Hard to Let Go

A Hard Ink Novel

By: Laura Kaye

Narrated by: Seraphine Valentine

Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.

Beckett Murda hates to dwell on the past. But his investigation into the ambush that killed half his Special Forces team and ended his army career gives him little choice. Just when his team learns how powerful their enemies are, hard-ass Beckett encounters his biggest complication yet - seductive, feisty Katherine Rixey.

A tough, stubborn prosecutor, Kat visits her brothers' Hard Ink Tattoo shop following a bad breakup - and finds herself staring down the barrel of a stranger's gun. Beckett is hard bodied and sexy as hell, but he's also the most infuriating man ever. Worse, Kat's brothers are at war with the criminals her office is investigating. When Kat joins the fight, she lands straight in Beckett's sights...and in his arms. Not to mention their enemies' crosshairs. Now Beckett and Kat must set aside their differences to work together because the only thing sweeter than justice is finding love and never letting go.

©2015 Laura Kaye (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

IT'LL BE HARD TO LET GO OF THIS SERIES

As you listen to the stories in this awesome series, about the surviving five dishonourably discharged Special Ops Soldiers who were set-up to all be killed along with the rest of their team, you can't help but be drawn into the suspense, tension and hard won clues as to who set them up, why and how much danger are they in now. Then there's the love stories that go along with them which makes them all sizzling, compelling, drama-filled, sexy and romantic listens.

Beckett and Kat's story ended the remaining tight team's struggle to reclaim their dignities, reputations, lives and wrapped up the who, how they did it and the consequences it had on their lives and the lives of the men who organised the whole vicious criminal plan. But as well as that there was a tender and beautiful romance intertwined around nail-biting drama and suspense as the clues kept mounting up.

Worth a credit? Dual POV, great narration, sexy romance and a plot that was full of intrigue and action so..... YES very creditworthy. Oh where Laura are we going from here?

Wrapping it up

Laura wrapped up this series nicely with Kat and Beckett! Their journey together was beautifully eye-opening and engaging. It's "hard" to believe the series is complete, but I look forward to reading more about the Raven Riders.

The best of the series!

Laura Kaye has blown me away with this series! She keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat with her amazing storylines. This book about Beckett and Kat tore me apart and put me back together. I absolutely loved the story of this big tough guy falling in love and healing his heart that had been so broken he stopped feeling! I also love the hilarious feisty dynamic between Kat and Beckett! They are hands down my favorite couple in this series!!! An absolute must read!!!

Love this series

Such a good ending to a great series! I wish there where more so i can have these characters forever

Great conclusion to the series :D

4.5-5 stars

This was a great addition and conclusion to the series. I know there are a few more short stories in the series after this book but the series storyline about the 5 men trying to get justice for what was done to them is completed in this book. I'm still planning to read the rest just because I really like the series and the characters in it. :D

Kat is a lawyer in the Justice department and sister to Nick and Jeremy (heroes from books #1 & 3.5). Kat lives in Washington, DC and spends a lot of time working on her career. She got set up with a guy named Cole who she dated for a few months but he got to the point of seeming unbalanced so Kat broke up with him. Unfortunately, Cole doesn't want to stay broken up and his actions make Kat decide it's time to go home for a visit.

Beckett is an ex-special forces who (along with 4 other teammates) were framed for things they didn't do and discharged from service (and not honorably). Beckett grew up in a home with abusive/alcoholic parents. He was subjected to both physical and emotional abuse and it's stayed with him all these years. Beckett has always had trouble with emotions and has trouble with feeling distanced from most people...the only exceptions are his buddies from his SF team but even with them there's a certain amount of distance.

When Kat showed up at the Hard Ink building a few days before this book begins, she didn't warn her brothers and ended up face to face with Beckett and his pistol. This was the rather rough start of their relationship and it took some effort to get it to improve. When Kat finds out what's been going on with Nick, Jeremy and the rest, she's determined to help out however she can. She also decides to keep her stalker Ex a secret because she doesn't feel he's a threat and everyone has enough to deal with at this point. Beckett and Kat rubbed each other the wrong way (a lot of that coming from Beckett's issues with expressing himself well) and fought as lot at first. Eventually that turned around a bit and they found themselves attracted to each other (and indulging in that attraction) but still fighting (when they're not indulging).

Eventually, Beckett actually manages to clear the air between him and Kat by admitting some things to her and showing that he's not such a bad guy...just damaged. Once that's accomplished, Beckett and Kat start to actually try to be together. Things are still a bit rough but once Beckett admit his issues but assures Kat that he's serious about her, it's much easier for them overall. While they're working on their personal issues, much is going on in the series storyline. Progress is made, allies are found and info is received as the team gets closer and closer to their goal. There are some problems and a few people get hurt but everything turns out wonderfully in the end with the team getting their reputations and honor restored and a HEA for Kat and Beckett.

