Liked the premise for this one; Rush went to prison for 8 years for a crime he didn’t commit; totally stupid by the way, and he’s out now and reconnect with his old friend, Ava, who is a cop now. Ex-con and cop romance! Fun! Plus, there’s some mystery surrounding the death of Ava’s mom that she’s trying to investigate. Fun! Rush is a butt; too much of one actually, and tries to push Ava away, but Ava is persistent. Plus, she needs some help with her whole mom thing. Ava is the naive sort, but I liked her. She’s only 22; about 10 years younger than Rush, so she still needs to work on her independence. Didn’t really care for Rush for most of the story; he has a chip on his shoulder, grow the heck up and move on. Ava is good for him though. I liked their history; super sweet! Overall, I didn’t love everything, but was entertained the whole read!

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story.The side characters were such an integral part of this story as well. This is the love story i needed to read at this time. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you

I enjoyed this book. Although the ending was a little anticlimactic, I enjoyed the story. I didn’t read the other books in the series, so this can stand alone.

I really enjoyed Rush and Ava’s story.
Angry, bitter and hurt, Rush can be a real prick. Always wearing a mask to hide his pain. Ava sees right through it all. Their connection started years ago and wasn’t always easy. Opening yourself up after you’ve been hurt is hard but they both decided taking that risk was better than being alone.

This is the second Jackie Ashenden book I have read, I don't think I will read anymore. Every time the hero seems to have way too much attitude and baggage. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't like Rush.

Did not finish this one. Tried to connect and just wasn't interested. Ava just drove me crazy. Rush was an idiot. This had the potential to be a great book but just fell flat to me.

Rush is out of jail and working with his brothers. He's angry for the hand that was dealt to him. Pissed off because his family abandoned him when he needed them the most. Did time in jail for a crime he did not commit. Good reasons to be angry. Enter Ava, the sheriff's daughter, turned cop. She needs his help. But at every turn Rush tries to warn her off from him. She shouldn't get involved, he's not the guy who used to give her milk & cookies when they were kids. Ava should run.

Frankly I agree with Rush. Ava should run for the hills. Rush is a douche. He's hell bent on being angry for the rest of his life. Fine have at it. I disliked Rush from the beginning and it didn't get better as the book went on. My disdain for Ava and Rush grew. She was so in love with who he used to be that she over looked how mean he treated her. He is no long that guy. Move on sister!

There were parts that were rush and parts that just didn't fit into the book. I skimmed as I got closer to the end, because I was over it. Rush was a jerk to Ava, Ava ate it up like a puppy. SMH

As much as I wanted to like this one I just couldn't. The dialog was hard to get past. It was just so....cheesy. The plot was pretty basic. Predictable ending. It was your average romance book with sex. I read this one twice just to make sure I had the right feelings toward this book. Each time it only took me a day to read, and my opinion on it has not changed.

I want to get in trouble in Texas so Rush will have to come after me!

Another great read by Jackie Ashenden! I love the characters she creates- the women are strong, feisty, & independent. And the men- hot, sexy, & smart alphas!

Take me Harder is the 3rd book in the Texas Bounty series but I read them out of order & each can be read as a stand alone. The characters in previous (and future stories) make an appearance. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

Rush & Ava are so entertaining & how they met is pretty unique.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Actual rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

This is the 3rd book in the Texas Bounty series but my first read from this author. You can read this book as a stand-alone.

Rush Redmond and Ava St. George were friends growing up. With a 10 year age difference, they bonded over both their mother's death. He fed her milk and cookies. He taught her how to shoot. But then Rush spent eight years in jail for a murder he didn't commit. He didn't have a problem taking the fall for his dad or his brother. But prison changed him and made him tough. Now he's out and angry at the world and everyone for not visiting and leaving him in prison especially since he's an innocent man. Ava is the wholesome, never-been-kissed sheriff's daughter. She worked hard to be at the top of her class in the police academy. Never having time to make friends or date. She gets a tip that the police arrested the wrong man for her mother's murder. Ava needs Rush's connections to find out the truth about her mother's death. But Rush now has a "don't give a f*ck" attitude.

I had some issues with the story and the characters. Ava is plain, weak and naive. She's 22 years old and sleeps in the same single bed that she had growing up. She has a CSI and Cagney and Lacey poster hanging up on the wall in her bedroom. She's the same little girl that was in love with her childhood crush. Rush is angry, selfish and arrogant. In a week, they fell in love with each other? Hard to believe a "booze-and-strippers" kind of guy will have a lasting relationship with a "milk-and-cookies" kind of girl.
Also, there was no background on why Rush went to prison except it was a botched bounty job. Maybe it was in a prior book? I also did not like the ending. Throughout the book she said she will always be there for him and then threw it in his face?

