Sebring

Unfinished Heroes Series – Book 5

By Kristen Ashley

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Synopsis

Nick Sebring has issues. Born feeling like an outsider in his own family, growing up under the shadow of a brother who could do anything, Nick isn’t that great of a guy. But when this culminates with Nick lashing out to hurt his brother through the woman he loves, Nick turns inward and makes some decisions about the man he intends to be.

And as he does this, he falls in love and truly learns the man that he’s grown to be.

When his love is murdered right before Nick’s eyes, Nick knows he has to avenge her. He knows how he’s going to avenge her. And he has no qualms using Olivia Shade to exact that vengeance.

Olivia Shade has grown up on the outside of her family too. Her problem is that they don’t want her outside. They want her all the way in, right under their thumbs. She pays the price for seeking escape and learns her lesson—she’ll never see a dawn where she wakes up free.

Then she meets Nick Sebring, and even as she fights it, the hope that died years ago starts to blossom. She can find love. She can have a man of her own. She can be happy. She can be free.

Olivia hopes while Nick schemes.

However, as Nick peels back the layers of all that is Olivia Shade, he finds something surprising. He understands its fragility. He falls in love with its beauty. He seeks to protect it.

But he forgets to protect his Livvie from one thing: Nick Sebring.

Michel’s Review

The Unfinished Heroes Series by Kristen Ashley is one of my all time favorite series. The heroes of this series are not the typical knight in shining armor type of guys . They are a bit lawless and bend society’s rules to fit their own personal code of ethics. They have created a life that may fringe on the more sinister side of what society deems respectable. The difference is they make their darker side fit with their code of honor. Their actions are dictated by their own sense of justice, morality, and integrity. They are men of action rather than men of words. Each man in this series has a story and purpose. They are unfinished heroes.

Sebring is not the kind of novel you expect from Kristen Ashley. It is not a fun, lighthearted romance. It leans towards the darker side. It dives into the darker side of life and leaves the reader swimming in an emotional pool.

Readers were introduced to Nick Sebring in Knight, the first book of the Unfinished Heroes series. He is the younger brother of Knight Sebring. Unlike his brother, Nick’s childhood was good. By the time he was born his mother had finally found a good life, a good husband, and a stable home. He always lived in his older brother’s shadow and resented his strength and sense of honor. When his brother became a successful businessman, owning a popular nightclub and running a stable of prostitutes it added more fuel to Nick’s fire. Being a young man with a sense of entitlement, deep resentment, and general immaturity caused him to betray his brother. Nick Sebring was all kinds of trouble. The readers walked away with a very low opinion of this young man.

Time has a way of changing people. For Nick Sebring it was for the better. He finally grew up, learned that respect is earned, and actions define what kind of man you are. He has been working along side of the FBI as an informant in the violent underworld of organized crime in Denver. They are trying to take down the organizations that are responsible for Human Trafficking. Nick has infiltrated this violent world and has paid the ultimate price. He watched the woman he loved lose her life trying to bring down the Shade Family organization. He has invested years on this case and it’s time to bring it to an end. What he didn’t count on was falling in love with one of the members of the Shade family. Olivia Shade was his way in. Olivia Shade is his redemption. Olivia Shade is owns his heart.

Olivia Shade was born a princess in the ruthless, violent world of organized crime. She is a princess in an ugly, abusive, and deadly world. Between the psychotic father, the indifferent mother, and ambitious sister, Olivia doesn’t fit into the family’s depraved mold. She’s a prisoner in her ugly life and will never escape her violent world. She’s learned to stay within her family’s boundaries because stepping out of line comes at a deadly cost. She’s forced to work within the family business. The family business is not thriving. They have lost their leverage in their violent world. They are losing ground in the drug trade. New players are taking over their territory. Their father has lost all of the key territories due to his psychotic actions and archaic ways. Their soldiers are abandoning their jobs and moving on to new organizations. The only thing Olivia can do is try to protect the soldiers that are still in their fold, protect the money they have left, and find a new solution to make the organization profitable once again. Her sister plans to take the reigns once their father steps down. She’s as ruthless as their father but not as psychotic.

Nick and Olivia begin a purely sexual relationship that resulted from meeting at an exclusive sex club. What starts out as a way to fulfill their sexual needs turns into something more. Nick begins to see Olivia as an individual and a woman being held prisoner by her blood. She is no longer a means to an end. She is the woman he needs to save.

The price for freedom comes at a high cost.  Nick and Olivia made not be able to pay the price.

Sebring is by far the best book in the Unfinished Heroes Series. I am so happy that Kristen Ashley waited to bring his book out. She gave Nick Sebring time to mature and become a man worthy of this series. It also gave her time to grow as a writer. And she has grown leaps and bounds. Rather than a lighthearted romance that was fun, she dug deep and created a story that was complex and added multiple layers to all of the characters. She delivered a very emotional story. She also began to intertwine the Unfinished Heroes Series and the Chaos Series in the same direction. Both of these series are heading into one plot that is gaining momentum. This plot is very complex and will take an army to deliver. It’s a good thing that she added some of her other dynamic alpha characters from the Mystery Men series and Rock Chick series as part of the cast that will be in the final showdown. The war is coming. The lines have been drawn. The final battle is going to be epic! As each series releases new titles the readers will see that each book is building a slow burning fire that is blazing towards an explosive ending.

Sebring by Kristen Ashley is her best book yet!

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Author Bio:

 

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.

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