Slow & Steady
Series: Alphas Undone #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Kendall Ryan
Release Date: April 12, 2016
When Greyson Archer tosses a twenty on the stage of a strip club, the last thing he expects to see are the haunted green eyes staring back at him. Finley should be home raising her infant daughter and baking cookies, not tucking singles into her G-string and giving lap dances.
Greyson can’t deny that he’d like his own private show, but there’s not a chance in hell of that happening. The last time the former Navy SEAL saw her she was dressed in black, holding a folded flag and sobbing that it was all his fault… and he agreed with every single word. He couldn’t do anything to help her then, but he can now.
Finley deserves better than this dingy club, and when an obsessed customer crosses the line, Greyson leads the rescue and will do whatever it takes to make amends for their broken past.
He never expected to want to settle down, but with Finley, everything is different. For the first time ever, he can breathe. But Greyson will have to fight for what he wants in order to keep the woman with the green eyes he’s dreamed about so often.
Slow & Steady is book 2 in the Alphas Undone series, but can be read as a standalone novel, as it features a new couple.
It was nine o’clock on a Saturday night and I was totally out of my fucking element. A bottle of red wine tucked under one arm. A bouquet of wild flowers in the other. A condom tucked into my wallet, just in case. I was in foreign territory, and my entire body knew it – tense shoulders, my heart beating like a drum, and arousal barely contained beneath the surface.
Finley was standing at the doorway, watching me with a confused expression.
She looked gorgeous, makeup free, pink-painted toes, hair mussed and loose. Little cotton pajama shorts and a tank top that hugged her lush breasts.
“Maple’s not here.” She said the words, but she knew as well as I did I wasn’t here for Maple.
“I know that.” My voice was sure and confident.
“Then why are you … oh.” Finley shifted her weight, her eyes dropping from mine as she saw the wine and flowers. She could read it all, plain as day. I knew she could see my intentions, my uncertainty, and underneath it all, my desire. Maybe it was the desire to fix everything I’d broken, or maybe it was just my desire for her as a man desires a woman.
Normally when I felt that primal urge for sex, I headed to West’s bar. I’d pick out a woman for the night. Share a few drinks with her, a few laughs. Later, we’d head back to my place and fuck until dawn. And that was it. I’d be set for a few months.
This … with the courting and the nerves … it was nothing like my standard operating procedure.
I’d never felt so stripped bare and vulnerable. Never put myself out there so completely with a woman before. But then again, Finley was unlike any woman I’d ever met.
And she was still just standing there. “Can I come inside?” I asked, heart in my throat.
She didn’t say anything. But she opened the door wider.
With Nolan’s words ringing in my ears, I stepped over the threshold, sure that whatever happened tonight had the power to heal us both.
She wasn’t meant to be mine. They weren’t meant to be mine.
Now it’s been a hot minute since I last read a book by Kendall Ryan that I forgot just how well they can hit the spot.
Greyson Archer is a former Navy SEAL that still harbors unimaginable guilt over the death of his friend and teammate. When drinking his sorrows away at a run down strip joint, the last thing he expects is to recognize the face of the striking stripper that caught his attention the mere second she went on the stage. The fact that the woman that seems to make his blood heat is also the widow of his fallen brother in arms doesn’t do much for his guilt.
Seeing how low she’s come to support herself and her baby daughter, Greyson is determined to make things right. He wants to give them what he should have given them when her husband died; his support. He’ll just have to put his libido on hold…if only Finley will allow him to get close enough to help.
Finley is just fine on her own. She may be barely making ends meet, making her rent, and working as a stripper to support herself and her daughter, but she doesn’t need Greyson to come in with his bad boy vibes and oozing sexuality to tempt her self control. She still harbors plenty of rage his way, but the lust is certainly a heavy undercurrent in their relationship. Greyson is determined to help and when Finley’s life is in danger, he knows that he won’t take no for an answer.
Slow & Steady is exactly what the title implies; it’s a slow and steady build. However, with the length of the story, it didn’t allow a lot of things to be fleshed out and connect me to the story more. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it. Quite a lot, in fact. 3.5 stars for me means I really liked it. But there were times when I wanted to throttle Finley for her stubbornness and stupidity in certain situations. The suspense part of the story was a bit…odd. I felt the story could have easily done without it and been just fine. But it did serve as a plot driver in finally getting Finley and Grey together.
This was a quick, cute and sexy read about second chances and forgiveness. It had a little suspense, a little steam, and quite a few swoony moments. It certainly hit the spot for the mood I was in and was the perfect read to spend a Saturday afternoon on.
Kendall Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance novels, including Hard to Love, Unravel Me, Resisting Her and When I Break.
She’s a sassy, yet polite Midwestern girl with a deep love of books, and a slight addiction to lipgloss. She lives in Minneapolis with her adorable husband and two baby sons, and enjoys hiking, being active, and reading.
Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras
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I have one question right now: Where has this series been all my life?! No really, what a perfect treat this was to get a fantastic balance of super hot sex AND a wonderful story. Sometimes a girl just needs some great smut in her life, and this book hit the spot so well. But it’s so much more than erotic romance, the story is great, the characters well developed, and the writing just flows. Suffice it to say I loved it!
I simply adored Mason. He was such an endearing character. The way he calls Katrina ‘Kitty-Kat’? *swoon* I loved everything about these two; the way they protect each other; their shared history, their friendship, and their clear affection for one another. And between the sheets they’re absolutely combustible! Katrina was a wonderful heroine as well but I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that Mason really stole the show here. This was a man that really went after what he wanted once he realizes what he’s missed all these years. He knew what he needed and he didn’t hide it.
