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Colorado Mountain #5
Jagged
An old flame rekindled . . .
Zara Cinders always knew Ham Reece was the one, but he wasn't interested in settling down. When she found someone who was, Ham walked out of her life. Three years later, Zara's lost her business, her marriage, and she's barely getting by in a tiny apartment on the wrong side of the tracks. As soon as Ham hears about Zara's plight, he's on her doorstep offering her a lifeline. Now, it will take every ounce of will power she possesses to resist all that he offers.
Ham was always a traveling man, never one to settle down in one town, with one woman, for more time than absolutely necessary. But Ham's faced his own demons, and he's learned a lot. About himself, and about the life he knows he's meant to live. So when he hears that Zara's having a rough time, he wants to be the one to help. In fact, he wants to do more than that for Zara. A lot more. But first, he must prove to Zara that he's a changed man.
Zara Cinders always knew Ham Reece was the one, but he wasn't interested in settling down. When she found someone who was, Ham walked out of her life. Three years later, Zara's lost her business, her marriage, and she's barely getting by in a tiny apartment on the wrong side of the tracks. As soon as Ham hears about Zara's plight, he's on her doorstep offering her a lifeline. Now, it will take every ounce of will power she possesses to resist all that he offers.
Ham was always a traveling man, never one to settle down in one town, with one woman, for more time than absolutely necessary. But Ham's faced his own demons, and he's learned a lot. About himself, and about the life he knows he's meant to live. So when he hears that Zara's having a rough time, he wants to be the one to help. In fact, he wants to do more than that for Zara. A lot more. But first, he must prove to Zara that he's a changed man.
389 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2013
789 people are currently reading
8405 people want to read
About the author
Kristen Ashley
134 books39.4k followersKristen Ashley was born in Gary, Indiana, USA. She nearly killed her mother and herself making it into the world, seeing as she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck (already attempting to accessorise and she hadn't taken her first breath!).
Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana but has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.
Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multi-generational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland and existed amongst the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.
Kristen grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana but has lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.
Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multi-generational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland and existed amongst the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched).
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,964 reviews
October 27, 2013
DNF at 50 %.**2 stars. Review posted October 27, 2013
I would like to say this…
…for many wonderful reading hours. Tate will always be one of my favorite heroes. Ever.
But. Yes, there is a 'but'.
Over the years reading tastes change. As I see it, mine must have changed pretty drastically because I don't enjoy KA's books anymore. Simply put, it's obvious that I have moved on to something that appeals much more to me. As a matter of fact, it's a natural process that I, as a reader, need and want to evolve. I won't give you a rundown of my list of issues. I will, however, quote a reader who asked me this after I DNFd the book: "Oh no, what happened?" That's exactly the crux of the matter. Nothing happened. I'm not willing anymore to read the same book with the same characters over and over again. Whilst reading Jagged I got the impression that I have read the same story before. Sure, the editing is much better than before, yet the characterizations, the speech and behavior patterns are the same. I want, however, distinct characters and somewhat more variety when it comes to story lines. I just think that diversity is something incredibly positive, something that will keep me happy as a reader. It is also something that will keep me reading for many years to come. Unfortunately, I had to realize that I won't get that by reading KA's books.
No worries, I know there are thousands of happy KA fans out there and that's perfectly fine by me. I hope, however, that you will respect my way of looking at things. Thank you.
"See, that's the beauty of books. We get to take what we want out of them and it can be different for everyone. You get a good one, you may even find what you need."
Jagged was my 21st book by KA and I guess there is this specific moment when you know it's time to move on. I can reflect and reminisce all I want but in the end the result will be the same. Reading is always a matter of my personal enjoyment, a matter of me having fun and immersing myself in a story and its characters. And when a book is outstanding, then it's also about me soaking up many magical moments that will stay with me for a long time; when I'm lucky enough then these special moments will stay with me forever. With that said, it saddens me to say that the magic is gone and Jagged has been my last book by Kristen Ashley. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. Believe me, I am. I guess this short summary of how I feel must serve as my swan song. Besides, I think that deep down in my heart I've already moved on after my little disaster with Creed. Hence, Jagged is just proof that I made the right decision.
It was a beautiful dance as long as it lasted.
Swiss musician Gölä performing Schwan (Swan). I know you won't understand anything coz it's Bernese German, a specific Swiss dialect. Yet I chose this track because the title is so apt. There are no boundaries for that swan as white as snow...
You can fast forward to 1:00.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtTvzO...
I hope that your wings will carry you to a beautiful place where you will find many wonderful books. Happy reading!
**ARC courtesy of Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley**
http://baba.booklikes.com
I would like to say this…
…for many wonderful reading hours. Tate will always be one of my favorite heroes. Ever.
But. Yes, there is a 'but'.
Over the years reading tastes change. As I see it, mine must have changed pretty drastically because I don't enjoy KA's books anymore. Simply put, it's obvious that I have moved on to something that appeals much more to me. As a matter of fact, it's a natural process that I, as a reader, need and want to evolve. I won't give you a rundown of my list of issues. I will, however, quote a reader who asked me this after I DNFd the book: "Oh no, what happened?" That's exactly the crux of the matter. Nothing happened. I'm not willing anymore to read the same book with the same characters over and over again. Whilst reading Jagged I got the impression that I have read the same story before. Sure, the editing is much better than before, yet the characterizations, the speech and behavior patterns are the same. I want, however, distinct characters and somewhat more variety when it comes to story lines. I just think that diversity is something incredibly positive, something that will keep me happy as a reader. It is also something that will keep me reading for many years to come. Unfortunately, I had to realize that I won't get that by reading KA's books.
No worries, I know there are thousands of happy KA fans out there and that's perfectly fine by me. I hope, however, that you will respect my way of looking at things. Thank you.
"See, that's the beauty of books. We get to take what we want out of them and it can be different for everyone. You get a good one, you may even find what you need."
Jagged was my 21st book by KA and I guess there is this specific moment when you know it's time to move on. I can reflect and reminisce all I want but in the end the result will be the same. Reading is always a matter of my personal enjoyment, a matter of me having fun and immersing myself in a story and its characters. And when a book is outstanding, then it's also about me soaking up many magical moments that will stay with me for a long time; when I'm lucky enough then these special moments will stay with me forever. With that said, it saddens me to say that the magic is gone and Jagged has been my last book by Kristen Ashley. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. Believe me, I am. I guess this short summary of how I feel must serve as my swan song. Besides, I think that deep down in my heart I've already moved on after my little disaster with Creed. Hence, Jagged is just proof that I made the right decision.
It was a beautiful dance as long as it lasted.
Swiss musician Gölä performing Schwan (Swan). I know you won't understand anything coz it's Bernese German, a specific Swiss dialect. Yet I chose this track because the title is so apt. There are no boundaries for that swan as white as snow...
