Review: Mystery Man by Kristen Ashley

Posted March 28, 2020 by Kate

Review: Mystery Man by Kristen AshleyCheck out on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon
Genres: Adult, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Also by this author: Penmort Castle (Ghosts and Reincarnation, #1)
Series: Dream Man #1
Publisher: Forever
Source: My shelves

Night time is the right time...
Gwendolyn Kidd has met the man of her dreams. He's hot, he's sexy, and what started as a no-names-exchanged night of passion has blossomed into a year and a half-long pleasure fest. Sure, it's a little strange that he only appears in her bed at night, but Gwen is so sure he's the one, she just can't turn him away.
Hawk Delgado knows more about Gwen than she could ever imagine. She's gorgeous, headstrong, and skittish about relationships. But Hawk is facing his own demons, demons that keep him from connecting with anyone. Yet when Gwen is drawn into Denver's lethal underground scene, Hawk's protective nature comes out full force. The problem is, when Gwen gets a dose of Hawk's Alpha attitude in the daylight, she's not so sure he's the one anymore.

Now before I get too deep into this, I want to give you a scenario. Imagine that you meet a ridiculously hot alpha male that’s ex-special forces at a bar, and he takes you home for the literally the best night of sex you’ve ever had, but you wake up and he’s gone. You don’t know his name, you didn’t talk to him. All he said was four words when he walked up to you: “You comin’ or what?” But a few nights later, he wakes you up to rock your world again, a pattern that continues for over a year until your sister puts you in a dangerous situation, something that drags him out in the daylight to protect you.

Now I don’t want you to think about whether or not the situation is wise or realistic, I just want to know if you find it hot. Because if that’s the case, this book is for you. It requires a bit of a suspension of reality, and you can’t judge it against the rules of the real-world. This is Romancelandia, honey. Actually, even better, it’s Badass World, and the regular rules of play do not apply

Cabe “Hawk” Delgado is dreamy and sweet. He’s the perfect book boyfriend. He’s a badass alpha, that’s for sure. He’s sexy hot, has beautiful yummy dimples, is protective to a Capital P, and is bossy and arrogant as hell. He’s ex-special forces, as mentioned, and now he runs a business that oversees commandos in Denver, Colorado, and one of his specialties is saving kidnapped victims. His job is never explained, on purpose, so he’s a mysterious superman. But protective and bossy deserve to be restated.


Our relationship wasn’t easy. It wasn’t mellow. It wasn’t comfortable and sedate. He was too bossy and I was too much of a smartass. We bantered and sometimes we fought. But I’d learned I was completely unable to endure Hawk being mad at me and then I’d noticed that Hawk felt the same. No grudges were ever held. We created sparks but those sparks never caught the kind of fire that could do damage. Instead, we got over it and moved on.


Gwendolyn “Gwen” Kidd is a dork. She’s a work-from-home book editor, but she’s a dreamer, has her head in the clouds and loves her little black dresses (of which she has 13), cosmos, and expensive shoes. But she’s got spunk and attitude, especially for Hawk, leading to lots of banter and arguments that are loads of fun. Gwen is All Girl, and has lots of love and care to give, but she’s hesitant, due to past heartbreak. There’s also the fact that she’s been victim to kidnappings, drive-by’s, a firebomb, and all sorts of calamities that mean Hawk is on permanent bodyguard duty. 

Gwen makes a lot of questionable choices, but she’s also very real. Her thoughts and her responses and her attitudes were all-too-relatable, and I loved being in her head. We also get to meet Elvira in this one, who makes guest appearances in many KA books to come. She’s a hilarious … secretary? Is that what she does for Hawk? … and basically puts herself in everyone’s life that she meets. She’s huge in this series and is absolutely an incredible character. I loved Meredith, Gwen’s mom, and also loved meeting the rest of the Dream Men, to be featured later in the series! This includes Detective Mitch Lawson, DEA Agent-turned-Detective Brock Lucas, and Biker Motorcycle Club President Kane “Tack” Allen. Having read each of their books, I can attest that the series only gets better from here and can’t wait to reread their books! 

Kristen Ashley’s books always make me curl up and dream “What if…?” and completely suck me in. Could I necessarily live with a man like Hawk Delgado in my life? Maybe… but maybe not. But that’s not the point. Part of what makes Hawk a great book boyfriend is that he’s absolutely dreamy and fictional. I started reading KA books around seven years ago, waaaay back in sixth-grade, and her books have become the ultimate comfort food for me. KA’s books are typically pretty long, and you could probably cut the book in half and get most of the plot still intact, but then it would ruin the magic she weaves, because it all has a purpose. Whether that’s building an amazing connection between and with her characters, fleshing them out or making me laugh/cry/giggle/toe-curl, as she does frequently, it’s all very worth it ✨ (Read my review of book two…)

Other books by this author…

    Cover to Cover Book Blog Kat Snark covertocoverlit Book Blogger Book blog reader reading Walk Through Fire by Kristen Ashley Chaos series Chaos Motorcycle Series Millie Cross Logan "High" Judd second-chance romance hate-to-love   

What are you currently reading? Are there any books that you love but have to suspend your reality while reading? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!


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