Dream Keeper, the final book in the Dream Team series by Kristen Ashley, is live!

 

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Blurb

Spinning off from the bestselling Dream Man and Rock Chick series, this is the emotional and steamy contemporary romance fans of the Dream Team series have been waiting for!

Pepper Hannigan is determined to keep any romance off the table—and out of her bedroom—while her daughter Juno is still young. Sure, a certain handsome commando is thoughtful, funny, and undeniably hot, but Pepper’s had her heart broken before, and she won’t let it happen again. Not to her or her little girl, even if this hero could melt any woman’s resolve.

Augustus “Auggie” Hero can’t deny his attraction to beautiful, warm-hearted Pepper or how much he wants to make a home with her and her little girl, but Pepper’s mixed signals have kept him away. That is, until Juno decides to play matchmaker. Her efforts finally bring Pepper into his arms, but they expose the danger Pepper is in. To protect Pepper and Juno, Auggie will have to live up to his last name and prove happy endings aren’t just for fairy tales.

 

 

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Review

“Auggie was the impossible dream”

4 stars

The fourth book in the Dream Team series, this is the story of Auggie and Pepper – the last of the four couples set up by Lottie in Quiet Man – and a gorgeous single parent romance that is slightly angsty, but ultimately very satisfying with lots of sweet moments, sexiness, and a little bit of mystery. I loved it.

Auggie and Pepper have been the longest hold-outs to Lottie’s matchmaking plans. And it’s not from Auggie’s lack of trying! He’s very attracted to Pepper, and in the three years since they’ve met they’ve become friendly, he’s asked her out a few times, but she always turns him down, despite being obviously attracted to him too. Her latest bout of hot & cold has left him confused and completely frustrated, and he lashes out, and they both come to the realisation that whatever could have been between them is over.

I’ve gotta say, I was so annoyed at Pepper through the first part of this book. She’s a single mother whose daughter is the centre of her world, and having been hurt in love before, she’s not willing to risk her heart, or Juno’s, and so she constantly pushes Auggie away, but then her walls will drop and she’ll let him in, only to push him away again. The prologue gives us glimpse of the back and forth, and I completely understand why Auggie was angry. I would be too!

But right when they have both come to the conclusion that nothing will ever happen between them, Pepper’s daughter, Juno, gets involved, determined to see her mother happy, and she knows (just like we all do) that Auggie is the perfect man to do that.

Like I said, there a bit of angst in this one, but with Juno roping in an unlikely ally to help, Auggie and Pepper are brought together again and again. Though hurt, Auggie is one very determined alpha and he knows what he wants, and when Pepper’s walls finally start to drop, he’s all over it, getting himself in there, with every intention of staying, and then it’s all on!

“I’m making you mine. Juno mine. You’re both gonna be in my life. And I look after the people in my life that I care about.”

Once Auggie is in, he’s in. The relationship is honest and functional, and I loved watching them find their way forward together, follow their hearts and fall hard. After all of her hesitation, Pepper completely redeems herself as she so opens up completely to Auggie, sharing her feelings, fears and emotion, and Auggie is there, guiding her through it all and giving it right back. They are sweet and playful, the chemistry is fantastic, the sex is steamy, and the emotion and heartfelt declarations had me swooning.

“You gotta know, Pepper, you will always be my end all, be all.”

It’s the kind of romance we expect from KA, and she writes it so well.

Little Juno is a gem. Her relationship with her mother is so special, and the relationship that develops between her and Auggie is just gorgeous. She’s so open-hearted, and so willing to bring him in to their lives, and her journey in this book is like a little side-story of its own. I loved watching her fighting so hard for her family, and the love that she and Auggie so clearly have for each other was beautiful to see.

He’d known it was happening, but still, it was a shock to the system to realize that he’d fallen in love twice in a month.

As always with a KA book, there is some mystery and danger. Pepper has an a-hole ex, Auggie has toxic parents, and Pepper’s family are part of a cult, one that she escaped as a teenager, but new developments drag her into danger, and Auggie and his boys, and Pepper’s girls, are all on board to help. But the trouble runs deeper than anybody expected, and things are definitely not as they seem.

This is another great read from KA. I loved Auggie and Pepper together, I loved the inclusion of little Juno, and I loved catching up with the characters from the previous books and enjoyed the dynamics of the group together. There are cameos, and a couple of nice surprises, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a couple of novellas from this series, or perhaps another spin off? Whatever the case, I’ll be reading.

Loved it – 4 stars!

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

Dream Team 

 

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Excerpt

Prologue

Auggie stood at the front of the church and watched her walk down the aisle. The bridesmaids’ dresses Lottie chose were very Lottie. Sleek. Sexy. Baring.

All the women looked great in them, but none of them looked better than Pepper.

And he thought that even before Pepper, as she strutted down the aisle, caught sight of her daughter, Juno, and shot her girl a huge smile.

Pepper Hannigan was gorgeous.

Anytime she was with her daughter?

Knockout.

They were the next in the line of Lottie’s matches. Auggie and Pepper.

Mo and Lottie were the obvious firsts (Mo was one of Aug’s four best buds), and Lottie earning the love of Mo had been all Lottie’s idea.

Mo never thought he’d find anyone as fantastic as Lots, would never go for it, until Lottie talked him around.

Now Mo was standing at the front of their line, waiting to make her his wife.

Once Lottie got her happy ending, she set about giving the same thing to Mo’s friends…fixing them up with her own crew.

And so far, she’d done a bang-up job.

Mag and Evie, the second couple, were living together and getting married.

Boone and Ryn, the third, were tight, and further, they were in business together.

Axl and Hattie, the fourth, were as good as living together, and practically inseparable. It was him and Pepper who were the holdouts.

This was not for lack of trying on Auggie’s part.

Once he’d met her, Auggie saw no reason not to go for it.

She was gorgeous. She was funny. She spoke her mind. She was laid back. Together.

She didn’t seem to have any hang-ups.

But Pepper saw reason not to give it a shot because she had a kid.

He got it. She was being careful. Whatever had torn her and Juno’s dad apart had made her skittish.

So yeah.

He got it.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t torture.

Like right now, when her eyes caught his, the smile that she gave her kid still in them, and Auggie felt that. He felt it.

Damn.

It wasn’t even aimed at him in any real way, and that residual love she’d targeted at her daughter was so big, it took forever to fade away.

He’d never felt that kind of love.

Not once in his life.

And he wanted it so bad, the backs of his teeth hurt with the need to taste it.

He lost her attention when she shifted to take her place at the front of the church and

Auggie tore his gaze away from her to watch the next woman, Hattie, march down the aisle. On its way, his gaze snagged on Juno.

Dark hair to her mom’s blonde, she was all dressed up, her hair curled —her mom was a bridesmaid in a big wedding with all the prep that entailed, but it was clear Juno had not been forgotten.

She was staring at her mother, beaming with pride.

Seeing that beam made Auggie want even more of what he’d never had. From the both of them.

 

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About the Author

 

For more great reads, check out our Kristen Ashley Author Spotlight!