You can fast forward to 1:00.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtTvzO...
I hope that your wings will carry you to a beautiful place where you will find many wonderful books. Happy reading!
**ARC courtesy of Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley**
http://baba.booklikes.com
November 10, 2013
Full review now posted!!
4—MADE ME SMILE—Stars
Jagged may not be my favorite Kristen Ashley book–it was too short for one thing, and I struggled with certain aspects of the hero's behavior–but I still loved so much about this story.
I loved the heroine, Zara. I admired her spirit, backbone, and strength of character. I also loved the secondary characters, especially Maybelline. She was a true friend to Zara and really looked out for her. I even came to mildly love the hero, Reece (I can't call him Ham. I just can't).
Truth be told, I struggled with Reece's character throughout much of this book. I liked him but I didn't admire him. I felt Zara (and I'm glad she agreed with me) deserved more than what he was willing to give her during the years they were seeing each other. He was a drifter and unwilling to commit to one women much to Zara's disappointment. I didn't care for his behavior and lack of respect for her knowing full well how much she cared for him. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too, and for me, that does NOT make a swoonworthy hero. Still, I ended up liking him and I will admit he did a great job of redeeming himself by the end. That said, I also believe had the book been longer I would have had the chance to fall completely and hopelessly in love with him.
All in all, I enjoyed this book, but I feel a little of the heart-and-soul I've come to expect in a Kristen Ashley story was missing. One thing is for sure, though; no one, and I mean NO ONE, can write an epilogue like her. It ROCKED!!! In fact, it's the reason I gave this book 4 stars.
*ARC kindly provided to Swept Away By Romance courtesy of Grand Central Publishing.
-----
If you're already a Kristen Ashley addict, or interested in checking out her books, be sure to stop by our Kristen Ashley Addict's Support Group here on Goodreads!
4—MADE ME SMILE—Stars
Jagged may not be my favorite Kristen Ashley book–it was too short for one thing, and I struggled with certain aspects of the hero's behavior–but I still loved so much about this story.
I loved the heroine, Zara. I admired her spirit, backbone, and strength of character. I also loved the secondary characters, especially Maybelline. She was a true friend to Zara and really looked out for her. I even came to mildly love the hero, Reece (I can't call him Ham. I just can't).
Truth be told, I struggled with Reece's character throughout much of this book. I liked him but I didn't admire him. I felt Zara (and I'm glad she agreed with me) deserved more than what he was willing to give her during the years they were seeing each other. He was a drifter and unwilling to commit to one women much to Zara's disappointment. I didn't care for his behavior and lack of respect for her knowing full well how much she cared for him. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too, and for me, that does NOT make a swoonworthy hero. Still, I ended up liking him and I will admit he did a great job of redeeming himself by the end. That said, I also believe had the book been longer I would have had the chance to fall completely and hopelessly in love with him.
All in all, I enjoyed this book, but I feel a little of the heart-and-soul I've come to expect in a Kristen Ashley story was missing. One thing is for sure, though; no one, and I mean NO ONE, can write an epilogue like her. It ROCKED!!! In fact, it's the reason I gave this book 4 stars.
*ARC kindly provided to Swept Away By Romance courtesy of Grand Central Publishing.
-----
If you're already a Kristen Ashley addict, or interested in checking out her books, be sure to stop by our Kristen Ashley Addict's Support Group here on Goodreads!
May 25, 2017
2 Second Place Stars
**** There will be spoilers and rants***
“Ham, you’re the one for me and it doesn’t feel good knowin’ you don’t feel the same.”-Zara
Having read and loved the first 4 books in this series I went into reading Jagged just knowing it would be awesome. I was so ready for the awesome I could taste it, but what I got was cold leftovers. The book wasn't awful I didn't hate it but I didn't really like it either. My 2 main problems was I didn't buy Ham's love for Zara and I just didn't like Ham. A smaller problem I had that didn't really take away from the book but just annoyed me were the nicknames Ham and Cookie. They were so cheesy and lame it throw me off every time they called each other that. Just sayin'
“’Cause you’re my cookie, you’re easy, you’re funny, you’re honest, you’re fuckin’ sexy, you love my dick, and you’re not hard on the eyes.” That was all awesome. But somehow it also was not. It was… flat. Luckily, he wasn’t done. “And I want kids. Hope I didn’t wait too long but I want them. I want a family, always have. Lost my parents young, Mom when I was seventeen, Dad when I was twenty-one, didn’t have any brothers or sisters but had it good with Mom and Dad. I want that back, want to give that to kids. You want them, too, and I know, what went down with your family, you’ve learned. So you’ll be a great mom.”-Ham
“I knew when I drove away from her the first time, I shouldn’t be doin’ it. I knew when I let her walk away from me three and a half years ago, it struck deep. I found out she lost her house, I sunk everything I had into buying it back. Never owned a piece of property in my life. Was once tied to a woman but never owned a house. Got myself loose from that woman and learned. What I learned after years was how to spot a good one. And what I learned seven months ago was that I was never gonna watch a good one walk away again. So yeah. I’m sure about settlin’ down and I’ll answer the question you didn’t ask. I’m also sure about Zara.”-Ham
Let me start my thoughts on Ham by saying that I didn't read For You from The 'Burg series so I didn't get to read Ham and Feb's story. I only got what this book tells me and a few reviews I went back and read on For You after I realized he was a side character from another book. So going into this read I had no thoughts that Ham was hung up on another woman I didn't even know who he was. That being said right out the gate my first impression was less than great.
“You weren’t my first, babe, but you’re gonna be my last,” he declared. Unthinking, too ticked to think, I shot back, “Lucky me Feb was taken, or I wouldn’t get that.”-Ham and Zara
“So, tell me, Ham, February Owens wasn’t pregnant somewhere in Indiana, livin’ with her high school boyfriend reunited, would you be standin’ here with me?”-Zara
So the book started off with Zara breaking off her and Ham's booty call relationship and moving on so she can have a real relationship. So in this prologue I learned that not only is Ham a man slut which was fine I don't really have a problem with man whores. But he is sleeping with Zara and other women at the same time and Zara knows this and just accepts it because "He's a rolling stone" Pfff! I also learned that this has been going on for 5 years!! That at first 5 years ago they dated for 4 months exclusive then he moved on and used her as a booty call here and there for the next 5 years when he was in town all while fucking other women. I know I said that already once but it bares repeating! One who I later read was Feb. Already at this point I have lost respect for Ham. Like I said I am okay with man whores but to being sleeping with the heroine and other women for 5 years and I am suppose to believe that this is a love story. If after 5 fucking years he didn't know he loved her then he didn't. I don't buy it.
