Knight holds a VERY special place in my heart. It was my VERY FIRST Kristen Ashley book. I fell SO hard for her writing that I went on a binge and read everything I could get my hands on.
This is book 1 in the Unfinished Hero series.
Here is the publisher's summary:
"Anya Gage has learned that to get anything good in life, you have to work for it. She has no expectations, no dreams.
Then she finds herself at a party where she doesn’t want to be and she meets Knight. Knight Sebring knows who he is, what he wants and what he likes. And he gets it. But he never expected something as sweet as Anya Gage to wander into his bedroom during a party he did not expect to be having to borrow his phone. Knight tries to leave Anya to the life she deserves of white picket fences and a man who watches football on Sundays – good, normal and clean. But when Anya comes to his nightclub and finds herself in a situation, he knows someone has to look after her, he can’t fight it anymore and he decides that man will be him. Knight teaches Anya that, just as with the bad, in life you should also expect the good. And he teaches her this by giving it to her. But Knight has a dark past and just as he desires Anya for exactly who she is, he fears when she finds out exactly the man he has become and always intends to be, she’ll leave him for good, normal and clean."
Knight and Anya couldn't be more different from each other. Like night and day (haha, I made a funny, see?).
But what they have in common is that they are both hard workers-they don't expect anyone to give them anything. This along with the fact they are physically attracted to each other makes this unlikely couple one that you want to see succeed.
Knight's "pursuit" of Anya is in the style of the earliest men. Which is to say that he doesn't so much pursue her as he does decide that she is his woman. She just needs to get with the program and quick-like.
For a woman who is used to taking care of herself, this proves difficult at first. Anya's initial response is to buck at Knight's attempts to claim her. She is not used to a man who is so...much. Once Knight decides that Anya is his woman, he starts taking care of her. One by one he solves the outstanding issues in her life. And initially, Anya is a little frightened of him. She is talking to her friend Beth and she says
"I have a new boyfriend. He's awesome. Protective. And scary. And he regularly freaks me out by being all of those at once...He's sheer, raw, aggressive masculine beauty from head to toe"
Knight, before they even ever kiss starts to show her what life with him will be like and Anya (wisely) decides to go with it. And Knight gives her everything.
I get that people didn't like his line of work. I have my thoughts on that, but it would spoil the story to talk about it. I will just say that it takes all kinds. People do the work that they are able to---we don't all have the luxury of following our dreams. And loved that Knight made what had to be really difficult circumstances as bearable as he could for the people who worked for him.
It appears that Anya made a lot of concessions for Knight...I read reviews that said that she sold herself out in some ways. I read it so differently. Anya got EVERYTHING she wanted from Knight and more. In my opinion a smart woman knows that when you ask for something and you get it, you don't turn it down just because it's not packaged exactly as you imagined. And Anya is a smart woman. She took her due and in return gave her man the love of a good woman.
I consider myself an independent woman. I got married in my 30s and was an established professional before I ever met my husband. However, there is not even a small part of me that feels ashamed to say I would LOVE to let a man take care of me. Judge me if you want, I don't care. I mean, I don't expect it and I made sure that I could always support myself, but I wouldn't poo-poo on my man if he said that I should focus on what I love while he spoiled me. I loved that Anya was gracious about accepting what Knight offered her. I can't stand a person who can't say "thank you" instead of "you shouldn't have".
Also, this book is considered erotica - in fact the whole series is. It is sexually explicit and while I couldn't really call the sex pure kink, it's not straight vanilla either. I thought it was hot, but it may not be for everyone.
When I read, I want to my book to let me experience life vicariously through the characters. And sometimes, I want something that is a change of pace from what I KNOW feels good. I don't always enjoy those moments, but I always learn something new about myself.
In this case, I did enjoy it. It also made me think about a group of people and an entire profession(view spoiler)[prostitutes (hide spoiler)] in a way I never had before.
Like I said this was my first KA book. It started me on a journey that led me to discover an author whose work I absolutely adore.That was only 6 months ago!
The author, herself, is an inspiration. She created her career by the force of sheer will and by being true to herself. You read her story and you know that the only thing that can limit you your imagination. Work hard for your dreams and they will come true- and possibly in ways that exceed what you had hoped for.
I want to end my sermon by saying that don't ever let negative reviews stop you from trying something new. We are all different and it's a good thing to step outside of your comfort zone from time to time.
