Monday, January 23, 2017

Rock Chick Reawakening by Kristen Ashley


From New York Times bestselling author, Kristen Ashley, comes the long-awaited story of Daisy and Marcus, Rock Chick Reawakening. A prequel to Kristen’s Rock Chick series, Rock Chick Reawakening shares the tale of the devastating event that nearly broke Daisy, an event that set Marcus Sloane—one of Denver’s most respected businessmen and one of the Denver underground’s most feared crime bosses—into finally making his move to win the heart of the woman who stole his.

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Book 0.5
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Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca



Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie☆☆☆☆☆
A Thousand Sparkling Rhinestone Stars is what this dream ending to the Rock Chick series deserves!

Over the last few months, we at Wicked Reads having been rereading and reviewing the original eight books in the series in readiness for this release. I could not see how it could better than what had already been written, but of course, Ms. Ashley knows her characters and her readers well, and has given us a wonderful new finale. As soon as I got to the end, I just wanted to read it all over again! If you have not read the series before, I would recommend that you save this to last, because even if some of it pre-dates the other books, it would spoil certain plot lines, which would be a pity.

We now have some insight into Marcus and his nature, thanks to this book – he had to be good, as Daisy deserved no less, but formerly he has only really been a shadow. Seeing Daisy as a child, and following her to Smithie's is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I love the cameos of scenes which we know to be important, and the way that Daisy's goodness shines through. The ending... well it was like going to a family reunion and getting all caught up... intense, delicious, and something which it takes time to mull over and appreciate.

Thank you Ms. Ashley for making an already amazing series absolutely perfect.


Veronica☆☆☆☆☆
Daisy and Marcus' story is emotional, funny, sexy, romantic, full of love. Marcus has to work hard to get past Daisy's defences and when he does, he gets the love of a good woman with an amazing heart. I cried tears of sadness and tears of happiness reading Rock Chick Reawakening. It was exactly what I wanted and I loved every single word.


Angela☆☆☆☆☆
To begin, while Rock Chick Reawakening was written as a series prequel because the events in it take place before Rock Chick, I strongly recommend against reading it before the rest of the series. It’s not so much that it can’t be read first, but rather that it will be far more meaningful of a story when read last. Reading Rock Chick Reawakening first is not going to spoil the other books in the series, but there are so many cameos, glimpses at characters we barely knew, and connections made in it, that it will mean more to the reader after they’ve experienced the zaniness of each Rock Chick’s courtship; not to mention, Daisy is her own brand of Rock Chick, so the tone is not quite the same (nor should it have been). As for Rock Chick Reawakening, I was not at all surprised that it was a 5-star read for me – heck, I’ve already read it four times since its release.

Truth be told, Ashley would have had to work hard at writing Marcus and Daisy’s story in such a way that I wouldn’t love it. It’s Daisy and Marcus, after all. Rock Chick fans knew how they got together, but we didn’t really know HOW they got together. Ashley has done a fantastic job in giving us a beautiful love story that not only let us get to know a well-loved character even better than we already did, but she also gave us a better look into Daisy’s enigmatic knight in tarnished armor. And what a fairy tale it was, complete with the saving of the princess, the slaying of the dragon, and the happily ever after in their castle. I absolutely loved learning about how the castle came to be built. I won’t go over the events that transpired in the book because even those that fans are aware of, take on a whole new meaning when experienced from Daisy and Marcus’s points of view. I will say that even though I already knew that Marcus Sloane adored his wife, I had no idea of the depth of his love for her. The dichotomy of Marcus’s character as both a crime lord (of sorts) and as a loving husband who does all in his power to make his wife safe and happy is… ugh, I can’t even find the right word with how inspiring it was. Because Rock Chick Reawakening is a novella, events move rather quickly and I found myself at the end of the book far sooner than I wanted. As for the ending, it made me bawl – every single time I read it. Seeing Daisy experience the heartbreak of being unable to conceive and doing it from her husband’s point of view, and then watching what Marcus does to try to mitigate the daily emotional reminder just hurt. But every Rock Chick gets her happy ending and Ashley crafted the perfect one for Marcus and Daisy.

On an aside, I loved seeing paths cross before connections were made and learning how certain connections were made. If I understood the scene in the park correctly, Daisy crossed paths with Park, the young man we never met in Rock Chick Renegade, and we got our first look at Sniff as well. Even though it hurt her at the time, knowing what she was missing, I couldn’t help but smile at the conversation she overheard while shoe shopping, knowing that one day she would not only have her girl posse, she’d be part of that very girl posse shopping behind her. There are also references to a few side characters who lived up to their problematic reputations – Vince and Dawn. But I think the most meaningful revelation of all for me was seeing why Lee and Vance were so protective of Daisy later on in the series and learning that they, as well as Luke, started Nightingale Investigations out as they intended to run it – protecting those who couldn’t always protect themselves and insuring that their abusers, especially men who abused women, got what they deserved. I adored Rock Chick Reawakening and cannot wait to read it again, yes, again.

PS – This line won’t be in my Amazon review for obvious reasons, but I loved the nice touch of the Southernism of coochie (at least, I’ve only heard it used in the South). I haven’t heard that word since I moved away from home, but it was a perfectly authentic touch to Daisy’s vocabulary.


Also Available in the Rock Chick Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our Rock Chick post.


Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our Rock Chick Rescue post.


Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our Rock Chick Redemption post.


Book 4
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our Rock Chick Renegade post.


Book 5
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our Rock Chick Revenge post.


Book 6
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our Rock Chick Reckoning post.


Book 7
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our Rock Chick Regret post.


Book 8
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our Rock Chick Revolution post.




Kristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA and nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to accessorise and she hadn't taken her first breath!). Her mother said they took Kristen away, put her Mom back in her room, her mother looked out the window, and Gary was on fire (Dr. King had been assassinated four days before). Kristen's Mom remembered thinking it was the end of the world. Quite the dramatic beginning.

Nothing's changed.

Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana and has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus, she's blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her family was (is) loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write. They all lived together on a very small farm in a small farm town in the heartland. She grew up with Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).

Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.

And as she keeps growing, it keeps getting better.

Connect with Kristen

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads




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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team reviewed their personal copy of Rock Chick Reawakening (Rock Chick #0.5) by Kristen Ashley for this post.

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