“Fuck yeah, Zara. I care about you enough to lay roots with you. I care about you enough to fight for your nephew with you. I care about you enough to make babies with you.” His hand grabbed mine, yanked it up, and pressed it flat against his shoulder where the smooth, puckered skin of the ugly scar left by an ax marred his flesh. “I care about you enough to take another one of these if a man was comin’ after you. Both my parents are dead. I got no siblings. I got no roots. The only thing I got, the only thing I realized months ago I’ve had for a long fuckin’ time, is what I’ve kept as close as I could until I was ready to take it all the way, and that’s fuckin’ you.”-Ham
“So I don’t wanna talk about her because I lost her and she means somethin’ to me. But it upsets you so there it is. The thing you gotta take from all this is, Feb is not you. She was never an option. She would never be where you are right now. She wouldn’t give me that. And I always knew that. I also always knew, from the first time I said good-bye to you, that I was a special kind of fuckwit for doin’ it because I was drivin’ away from the best woman I’d ever known. And years have passed, Zara, and you’re still that woman. It’s just that now, I’m never gonna drive away. I’m never gonna leave you and I’m not gonna let you leave me.”-Ham
He had a "Exclusive Relationship" with Zara for 4 months where they pretty much lived together. Then he just moves on. He stays in contact, comes to visit and get some. 5 years of ups and downs, hours of phone calls, and being there for each other. Then because Zara couldn't take it no more she lets him go and moves on and he lets her go..... He let her walk away. For 3 years. And I am suppose to believe that he came back because he realized that he loved her. That even though he moved on with Feb(February Owens) almost got killed by Feb's stalker, then Feb break it off with him for her ex high school sweetheart(Which according to others reviews of For You He tells Feb how he doesn't want to lose her and that he could be that man for her and settle down try harder) now I am suppose to believe that he has this epiphany that he wants to settle down with Zara and it's totally not because Feb isn't available.
“February Owens is a good woman. She was good to me. I was good to her. And I care about her. But she was never gonna be mine, and it sucked, losin’ her, but thinkin’ on it, I knew that deep down from the moment I met her. And that’s precisely why I started it up with her. But, cookie, you were mine from the moment I met you. That mattered to me. I took care of it as best as I could, until I came to a place in my life where I could give you what you should have and lucked the fuck out you were available for me to give it. And that’s the big difference you gotta get.”-Ham
* Douchebag cough*
“Drove away from you nine years ago, knew it was wrong then, didn’t know that it was the biggest mistake I’d make in my life,”-Ham
Top all of that off with the fact that I felt like he acted like an asshole for most of the first part of the book and you get me not liking the hero at all. I will say that at about the 50% mark Ham was good to Zara. Treated her well and there were sweet moments in this book. Which softened my hate for him to a dislike. I just never felt his love for her. My God I can't tell you how many times he says he cares for Feb, how great she is and how much it hurt losing her. Really?? I felt he settled for second best and she got ripped. Even Zara felt she was the runner up prize and when she tells him so his sorry ass explanation as to why Zara is the one and not second to Feb made me more convinced that he would have been with Feb if he could and that Zara wasn't the love of his life just the next best thing.
“Babe, you lost your home. You lost your shop. You lost nine years of your nephew. You been sittin’ on millions of dollars you didn’t know you had for nearly three years. You got married to a guy you cared about but you picked him for safety, figured out you fucked up, cut those ties, and moved on but did it torturing yourself because you picked wrong even though he did too. None of that shit would have happened if I’d been where I knew when I fuckin’ drove away nine years ago I should have stuck. At your side.”-Ham
“Yes, this woman interrupted my wife’s dinner in an extremely unpleasant way,” Greg contradicted. “She’s not your wife,” Ham grunted. Uh-oh. Shocking the crap out of me, Greg, with narrowed eyes and anger contorting his face, instantly fired back at Ham, “She’ll always be my wife.” I went still. The table went still. I fancied the restaurant went still as I was pretty certain I watched ice form in a thick layer, crackling and groaning all around Ham. “Well shit.” His words were sarcastic but that didn’t mean they weren’t dripping icicles. “See I’m in a position to apologize since I fucked your wife against the wall before we left to come here.”-Greg and Ham
Even with Nina, Max, Mindy and Jeff and all the sweet or funny moments this book for me was still just a depressing 2 star read. It left me angry, sad and disappointed. It's hard to enjoy a love story when you don't buy the love part. Maybe if it was longer it would have helped but I doubt it. The whole premise of their relationship just sucks. Maybe if he didn't have his past in another book with Feb and just left for years and came back I could have bought it but this book was a total miss for me. I hope the next one is better!!
“Champagne!” I heard Nina shout as Ham lifted his mouth from mine and we both turned to see her close. “Two counts of assault and trespassing!” she declared and clapped with excitement. “Isn’t that great?” she asked but didn’t wait for an answer.
**** There will be spoilers and rants***
“Ham, you’re the one for me and it doesn’t feel good knowin’ you don’t feel the same.”-Zara
Having read and loved the first 4 books in this series I went into reading Jagged just knowing it would be awesome. I was so ready for the awesome I could taste it, but what I got was cold leftovers. The book wasn't awful I didn't hate it but I didn't really like it either. My 2 main problems was I didn't buy Ham's love for Zara and I just didn't like Ham. A smaller problem I had that didn't really take away from the book but just annoyed me were the nicknames Ham and Cookie. They were so cheesy and lame it throw me off every time they called each other that. Just sayin'
“’Cause you’re my cookie, you’re easy, you’re funny, you’re honest, you’re fuckin’ sexy, you love my dick, and you’re not hard on the eyes.” That was all awesome. But somehow it also was not. It was… flat. Luckily, he wasn’t done. “And I want kids. Hope I didn’t wait too long but I want them. I want a family, always have. Lost my parents young, Mom when I was seventeen, Dad when I was twenty-one, didn’t have any brothers or sisters but had it good with Mom and Dad. I want that back, want to give that to kids. You want them, too, and I know, what went down with your family, you’ve learned. So you’ll be a great mom.”-Ham
“I knew when I drove away from her the first time, I shouldn’t be doin’ it. I knew when I let her walk away from me three and a half years ago, it struck deep. I found out she lost her house, I sunk everything I had into buying it back. Never owned a piece of property in my life. Was once tied to a woman but never owned a house. Got myself loose from that woman and learned. What I learned after years was how to spot a good one. And what I learned seven months ago was that I was never gonna watch a good one walk away again. So yeah. I’m sure about settlin’ down and I’ll answer the question you didn’t ask. I’m also sure about Zara.”-Ham
Let me start my thoughts on Ham by saying that I didn't read For You from The 'Burg series so I didn't get to read Ham and Feb's story. I only got what this book tells me and a few reviews I went back and read on For You after I realized he was a side character from another book. So going into this read I had no thoughts that Ham was hung up on another woman I didn't even know who he was. That being said right out the gate my first impression was less than great.
