Blogger Wife Chat Review ~ Wild Like the Wind ~ Kristen Ashley

The brother known as Hound has a reputation. He’s all about cracking heads, having a good time, and when the Chaos Motorcycle Club needs someone to do the tough job, they call on him.

But Hound has a secret. He fell in love with a woman years ago. She’s untouchable. Unattainable. And even when her status changes, for Hound, it remains the same.

Keely Black had it all early and lost it all not long after. Thrown into an abyss of loss and grief, she’s faced a life of raising two sons alone and battling the rage at all that had been ripped from them.

And why.

Words spoken in anger open Hound’s and Keely’s eyes. For Hound, he sees he’s wasted his life loving the wrong woman. Keely sees she’s wasting her life not opening herself to the love of a good man.

I’d always wanted Keely and Hound’s story and Wild Like the Wind was so well worth the wait!

I agree! They both intrigued me – and Keely was always a little bit on the sidelines – present, but not really. And I was so curious about her. Hound seemed very mysterious, too – and he slayed me!

I’d always wanted the story of Black, the fallen Chaos brother who is tattooed on ALL the brothers, and his wife, Keely. I also wanted to story behind Hound’s dedication to Keely. What did you think of all KA shared about them?

Oh. My. Gosh! I fell in love with them from the prologue! Because they were both so completely loyal. So completely Chaos! And they knew they had to continue on the path that seemed pre-destined for them. Hound appeared rather aloof in other Chaos novels, and seeing his thoughts made me love him so hard. He really, really got to me. In every way.

Me too! They were so loyal – to themselves, each other, Chaos… I loved that the path they were on took them where it did even if it took so freaking long! Keely had been around but not really which is one reason I was so curious about her. That and the fact that she would speak her mind to Tack. 😉 But Hound’s devotion to her was what really made me curious. Yes, he was aloof and we got to see how he was as a brother in Chaos but getting inside his head in this story made me love everything about him. He’s just a good, good man.

How did you feel about how Keely went about starting things up with Hound? Did you agree with her plan once it was revealed?

She knew the risks, and had deemed that it was all worth it. I can’t say I didn’t agree with her, because I did. Wild Like the Wind should be the anthem of Chaos. The whole story was so relatable, and I loved how long Keely and Hound had sort of wanted each other – but not knowing what the other really felt. And once it was on – it was on!

Yeah, I agreed with her methods as well. She knew Hound. She may not have known his thoughts but she did know his feelings and she knew she was going to have to tread lightly because of Chaos. In that way, it was beneficial that Keely was an old lady…she knew what lay ahead and decided Hound was worth it. Sigh. And he so was. But then, Keely was worth it too.

How did you feel about Chaos’ policy on relationships between widowed old ladies and brothers?

I wanted to hit all those brothers! I mean – I can understand their policy on the one hand, because you don’t go after your brother’s old lady. However, Black had been gone for so long. And Hound had always been there for Keely and her boys. He showed them what Chaos was all about. And he showed everybody what loyalty should look like. He stayed present, but not completely involved until that wasn’t an option anymore. And I cheered for all the other old ladies when they made it known how they felt about all of it.

Haha! I wanted to hit them, too. Especially one who happens to be a favorite of mine. 😉 I got it as well – Chaos’ policy –  and I agree to a certain extent. I can understand not going after an old lady if they’ve divorced a brother or even if they’ve been widowed but that only applies to maybe the first 5 years. Black had been gone for a long time. And Keely mourned for a long time. But I didn’t believe for one second that Black wouldn’t want Keely to be happy and having her with Hound, someone who got the life and wanted to give her the life Black would have given her had he lived, was golden. The way Hound took care of Keely and her boys…it was heartwarming and heartbreaking. And he would have lived that way for the rest of his days had Keely not made her move. Because that’s how loyal he was…how in love he was. I liked how the old lady posse took Keely’s back. No man can stand against that – not even Chaos. 😉

I admired and adored Jean and everything it said about Hound that he took care of her. Did you agree with him never having shared her?

Jean was such a great addition to Wild Like the Wind. She definitely brought to the forefront how Hound took every relationship he was in very seriously. And she also showed that love can come in many different flavors. I can understand why he wanted to keep her to himself – it was to preserve both his own private life and hers.

Sigh. Yeah, I agree. And I loved how he explained his actions and feelings where Jean was concerned with Keely and her boys. Even that said a lot about Hound.

