A review by chroniclesofabookreader
Hard as Steel by Laura Kaye

4.0

Jessica Jakes is in a lick of trouble. And it’s only her luck that she ends up whisked away by the one man who she desperately wants, but can’t have. The petite, tattooed beauty has spent many years working alongside Ike and having his hands on her body inking her tattoos, but she’s never gone after him. The fear of losing him too great, she’s silently watched him from afar…until she’s caught in a bad situation, and the first person her fingers dial is him.

Ike Young has been struggling for awhile with his burgeoning attraction to Jessica. He’s purposely held back in fear of past traumas repeating themselves, and it’s been a daily struggle. When he’s forced to be around her, alone in a cabin, he’ll have to fight tooth and nail to open his eyes and look past his fears. Jessica and Ike have a passion that can’t be rivaled, and once it’s set off, they burst into flames.

Both Jessica and Ike struggled with the same inner demon, while also suffering with the intense desire they brought out in each other. A trip to a secluded cabin will force each of their hands, pushing them closer together, and bring out the healing that both of them needed. Novellas always come up short for me (as they obviously would) and I wish we could have delved much deeper into both characters, but it was a great introduction into the Raven Riders series, held intense heat (I mean, them two lit up the pages), and I can’t wait for more from Ms. Kaye.

**Received an early copy in exchange for an honest review**