“You weren’t my first, babe, but you’re gonna be my last,” he declared. Unthinking, too ticked to think, I shot back, “Lucky me Feb was taken, or I wouldn’t get that.”-Ham and Zara
“So, tell me, Ham, February Owens wasn’t pregnant somewhere in Indiana, livin’ with her high school boyfriend reunited, would you be standin’ here with me?”-Zara
So the book started off with Zara breaking off her and Ham's booty call relationship and moving on so she can have a real relationship. So in this prologue I learned that not only is Ham a man slut which was fine I don't really have a problem with man whores. But he is sleeping with Zara and other women at the same time and Zara knows this and just accepts it because "He's a rolling stone" Pfff! I also learned that this has been going on for 5 years!! That at first 5 years ago they dated for 4 months exclusive then he moved on and used her as a booty call here and there for the next 5 years when he was in town all while fucking other women. I know I said that already once but it bares repeating! One who I later read was Feb. Already at this point I have lost respect for Ham. Like I said I am okay with man whores but to being sleeping with the heroine and other women for 5 years and I am suppose to believe that this is a love story. If after 5 fucking years he didn't know he loved her then he didn't. I don't buy it.
“Fuck yeah, Zara. I care about you enough to lay roots with you. I care about you enough to fight for your nephew with you. I care about you enough to make babies with you.” His hand grabbed mine, yanked it up, and pressed it flat against his shoulder where the smooth, puckered skin of the ugly scar left by an ax marred his flesh. “I care about you enough to take another one of these if a man was comin’ after you. Both my parents are dead. I got no siblings. I got no roots. The only thing I got, the only thing I realized months ago I’ve had for a long fuckin’ time, is what I’ve kept as close as I could until I was ready to take it all the way, and that’s fuckin’ you.”-Ham
“So I don’t wanna talk about her because I lost her and she means somethin’ to me. But it upsets you so there it is. The thing you gotta take from all this is, Feb is not you. She was never an option. She would never be where you are right now. She wouldn’t give me that. And I always knew that. I also always knew, from the first time I said good-bye to you, that I was a special kind of fuckwit for doin’ it because I was drivin’ away from the best woman I’d ever known. And years have passed, Zara, and you’re still that woman. It’s just that now, I’m never gonna drive away. I’m never gonna leave you and I’m not gonna let you leave me.”-Ham
He had a "Exclusive Relationship" with Zara for 4 months where they pretty much lived together. Then he just moves on. He stays in contact, comes to visit and get some. 5 years of ups and downs, hours of phone calls, and being there for each other. Then because Zara couldn't take it no more she lets him go and moves on and he lets her go..... He let her walk away. For 3 years. And I am suppose to believe that he came back because he realized that he loved her. That even though he moved on with Feb(February Owens) almost got killed by Feb's stalker, then Feb break it off with him for her ex high school sweetheart(Which according to others reviews of For You He tells Feb how he doesn't want to lose her and that he could be that man for her and settle down try harder) now I am suppose to believe that he has this epiphany that he wants to settle down with Zara and it's totally not because Feb isn't available.
“February Owens is a good woman. She was good to me. I was good to her. And I care about her. But she was never gonna be mine, and it sucked, losin’ her, but thinkin’ on it, I knew that deep down from the moment I met her. And that’s precisely why I started it up with her. But, cookie, you were mine from the moment I met you. That mattered to me. I took care of it as best as I could, until I came to a place in my life where I could give you what you should have and lucked the fuck out you were available for me to give it. And that’s the big difference you gotta get.”-Ham
* Douchebag cough*
“Drove away from you nine years ago, knew it was wrong then, didn’t know that it was the biggest mistake I’d make in my life,”-Ham
Top all of that off with the fact that I felt like he acted like an asshole for most of the first part of the book and you get me not liking the hero at all. I will say that at about the 50% mark Ham was good to Zara. Treated her well and there were sweet moments in this book. Which softened my hate for him to a dislike. I just never felt his love for her. My God I can't tell you how many times he says he cares for Feb, how great she is and how much it hurt losing her. Really?? I felt he settled for second best and she got ripped. Even Zara felt she was the runner up prize and when she tells him so his sorry ass explanation as to why Zara is the one and not second to Feb made me more convinced that he would have been with Feb if he could and that Zara wasn't the love of his life just the next best thing.
“Babe, you lost your home. You lost your shop. You lost nine years of your nephew. You been sittin’ on millions of dollars you didn’t know you had for nearly three years. You got married to a guy you cared about but you picked him for safety, figured out you fucked up, cut those ties, and moved on but did it torturing yourself because you picked wrong even though he did too. None of that shit would have happened if I’d been where I knew when I fuckin’ drove away nine years ago I should have stuck. At your side.”-Ham
“Yes, this woman interrupted my wife’s dinner in an extremely unpleasant way,” Greg contradicted. “She’s not your wife,” Ham grunted. Uh-oh. Shocking the crap out of me, Greg, with narrowed eyes and anger contorting his face, instantly fired back at Ham, “She’ll always be my wife.” I went still. The table went still. I fancied the restaurant went still as I was pretty certain I watched ice form in a thick layer, crackling and groaning all around Ham. “Well shit.” His words were sarcastic but that didn’t mean they weren’t dripping icicles. “See I’m in a position to apologize since I fucked your wife against the wall before we left to come here.”-Greg and Ham
Even with Nina, Max, Mindy and Jeff and all the sweet or funny moments this book for me was still just a depressing 2 star read. It left me angry, sad and disappointed. It's hard to enjoy a love story when you don't buy the love part. Maybe if it was longer it would have helped but I doubt it. The whole premise of their relationship just sucks. Maybe if he didn't have his past in another book with Feb and just left for years and came back I could have bought it but this book was a total miss for me. I hope the next one is better!!
“Champagne!” I heard Nina shout as Ham lifted his mouth from mine and we both turned to see her close. “Two counts of assault and trespassing!” she declared and clapped with excitement. “Isn’t that great?” she asked but didn’t wait for an answer.
Read
November 28, 2013I could probably rate this as 5 stars without even reading it. WOOHOO I love this series!!
March 25, 2015
I've read better by her
I didn't hate this, but I didn't love it either. It was an OK book, nothing exceptional for me I'm afraid :(
Longer review will be closer to publication date.
*ARC from Netgalley*
November 3, 2013
2.5 disappointing stars...
Another epic buddy read with the Girls!! http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
To say that I was really looking forward to this book would be an understatement. I was more than looking forward to this. For one, KA's Colorado Mountain Series is my fave series of hers. This series is what started me off on my KA obsession. Tate was the reason I got into the whole alpha male bandwagon. Heck, Tate is the reason I got acquainted with alpha males in the first place, so it's no surprise that this series is very dear to my heart.
Sadly, Jagged, the fifth in the series didn't do it for me. It missed the mark for me in so many ways.