I think KA’s done an incredible job at building the suspense around the one common element across the Chaos series. Do you think it’s going to live up to its potential?

I think – and definitely hope! – that the suspense element will live up to its potential. And my expectations 😉 Because my expectations are definitely very high by now. I am pretty sure KA is going to nail it, though.

Wild Like the Wind certainly amped up the tension and I, too, hope it all resolves in a way that leaves us more than satisfied. But I also think KA will nail it. 😉

What did you think of Keely’s boys?

They were much more mature and openminded than most Chaos brothers. They just wanted their mother to be happy. And the fact that Hound had been the one to show them all the ropes, the man who had been there for them every single time they needed a good male influence just made it all even better. They were also loyal to the core, and I adored them for it. I hope we’ll  get both of their stories as well!

I loved how open-minded and mature they were and that was in large part thanks to Hound. He taught them to be men since Black wasn’t there to do it. And you just know that Black was proud of who his boys had become and was grateful they had Hound. The boys’ reaction to their mother and Hound being together was classic. I was giggle-snorting! And I definitely hope we get more about them as well.

How did you feel about the Chaos brothers’ reactions to Keely and Hound?

While on the one hand I could kind of sort of understand them – I also felt like they were more loyal to Black than they were to Hound. Hound was still there. He was still doing the work. He was still the enforcer. He was there for all of them – brothers and old ladies alike. And they really disappointed me with their reaction. It wasn’t as if he did anything at all on his own. But they wouldn’t even listen to his point of view or try to see things from a different perspective. Tack disappointed me the most. If I had been with the other old ladies, I’d have had a baseball bat with his name on it with me!

I was just disappointed. It did seem as though they were more loyal to Black and while I know his importance to the MC Chaos had become – worked hard at becoming – it took away from Hound and all he was and had done for Chaos. They needed to take a step back and think on what Black would have wanted…what they would want for their wives if they were left alone like Keely had been. In the end though, they redeemed themselves even if it was more for Keely than Hound.

I missed the antics of Chaos’ women but I liked getting to know Bev better. Do you think it made sense with Hound and Keely’s story to have the guys play a more pivotal role than the old ladies?

I think it was Hound’s story just as much as it was Keely’s story. But I’m not sure I agree with you that the guys had a more pivotal role than the old ladies. They had Keely’s back. And they were ready to go all the way to defend her. However, I think her sons were the final nail in the coffin when it came to the animosity from the brothers, though.

I inadvertently left Hound’s name out of my question…It was absolutely as much Hound’s story as it was Keely’s. And I agree with you about the old ladies having Keely’s back. They certainly did – and I knew they would! And I really liked Bev. She, like Keely, had been around but not “there” so getting to know more of her story was a delight. I just kinda felt like the guys were more prominent in this story. Maybe it was just that the issues Keely and Hound faced were centered around how the Chaos brothers felt about Black, following their code, etc. It wasn’t even that the guys were present in the scene – just that they were ever-present because they were keeping Keely and Hound from going public. Does that make sense? I adored how Keely’s boys went to bat for their mom and Hound though. It showed the kind of men Hound had made them into, you know?

KA said after she’d finished writing Wild Like the Wind that Hound was her favorite of all her heroes she’s created. Do you agree?

Goosebumps and toe-curling say I agree. Hound’s story and HEA was such a long time coming. And if any of those MC guys deserved a good woman, it was him. And the way he took care of everyone but himself – until he just had to take care of himself – made him my favorite as well. And while he was a total alpha man, he was also very understanding and loving. His soft heart and his complete devotion made my heart sing for him.

Sigh. (I did a lot of sighing, huh?) I agree as well. Hound’s HEA was such a long time coming that he deserved EPIC! So I was thrilled KA gave it to him. I am a fan of KA’s alphas but I like the ones with softer sides and Hound had one but one that was seen by very, very few people. KA left my heart happy and my brain suffering a book hangover with this one but it was worth it. I flove Hound!

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2018 New Release Challenge

About Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Brandee is a mom of 3 and a soon-to-be empty nester. She is also an avid reader, a genre omnivore, and a compulsive one-clicker - but she's in recovery. Besides being a reader, she's also a writer and hopes to divide the vast quantities of spare time she'll soon have between reading and finally publishing her first book.

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