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A review by loverofromance
Smoke and Steel by Kristen Ashley
3.5
Smoke and Steel is the second installment in the Wild West MC series. This is a long-awaited novel that KA fans have been eagerly anticipating since "Still Standing" was released a couple of years ago. I was really drawn into the cover, and due to that I had certain expectations on what would be experienced within this novel, and unfortunately, while I enjoyed the story as a whole, it didn't meet up to what I expected at all. But it was still a solid novel and had hints of classic KA but wasn't fully immersed in her style of writing that has been so well loved over the years.
Smoke and Steel is a story that is an instant love attraction and it's pretty much a rebound relationship. I was a bit confused about why the heroine broke up with her boyfriend, it seemed like first impression-wise that she was more concerned about recycling than having a relationship with him. And yes the author does push her own agenda in this book as she sometimes does, I almost felt like I was in a lecture hall for the environment. But I have come to expect that from some of her more recently released books. While this was to be an MC romance and a big redemption story it definitely didn't feel like it in some ways. I loved the cover that was chosen, but this is not DARK at all, not even close. It didn't even have her typical MC vibes to the story. Yes, the hero is part of the Redemption club, and yes years previous they had done some wrongs, but have been redeeming themselves. There was a focus on healing and working on redeeming themselves in the later half of the story which I liked. However, what I didn't like was the focus was more on other clubs and not the Redemption MC. We also get lots of cinnamon rolls in this book. The hero is NOT an alpha in my book, maybe a bit in the bedroom, but even in the bedroom, the heroine seemed to be more alpha than the hero at times. Now I don't mind a good cinnamon roll, but not with KA. I come to KA to read her alpha males. My theory is that she overcompensated for the backlash she received on "Still Standing". If you are looking for a story with the "classic KA" vibe, this book isn't it. It felt more like her "Rain " series only with MC characters and these MC characters are tamer than a kitten haha. So I would say know what you are getting into with this one here and lower your expectation and you will enjoy it more than I did.
Now I did enjoy seeing some side characters from previous books, and it was quite fun seeing their interactions with our current cast of characters in this book. I did enjoy the emotional undertones in the story and the way that the hero is so tortured and is working on redeeming himself and coming to terms with his past. There is some solid character growth in this one that was endearing at times. I did like some aspects of the relationship itself, but honestly, it felt a bit lackluster in some ways. It wasn't as satisfying as I was expecting it to be.
Overall, while it had its issues that I struggled with and my expectation were higher than it should have been, it was still a solid win of a story and I think contemporary romance fans will enjoy this one here. But fans of classic KA style, might feel a bit of a disappointment with it. Very curious to see where she plans on taking the series and I will be along for the ride.
Smoke and Steel is a story that is an instant love attraction and it's pretty much a rebound relationship. I was a bit confused about why the heroine broke up with her boyfriend, it seemed like first impression-wise that she was more concerned about recycling than having a relationship with him. And yes the author does push her own agenda in this book as she sometimes does, I almost felt like I was in a lecture hall for the environment. But I have come to expect that from some of her more recently released books. While this was to be an MC romance and a big redemption story it definitely didn't feel like it in some ways. I loved the cover that was chosen, but this is not DARK at all, not even close. It didn't even have her typical MC vibes to the story. Yes, the hero is part of the Redemption club, and yes years previous they had done some wrongs, but have been redeeming themselves. There was a focus on healing and working on redeeming themselves in the later half of the story which I liked. However, what I didn't like was the focus was more on other clubs and not the Redemption MC. We also get lots of cinnamon rolls in this book. The hero is NOT an alpha in my book, maybe a bit in the bedroom, but even in the bedroom, the heroine seemed to be more alpha than the hero at times. Now I don't mind a good cinnamon roll, but not with KA. I come to KA to read her alpha males. My theory is that she overcompensated for the backlash she received on "Still Standing". If you are looking for a story with the "classic KA" vibe, this book isn't it. It felt more like her "Rain " series only with MC characters and these MC characters are tamer than a kitten haha. So I would say know what you are getting into with this one here and lower your expectation and you will enjoy it more than I did.
Now I did enjoy seeing some side characters from previous books, and it was quite fun seeing their interactions with our current cast of characters in this book. I did enjoy the emotional undertones in the story and the way that the hero is so tortured and is working on redeeming himself and coming to terms with his past. There is some solid character growth in this one that was endearing at times. I did like some aspects of the relationship itself, but honestly, it felt a bit lackluster in some ways. It wasn't as satisfying as I was expecting it to be.
Overall, while it had its issues that I struggled with and my expectation were higher than it should have been, it was still a solid win of a story and I think contemporary romance fans will enjoy this one here. But fans of classic KA style, might feel a bit of a disappointment with it. Very curious to see where she plans on taking the series and I will be along for the ride.