Asher

Inked Brotherhood #1

by Jo Raven

Now eighteen, Audrey returns to her hometown for the first time after the accident – the car crash that took her dad and scarred her for life. She’s here to start again. Go to college and have fun. Make new friends. Get over the past.

But the past won’t let go. Asher is here – her first kiss, her first heartbreak. More handsome and distant than ever, he’s still the boy who used to be her best friend. That was before he changed into someone she hardly knows anymore – the boy who started getting into fights and gave her the cold shoulder for years.

Asher isn’t what she needs. In fact, she hates him and should try her best to keep away from him. Yet her body doesn’t seem to care about how she feels, and maybe, just maybe this time her body got it right. Not that she has much of a choice. Asher draws her like a bright flame, and if she isn’t careful, she’ll burn.

And that may not be such a bad thing after all...

This is New Adult erotic romance, dual POV. Warning: this book contains graphic language, sex, and violence. Mature readers only. Not intended for young adult readers.

Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary, Abuse, Contemporary Romance, College, Audiobook

303 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 12, 2014

About the author

Be the first to get your hands on Jo Raven’s new releases & offers, giveaways, previews, and more by signing up here ▶ http://bit.ly/1CTNTHM

Jo Raven is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, best known for her series Inked Brotherhood and Damage Control. She writes edgy, contemporary New Adult romance with sexy bad boys and strong-willed heroines. She writes about MME fighters and tattoo artists, dark pasts that bleed into the present, loyalty and raw emotion. Add to that breathtaking suspense, super-hot sex scenes and a happy ending, and you have a Jo Raven® story.

Meet Jo Raven online – on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJoRaven), chat with her on Twitter (@AuthorJoRaven) and join her readers group for sneak previews of her covers and stories (http://on.fb.me/1K2LvzO).

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eeh, it was alright. Yeah, that's all I've got. Full review to come if I can think of something worthwhile to say. Something better than "I didn't love it but it didn't suck."

[Syndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

How I miss the old good OTT romance. It has been a while since I read from Miss Raven. Her books are usually dramatic and OTT cheesy. But... in a good addicting way.

Asher is deliciously good. The plot is simple and easy to follow. Miss Raven adding dramatic conversation in the plot. So many guilty feeling running in this book.
It is good to finally able to finish this series.

Overall a good and entertaining read.

4 stars

[✿kawehi.reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seriously. I didn't even get the point of it.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to Come

[Lenor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh boy!! Another one that completely teared my heart!!

Amazing!!! Efing amazing!!

When you start reading this book you have that feeling, that little voice in your head that tell you "don't stop this is a really good one and you'll regret it if you stop now"

Well I couldn't stop, this book amazed me in so many ways... so here we go...

Asher, broken, that's all I can tell you, he's had a hard life, losing every single hope and feeling completely shattered, he only has one wish, to make her happy, to give her everything she lost.

Audrey, so afraid of the future, but so sure about how she feels with Asher, safe, warm and in love.

[DKristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! It was frustrating how many little things kept them from working something out or from preventing something not so good from happening. It was realistic though, we are all afraid to talk about something, or pride keeps us from asking for help when we need it, or we don't want to be judged or pitied so we don't tell those close to us the entire story. No one is immune from having to struggle with communication problems at some point in time. Ash is just gorgeous inside and out. I felt so much empathy for him. He was really wanting to find a way out of his situation and make a better life for himself. In some ways it reminded me of the argument I often have with those born into stable life situations, that are unable to empathize with those who were not... the argument that it is not "easy" or "uncommon" for those who are born in circumstances or have opportunities taken away or kept from them to never rise above those situations. Not because they are lazy or incapable or moochers... but solely because if you have nothing and no one to help you to get out of the hole you are in then how the hell are you supposed to do it alone? You can have all the desire and motivation in the world but without help & hope it's a sad situation I have seen many, many times. Asher needed help out of the hole, and he wanted help, he just wasn't sure about how much to ask for and if he would be a burden to those around him who already had a lot of worry on their own plates. He had plenty of hope though and no matter what he is hit with literally and figuratively he continues to try. The relationship between Ash and Audrey was so sweet and makes you want to hug yourself with happiness for them. Really great stuff! I'll definitely be checking out the rest of this series.

[Dilek VT · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad.. really bad...
1,5 stars but not 2

I read No Saint by this writer and loved it so I wanted to try this series but it started with a book I tried really hard not to DNF. I don't think I will continue the series after this horrible start.

It is boring and annoying for many reasons.

Here's why I didn't like this book:

* Stupid excuse for separation

I never understood why he kissed her and then avoided her at high school. He explanation is as follows: His father was a violent man and he was beating his son. One day, when he realized how much he liked her, he said he would go and tell her what a f*ck-up he was. Well, he wasn't a f*ck-up at all, so why did he feel he had to stay away from her after his father's stupid threat, I don't know...

* Rekindling after 3 years

I didn't feel their chemistry at all. I don't know how their hatred turned into love so suddenly again. I didn't feel it and I didn't believe it. Also, the way 18 year-old teenagers acting and talking like 25-year-old adults bothered me too much.