For one, I wasn't crazy about Graham "Ham" Reece. He may talk like a KA alpha but something was missing. Yes, he did redeemed himself, somewhat, but for me he lacked the KA alpha man magic. Half-way through the book I was still struggling how to picture him in my head. Plus, the nickname didn't help at all.
I have nothing against ham but seriously, that nickname, which was supposed to be a term of endearment for him, just didn't do it for me. I did not find it sexy at all. What's wrong with Reece? Or Graham for that matter?
Another thing I didn't like was the story itself. It felt watered down. I didn't know whether it was the length of the novel that was the problem or that the plot was thin in the first place. There really wasn't anything aside from Reece's inability to commit and Zara rebuilding her life. I felt disconnected with drama between her family. It wasn't really fleshed out. Instead of the story unfolding before our very eyes, we are instead "told" how horrible her family was.
With the previous books in the series, the story always took its sweet time to unfold. We learned about each and every character as the story moves along. But here, it was like rammed down our throats basically. Again, I don't know whether because of this book is much, much shorter than the other books in the series or what but that's how it felt like for me.
Overall, Jagged just felt awkward and doesn't feel at all connected to this series. It just felt flat for me. I wish I could say I loved it or even liked it but I found myself skimming pretty much throughout the book. But don't let my review discourage you from reading this book or this series. There is magic to be found in the pages of a KA book that's really unique. Sadly, for me, this one wasn't it for me.
An ARC was provided by Forever GCP via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Eeep!! Look at that gorgeous cover!!
Another epic buddy read with the Girls!! http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
To say that I was really looking forward to this book would be an understatement. I was more than looking forward to this. For one, KA's Colorado Mountain Series is my fave series of hers. This series is what started me off on my KA obsession. Tate was the reason I got into the whole alpha male bandwagon. Heck, Tate is the reason I got acquainted with alpha males in the first place, so it's no surprise that this series is very dear to my heart.
Sadly, Jagged, the fifth in the series didn't do it for me. It missed the mark for me in so many ways.
For one, I wasn't crazy about Graham "Ham" Reece. He may talk like a KA alpha but something was missing. Yes, he did redeemed himself, somewhat, but for me he lacked the KA alpha man magic. Half-way through the book I was still struggling how to picture him in my head. Plus, the nickname didn't help at all.
I have nothing against ham but seriously, that nickname, which was supposed to be a term of endearment for him, just didn't do it for me. I did not find it sexy at all. What's wrong with Reece? Or Graham for that matter?
Another thing I didn't like was the story itself. It felt watered down. I didn't know whether it was the length of the novel that was the problem or that the plot was thin in the first place. There really wasn't anything aside from Reece's inability to commit and Zara rebuilding her life. I felt disconnected with drama between her family. It wasn't really fleshed out. Instead of the story unfolding before our very eyes, we are instead "told" how horrible her family was.
With the previous books in the series, the story always took its sweet time to unfold. We learned about each and every character as the story moves along. But here, it was like rammed down our throats basically. Again, I don't know whether because of this book is much, much shorter than the other books in the series or what but that's how it felt like for me.
Overall, Jagged just felt awkward and doesn't feel at all connected to this series. It just felt flat for me. I wish I could say I loved it or even liked it but I found myself skimming pretty much throughout the book. But don't let my review discourage you from reading this book or this series. There is magic to be found in the pages of a KA book that's really unique. Sadly, for me, this one wasn't it for me.
An ARC was provided by Forever GCP via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Eeep!! Look at that gorgeous cover!!
August 10, 2016
Halfway through reading this one, I sort of said to myself, “Oh, here we go again, another same old same old.” Then, again, that is probably why I love KA books because they have a familiarity about them that makes them feel like comfort food.
“If you worked hard for it, if you didn't give up, even when you found your way and you thought you had everything, life found a way to give you more. “If you worked hard for it, if you didn't give up, even when you found your way and you thought you had everything, life found a way to give you more.
Back to Colorado again. Reece or Ham had appeared in a previous book in the series. Zara and himself have a good relationship – he drops in when he can, they hook up, have a good time. Of course the sex is out of this world – seriously every KA hero can get it up without any bother. No wonder I wanted to move to Colorado the first time I read a KA book. But Zara wants more. Reece cannot give it. They split up. A few years later Zara is not in a good place, she has lost her house, her business and Reece arrives.....
“Truth hurts. Then again, it also sets you free.”
Must say, that Jimmy Cotton is a man of few words but when he does speak, he speaks words of wisdom.
I had the weird sensation that, even when you thought you had everything, life found ways to give you more.”
Did we ever find out whey he called her “Cookie”?
It took me a while to realize why his nickname was “Ham”! Bit slow on the uptake there.
We had the drama with her family, we had her great friends, we had great sex, we had a Harley. Yep, typical KA. Just like meeting old friends.
Copy provided by NETGALLEY, which was much appreciated.
check out this great song also....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RWnku...
October 27, 2013
2 STARS
I am having a Maverick-Goose moment with this book. Pour the tequila, bust out the karaoke.
And I swear, to the old gods and the new, this will be my last from this author. For reals.
Stop laughin' I'm bein' serious and shit.
In the latest installment of The Colorado Mountain Series (and you know it's probably going to go on longer than it should now because, hot-diggity it now has an official series logo), we are going to hear about the happily ever after of Graham Reece and Zara Cinder. Graham is February Owens' old flame who got hacked by her crazy axe-wielding stalker in For You. Jagged starts off before the chop-choppering with a goodbye between the vagabond Reece and his favorite FUBU with feels, Zara Cinder. Zara loves and yearns for this man but she wants the fairytale, something Graham isn't willing to give, so Zara decides to marry Greg instead. So they part ways.
Fast forward to three years after, around the time of the hacking incident which serves as the point that made these um, star-crossed lovers reconnect. Zara is now divorced and broke, Graham is the man who will rescue her from that dire circumstance by finally planting his roots in Gnaw Bone and giving Zara a job in the bar he's managing, a decent home by essentially forcing her to move in with him and a means to reconnect to the community and her family. Her fairytale.
I'm going to do away with what I liked about this book before I get to the gnarly bits. I've read all the books in this series, the Rock Chick books (except Ally's), the 'Burg series, the Mystery Men books… okay I've read a lot of Kristen Ashley's backlist. And I am glad to see she has already reined in her love of describing every little detail on the heroine's fashion choices down to the little tinkly bells on her sandals with explanation why those bells even exists. I think there was one explicit outfit litany here and that's some welcome change. And while Zara is far from perfect (see rant below), I do like that her immaturity's kept to a minimum. True that's really more of a feature of the Rock Chick heroines but I'm counting my blessings here.
Everyone's going to complain how the hero and the heroine is basically every other hero-heroine combo in the KA-verse. Yes that's true for this book as well. I don't think the author's even trying anymore, it's like there's already a pre-written KA book somewhere and she just changes the hero's name, the heroine's nickname, the drama issue (here its Zara's parental abuse and a custody battle for her dead sister's son), the quirky supporting cast (there's always the sassy friend and the intrusive town's people which is passed off as being "caring") and a bar.
