Knight

I LOVE Kristen Ashley’s books because she develops her main and secondary characters as well as the plot so well.
This book explores relationship and sexual control as well as erotic punishments. Don’t let that deter you from reading “ Knight” or the other books in this series.
The story is simply about a man who rose from nothing, got into drag, sprint and street racing, making and saving lots of money, worked for a man who ran a prostitution ring as the self-appointed protection for the women because the pimp did not take care of his “employees”. Knight takes over a nightclub as well as the prostitution business. He makes sure each girl isn’t physically abused, helps them if they want to leave “the life” behind. He lives quietly, not drawing attention to himself. As K. Ashley wrote, “he is not normal, he is not good, he is not clean”.
Those qualities belong to the heroine, Anya Gage. Both parents died young and her alcoholic, verbally abusive aunt is her only relative. See left home right after high school graduation and never looked back.
Anya’s life isn’t easy but she hasn’t let the bad times cloud her plans, her wants and wishes. Her end goal is to own a spa of her own so she works hard, shops thrifty, saves as much as she can. People respect her, her drive, her sense of being a good person.
Anya attends a party with a girl friend, thrown by Nick Sebring, Knight’s half brother. (Note: Nick gets his own story in book 5 of this series). Not too soon into the night she decides it’s not her scene and tries to call a cab on her dying cell phone.. She walks down a hall to Nick’s bedroom where she put her coat. Annoyed, with her now dead phone she finds the coats have been dumped into the hall. She sorts thru the pile, locates hers and stands looking straight ahead and to her relief spies a cordless phone. Finally she can call a much wanted taxi and get home. She quickly realizes Nick’s bedroom isn’t Nick’s but rather Knight’s. He is more than irate as she tries to explain her intrusion. Knight calms down a bit when he sees she isn’t in his room to rip him off but just wants to go home. He TELLS her he is taking her home. Anya just wants him to call a taxi; his manner is a bit terrifying to her. He calms a bit to reassure her that she doesn’t have to be afraid of him, he won’t hurt her and that giving her a ride, just ride will be doing him a favor, getting away from the mess in his condo and his brother.
His attraction to her is very strong but he walks away to let her live a normal life. But as all knights do, he can’t help but notice the blatant unsafe conditions of her apartment building, so he sends “his people” to convince her landlord to make the necessary safety repairs including a dead bolt lock for her door and fix the security key pad/call system. He has a new mobile delivered to her apartment which she returns with a note saying thanks but she can’t accept. The next evening Knight is waiting outside her apartment insisting she take the phone. After some push and pull she gratefully accepts the gift.
The following weekend Anya comes to his club with friends and finds herself caught in a situation that calls for a knight to rescue the damsel in distress.
Thus begins their relationship, all the while Knight hiding dark parts of himself from her.
Knight demands things from Anya, instructing her to see to his wants and desires while trying to make her life a bit easier and more comfortable. He doesn’t miss a chance to give her every possible pleasure he can deliver, too. She makes it clear that she does not want his money and fights him when he wants to give her gifts. There is a mutual respect because both are driven, both work hard, both have goals and plans.
After Nick plants lies in Anya’s head about Knight and his past relationships, Anya realizes she made a big mistake getting involved with him so quickly leaves Knight’s condo and runs to the safety of her own apartment.
She is awakened in the middle of the night, a furious Knight hovering over her bed, scared of how he got in and what he will do.
Their relationship has ups and downs, but they both agreed that if they hear something about the other they would ask questions to get to the truth before deciding to end things. Anya finds out about Knight’s other business, and the information does not come from Knight. He realizes he waited too long to tell her about all the sides of himself and she is at a crossroad as to how she can justify what he does.
This is the first of five book in “The Unfinished Heroes” series. Each book has a different H/h, each book weaves and intertwines past H/h from previous books as well as background characters, until all converge in the final book, “Sebring”.
Ms. Ashley will not disappoint!

One of the best books I have read in a long time. I love this author. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

Kristen is one of my favorite authors and she does not disappoint with this book. You can’t help but fall in Love with her characters. This book, as with her other books, takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions and you find yourself reading til dawn.

Love this series!

I was a little intimidated by the reviews & the author’s warning about this book, but honestly, it’s not all that dark. I mean, bits of Knight’s career choices are a bit sketchy, BUT the way situations are explained, I totally got it, and didn’t really see Knight as an anti-hero. He has the classic KA hero bits, just a somewhat different moral compass. And yes, there’s definitely some exploration of a “different” sexual direction, but again everything is explained & communicated & … IDK, I just didn’t see it as being as “scary” as some reviews made it out to be.