I’ve been waiting for River and Vaughn’s book since first meeting them in 
Then there were terms like …manhood stood
Or this…
and this one…
Do you like broody, protective uber alphas who prefer monosyllabic conversations unless they’re in bed and letting their inner caveman do the talking? Do you like sassy as hell heroines that give as good as they get and have more zingers than an episode of SNL? Do you like a sizzling hot sexual chemistry that brews even hotter with a slow burn sort of pace the author sets? Do you like your erotica written perfectly balanced with an addicting sort of story and a dash of suspense thrown in? Well lucky day! Because do I have the book for you!
If you’ve read the previous books in this series, then you’ll remember Elle Cooper, Tate Cooper’s sister and now James Bowen’s sister-in-law? If you haven’t, no worries, because you can easily read this book as a standalone and not be even slightly lost. Jack Copeland is James’s shadowy and grumpy friend that now has a tie to Elle that he’s not too happy about. The woman infuriates him almost as much as she turns him on. And Elle absolutely loves to tease Jack to within an inch of his sanity.
Jack does an upstanding job avoiding all things Elle, until the day where Elle lands in life threatening trouble and Jack is determined to protect her at all costs. He’ll do his job and walk away afterwards, but Elle is determined to make him lose all reason and patience in the process.
I gobbled up this book with a pervy sort of glee I haven’t felt in a long while. I loved these two together. Nothing beats a good hate/love scenario for me, and boy do these two serve that up on a silver platter. You can’t help but love Elle even if she lands herself in scenarios where you’ll want to throttle her. Jack is everything I love in an alpha; broody, slightly crass, protective, and a dirty, dirty man in bed.
Truth be told, I struggled with my rating for this book for days now. I’ve been marinating and marinating over what to rate it. Do I rate it as a part of the Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series which it didn’t seem to fit at all? Or do I rate it as a standalone I felt it should have been? After much deliberation, I’ve decided to go with something in the middle of the two. Because here’s the thing, while I did truly enjoy Brave Enough, I didn’t find it fit the series. Aside from Tag being a hero that was first introduced early in the series, there is really no other connection. The story felt different, the romance felt different, and the entire feel of it was just different.
I’m going to be real for a hot second here; the last few releases in this series left me underwhelmed. So much, in fact, that I was about to give up on it entirely. There’s been a plethora of secondary characters introduced since 
The Beast doesn’t mess with a happy couple’s HEA; it expands on their emotional journey. It’s an emotionally gripping, lovely, and at times sweet and at times sexy continuation to a beloved couple.
But while I loved the set up, I had a hard time believing that Josh spent 5 years being celibate because he was “married”. Considering their arrangement, I just couldn’t wrap my mind around that. I connected to Alexia and her reasons, but Josh’s seemed a bit extreme.
If there’s one thing that Pam Godwin knows, it’s how to write one seriously intense alpha. The mere name alone, Emeric Marceaux, is enough to get my motor revving. This man will give you shivers and you’ll actually feel his intensity crackling through the pages. It’s utterly delicious. He’s a dose of dangerous, with a splash of depraved, and all of it is tied around a sexual magnetism that’s so captivating, your fingers will tingle turning the pages.
Dark Notes is a standalone dark romance with a deliciously kinky element of the forbidden teacher/student. Add in the fact that Ivory is only 17 years old, and you got yourself one crazy ride of a book. But that description doesn’t even begin to do this book justice.
Things begin to simmer between the two of them at first sight, and the author does an incredible job in making the sexual tension practically palpable enough to taste. Emeric is one of the most captivating characters I’ve read in a long while. He oozes sexuality and yet there’s this edge to him that adds an element of fear that just works so well.
While the sexual tension between Ivory and Emeric is instantaneous, that is the only instant thing in this book. The rest is the most delicious sort of slow burn. It’s almost like watching the most sexual game of cat and mouse unfold, and even though you know what the end result will ultimately be, you still can’t stop reading.
If there’s one thing that Lauren Layne knows how to do, it’s to write a swoony, feel-good, and super sexy contemporary romance. Cuff Me just may be my favorite in the series and of course the grumpy Vince is definitely my favorite Moretti brother…so far anyway.
It was a nice change of pace from the typical broody and tortured hero that you normally find in romance these days. After two books of wondering what made Vin tick and made him the man that he is today, I can certainly say I was not left disappointed with the way the author handled it.
Having never read a Melody Grace book before, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this. All I knew is after reading that blurb and seeing that cover, I couldn’t not read it. Also, have you ever known me to turn down a chance to read a second chance romance? I think not. That’s a damn sin is what it is, because let’s be honest, I do love me some second chance romance. All that angst, it just speaks to me. Heartbreaker was actually quite low on the angst, but it did pack a punch to the feels. It was a wonderful, sweet and sexy story of two characters I fell in love with right away. The pace was steady, the writing was great, the characters endearing, and the romance super steamy. It may have been almost too sweet for my particular tastes, but it just worked for me here. It fit these two characters perfectly. There wasn’t a need for any crazy drama or angst. It worked the way it was and I appreciated it for that.
Eva spiraled after Finn left and spiraled into rock bottom that she’s determined never to repeat. She lost herself along the way, but now she wants to find that girl again. Finn wants a second chance, but can Eva give him her heart again when he shattered it so completely those years ago?
Told in alternating POVs, this was a light yet steamy escape. I loved Finn and Eva together, and I loved that there was no flashbacks necessary to make the reader truly connect with their romance, even the one from their past. The author did a wonderful job explaining where they came from and leading them into the now. There’s no crazy drama, no crazy conflict that takes place, or silly miscommunications. Just two people, healing the wounds of their past, together.
