Avenging Angel by Kristen Ashley

First in a Rock Chick Spin-Off Series. RomCom/Suspense.

Review copy provided by the author, but my reviews are always FREE and HONEST. I am an Amazon affiliate.

“Fucking hell, it’s happening again.”

Kristen Ashley has written a love letter to the Rock Chicks and to her fans. Avenging Angel is the first in a Rock Chick spin-off series and if you loved the Rock Chick books, I guarantee, you will love Avenging Angel, a cross between Rock Chicks (The Next Generation–this could be the name to this series) and Charlies Angels with all of the campiness of both.

I didn’t realize there would be SO MUCH crossover. It was clear Kristen was not able to leave the Rock Chicks in the past (or in Denver) because all the major players show up in Avenging Angels. It was like a big camp reunion.

“Babe, you gotta read those Rock Chick books.”

I got about 45% in to the book and there were so many references to the original books that I decided to go back and listen to Rock Chick Renegade, where the hero of Avenging Angel was first introduced. Remember Roam & Sniff? Well this is about Sniff! He’s been in the army and he’s certainly grown up. Now he’s called Cap because he looks like Captain America, and he’s helping to set up the new branch of Nightingale Investigations in Phoenix. His “real” name is Julian Jackson: Julian for Jules, Jackson for Shirleen.

Rachel “Raye” Armstrong’s tragic past drove her to investigate a series of missing women as well as find a young kidnapping victim. When she ran into a little predicament while rescuing the young girl, two of the hottest guys she’s ever seen showed up.

“It’s okay,” I whispered to her. “You’re okay. You’re safe now. Okay?” She said nothing. I turned to Chris Evans and his hottie partner. “Is he neutralized?” I asked. “Yes,” the hottie partner answered.

“Chris Evans” turned out to be Cap. And basically , if you’ve read the Rock Chick books, you know what happens next!

“Waited fifteen years to find you.” My breath left me with a whoosh. So it was a wheeze when I repeated, “What?”
“One of a kind,” he replied.

Raye lived in an amazing apartment building with a central courtyard and pool. She knew and loved everyone there and we got to meet them all. She also has a best friend group I loved and I think they may each get their own story. We also meet all of the new (and old) hot guys in the Phoenix office and all the RCHB (Rock Chick Hot Bunch) make an appearance. So there were a LOT of characters to keep straight. Kristen knew that and provided a whole list of characters at the end and I loved that!

I pressed closer, asking, “How did you get so smart?” “Wait until you meet Shirleen,” he murmured. “And Jules. Indy. Jet. Ally. Ava. Roxie. Sadie. Daisy. And Stella.”

While re-reading Rock Chick Renegade, I have to say, as much as I still loved it, the forcefulness of Vance and the lack of consent just doesn’t fly nowadays. Avenging Angels was a Rock Chick for 2024. They’re still alpha to the max but not quite as forceful.

“But I gotta ask that you let me look after you. It’s what I’ve been waiting for for fifteen years. A woman I can call mine who’s beautiful and fierce and strong and vulnerable and has a fracture, she turns to me to help her hold it together. I need to know she gets that from me. I need to know I give that to her. I need to know she can count on it. It’s what I need.”

Likes:

It’s everything I loved about the Rock Chick books but updated for the times.
I loved Rachel and her friends and family.
Sniff grew up into a FINE man.
The campiness and fun. We know it’s goofy and silly but still so emotional and super hot.
TEX and Tito.
The new generation being called the AAHS: Avenging Angels Hottie Squad instead of RCHB:Rock Chick Hot Bunch. This was goofy but fun.
Seeing all of the players from the Rock Chick series.
I grew up loving Charlie’s Angels, so that was a fun aspect of the story.
The Oasis and all the residents.
The amazing character list in the back! (We need this for every book!)
The way Kristen made fun of herself by pointing out how silly it is and how crazy fast they all move in together.

“I know you’re into me, Cap, you’ve told me and shown me. But we haven’t even been seeing each other for two weeks.” He cracked a smile. “Really, straight up, babe, you gotta read those Rock Chick books.”

Dislikes:

I can’t think of one.

The Down & Dirty:

Though Avenging Angels is the first in a new series, it leans HEAVILY on the old. I’m not sure a new reader could dive into this and follow it due to sheer volume of characters between the old and new. Luckily Kristen put a cast of characters at the end that can help keep it straight. However, if you are a fan of the Rock Chicks, you will LOVE Avenging Angel. These books are romcom suspense with lots of emotion. As long as you know they are meant to be fun and campy, you can’t help but fall in love.

This is the reason I love Kristen Ashley so much. We had a great girl group, lots of friends, all of my favorite characters as well as new ones to love, funny moments, scary moments, hot moments and a lot of emotional moments. Now I want to go back and reread all of the Rock Chicks because I’m just not ready to leave this world again.

I can’t imagine any Kristen Ashley fan not loving Avenging Angel.