Welcome to my contribution to the Own the Wind Blog Tour!
Today I'll be sharing my review of Own the Wind, and giving ya'll a peek at my afternoon with Kane "Tack" Allen!
2012 brought me an amazing year of reading, and at the top of the "amazing" is Kristen Ashley and her incredibly romantic, sexy, passionate, edgy, thought provoking stories. And totally blown away, I had the honor of being one of the lucky recipients of a print ARC of Own the Wind, Shy and Tabby's story, one of the best novels ever!
So go ahead, take a look around, but be sure and keep reading to learn about how my chocolate cake got me a teeny - but totally awesome - tidbit about Hop and Lanie's story in Fire Inside. Getting the information out of Tack wasn't easy, but I love yous so I put it out there and got what I got and now I'm passing it on to you all. So yeah, keep reading!
My keeper shelf just got bigger!!
Those of us who had read Motorcycle Man knew that Shy and Tabby would get their story someday, and it’s a story we’ve been looking forward to. Well, that story came much sooner than I had expected it, and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am about that!
Own the Wind is totally, completely, amazing. It’s a beautiful tale filled with growth, passion and the kind of romance we mere mortal readers only dream of. It’s a story of letting go of the past, living in the now, with an eye to a future filled with nothing but the best things life has to offer. It’s sexy, romantic, funny... insightful, thought provoking and inspiring. It truly does not get better than this.
And for those who are concerned, I know a lot of us were worried that going with a publisher would change the way she tells her stories, that we'd lose the voice we've come to adore. I'm telling you now... No worries. Seriously, this is Kristen Ashley at her finest, and you won't be disappointed.
My thanks to Kristen Ashley, Chas, and Forever, an imprint of Grand Central Publishers, for providing BlithelyBookish Reviews with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was, start to finish, brilliant!
~~~My Afternoon With Tack~~~
So, here I am, standing in my kitchen frosting a cake, when suddenly I feel a presence with me. I look up and standing right there watching me is a tall, built man with messy, overlong salt-and-pepper hair (mostly pepper), a goatee that’s longish at the chin and lots of tats. He’s wearing faded jeans, a tight black t-shirt is spread across his wide chest, and on his feet, dusty motorcycle boots
“Yo,” he greets in his gravelly voice. His deep blue eyes drop to the cake on its stand and then move back to mine. I see his lips, surrounded by that goatee, are twitching. “That smells good.”
My mouth goes suddenly dry, and I have no reply.
He moves closer to me and I bite my bottom lip.
He notices this and smiles. I think he can tell he’s making me nervous!
My heart stops.
“You wanted a word?” he prompts.
“Umm.”
His brows go up and his lips are twitching again. “That the word?”
“Well…”
When I hesitate, he says, “Babe, Kit said you want a word. You want a word, you gotta give me a word.”
I clear my throat and say, “Uh… first, maybe we should introduce ourselves. But I know you’re Tack. I’m Ruth.”
He grins again and replies, “Yo, Ruth. Nice to meet cha.” His head tips to the side. “Now, your word?”
“Well,” I start hesitantly, “I wanted… that is to say…” I swallow hard. “I had hoped that maybe you’d teach me how to roast a hog.”
This time, his head jerks in surprise. “Roast a hog?”
“Yeah, like when you have hog roasts at the Compound.”
Slowly, he states, “You want me to teach you to roast a hog.”
“Well—”
Tack interrupts me, “You got a hog you want to roast?”
“Well, no, they don’t sell them at the market and I don’t have a hog hunting license, but that’s okay because I had an even better idea!” I smile real big, and this time, it’s him who appears uneasy.
“A better idea?”
“YES! I want to go for a ride on the back of a bike with a badass biker dude!”
To this, I get a full-blown smile before he replies, “Just sayin’, I can get you a hog. I can also teach you how to roast it. But if you want a ride, I can do that, too.”
I nod eagerly and Tack tips his head to the cake. “So, you wantin’ that ride now or are you gonna finish that? And, I’ll say this, darlin’, I’d prefer you finish that so I can have a slice of it before I put you on the back of my bike.”
Thinking of Tack eating a piece of my oh so fabulous cake, and getting to watch, I tell him, “I’m going to finish it, definitely finish it.”
He moves to a stool, still smiling and orders, “Then get to it, babe. As you know, shit goin’ down with the Club and got a woman and kids to get back to. But we’ll swing you by there if you wanna meet them. I know Red’ll wanna meet you.”
“I’m up for that,” I agree.
“Then get frostin’, woman,” he demands.
I go back to frosting, now finding it somewhat difficult, doing it while Tack Allen is watching.
To take my mind off things, things like Tack, and not just any Tack, but the Tack, watching me frost the cake, I ask, “So, uh… how are you with Tabby and Shy being together?”
“No man finds it easy to give up his girl. But, people read Own the Wind, they’ll get where I’m at,” he answers.
I look up at him. “I’m sorry about what happened to her.”
Tack gives me a soft look. “Thanks, darlin’. Me too. But she bounced back all right.”
“That she did,” I murmur, going back to the cake. “As you know, I’m sharing this with my readers so can I ask you to give me a little something for them?”
“And what little somethin’ would you want?” he asks.
I look at him again and bite my lip as I ponder how much I should ask. I take a deep breath and go for it. “I know Kit isn’t big on spoilers but maybe you can share something about what’s next. Maybe with Lanie and Hop?”
He shakes his head. “You’re right. Kit isn’t real big on spoilers, but, babe, you bake cakes, you’re sweet, I already know I like you so I’ll give you this. Folks got an idea about my brother Hopper. They also got an idea about Red’s girl Lanie. And I think, with both, they’ll be surprised.”
“How so?” I pressed on, hoping for more.
“Bob Seger,” he replies and I feel my brows inch together.
“Bob Seger?”
Tack grins. “All I’m gonna say. You’ll get it soon enough.”
I look back down to the cake, mumbling, “All right.”
I put the finishing touches on the cake and figuring Tack being a badass biker dude would probably like a badass biker dude sized piece of cake, I slice off nearly a quarter of it, put it on a plate and slide it across the breakfast bar.
“Milk?” I ask, then frown, thinking badass biker dudes probably don’t drink milk, so I amend, “Or, tequila?”
His eyes light and his brows shoot up. “You got tequila?”
“Well…no,” I have to admit.
“Beer?” Tack asks.
“Umm. No,” I reply, despondently.
He flashes another grin. “Then I guess milk is gonna have to do.”
After Tack finishes his cake and washes it down with milk, he asks, “You ready to ride?”
I look up, smile, and, channeling my inner Tabby state, “I’m livin’. So, let’s ride!”
So we did, and it turned out to be one of the happiest, most exciting rides of my life!
*****
Thank you, Kristen Ashley, for giving me this very special treat. It was such an awesome experience, and an incredible honor...
...and it turned out to be one of the happiest, most exciting rides of my life!
