stacey_is_sassy
Written on Jan 13, 2016
Bugger!! I did it again. I swore, this time, I wouldn’t do it…but I just couldn’t help myself. I rushed through Sebring. I should have taken my time. Saying that, it still took me a couple of days, but that was bloody Real Life’s fault, not my choice. I now only have one Kristen Ashley book left that I haven’t read, Fairytale Come Alive. At first I held off reading FCA because I thought it would be sad, now it’s there as an emergency. See, Sebring is another series coming to an end and I’m starting to get very nervous. What if KA decides she’s sick of making me happy (and 60 billion other KA fans)? What would happen if KA got sick of writing and there were no more KA reading parties? When all the heroes in KA’s head get HEA’s, will there be any point in reading anymore? So I’ll keep my emergency KA for as long as I can hold out, and hope she doesn’t get sick of making me happy.
I started Sebring not sure I was going to like it. I’d heard a few rumblings in the book world that it was brilliant, but I was avoiding reviews to make my own judgement. Nick was not a good or nice man in Knight’s story. He seemed to be making changes in his life in subsequent stories, but I was still not fully convinced he could change THAT much. I was kind of surprised with the start of Sebring. I wasn’t expecting for him to have a “love of his life” killed right before his eyes. Firstly, that he was capable of loving someone (as much as himself) was surprising, but mostly it was that he loved her so much that he dedicated years of his life to avenging her murder. This was not the Nick I knew and disliked, this Nick was determined, smart and intense. His plan was to take down The House of Shade.
Olivia Shade is a criminal. Not by choice, she just happens to have a psycho family that won’t let her leave. She’s tried, boy did she try, and it did not end well. She has the scars to prove it. Liv learnt that her best course of action was to do her job, keep her head down and try to avoid her psycho father as much as possible. Liv's life is not ideal and she uses a sex club to observe others and keep her privacy. One night, she can’t get a private room and the other person sharing the room, is from her world. Olivia knows Nick Sebring and is surprised to see him there. When the scene they are watching does its job and gets her “in the mood”, she turns to Nick.
Nick and Olivia start a “thing”. It’s not a relationship, they just meet for sex. They know each others worlds and can’t ever expect to have a future together. It’s all cool, they each know the score and are happy with the way things are…for awhile. Nick starts to look underneath Olivia’s cold exterior and realises she’s not at all what he expected. That cold exterior is her protection. She can’t let it crack or it might just kill her…or someone else. These two are messed up, but their sexual connection and fiery personalities eventually bond them in a way neither expected.
This is not a light and fluffy read. It started off DARK. The sex scenes were intense, the discussions heartbreaking and their protection of each other beautiful. The two sides to family, or how different two families could be, was a big part of this story. On one side we see Knight, who even though he didn’t like some of the things Nick did, loved him, and had his back. The other side is Olivia’s sick family, who only use and abuse her for their own gain. Olivia’s father was pure evil, with a large dose of insane as well. Her sister, Georgia, didn’t fall far from the tree. With the two sides came their armies. Neither could be called a “good side”, but one was definitely better than the other. We get to see some of our favourite characters pop up, say G’day and do the stuff they do best to help Nick out. I loved seeing them and knowing they were living their HEA’s.
I’m sad to see the end of The Unfinished Hero’s, but I’m stoked that it ended as well as it did. Nick and Olivia’s story was not an easy story to read. A lot of pain and suffering was lived before they got their happy, happy, joy, joy. It was another great example of KA magic, where even at the toughest and most uncomfortable stages, I knew I’d be happy in the end. Please don’t get sick of making me happy Kristen Ashley.
To buy Sebring (Unfinished Hero #5) from Amazon -http://amzn.to/1J1STkx
I did a Style Setter Tribute to Sebring - http://www.staceyissassy.com/2016/01/sebring-unfinished-hero-5-by-kristen-ashley/
Here's one of the outfits I created. Olivia Shade loved to wear pencil skirts.
I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -
