when i first began reading carson's character, i thought "he's 16, why does he have to sound like your usual gruff, rough worn-out biker?" in both his younger and older years, he sounded exactly the same, like your typical grunting KA-hero. and the 'joker' name... i mean, whenever carissa would moan 'joker' in the sex scenes, it would just pull me out of the moment. this is just me, and it shouldn't have bothered me so much, but sometimes theres that little thing you end up irrationally picking at... bleh. the story ended up dragging too soon for me and had me wondering if i can ever enjoy kristen ashley's lengthy stories. her older books seemed shorter and i enjoyed those more. i just never get into her new stuff anymore. *shrug* i'm sure lots of people would enjoy this book though. its very well written, warts and all.