TENDERFOOT - Kristen Ashley

3.5 stars

This latest installment of the Avenging Angels' series shares the story of Harlow and Javier—a romance teased since the first book that we've all been dyingggg to explore!—and the usual Charlie's Angels-esque shenanigans. Strap in for another good time!

Romance: ★★★★
Plot/Pacing: ★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★

Tenderfoot is the third book in Kristen Ashley's Avenging Angels series, which is in itself a spin-off of sorts from her wildly popular Rock Chicks series. I'm a huge Rock Chicks fan and highly recommend new readers start there, but if you want to jump right into the action with this spin-off series check out Avenging Angel here!

Harlow is a girl with iron-clad routines and a deep desire to be known and loved.

Javier is a man with a past raised on the streets and a deep desire for foundations and family.

When these two collided in Phoenix, Arizona, in some Angels' escapades through mutual friends involving stakeouts, hijinks, drama, and found family... sparks flew. And then they didn't. Javier backed up, and Harlow cracked in splinters.

But the Angels' drama waits for no one, not even Javier and Harlow's weird hang-ups, so when shit hits the fan and Harlow finds herself at the heart of the action, Javier is Right There. As in, interrupting-the-scene-and-laying-down-the-claim, Right There.

In typical KA fashion, things go from smoldering to blazing hot in the blink of an eye as this latest duo finds their feet in a tender romance amidst the fast-action plot.... Angels, action!

So I've got to start my feelings off with a small caveat: I'm a girl who loves her romantic angst, and I love a slower burn. This sometimes sets me off at cross-purposes with romance novels, because not everyone is here for those things. And that's valid! But given my personal tastes, when the romance kicks off too fast and too wholesome for me... I sometimes have a harder time engaging with the story.

I think that was the case with Harlow and Javier's romance.

Maybe it's because they were teased so heavily as a "will they, won't they" pairing. Maybe it's because I was hoping for more angst around Harlow's family dynamics and her internal dilemmas around that, not to mention Javier's intense backstory. I'm not quite sure, but the end result of my personal experience reading Tenderfoot was that, while I had a good time, I knew this particular journey was not fated to be an all-time favorite.

Again, this is a "me" thing. I'm still a KA mega fan, and I'm still enjoying this series. Sometimes, I find myself wishing for some of the more grounded plot lines of her Misted Pines series, I have to say—but I think that's also my personal preferences as I mature as a reader looking for more depth and plot to a lot of my stories. Not negatives, but I think worthwhile sidebars to this review as I know many of my fellow KA fans might need to understand where I'm coming from with this more lukewarm take on my usual hype train.

I think I also—for the first time—struggled more heavily with the sheer weight of how many characters, side characters, cameos, and additional people were constantly in the juggling pot to keep track of with reading their interjections and sidebars for so many of these scenes. This is likely due to the fact that I was not "in it" with Harlow and Javier to the level that I was for the other couples, so the other elements were more on the nose for me. But regardless, I found myself trying to catch a mental breather, trying to stay focused on the action when there were almost 15-20 people at any given time in a lot of the scenes, all saying dialogue bits and adding their personality flares.

However, all that to say, don't miss this latest installment in the series. Come for the OTT drama, stay for the OTT drama! And we'll get some more with what appears to be new romances on the horizon...

Thank you to the author for my copy in exchange for an honest review.