Dream Spinner by Kristen Ashley // Review + Excerpt

Stop delaying in tackling things that terrify you.
Because you never know.
The spoils might be sweet.

Dream Spinner by Kristen Ashley

Standalone - Dream Team #3
Release - May 25, 2021
Genre - Contemporary Romance
Dual POV - Hattie/1st person & Axl/3rd person
Heat Level - 3.5 out of 5/a few scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by the publisher
Length - 393 pages
Publisher - Forever

Hattie Yates has finally met the man of her dreams. Yet years of abuse from her demanding father have left her petrified of disappointment. She’s already failed to reach her goal of becoming a professional ballerina—she can’t handle the terrible consequences of another dream becoming a nightmare. But when a stalker sets their sights on Hattie, there’s only one man she dares to hope can help . . .

Axl Pantera knows Hattie is the only woman for him. Yet despite the attraction burning between them, Hattie refuses to let him in. The former soldier is determined to woo her into letting down her walls. And when danger comes calling, he’s up against more than her wary and bruised heart. Axl will do anything to prove to Hattie that they’re meant to be, but first, he’ll need to keep her safe.

Find your copy of Dream Spinner here:
Amazon * Nook * iBooks * Kobo

Can you tell me what is so addictive about KA's books? No? Yeah, neither can I. All I know is that I'm hooked!

There's Hattie, who has suffered many years of abuse from her father, who has built up walls that allow her to deny herself her greatest wish, walls that do their best to keep Axl out. Then there's Axl, a man who has been through a lot. He has his own demons, he has a huge heart, he's compassionate and patient, he's bloody awesome!

I wasn't Hattie's biggest fan in the beginning, but I grew to like her as the story developed. Now Axl, I loved him from the start. Again, this is something I find with many of the KA books I've read. Love the hero, like the heroine, ecstatic over the journey to get to the end.

Dream Spinner gave me tons of feels, oodles of laughs, and a story I could really sink my teeth into. Whether you're an old hat like me or new to this author, this is definitely a book to fall in love with.

➔ My Side Note(s)

I'm all for female empowerment... but I'm completely over strippers who are happy to be strippers and aspire to be nothing else until the men in their lives give them inspiration. That really doesn't work for me and turns me off of the female in question. Weird right? It's just that unless you're a headliner in a chic, respectful club, there is nothing fabulous about a stripper's life. Actually, a stripper's life, on average, isn't the glamorous show that KA presents. Most strippers are struggling, beaten down, low on self-esteem or confidence, and invisible. So yes, I wanna say thank you for making a stripper into someone worthwhile in a story, but no to how proud they are to be a stripper.

He stared down at me, unmoving.

I stared up at him, the same.

The air around us grew heavy.

And he was so gorgeous, saying such incredible things, not to mention right there, and I was touching him, I couldn't stop my lips from saying, "Shut up, shut up."

The words that came after that lingered in the air unsaid, but they were there.

Kiss me like you mean it.

And he heard them.

I knew he did when his arm sliced around me and my hand on his chest was forced up into his spiky hair because my body was plastered to his.

And his mouth was on mine.

He kissed me.

Axl kissed me.

And he did it like he meant it.

His other arm swept around me, and I came up on my toes, his head angling, mine tipping the other way. He held tight and I pressed deep and I tasted, and I took, and I gave, and I drank, and he plundered, and he sucked, and his tongue danced with mine and yes...

Yes.

He kissed me like he meant it.

And I kissed him back the same way.

Kristen Ashley is the New York Times bestselling author of over sixty romance novels including the Rock Chick, Colorado Mountain, Dream Man, Chaos, Unfinished Hero, The ’Burg, Magdalene, Fantasyland, The Three, Ghost and Reincarnation, Moonlight and Motor Oil and Honey series along with several standalone novels. She’s a hybrid author, publishing titles both independently and traditionally, her books have been translated in fourteen languages and she’s sold over three million books.

Kristen, born in Gary and raised in Brownsburg, Indiana, was a fourth-generation graduate of Purdue University. Since, she has lived in Denver, the West Country of England, and now she resides in Phoenix. She worked as a charity executive for eighteen years prior to beginning her independent publishing career. She currently writes full-time.

Visit https://www.kristenashley.net/ for more information