Rough Ride by Breezie Bennett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Easy on the eyes can be brutal to the heart. There's a hint of both in Kendall and Andre's relationship. With Breezie, a little heartache feel so good. Rough Ride pulls emotions into the story. From wicked attraction to sassy dialogue and every evolving characters. Prepare to be charmed on all levels. Bennett is quickly making her way to the top of my favorite authors collection.

Source: Netgalley

 

Even though there had been several books between me experiencing Rough Riders Vol 1 and Vol 2, I found myself quickly remembering how much I liked some of the characters, and laughing at the dialogue. And, of course, anticipating a certain one's return - which I was given rather swiftly. However, unfortunately, I feel like this one had a serious case of try-too-hard-itis going on. While I loved a lot of the action and the witty repartee between Annie and the rest of the Rough Riders was awesome, the repeated twists and turns of the plot had me sighing.

My main problem with Rough Riders, Vol 2: Riders on the Storm were the parallels to America today. I read to escape, so finding myself plunging into a version of our current situation had me wrinkling my nose. And from a certain word to the characters that were obvious stand-ins for some of our politicians in office today, it was impossible to not see the similarities. However, the dialogue between the Rough Riders about democracy, anarchy, and frustration with the system was very plainly put and easy to relate to. And the end of this issue, well, let's just say it was believable as well. So while I didn't like that aspect of things, I still appreciated how the writer laid things out.  I do want to comment on a lot more than I currently am, simply because I lack the skill to get my point across.

The other thing is that while I can suspend quite a lot of belief in logic and abilities in search of a good story, Rough Riders Vol 2: Riders on the Storm, just had a few too many cases where I felt like it was pushing the envelope of realism a bit too far. There was a scene in particular involving one of the characters and four horses that had me rolling my eyes.

My favorite line comes from Roosevelt in the first issue (#8) of Riders on the Storm. It's just an awesome insult.

"For a civil war veteran, I found age and fear had given him the spine of a chocolate eclair."


As for the individual issues themselves, while I liked the The Big Burn (#8), Maiden of the Mist (#12) was the stand-out winner for me. Mostly because I love Annie, in case I haven't mentioned that three times already. Strange Days (#13) was my least favorite of the bunch. Given the way Strange Days ended things, I can't say that I would be interested in picking up any more volumes from the Rough Riders' series. 

Overall, just can't recommend this volume, sorry. It had it's high points, but not enough to make it worth spending money on.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher for review consideration 

Rough Riders Vol. 1 - Adam Glass I actually passed over Rough Riders Vol 1 a few times before deciding to go ahead and give it a try. I’m not normally someone who digs alternate history stuff, so I was definitely a bit leery. But I downloaded it, and figured I would just read the introduction and see if it was worth checking out. Well, I ended up finishing it. No matter what I think of the book overall, when the introduction is a man geeking out about learning and history, I’m going to immediately develop a bit of a soft spot. It’s obvious Adam Glass loves the past, and I was immediately hopeful that the comic would have a touch of that love in it.

*The first issue just establishes that Roosevelt is a man with a mission, and starts bringing together the team. It feels disappointingly short, with him only gathering one teammate, and talking about the next one.

*The second issue sees the rest of the team gathered and the journey begin. I definitely had a laugh at how Annie joins the team. Her dipping Teddy Roosevelt during the tango was something I didn’t know I needed to see until I saw it.

*The third issue sees the Rough Riders properly on their journey. Annie and Teddy continue to be my favorite characters. However, the team of Jack and Houdini is an interesting one as well. Definitely some weird crap happening in Cuba.

*The fourth issue was my favorite of the series. The others made me snicker, but this one had some laugh out loud lines, and also one solid moment of “Holy crap! I wasn’t expecting that!!” It details more of their time on the island and some disturbing discoveries.

*The fifth issue introduces some more common elements, and felt like a bit of a let-down after the fourth issue. More revelations, some dissent amongst the team. Standard stuff.

*The sixth issue picks things back up. I honestly thought that things were going to go in a completely different direction than they did at one point. Kudos to Adam Glass for surprising me. I appreciated that.

