so desperate to see them together. Unfortunately scars from the past and  a massive stubborn streak in both meant theirs was often a rocky road:

“I didn’t want any part of it but you made me want it then you took  it away 

reminding me how bad it hurts, how it kills to have something to lose.”

 So what else did Kristen Ashley give me? I got to see some of the characters from her other books!!!! Yay. Tack and Tyra played a bigger part because of their connection to Lanie and Hop’s past, and then there was Elvira who I just adored. Vance showed up to sort out the security at Lanie’s offices (swoon) and then there was Hawk Delgado, Mitch Lawson and Brock Lucus (all men that had got my heart racing in previous books). If you haven’t read the Rock Chick Series, The Colorado Mountain Series or The Dream Man Series, they are definitely a must... books with men to die for and great story lines to go with.
So all in all, another brilliant Kristen Ashley novel. Not as action packed as some of her previous books (kidnappings, shootings etc) but it still got my blood pressure raised and still gave me that “sitting on the edge of my seat desperate to know what happens next” drama. Kristen Ashley’s epilogues always have me close to tears and this was no different.... always tears of happiness though. A definite must for die hard  fans (which I most definitely am!!!)

This got 5 Hearts from me. Go buy it.
Click on the book cover below to check out my review of book one in the series "Own the Wind" which tells the story of Tabby and Shy