I loved this story and how things ended. I thought Kat was a great heroine...she was smart and sassy while still being sweet and emotionally open to Beckett. Beckett was definitely a damaged hero but he was still a good one. He just needed some help getting in touch with his emotions and accepting them (and that he deserves good things happening to him). I was very happy with how things worked out for the couple as well as being thrilled with how the series storyline concluded. Obviously, I'd recommend this story for anyone who's read the series. :)

* note - The narrator did a good job overall but there were a few times when she didn't differentiate the male voices well enough and I had trouble telling who said what. It wasn't constant (seeming mostly to happen when there were quick, back-and-forth conversations taking place), but it happened enough that it was a bit annoying.

WHAT AN ADVENTURE!

This whole series was great! It never lost momentum moving through the multiple books; storyline stayed strong and exciting. I will now move on to the book that provides the segue to the series Raven Riders; Hard as Steel.

I actually came across the Hard Ink series by reading the summary of Ride Hard, and a reviewer mentioned the prequel to it and said Hard Ink was well worth the listen....so I did, and am so glad I did!

In all honesty I didn't much care for the voice of Becca in the first book and was skeptical about the voices going forward in the other books. I was completely thrilled to discover how talented this narrator was; each character had their own defined and distinctive voice that did not change throughout the series no matter how small their part was. I was able to just be absorbed by the story without working hard to figure out who was speaking. You knew exactly who was speaking because of their unique voice, no guessing or rewinding needed for clarification.

Some drawbacks for me however, were the repetitive phrases and analogies that were used for the different couples throughout the books. I won't list them just in case it's an issue I have and you don't; I wouldn't want to bring them to light for anyone who may not notice.

Bottom line is.... This series is well worth the credits!

An end with continued potential

I like the way that the story ended with the potential for more. I love these characters and hope a form of this series continues.

I'm excited to see this author continue to develop, while expanding these characters' lives.
-V from Kansas

Amazing ending to a favorite series

Any additional comments?

Aw, it will be so hard to let go of this series!

This series has been one of my favorite since I picked it up. Which is surprising, because with the heavy military presence, these books just don’t ever sit well with me. But Laura knows how to write such realistic, broken characters that sold me from page 1.

In the final installment of the Hard Ink series we get Kat and Beckett’s story plus, the conclusion of the overall plot arc of the series and what really went down that devastating day in Afghanistan and their determination to get to the bottom of what happened and to clear their name.

Of all the couples in the series, Kat and Beckett are probably my second favorite couple. Like all the other males, Beckett carries a lot of guilt about that day. Not to mention, a pretty dark past that keeps him isolated from all emotions. Kat brings out a lot of emotions from Beckett; most good but either way, he isn’t really used to it and it makes him a hot mess.

I adored Kat. She is fierce and feisty, but vulnerable at the same time. She is such a great support for both her brothers and Beckett. She wears her emotions on her sleeve and I loved that. True to the other Hard Ink novels, Kat and Beckett have many hot & sexy scenes. Their scenes are the hottest ones in the series I think!

The ending had me in tears. Simply because everything that the team has worked so hard for in the weeks clearing their name, comes to a close. It was heartbreaking but uplifting.

The Narrator

I love Seraphine Valentine. She has done all the books in the series. She handles every aspect of these novels with grace. The emotions and the sexy times (haha). I am excited to see more for her in the future!

If you couldn’t tell, I loved Hard to Let Go. I also loved that things are left open to the spill off series about the MC. I highly recommend this series to EVERYONE.

LOVED THE SERIES, BUT CONFLICTED ON THIS ONE

In an effort not to be over critical, I will say that this story was definitely a good one--great in fact--though not as thrilling as the preceding books. Some parts were a little too predictable and a touch more dramatic than necessary. All that said, the heat and sexy factor was definitely a 10+ in my book! I would recommend this author in the future.

Love love this series

I love this series I hope she writes more stories. It makes you laugh and cry.

Fantastic End to a Fantastic Series

Loved all the books in this series so far, and book 4 does not disappoint. Beckett and Kat's story is an action packed drama that takes us on a rollercoaster ride of intrigue, suspense and romance. Kat is gutsy and not afraid of her feminine side, Beckett is hot, and territorial, and during all their encounters I love his alpha side, what a truly well matched stubborn couple. Together they, and the rest of the Hard Ink team battle the forces that were responsible for their dishonourable discharges from The Special Forces, and are trying to put an end to their investigations to clear heir names once and for all. Love the dual POV, love the story and love all the characters that I've got to know and love in this series. I'm sad to see the series end, but I've got to say it ends on a high. One of my favourite series to date.

Excellent

Once again awesome writing and awesome narration. I love hard ink novels. I have read them all at least twice.
Lynn

brilliant series

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes... fantastic story line & gripping

Who was your favorite character and why?

Beckett because hes tough on the outside & soft on the inside

Have you listened to any of Seraphine Valentine’s other performances? How does this one compare?

yes all the other hard ink novels & some of the alluring indulgences shes a great narrator

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes i couldn't find it in myself to press pause

Any additional comments?

loved all the series gutted its ended but what an ending it was

Beckett's story and the end ? Of a great series

I've enjoyed every one of the hard ink series so far I really hope there are more !! I'd love to hear Jeremy and Charlie's story 😀
Superbly written, edge of the seat stuff with a splash of romance and hot sex too. Fabulous narration makes these audio books unmissable.