* Celibacy issues

He was with other girls as far as I understood (she saw him kissing other girls etc) but although she dated a few guys, she stayed a virgin and saved herself for Asher, albeit unconsciously.

* Weak hero

I hate weak heroes and Asher was pathetic. Also, he assumed too much and therefore, he acted stupidly in many occasions.

* Romance not developed

The book introduces many other characters and they will all have their books in the series but as the book is 200 pages, the stuff about other people took a lot from the main romance and the love story between the hero and the heroine never had the chance to develop at all.

* No brotherhood bond

I didn't feel the bond of the brotherhood except for Zane. He was the only one who cared about everyone.

[Vallsykes · Rating 2 out of 5]

More YA than NA, despite the steam involved. The hero was of the tortured kind, but he was more beat up physically than characteristically developed, which made him seem weak. The Heroine was supportive, but not written well enough for me to connect with. Abandonment, death and insecurity are dealt with; however, all elements passed through the plot without creating much of an impact.

Could have been a great story. It could have been...

[Flavs is Mrs David Gandy♥~♥’ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story, but somewhere it just fell flat for me.

Maybe I expected a bit more from the cover...

Still a good read, but wanted more :-(

[♡ Jeri's Book Attic ♡ Jeri the Romance Bibiliophile ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

[★¸. • * ° * ༺*Blanka*༺*°°*•.¸. ♥★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
It was an okay read for me.
Asher seemed nice enough though the book was way too rushed for me!
You hate him, you loathe him, 5 days later you love him more than anything..
Must be nice to turn your feeling on and off again..

[Kami Dodson-Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audrey returns to her hometown after finishing high school in another town when her and her mom moved away. They could not stay after her dad was killed in the accident, it was just to hard.

Now Audrey is ready to start college and find her own path. Then she sees him. The boy that was her best friend, the boy who kissed her, the boy who ignored her so long ago, the boy she loves, the boy that broke her heart, Asher.

Asher knows to stay away from Audrey and does his best but a late night with Audrey walking to the bus stop after classes gets her in some trouble and Asher has to help.

This gets them to speak again but the distance between them is hard to overcome. She does not know Asher anymore.

Asher is just trying to get a job, finish his GED classes and find a place to stay. He can't stay with Zane forever and he can't be at home. His father is out of control and he can't keep living this way.

Asher finds a job that is not so on the up and up. This gets him in more trouble but he sees no way out. Then everything goes black and his world is turned upside down once again. Asher must confide in Audrey before he loses her forever and he has to admit to Zane and his friends that he needs help. He won't survive alone.

Asher finds kindness in Audrey and relies on her to help him. Then in the most unexpected places two people from his past give him an olive branch. The couple struggle with trust, honesty, love and past demons. They will survive the hard times and have a HEA.

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Happy Reading!

[Jos · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

ok, so I loved the intro to their story but when I actually read their story it was just ok for me. Not great and not terrible but just in between. I am however intrigued enough with all of these characters to definitely give it another go with the next book. Please, I hope I get to see much more happiness for Asher and Audrey too throughout this series as they deserve it after all they have been through! Plus they are genuinely in love and I only wish I got "more" of their time together...the sex was great but i wanted to also get to know them with each other better on an emotional level as well.

[Gisbelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 2.5

It was too dragging and rather messy for my liking. I guess maybe because the author wanted to introduce other characters who later will have their own books. It was nice to get to know some background stories of those characters, but it was also very confusing. Besides, the book was not very original, for there are so many other books with similar storyline. I probably won't continue this series.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of great reviews for this one... Probably because of the great cover.. Loved that!!!...but, inside... Not so much.
Just couldn't get into this book. I think for me the characters were just too young. More of a young adult book. I had read mixed reviews and I really wanted to like this book, but I ran out of patience about a third of the way through... I just really didn't care what happened.

[Tate · Rating 4 out of 5]

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really enjoyed this book, sometimes I felt the character were actually older that they were but than again the hand of life they got was quite sucky for both of them... nice read and I'm gonna read the next one...

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Though touted as NA, I found the characters and the underlying tone of the story more YA. Lots of angst, self recrimination, assumptions, and general drama. An okay story that didn't being anything new to the table. I kept wanting to skim through all the never ending drama to the good parts.

[Megan Fall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inked bad boys are the best! Loved Asher and will definitely be reading the rest of the series!

[Sonia N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 1 in the Inked Brotherhood series and it’s so good and addictive. The main alph character will melt your undies and make you cry. Asher is a strong young man and he’s been through so very much and he’s overcome it. His close friends are always there for him and each other. Zane one of the characters who has his own book cracks me up because of the way he is always saying “hey fu*ker” but not in a bad way.
Audrey and her mom left town after her father was killed and sadly she and her mom blame Asher and his family
When she comes back she and Asher start a friendship that eventually turns out into so much.
They are young adults who have been through adult situations and learn to overcome it!
The narrators performance was incredible, Samantha Cook and CJ Mission 🎧♥️🔥