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept for supplying a copy of Jackie Ashenden's "Take Me Harder" in exchange for an honest review.

What’s it About? Basically Rush Redmond spent eight years in jail for a murder he didn't commit and now that he's finally free he is at a loss for what to do with his life. As an ex-con he can't work with his brothers as a bounty hunter and then the sheriff's daughter and Rush's childhood crush Ava St. George offers him a job, sort of. She needs help catching her mother's killer and for that she needs Rush's connections to the criminal underworld. Rush is completely different from the boy Ava knew years ago but even with his rough edges, the attraction between them is undeniable.




Overall reaction to the story? Take Me Harder had a lot of potential to be a nitty gritty, hot and heavy romance but it fell flat for me. I felt like Rush and Ava didn't quite live up the the buildup the author gave them. The story itself was interesting but needed a bit more fleshing out and a lot less rushing to get everything wrapped up at the last minute. Overall with Rush's backstory and Ava's mission, there was a lot of material that wasn't explored or developed. Had that happened, the entire book would have flowed better and had a better response from me.



Describe the hero in five words: Stubborn. Bitter. Grumpy. Intelligent. Brave.

Did you like him? He was alright.

Why? Rush had a prime background to make him into a complex, sexy, irresistible character but all that was ignored in favor of making him into a toned down version of what he could be. He didn't do much growing either. I mean, he was a jerk when Ava first approached him and I could understand that because come on, he just did time in jail for someone else's crime and that someone didn't even appreciate that so yeah Rush had a reason to not want to help anyone at the point. However, I never really felt that he changed from beginning to end. He never really rediscovered his humanity or found that softer side of himself with Ava.



Describe the heroine in five words: Innocent. Stubborn. Incompetent. Weak. Kind.

Did you like her? Not really.

Why? Ava was too innocent for my tastes and for a cop she wasn't very tough or capable which irritated me to no end. It was like all her capabilities went flying out the window once she started working with Rush because he was a big, strong, hunky guy and she was just a little ole female. There were times Rush was a jerk to her and instead of standing up to him she just took it! She kept going on and on with her mental dialogue about how in love she was with the boy he used to be instead of reconciling that memory with the reality of who he was at present. I found her to be too bland, and at times useless as anything other than a tool to make Rush look good.



Let’s talk about the romance: What romance? To me there were only hints of an emotional attachment but no real development on that front. There was a lot of lust between them but a decided lack of a genuine connection between Rush and Ava and the romance suffered for it.



How about that supporting cast? I felt that Rush's brothers and father were crucial to Rush's growth yet the author didn't take that opportunity to expand on this family's dynamics which borders on the Effed Up side. I didn't really connect to them and maybe that's because the lot of them are emotionally constipated. And I'm not joking.


Click It or Skip It? Skip It. There are too many holes in the characters' development not to mention the rushed ending to make Take Me Harder the story that it could have been. However, since Ashenden seems to enjoy giving her characters' a rough background, I would be interested in seeing if her later books have more development.

Take me Harder is the third book in the Texas Bounty series and by far my favorite. Rush Redmond is the bad boy and ex con that falls for his childhood sweetheart. The catch is that she is the cop and chasing a killer and needs Rush’s help in catching him. Ava in turn falls for Rush as well. The story results in a happy ever after. The author does not disappoint in the plot and character development in this story. A great story that I have recommended to many. Looking forward to the next chapter of this series but it will be a while as we must wait till 2018.
Netgalley provided an ARC of this book

Take Me Harder is the third novel in Jackie Ashenden’s Texas Bounty series, and it's an addictive series about male and female bounty hunters with troubled pasts, and I give this installment 5 stars.

This installment features of one the bounty-hunting Redmond Brothers, Rush Redmond, who has spent the past eight years in prison for a crime he didn't commit--but who accepted the punishment his father and brother, Quinn, deserved. His father, who Rush has believed hated him for his entire life, had promised to get him out but never did, and visits from his other brothers didn't happen either. To say that he's bitter or that he has a large chip on his shoulder is putting it mildly, but he's making up for lost time by hanging out at bars and strip clubs, getting laid by strippers and drinking heavily. A large part of the chip on his shoulder is about his mother, a former cop, who, before she died, told him that the reason his father hated him and treated him so poorly was that Rush really wasn't his son--she'd had an affair and Rush was the result of that affair. That man was a bail jumper his mom had in custody, or so rumor has it, but Rush wants the truth about whether or not that man, crime lord Jimmy Troy, really is his father.

The heroine of this novel is Ava St. George, someone Rush used to babysit for--she's 10 years younger than Rush, and is no longer the lonely little girl he used to take under his wing, talk with and befriend. When Ava's mother, also former cop, was murdered, it left a huge hole in Ava's life. Her father, lost in his own grief at the death of his wife, shut her out, leaving her with no one except for Rush, the teenage boy who made feel safe by giving her milk and cookies and giving her someone to talk to, earning her gratitude and her devotion.

