***5 "Stern But Bangable" Stars*** 
 Well, hello Riders. It's lovely to FINALLY meet you all. 
 I know we met them in Ashwin, but let's be perfectly honest here. That book really was ALL about Ashwin and rightfully so, because I adored the complex yet simple man, but we only got a whisper of who the Riders were, but here we got an unadulterated, blow your eardrums to smithereens access into their world and some pretty decent insight into what makes this group tick. That coupled with Deacon and Ana's road to their HEA, which was all kinds of smexy, sweet and filled with heart, made it a book that I all at once savored and devoured and has me making full on grabby hands for the next on in the series. 
 I loved Deacon and Ana. Deacon is the taciturn leader of the Riders, but as much as he cares about them he's got quite a few walls up that keeps them at arm's length. Some of his reasons for it are valid, but some need to be bent a little. But the man is loyal to a fault and as the book progresses I loved seeing who he was as the cracks started to form and the man underneath was pretty spectacular. 
 Ana's got a lot going on since she is the first and only female Rider and as such feels as if everyone is watching her for one reason or another. That pressure causes many internal debates between Ana the woman and Ana the Rider, but it doesn't diminish her love of being apart of their world. I loved how her mind worked and how her heart found ways to see what was going on beneath the surface with those around her, even if that surface was extremely dense. 
 I loved the simplicity of Deacon and Ana's journey to their HEA. I know that may send some of you scratching your heads considering what the synopsis states, but there wasn't any OTT angsty-ness going on. They had issues to face and a huge life or death situation, but it all made sense and that made watching as they navigated their own emotions about their attraction to each other that much more enjoyable. I loved watching as they exposed themselves to each other in every way and how they helped the other become better and stronger versions of themselves. 
 It's pretty evident that a good if not equal portion of my love, and rating, is because of the secondary characters and the family-esque dynamic the Riders have going on (It also helped that my favorite O'Kane couple made an appearance in the book) And, in all honesty it shouldn't come as a huge surprise since that was what had me falling in love with the Beyond series. Each character is so well written and the depth and heart they bring to the world makes me want to spend more time with them all. I don't have an absolute favorite...yet, but they've all peaked my interest. And while Ashwin was a book that acted as a bridge between the end of the Beyond Series and the beginning of the Gideon's Riders series, Deacon sets up what looks to be the series story arc and though I'm not even going to guess where this one will take us, I can say that I am totally looking forward to ride! 
 ~ Copy provided by the author & voluntarily reviewed ~