Speaking of, if its an attempt at being original or quirky or cute or an attempt at anything, naming your hero after cured pork is never going to be a good idea in Contemporary Romance.
I'm sorry but I never got over the Hamming. I just lose it every time he and Zara get into a fight or have steamy sex where Zara moans, "Ham" and he groans, in that JAGGED voice of his, "Cookie."
What is this, puppet porn?
Or better yet…
"
Setting aside that ridiculous name (what's wrong with Reece? Seriously?) and the fact that he refuses to use proper pronouns or enunciate words endin' in g's (its a battle with autocorrect typing that by the way), it was a tad hilarious how he was described as Super Bartender whose swoony abilities include "vaulting over" the bar counter and pouring a drink while making change. I mean, I'm sure it's a taxing and stressful job but the way he was made out here just seemed like he's saving the world by selling alcohol. And maybe I can get why Zara would fall head over heels over this guy but I have no idea why he'd fall for Zara.
The thing with making a romance book about "the other guy" from an earlier, more successful book is that no matter how you spin it, you're still fighting the successful delivery of the character at first sight, which in this case is the guy who lost Feb to Colt. And when you try to give him his HEA, there's always the burden to not make him come across like he's settling for second best. That issue was tackled better here (compared to how it was handled in Games of the Heart where it was a big fail) which is great, but as its unavoidable to compare Feb and Zara, I'm sorry but silver-jewelry fangirl and fritata connoiseur Feb wins over the bland blonde who may or may not have some Cookie Monster fetish. I'm not a fan of the heroine who waits for a man to fix all her problems for her. And I'm certainly NOT a fan of the Xander with a Z storyline where Sara with a Z's idea of introducing herself to her unaware nephew is by True, it rebuilt some familial bonds with her aunt but that didn't make Zara and His Hamness any less dickish towards the poor woman with that move.
And while I appreciate the toning down of slut-shaming and skinny-women-hating, I am sad for how Greg the ex-husband was made out to be. Because somehow I ended up feeling shamed that my idea of a night well spent may also watching a subtitled film at home rather than getting sloshed in the bar. And I know that that wasn't what this book was trying to get across but the the lack of depth in any of the characters made it seem like we have now graduated to hermit-shaming.
This did make me laugh, though I think it wasn't meaning to make me. Obviously gone are the days when I was so taken by the way this author was able to tell heart-felt stories in a way that made me look over editing issues and annoying quirks. When you can't even bring yourself to read the Epilogue, you know it's time to call it for this relationship.
Time of death: 10:18.
She'll always have a place in my favorites shelf, but I think its time to move on. There's no use reviewing the same story over and over again.
Also on BookLikes
ARC provided by Forever-GCP thru Netgalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
******WARNING! THERE'S PUPPET PORN IN THIS REVIEW!*******
I am having a Maverick-Goose moment with this book. Pour the tequila, bust out the karaoke.
And I swear, to the old gods and the new, this will be my last from this author. For reals.
Stop laughin' I'm bein' serious and shit.
In the latest installment of The Colorado Mountain Series (and you know it's probably going to go on longer than it should now because, hot-diggity it now has an official series logo), we are going to hear about the happily ever after of Graham Reece and Zara Cinder. Graham is February Owens' old flame who got hacked by her crazy axe-wielding stalker in For You. Jagged starts off before the chop-choppering with a goodbye between the vagabond Reece and his favorite FUBU with feels, Zara Cinder. Zara loves and yearns for this man but she wants the fairytale, something Graham isn't willing to give, so Zara decides to marry Greg instead. So they part ways.
Fast forward to three years after, around the time of the hacking incident which serves as the point that made these um, star-crossed lovers reconnect. Zara is now divorced and broke, Graham is the man who will rescue her from that dire circumstance by finally planting his roots in Gnaw Bone and giving Zara a job in the bar he's managing, a decent home by essentially forcing her to move in with him and a means to reconnect to the community and her family. Her fairytale.
I'm going to do away with what I liked about this book before I get to the gnarly bits. I've read all the books in this series, the Rock Chick books (except Ally's), the 'Burg series, the Mystery Men books… okay I've read a lot of Kristen Ashley's backlist. And I am glad to see she has already reined in her love of describing every little detail on the heroine's fashion choices down to the little tinkly bells on her sandals with explanation why those bells even exists. I think there was one explicit outfit litany here and that's some welcome change. And while Zara is far from perfect (see rant below), I do like that her immaturity's kept to a minimum. True that's really more of a feature of the Rock Chick heroines but I'm counting my blessings here.
Everyone's going to complain how the hero and the heroine is basically every other hero-heroine combo in the KA-verse. Yes that's true for this book as well. I don't think the author's even trying anymore, it's like there's already a pre-written KA book somewhere and she just changes the hero's name, the heroine's nickname, the drama issue (here its Zara's parental abuse and a custody battle for her dead sister's son), the quirky supporting cast (there's always the sassy friend and the intrusive town's people which is passed off as being "caring") and a bar.
Speaking of, if its an attempt at being original or quirky or cute or an attempt at anything, naming your hero after cured pork is never going to be a good idea in Contemporary Romance.
I'm sorry but I never got over the Hamming. I just lose it every time he and Zara get into a fight or have steamy sex where Zara moans, "Ham" and he groans, in that JAGGED voice of his, "Cookie."
What is this, puppet porn?
Or better yet…
"
Setting aside that ridiculous name (what's wrong with Reece? Seriously?) and the fact that he refuses to use proper pronouns or enunciate words endin' in g's (its a battle with autocorrect typing that by the way), it was a tad hilarious how he was described as Super Bartender whose swoony abilities include "vaulting over" the bar counter and pouring a drink while making change. I mean, I'm sure it's a taxing and stressful job but the way he was made out here just seemed like he's saving the world by selling alcohol. And maybe I can get why Zara would fall head over heels over this guy but I have no idea why he'd fall for Zara.
The thing with making a romance book about "the other guy" from an earlier, more successful book is that no matter how you spin it, you're still fighting the successful delivery of the character at first sight, which in this case is the guy who lost Feb to Colt. And when you try to give him his HEA, there's always the burden to not make him come across like he's settling for second best. That issue was tackled better here (compared to how it was handled in Games of the Heart where it was a big fail) which is great, but as its unavoidable to compare Feb and Zara, I'm sorry but silver-jewelry fangirl and fritata connoiseur Feb wins over the bland blonde who may or may not have some Cookie Monster fetish. I'm not a fan of the heroine who waits for a man to fix all her problems for her. And I'm certainly NOT a fan of the Xander with a Z storyline where Sara with a Z's idea of introducing herself to her unaware nephew is by True, it rebuilt some familial bonds with her aunt but that didn't make Zara and His Hamness any less dickish towards the poor woman with that move.
