After identifying the dangerous men responsible for bombing her employer’s tattoo business, Jessica Jakes takes refuge at the compound of the Raven Riders Motorcycle Club. Fellow Hard Ink tattooist and Raven leader Ike Young promises to keep Jess safe for as long as it takes, which would be perfect if his close, personal, round-the-clock protection didn’t make it so hard to hide just how much she … she wants him–and always has.Ike Young loved and lost a woman in trouble once before. The last thing he needs is alone time with the sexiest and feistiest woman he’s ever known, one he’s purposely kept at a distance for years. Now, Ike’s not sure he can keep his hands or his heart to himself–or that he even wants to anymore. And that means he has to do whatever it takes to hold on to Jess forever.
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Jess/Jessica Jakes has had a crush on Ike forever, they banter, they flirt, but they’ve never crossed the line, not that Jess wouldn’t be on him in a heartbeat! But he doesn’t take the hint, what’s a girl to do?
Ike Young knows how it feels to love someone you love, he lost his pregnant girlfriend in a fight gone wrong. His job in the club is debt collector, bet runner for The Ravens and tattooist for Hard Ink, he’d moved to Baltimore for the tattooing job, but he was a Raven Rider through and through.
Jess is hiding from a gang that have been a constant pain to both the Hard Ink gang and the MC Raven Riders. She identified them after an attempt at blowing up the ink parlour that both Jess and Ike work at.
This book combines both Hard Ink (a series I’ve not read) with Raven Riders (a series I’m reading at the moment)
A short story/novella. You don’t have to read in order, but there is definitely history between these two (and I always hate half a story)
Piercer for Hard Ink Jess was already established, she saw Ike and fell for him. So this is set years down the line, neither have them given in to the temptation. Ike tries to look at Jess as a work colleague, yeah that’s not working.
And when Jess’s life is put in danger, Ike needs to realise that she’s more than just a friend.
Ike brought Jess to the Raven’s compound, it’s safer there, but trouble seems to follow her…..
I loved Jess, such a tale charge chick, except when it comes to that bad ass tattoo artist Ike.
They both have had hard pasts, they both know what it’s like to have loved and to have lost someone close, but Jess just can’t get past that last wall of his!
A short but intense story, passionate but fun. A good intro to the Raven Riders series.
4.5 stars
This is a short and sizzling hot read. If you wondered what happened to Jessica and Ike, the other employees from Hard Ink Tattoo in the Hard Ink series, here ya go. I loved Jess from the very beginning and had actually thought she’d be involved in Jeremy’s story at first. I’m so glad things went another way than I had at first anticipated as the series progressed because Jeremy found his proper HEA, and now so has Jess.
Ike and Jess are absolute FIRE together. They both have humongous hearts and tough outer shells. Prickly is an understatement. Yet they cannot help but let that shell crack when they are together. They are amazingly sweet together.
This story also serves as a launching point for another series by this author, Raven Riders. Job well done on getting me hooked and anxious to read more. Exactly as a introductory novella should.
https://allingoodtimeblog.wordpress.com/2020/06/04/hard-as-steel-hard-ink-raven-riders/
Read: 4/26/19
Hard As Steel was a crossover between Laura Kaye’s Hard Ink series and her new Raven Riders series.
Ike Young was a tattoo artist at Hard Ink. He was also a patched member of the Raven Riders MC. He was gorgeous, rough, protective and all alpha. We know he had a past, but until now it’s yet to unfold.
Jessica Jakes was also an employee of Hard Ink. She was fully tatted, sassy, independent and sexy. She was best friends with Ike but had secretly crushed on him for years, never wanting to mess with the friendship.
We met Ike and Jessica previously as Hard Ink employees who were mixed up in the mess created by the Hard Ink suspenseful plots. As a result, Ike took Jessica into hiding until everything was resolved. Hard As Steel began in the middle of Hard Ink’s book four, Hard to Let Go and concluded at the same time Hard to Let Go concluded. Kaye did a great job recounting some key points so we could assess the timeline accurately. My only suggestion would be to start the story with how Jessica called Ike as her home was being broken into. The emotions and turmoil of the two as she was in the middle of it would have brought even more to the story.
The storyline was simple focusing around Ike and Jessica hiding out away from the danger until the Hard Ink troubles were settled. It also served as a bridge for beginning to introduce the Raven Riders MC and kick off the series. I loved both Ike and Jessica and hopefully we’ll get more development from them as the new series unfolds.
In the end, Hard As Steel was a quick novella that was well written with a simple plot and a great bridge for what’s to come in the Raven Riders MC. Dare Kenyon, the MC President, is first up in Ride Hard.
4 stars – It was really good
When Jessica Jakes is targeted by the enemies of her employer, she finds herself seeking refuge at the compound of the Raven Riders Motorcycle Club with her coworker Ike Young.
These two were minor characters in the Hard Ink series but I am so glad we got their story. Jessica and Ike have a lot in common and have been friends for years. The attraction has always been there but they both have done a very good job at hiding it. Once they open up to each other and share their tragedies their bond of friendship quickly morphs into one of love.
These two have amazing chemistry and were so steamy! I really enjoyed their progression from friends to lovers. It wasn’t a gentle one but it worked wonderfully for these two. I also liked that this book introduced us to more of the Raven Riders and their headquarters. I especially enjoyed Bunny who sounds like a very cool grandma.
Trigger Warnings:
– References to gangs, kidnapping, and human trafficking.
– Descriptions of the violent death of a parent due to burglary.
– Descriptions of the violent death of a girlfriend and unborn baby.
– Survivors guilt
AMAZING!!!
I will just say this. You DO NOT want to miss “Hard As Steel” Ike and Jessica’s story.
I liked Ike but I didn’t love him like I loved the Hard Ink guys. The story was a good short read, and made me curious about the Raven Riders MC. I’m looking forward to Dare’s book.
Edit: upon a second read through a couple of years after I originally read it, I liked Ike a lot more the second time around!