Okay! Anyway, having said that lil bit, Anya & Knight are so flippin perfect for each other, and their story is FANTASTIC! Totally love the dynamic & relationship & how it develops. Two thumbs up & many, many more stars than 5. : )

Right now I’m really into the ‘alpha’ male characters and someone recommended Kristen’s bookies and I’m glad they did because from what I see Knight is ALL ‘alpha’ “A man who’d shoot another man in the face he even looked at you. Yeah, Anya, a man…like…me.” I mean I really loved Knight or I should say ‘daddy’ hehe, “One thing we got left that we gotta know is covered is that you suit me in bed. That happens, babe, you know there’s gonna be a you and me. Where that goes, anyone’s guess, but however it goes, there’ll be a you and me.” I mean Anya has had crap happen to her and personally I think Knight is well her white knight on a horse to be honest. “Yeah, I am, baby. I will take care of you there in all the ways you need me to do it. That I can guarantee.” In all honesty even though he doesn’t like to admit it the boy is a complete romantic or a total sap for Anya either way works. “The first voicemail you left me, babe, I saved it and I listen to it once a day.” Then at times he just makes me laugh out loud, “F***, you’re the hardest b**** I’ve ever met to give s*** to.” He’s also possessive but I guess that comes with being an ‘alpha’ male, “Look…at your…man,” he growled and, my heart beating wild in my chest, my eyes went to him. “You do not f*** with what’s mine.” I loved this bookie ready for more of Kristen Ashley!

Scary Hot
“…[H]e was hot. He might be scary, but scary never eradicated hot. Or, at least, not his kind of hot.” – Anya

This is a dark delicious read about a devastatingly beautiful devil (and angel) of a man; and his love of all that is normal, good and exquisitely…purely beautiful about his love, Anya Gage. Knight is the fiercely private owner of the hottest and trendiest nightclub in Denver. He is a man of obvious means and taste. He, of course, is insanely gorgeous. I do love it when an author pays particular attention to the eyes and Knight’s eyes were “A strange, startling, dark, vibrant, Prussian blue.” Knight is a controlling Alpha male that will leave the lover of all things “Alpha male” with their tongues hanging out…literally. He works, lives and breathes with his own code of justice in a shadowy underworld outside the law.

The story of Knight is told through the character of Anya Gage. She is a rare beauty with breathtaking facial features, a kick-ass real woman’s body and again lovely gray eyes that have a midnight blue rim around the iris. Anya endured a life-altering tragedy in her childhood that changed her entire circumstances as she grew into womanhood. Presently, she has dreams…nightmares really… of the psychological abuse she endured all those years from her custodial guardian, her aunt. This aunt was drug addicted in addition to possessing childish impulses to blame her own dreary existence on and demean Anya at every opportunity.

Anya Gage was a girl and a woman of character who took responsibility for herself and her own life, working hard, learning and remaining steadfast in achieving her dreams. She radiated beauty and exuded the type of honest, subtle but “siren-like”, irresistible sexuality that begs to be possessed. She was free and clean from taint of crime and drugs in her life. She made the best of what she had. She was also a fiercely loyal and protective friend.

When Knight and Anya meet, it seems brusque…almost mysterious. The reader is hungry to know just what in heaven’s name is this guy thinking. When we know the whole story at the end, the reader can reflect back to this first meeting and sense that although intrigued, “turned on” and compulsively looking out for Anya’s safety, perhaps Knight felt a little insecure at this beauty and her lack of guile…She possessed a certain type of innocence. he, perhaps felt unworthy in her lovely presence.

Knight’s early life was searing in the intensity of the type of neglect and abuse that he suffered in his early childhood. This back story allows the reader to extend a greater acceptance of Knight in his shadowy underworld. This man, named Knight was inspired by his name to be a protector. What and how he protects when it is finally revealed in the narrative is surprising. As a true love is wont to do, Anya accepts him as he is in his underworld role. She knows he was made for her as she was made for him.

The entire read is the development and unfolding of the mystery of the character that is Knight as experienced through the eyes of Anya. The intimate scenes are “off the charts” mind expanding to the point of mind blown HOT!!! And lest I forget to mention…the author initially drags out the reader’s agony with how and when the first kiss…the first everything happens.

I have but a few quibbles and believe me I know they are just my personal preferences…I really wanted the wedding for Anya. Perhaps it was more realistic for it not to happen but still…And, I was just a little uncomfortable with…let’s say…the main focus of Knight’s business other than his nightclub. At a certain point, you would think that he had enough money to invest in other legal undertakings and offer his “employees” a reeducation program or some such thing. I prefer a little more enlightenment about the fact that all woman deserve respect…regardless of shape, size, station in life, etc… I do remember though that Knight did tell us up front that he would never live clean.

Overall, the sheer enjoyment found in the read definitely outweighed any of my personal issues. Just as in life, not everything is made or written to suit my preferences. It would be immature of me to dismiss all that is wonderful about the read over a few “quibbles”. There truly was a lovely HEA and it was a joy to arrive at it with both characters. One more thing…I really did like Knight’s dirty, dirty mouth. It was fascinating how this author could have Anya interpret the saying of one word in so many ways . I leave it for you as a reader to guess at or better yet, one click to find out this special word so often used by Knight.

Ashley follows a loose formula, but her women always speak to me. They aren’t perfect, know it and own their strengths and flaws. Her heroes accept that their women don’t always need saving but always need loving. And they can laugh at themselves. Loved this book.