Ava is all grown up now, and she's been a police officer for a year. She's grown into a beautiful woman (although she doesn't think so), she's never been kissed, never dated, is still a virgin, and is a far cry from the women Rush usually beds, and although Rush didn't want her to visit him in prison, he's been out for the past two months and to add to his aforementioned anger, she still hasn't gone to see him. But Ava has a received an anonymous tip, that the man serving time for killing her mother really isn't the man who killed her, and she seeks out Rush to help her track down her mother's true killer. What she doesn't know is that Rush believes that the same man Ava is looking to bring to justice, is actually also the man who had an affair with Rush's mother, an affair which resulted in her giving birth to Rush.

The Rush that Ava tracks down is a far cry from the teenager who was once so kind to her. He's now a big, scarred, tattooed, tough, hostile and sizzling hot bad boy with an attitude, and when Ava tracks him down and asks for his help, he very reluctantly agrees. Her fresh-faced innocence draws him in, and although he knows better than to get involved with her, he has his own motives in doing just that--and eventually agrees to help her find the man who killed her mother, not mentioning the fact that he'd also like to confront the man he believes to be his birth father.

If you've read any of Jackie Ashenden's previous novels, you already know that in addition to creating characters so real and so fully fleshed out that you feel that you know them personally, but she can also ramp up the heat between those characters, and she pulls out all the stops in this novel, which is definitely for the 18+ reader.

So, will the bad boy and the good girl agree to join forces? Will Rush agree to follow the clue that the mysterious tipster gave to Ava? Will they track down and bring Jimmy Troy to justice? Will Rush finally confront the man he believes fathered him and if so, what will happen when and if he succeeds? Will Rush and his brothers, one of whom he served prison time for, ever make peace with one another? Will Rush and Ava get together and have a HEA in their future? To find out the answers to these questions, prepare yourself for a sexy, suspenseful story with serious angst, complex characters that practically jump off the page, and another damn good read by Jackie Ashenden. While this novel can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the series in the order in which was written.

I voluntarily read and advance reader copy of this novel.

If you are looking of a hot and heavy read, this is it. Rush is all alpha male to Ava's hometown sweet. This is a nice edition to the Texas Bounty series.

First as always is my thank you to NetGalley and Random House Lovewswept for providing us with a copy of these books so that we could bring you this review.

These are the first three books in a fantastic new series by Jackie Ashenden that leaves you wanting more. None of these bounty hunters have had it easy... Hell the two Redmond men have had it harder than most of us can think and Nora had that life that everyone thought was easy until they really saw a day into her life. Nothing has ever been easy for them so its not surprise that their journey to finding love is full of pain and hard work. But they all do what needs to be done to get their goals accomplished.

I gave each of these books a combined 4.66 unlawful kisses...

Happy Reading... Adri

This book was really interesting. I look forward to reading more from this author!

After spending years in jail for a crime he didn't commit Rush Redmond left jail a totally different man than he was when he went in. This new hardened version of him has one goal and it is to find out the truth...there is just one person standing in the way...little Ava St. George

Ava has waited for Rush to get home because she can't seem to forget the guy who was always there for her when she was growing up. What shocked her more than anything is not only did Rush not want her to visit while he was in jail he acts like the last person he ever wants to see is her once he gets out.

Unfortunately for Rush, Ava is not the little girl she used to be...so when she realizes that Rush has the information that she needs to all of her questions, she refuses to give up until she gets what she wants.

I voluntarily read this advanced reviewers copy of this book

Overall this book was great. The emotional roller coaster that Jackie Ashenden brings you on in this book will keep you wanting and needing more.

Rush is just a man that needs answers...Ava is a woman that needs justice...together they are erotically hot, emotionally charged and romantically beautiful. This is hands down my favorite book in this series with book 1 following very close behind it.

This book definitely gets my rating as a great book...for a great price...by a great author!

I've read 2 of the 3 books in this so far, and both, have blown me away. They are suspenseful, yet romantic. The plot is not overshadowed by the romantic tension. That's hard to do in a book like this. You either get great plot and weak romance, or lots of sex and weak plot. This author has found a great middle ground that makes these books enjoyable! You have strong women, strong men, and lots of fireworks! The dark, screwed up bad guy who's really good, the woman who believes in him, this book is not only stand alone, which is great in a series like this, where you can bounce around and not feel lost, but it pulls you in. You don't want to put it down or walk away. It's one of those reads that you keep saying, one more page, until the end! I promise, it won't disappoint!

I enjoyed this book but it took me a while to like Rush. At first, I thought he was a bit of a jerk but I ended up liking him by the end. I liked the romance between Rush and Ava. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.