[Lani ⚔⚔ the Destroyer ⚔⚔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm on the fence with Asher. Firstly I didn't read the synopsis very well and didn't realise both MCs were just 18. That aside I have read some fantastic NA books but the very beginning of Asher was like some disjointed High School soap. On one hand the guys acted older but Audrey was just a juvenile hot mess and her character was inconsistent. Asher's abuse had me sratching my head; i was surprised how dependant on his abusive father he was. At 18 he had little plan to get the hell out of dodge and since his life was a living hell why did he not have a better plan? He physically could take on his father (he said a couple of times) but he didn't defend himself. All this added up to either he was a child or he was weak. Don't get me wrong I love a tortured hero and if Asher had a mother or younger sibling to stay there for then it would explain a lot but he just had himself to care for. *shrugs* it is hard to write a tortured hero with vulnerabilities without him coming across as weak and unfortunately I don't think this book pulls it off.

Regardless, I didn't hate the book and I will read book 2 since I have it already and hopefully the writing and characterisation improves with the older brother. But I can't really rate it more than 2.5 stars since I considered DNFing it several times early in the book.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has been on my maybe list for a while now. I fully admit to the cover drawing me to it. As I started to read I was iffy on it, but once I realized what was going on with Asher I couldn’t stop reading. My heart broke with each new thing we learned. I hated how alone and desolate he felt, hated that he didn’t/couldn’t/wouldn’t turn to his friends more. I think had they known they would have stepping in soon and given a lot more help.

I liked Audrey, liked that it seemed like she came home for the next step in her life. Liked that her friends were there for her again, but hated that she froze Asher out. It sort of made sense, but not really. I was very glad when Tessa talked her into giving Asher a chance again and very glad when she offered a safe haven.

The events at the end of the book were horrible in a way, yet they brought everything out in the open for Asher, not hiding anything, which allowed him a fresh start with help from an unlikely source. It lead to a HEA for Asher in more than 1 way.

[CeCe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one that could have been so good but was bad. Audrey claims to not want to see Asher, her childhood friend, ever again, but that is hard since after three years she returns to her hometown where she is attending the same college as Asher and goes a party where she knows he will be.

Audrey is scarred from a tragedy that happened 3 years ago. Asher has his own guilt and problems but the world revolves around Audrey. She hates him and then not a week later loves him. It really took nothing.

The writing was wordy. Some of Audrey inner thoughts became too much for me. If it does not pertain to the story, I don't need to read it. I did not want to know every single thought Audrey had about everything and everyone. This was one story where I just got tired of the heroine. I did not care if an HEA happened or not.

I love childhood friends who reunite later after a tragedy. This story had such a great premise, but in my opinion could have been executed better.

[Heather andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Asher he doesn't want to admit it but he's still hard for Audrey, his body will admit it though, "oh sh**. I put both my hands, bleeding or not, over my crotch, hoping to hide evidence of the direction in which my thoughts are wandering." Audrey she's adorable when it comes to Asher's body, "I look down at his erection. It's rock hard, the head purple, and liquid drips from the small slit. It's hot. Sexy. Makes my skin burn with desire. As I watch, his co** twitched. "If you keep looking at it like that, you'll finish me," he breathes, his voice catching." This book had a slow start and well middle, and sort of the ending as well but it was a great story about coming back to the person you left behind, and about forgiving.

[Julissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite sure how I feel about it. No I do...it just seemed so pointless. it left nothing with me. I usually have a bit of book glow or even straight up frustration after reading. But this one left me feeling nothing. Which resulted in then feeling like I wasted my time. I did finish it so there is that as a positive. I get that some books will deal with the harsher subjects of life, but man did this one push forward the drama. To the point that it was annoying all the reasons and excuses they came up with not to be together. Nope, just wasn't feeling it.

[Emmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall rating: 2.5 stars

Genre:New Adult with a very Young Adult feel to it
Plot: 5/10
Ending: 5/10
Writing: 6/10
Hero: 6/10
Heroine: 6/10
Humour: 1/10
Steaminess: 6/10
HEA: Yea

Recommend: Not really
Re-read: Nah
Read more from author: Possibly

This was an okay read for me, it was sweet just didn't offer anything new, like any other generic ya/na tortured hero. Just seemed to float on the surface of a possibly good book, had no depth at all. Not bad though by any means, just not earth shattering.

[Kathyjacks · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this read was enjoyable there was not anything really special about it.Usually I highlight tons of profound quotes but there were really not any in this book. The lead character makes some very stupid choices which lead to trouble and while I did enjoy the book somewhat, I like male leads with more spunk and Asher lacked that for me. He was very young and immature and that being said this is an okay read but I'm unsure at this point if I will continue this series.

[D.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inked bad boys are my favorite, and Asher is no different. He's a tortured soul, this book is only the fist in the Inked Brotherhood series and I'm excited to see where the story goes from here.

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ~ 3 stars
I never warmed up to Ash even with his POV. The kid or "man" was always confused. Meh I didn't care for the romance either.

[Simmie · Rating 1 out of 5]

BORING…It was like soup with no seasonings…terrible. I normally don't like to give bad reviews but don't do it to yourselves guys

[Svenja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich fand es sehr lahm und unterdurchschnittlich :(