And while I appreciate the toning down of slut-shaming and skinny-women-hating, I am sad for how Greg the ex-husband was made out to be. Because somehow I ended up feeling shamed that my idea of a night well spent may also watching a subtitled film at home rather than getting sloshed in the bar. And I know that that wasn't what this book was trying to get across but the the lack of depth in any of the characters made it seem like we have now graduated to hermit-shaming.
This did make me laugh, though I think it wasn't meaning to make me. Obviously gone are the days when I was so taken by the way this author was able to tell heart-felt stories in a way that made me look over editing issues and annoying quirks. When you can't even bring yourself to read the Epilogue, you know it's time to call it for this relationship.
Time of death: 10:18.
She'll always have a place in my favorites shelf, but I think its time to move on. There's no use reviewing the same story over and over again.
Also on BookLikes
ARC provided by Forever-GCP thru Netgalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
October 31, 2013
Full review now posted 10.31.13
3.5 Why am I craving ham all of a sudden stars
"Cookie, pay attention. I'm gonna give you everything."
See that fidgety crazy person twitching away in that gif? Well that's me right now (well, minus the penis and the cartoonish look; but you get the idea). Why am I like this? Because this is my least favorite kind of review to write; a book I neither loved nor hated. It was just OK.
I'll be honest, when I saw that Graham will be getting a book next, I wasn't exactly crazy excited
Don't get me wrong, I will read anything that Kristen Ashley writes. I mean the woman can probably smear poop on a page and I'd buy it. I'm THAT much of a fan. Maybe it's because I've been dying to finally get Frankie and Benny's book so any book that gets priority before them is going to upset me? I dunno. But the point is, I really went into this book with zero expectations, except for the fact that it's a KA book and that is enough for me.
So what did I think? Well Therein lies the rub, I'm not really sure what I though. I didn't love it, nor did I hate it. There were things that I liked, and then again things that I didn't. So let's start with the good.
What I liked
Graham Reece. It's no secret that I have a soft spot for the assholes. So of course at Graham's first asshole speech to Zara, my first thought was
I swear, my happy place would get a tingle at his every scowl, growl, and general assholishness. Then he would have these incredibly sweet moments, and I just loved him all the more. Plus this description of him just sealed the deal for me.
The steam. No one can write a love scene quite like KA. And let me tell you, when Graham got down to business...he got it done.
What I didn't like
The friggin nicknames. I am all for endearments, I love them, they're cute, sweet and just add to the mood. But when I'm reading a book, or more specifically a love scene, the last damn thing I wanna be thinking about at the same time is food. So explain to me, why every single time I would crave cookies or honey glazed ham. Seriously. I've read a lot of different nicknames in book, some bad, some good, some plain awful. But I'm pretty sure that
takes the cake. No pun intended...well maybe a little.
The man's name is Graham Reece, and he goes by Reece to his friends. Why not stick with that? Why in the hell would Zara call him Ham? Does that instill sexy thoughts for you? So safe to say that this nickname did NOT work for me.
So what did Graham call Zara? Well, I guess we are sticking to food groups because she was Cookie. Now maybe if Graham had a different nickname, then I wouldn't have batted an eyelash at Zara's...but as it was, all I could think of every time I read it was
Don't ask me why. I'm weird like that. But I guess I felt that Zara got the short end of the stick on the endearment department considering that Graham called Feb "Beautiful". 'Cookie' just sort of paled in comparison for me with that.
I feel like people going into this book with great expectations will not really enjoy it as much. It did not feel like a typical Kristen Ashley book, or at least not to me. I went into it expecting nothing, so I did enjoy it. Aside from the few aforementioned things. I've seen a few reviews touch on the fact that the past few KA books have been shorter in length. I don't really have an issue with this. Yes, they are shorter in comparison to some of the books she released when she self-published, but she's releasing books at an amazing pace. So I have zero complaints. Plus it had KA's amazing epilogues, which I have come to absolutely love.
Did I like it? Yes. I got my KA fix, although a slightly watered down one. Will I be re-reading it? Probably not.
So I believe I'm done with my ramblings here. I'm off to stalk Kristen Ashley's website for more updates on Frankie and Benny's book. I'm pretty sure I'd be willing to part with an ovary at this point to get their book sometime soon. And I thank you.
ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
For more reviews visit
3.5 Why am I craving ham all of a sudden stars
"Cookie, pay attention. I'm gonna give you everything."
See that fidgety crazy person twitching away in that gif? Well that's me right now (well, minus the penis and the cartoonish look; but you get the idea). Why am I like this? Because this is my least favorite kind of review to write; a book I neither loved nor hated. It was just OK.
I'll be honest, when I saw that Graham will be getting a book next, I wasn't exactly crazy excited
Don't get me wrong, I will read anything that Kristen Ashley writes. I mean the woman can probably smear poop on a page and I'd buy it. I'm THAT much of a fan. Maybe it's because I've been dying to finally get Frankie and Benny's book so any book that gets priority before them is going to upset me? I dunno. But the point is, I really went into this book with zero expectations, except for the fact that it's a KA book and that is enough for me.
So what did I think? Well Therein lies the rub, I'm not really sure what I though. I didn't love it, nor did I hate it. There were things that I liked, and then again things that I didn't. So let's start with the good.
What I liked
Graham Reece. It's no secret that I have a soft spot for the assholes. So of course at Graham's first asshole speech to Zara, my first thought was
I swear, my happy place would get a tingle at his every scowl, growl, and general assholishness. Then he would have these incredibly sweet moments, and I just loved him all the more. Plus this description of him just sealed the deal for me.
Yeesh, didn't know a bear matin' with a human could create somethin' that divine but there it is. Proof."
The steam. No one can write a love scene quite like KA. And let me tell you, when Graham got down to business...he got it done.
What I didn't like
The friggin nicknames. I am all for endearments, I love them, they're cute, sweet and just add to the mood. But when I'm reading a book, or more specifically a love scene, the last damn thing I wanna be thinking about at the same time is food. So explain to me, why every single time I would crave cookies or honey glazed ham. Seriously. I've read a lot of different nicknames in book, some bad, some good, some plain awful. But I'm pretty sure that
The man's name is Graham Reece, and he goes by Reece to his friends. Why not stick with that? Why in the hell would Zara call him Ham? Does that instill sexy thoughts for you? So safe to say that this nickname did NOT work for me.
So what did Graham call Zara? Well, I guess we are sticking to food groups because she was Cookie. Now maybe if Graham had a different nickname, then I wouldn't have batted an eyelash at Zara's...but as it was, all I could think of every time I read it was
Don't ask me why. I'm weird like that. But I guess I felt that Zara got the short end of the stick on the endearment department considering that Graham called Feb "Beautiful". 'Cookie' just sort of paled in comparison for me with that.