*The seventh issue had me internally yelling at the pages. One particular panel also triggered my tryptophobia and had my scalp crawling. Even thinking about it I want to scratch at my skin. While it didn’t end on the note that I wanted it to do, I still liked it.

The volume begins and ends with group photos (and the group looks much different between 1 and 7), but the individual issues in between have covers devoted to each of the group. As usual, there are some cover variants at the end. I have to say that I’m really glad they went with the ones that they did, as I’m not a particular fan of any of the variants except for one.

Rough Riders Vol 1 was a lovely experience, and I felt like the seven issues contained an almost perfectly done mission arc. There’s a perfect amount of action, and the dialogue is spot on. Most of the characters are very likable, even if they haven’t yet had a chance to really develop. We do get a glimpse into a bit of their backgrounds in last few issues that helps us connect with them just enough to appreciate what they’ve overcome without being subjected to a ridiculous amount of pages filled with backstory.

Overall, I was very happy with Rough Riders Volume 1. Adam Glass crafted a good story with great dialogue that had me laughing more often than not. Patrick Olliffe’s illustrations were perfect. He is very talented and able to communicate the unwritten portions of the story very well. Gabe Eltaeb coloring was nice as well. There have been times where a perfectly good comic book has been hampered by perfectly horrible coloration. I’m happy to report this is not the case here. And Sal Cipriano’s lettering made it so that I had absolutely no problem following exactly who was speaking or what was being said. (Following the dialogue is often a problem that I have.)

Definitely recommend this and I will be checking out the next volume of Rough Riders as soon as I can get my hands on it!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss for review consideration.

This book was bittersweet for me.  It was the end of a series that really got me into reading erotica again.  When I found the Rough Riders Series I felt like a new world opened up for me.  The books were hot but they had a storyline and characters that I immediately fell in love with.  The McKays became a staple in my reading lists for the last seven or so years.  And I will miss them.  Miss them terribly.

 

It's one of the reasons I put off this novella for so long.  I read COWBOY TAKE ME AWAY finally after waiting quite some time, but I just couldn't bring myself to reading this final piece of the original McKays.

 

I couldn't put it off forever though and so I bit the bullet and read LONG TIME GONE and I wasn't disappointed in the least.  I thought the author stayed true to the characters and it just seems so interesting to the "parents" as young adults.

 

Kimi and Cal certainly didn't make things easy but I have a lot of respect for him in the fact that he let Kimi go spread her wings.  I loved that they were able to find their way back to each other.  I just wished that they were able to get more of a story once they got back together.  I had a smile on my face from what I did get of them and loved their story even though I was closing the book on the Rough Riders Series.

 

I listened to the audio at the beginning but wasn't a huge fan of the narrator so I ended up giving up about half way through and read the rest of the book.

Book: Ride Rough (Raven Riders #2)
Author: Laura Kaye
Publication Date: 4/25/2017
Reviewed by: Tammy Payne- Book Nook Nuts
My Rating: 5 Stars


REVIEW
If you read book one, then you will know who Maverick is.
He is the Raven Riders Vice and Dare' cousin. And you would have met Alexa in book one.
Mav has only ever loved one woman, and that is his best friends sister Alexa. The only problem is she left him just up and poof after her brother died.
Alexa has to do whatever it takes to take care of her mother. But she may have bitten off more than she can chew with Business Man Grant Slater. A JERK with a capital J.
There is so much love between this couple, and it may take them a bit to get back to each other, but when it does, it sizzles.
This book gives us exactly the right amount of angst, drama, love, and friendship. Everyone will be put to the test.
There is vivid abuse in this book, but it's written tastefully.
Alexa has made friends with Haven and Cora. I really hope Cora gets a story she is such a strong female, funny, and caretaker.

This book was fully loaded, and I enjoyed it actually I devoured it in one day. Again I'd say grab book one to begin your journey.
Oh and we do see mention of previous characters from other books which I love when an author does that.

[a:Laura Kaye|4805272|Laura Kaye|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1412350405p2/4805272.jpg]