Much of the reason why I enjoyed MYSTERY MAN so much is that Ashley creates such interesting and hilarious dialogue between her characters. When you put Gwen and Hawk together, that's really where the magic happens. Ashley has a knack for getting to the meat of the character and bringing out the best (and worst) characteristics of each and then showing readers how they can still work in a relationship no matter how alpha the hero can be.

I gave feedback on this years ago. It suddenly reappeared on my shelf after the addition of audiobooks. I contacted Netgalley a week ago and have heard nothing back so am getting these off my shelf this way.

After a foray into something a little new from KA (review posting soon) it was nice to return to comfort food KA-style. Mystery Man is the first in the Dream Man series but it's set in the Rock Chick world (meaning Denver) and since I previously read a few of the Chaos books (out of order) I'd met a few of these characters. Getting to know their world though and more about them was a treat! Kinda like coffee (or wine) and chocolate...or chocolate chip cookie dough since that's more Gwen's style. ;) Here are a few of the reasons I enjoyed the indulgence:

~ Gwen. She's a great gal! She's sassy, feisty, fun. She's loyal to her friends and family - still claiming her sister despite her sister being hell on wheels. She's smart and she's tough. But having been hurt in the past she - rightfully so - has some issues with commitment. Gwen's also funny and she lives in her head a lot which I could identify with.
~ Hawk. Have I mentioned KA gives good Alpha? ;) Yeah. Hawk is mysterious, enigmatic, and too dang hot for his own good. He keeps women at arm's length - for good reason - but when Gwen gives him lip for the first time, it's all over for him. Yes, he's a bit domineering but he's... well, he's Hawk.
~ A brilliant secondary cast. From Gwen's family and besties to Hawk's team of commandos and everyone in between, I delighted in meeting more people who I'll enjoy spending my time with. A few I'd met previously because of the reading out of order thing and getting to see Tack pre-Chaos series was awesome! I'm eager to spend more time in this world.
~ A mysterious baddie and lots of suspense. KA typically weaves in a fair amount of suspense in her stories and Gwen and Hawk's story was all the more exciting because of it. It didn't hurt that a few of the Hot Bunch boys (Rock Chick) were needed and therefore made cameos. ;)
~ Female solidarity. This is almost always a main theme in KA stories and it's one I relate to and one I appreciate.
~ An HEA.

KA rocked it with Mystery Man and Wild Man (#2) is already in my queue.