DEACON BY KRISTEN ASHLEY.....REVIEW BY DAWN

~BLURB~

Deacon has an ugly history, a history that broke him, leaving him a ghost of a man. Out of necessity, he left the normal world to descend into the criminal world and found he fit. So he stayed. Cold as ice and living off the grid, Deacon has no intention to connect, not with anyone. 

Then he returns to some remote cabins in the Colorado Mountains and finds they have new owners. One of them is Cassidy Swallow, a young woman willing to work hard to live her quiet dream in a house by a river surrounded by aspen and pine. 

Suddenly, Deacon finds he’s at war. Cassidy’s pull for him to connect is strong. He fights it, but he loses, always coming back for more. But when he does, he gives her nothing. 

From the first time she sees him, Cassidy knows Deacon is dead inside. She knows he’s the kind of man who could destroy a woman. But one night when Deacon’s control slips, Cassidy takes a chance. 

He might break her. He also might be her dream come true. 

Let me first say, this Unfinished Hero Series, is just absolutely one of the best ever written. The way KA, writes an alpha man, is hands down, bar none ....THE BEST!

They all have a little bit of a tortured soul. They all have an unyielding need to protect those they love and HOLY hell, the hot factor is off the charts...

This turn we get Deacon, and WOW...what a man!  He is suffering from a past that has him in chains, guilt that has eaten away at anything good left in him.  He is a man of few words, and when he does speak, its just enough to get your attention, nothing more. His, "Woman" would bring me to my knees... no joke! 

He has no home,no place he belongs, no woman or family he belongs to,  so he stays in the remote cabins in the Mountains. Enter Cassidy! 

Cassidy Swallow, is living her dream, well almost. She arrived to her newly purchased cabins with her boyfriend, Grant. Lets just skip a few choice words I could say about Grant, and say this was NOT his dream.  Cassidy, is loving her cabins and doing what it takes to make them a success. She is strong, determined and stubborn. 

She is fighting with Grant when she first meets John Priest ..aka..Deacon. Something about that man screams danger, do not rent him a cabin, he is nothing but trouble. But still she is drawn to him... Years, yes years, go by with John Priest, stopping in and renting a cabin. He has seen Cassidy's hard work and in turn she has "tried" to get to know John, to no avail.  But one night when, the "shit hits the fan" they come together and help out some girls who are not where they are suppose to be. Will this one night lead to a tomorrow? But with a man who says this.. I am inclined to believe he is gonna stick around...

He looked back to me. "You want diamonds and pearls, you got it. You want to fly to Paris, I'll swing a passport, but I'll do it and you got that too. You want anything and I got it in me to give it to you, I'll give it to you. But that is not this. This is day-to-day, give and take, me takin' care of you, you takin' care of me. I get you got it in you to take care of yourself. You showed me that for six years. What you gotta get is that, if we want this to work, you gotta budge on that and give me my shot at doin' it cause I'm the type of man who's got that in me in a way there is no other way I can be."

I have to say for me the bright spot in this whole book was Cassidy, I just loved her! She has spunk,she is funny , a stubborn streak a mile wide, the willingness to fight for what she wanted and this girl can argue about anything! She was so endearing, easily one of my most favorite KA leading ladies ever!

Deacon, WOW... He is everything we want in a KA man. He is broken, brooding, HOTT and a bit of a softy when it comes to his Cassie... I will admit, for me, No one beats Knight, but Deacon is a close second. I loved that we got to have the whole gang from the UH series pop up in this book. Even Daisy, from our beloved Rock Chick series.

The HOT factor was off the freaking charts!!!... GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY!!! This is a sexy book. I would love to post my favorite sexy scene, but I am gonna make you go find it!(about 48% in on my Kindle.) It is SMOKIN'....

Deacon's story is about redemption and letting go. It all lands on him, he has to be the one to change. He has to let go of past tragedies weighing him down and making him unable to move on.  It takes a kick in the pants from Raid (swoon) to make him see that,he is in fact missing the best thing to ever happen to him. He is not receptive at first and fights like hell to stay away from Cassidy... but can he do it? Can he change from the Deacon of the past and let go,to become the Deacon, Cassidy needs?

I felt this book lacked a bit in the intensity, but Knight was not a "super intense" story either. Creed and Raid, both had that "one moment " when we all, stopped and were taken aback. Deacon, was more of a personal struggle and I do appreciate that. I mean not every book can be written the same, I wouldn't want that.

This is an easy 5 CLOCK review for me.  It's KA doing what she does best and I just love her for it.