I feel like people going into this book with great expectations will not really enjoy it as much. It did not feel like a typical Kristen Ashley book, or at least not to me. I went into it expecting nothing, so I did enjoy it. Aside from the few aforementioned things. I've seen a few reviews touch on the fact that the past few KA books have been shorter in length. I don't really have an issue with this. Yes, they are shorter in comparison to some of the books she released when she self-published, but she's releasing books at an amazing pace. So I have zero complaints. Plus it had KA's amazing epilogues, which I have come to absolutely love.
Did I like it? Yes. I got my KA fix, although a slightly watered down one. Will I be re-reading it? Probably not.
So I believe I'm done with my ramblings here. I'm off to stalk Kristen Ashley's website for more updates on Frankie and Benny's book. I'm pretty sure I'd be willing to part with an ovary at this point to get their book sometime soon. And I thank you.
ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
For more reviews visit
October 26, 2013
*** This is a spoiler free review because I don't recap the plot. I even use a term "review" loosely because below are mostly my opinion/thoughts on the book.
How excited was I to get my hands on a copy of "Jagged" before the release date???? If you are a fan of Kristen Ashley's work, you'd know the answer to this question is VERY! Her books are like a chicken soup for my soul - 99% of the time they leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy, cure my book hangovers and just make me happy altogether ...
When I say 99% of the time I mean, even though I am a HUGE fan of Kristen's, I refuse to fangirl over everything she puts out there. Case in point are her last two books, Fire Inside & Rock Chick Revolution which I didn't care for much. Even though Fire Inside still got 4 star rating from me (mainly due to this one epic scene that belongs to Hop!), I couldn't help but 2 star Rock Chick Revolution because no amount of Ren in that story could save it from being my least favorite [not only of the Rock Chick books but all of Kristen Ashley's books altogether]. Never in my life did I think I'll ever rate anything of Kristen's 2 stars but I guess there is a first time for everything.
Having said that, I was a little hesitant to pick up "Jagged" because I really didn't know what to expect. I guess having no expectations turned out to be a very good thing in this case because I really enjoyed this book.
I have heard from others readers that most of KA books are starting to sound very much alike: alpha hero that's too pushy, heroine that's most of time a damsel in distress and plays way too hard to get, etc. I get where these comments are coming from but I still say why fix something that isn't broken?? I've enjoyed this formula of Kirsten's and, even though I am all for tough as nails heroine (such as Sylvie from Creed), I really hated that approach in RC8 because Ally Knightingale's attempt at being so called "badass" bordered on annoying [to me] so I was THRILLED when Kristen stuck with her original macho guy and a heroine that needed him in this one. A nice change for Ham's character was that he was waiting for Zara to realize that she was ready for them to be together so there wasn't much "pushing" on his part, just a lot of waiting.
Perhaps I am wired more like a man because I identify more with KA's male characters than I do with her female characters. I know Reese appeared to be a jerk [to many]. Personally, he is one of my favorite heroes of hers now so go figure. The thing about most of KA's male leads is that they are ALWAYS upfront about what they want! The way I see it, if a chick has a hard time dealing with it, that's her problem!
Zara was a breath of fresh air [especially after I had to put up with Lanie and Ally's characters in the last two books of Kristen's] because she was actually very likeable & joy to read about. It's been a while since I enjoyed both, hero and heroine, in a book so for that, I thank you, Kristen Ashley!
My only complaint about this story is that, even though we did encounter some of the characters from previous books of Colorado Mountain series, we didn't see the ones I was dying to see I guess not really a complaint but you know ...
So overall verdict ...
Other than the fact that I think I gained 10 lbs while reading this due to all the food references, my rating is: 4 delicious stars or should I say
1 happy Cookie + 3 yummy Hams = one satisfied reader :)
There are two main reasons why this book got an easy 4 stars rating from me:
1. Graham Reese
2. it didn't have Ally Nightingale in it (!!!)
My casting:
Graham/Ham
Zara/cookie
Thank you for the HYSTERICAL BR, my crazy, sexy gals!!! Love YA & can't wait to do it again soon!!!
November 19, 2013
4 Stars!!!
Zara and Reece have history. They met working together at a bar and hit it off. Zara knew right away that Reece was the one for her. They became close, but as Reece always had done, he moved on. Reece is a the type of guy that doesn’t settle down anywhere or with anyone. It’s just his way. He goes from town to town, state to state, works for a while, but never gets settled. Even with all the traveling throughout the years, he’s never lost touch with Zara. They’ve kept their relationship going with many phone calls and several visits when Reece is in the area. It works for Reece, but eventually, it’s not enough for Zara. She gives Reece his shot, he doesn’t take it, so they both move on.
Fast forward several years later, Zara is newly divorced and happens to see Reece on the news (If you’ve read KA’s For You, book one in the Burg series, you’ll know why). She gets freaked and calls him. He comes right away. They have words and thats that. Zara still has feelings for Reece, but she can’t go there right now. After a fight, Reece takes off like he always does.
Zara and Reece’s relationship started a little rocky for me. I didn’t love how easily Reece could just let her go. Not the normal possessive KA alpha. But when he came back that second time, how helpful, kind, patient and loving he was with Zara won me over. I started to fall for Graham Reece.
As Zara starts to get back on her feet again, she and Reece become closer. Much closer. Zara’s got a job she enjoys, a little money in the bank, and Reece back. Life is better than it has been for a long time. Everything is not perfect. There is a ton of family drama on Zara’s side. Lies, deceit, secrets come out of the wood work. One of the best things to come out of this mess was getting to meet a character by the name of Zander. I just loved him!
One thing I didn’t love is the nickname Ham. I just couldn’t do it. I know it’s not a huge deal, but when you have a name like Graham Reece, why in the world would you call him Ham? Anyway, every time I saw the word ‘Ham’, I just replaced it with ‘Reece’ in my head. Worked for me. If you’ll notice in my review- this small part is the only place you will see the word ‘Ham’. Also, the book seemed so short compared to her other Colorado Mountain books. It was just missing a little something. I can’t even put my finger on what it was, but something wasn’t there that normally is.
Kristen Ashely is one of my go to authors. She balances steam, humor, romance and suspense perfectly. Anytime I’m in a slump, I can read one of my favorites from her and it’s all good. Although this won’t go on my favorites list, I still enjoyed it. I’m really looking forward to CM #6 (Kaleidoscope)- I loved Deck in Chace and Faye’s book!
*ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
If you worked hard for it, if you didn't give up, even when you found your way and you thought you had everything, life found a way to give you more.
Zara and Reece have history. They met working together at a bar and hit it off. Zara knew right away that Reece was the one for her. They became close, but as Reece always had done, he moved on. Reece is a the type of guy that doesn’t settle down anywhere or with anyone. It’s just his way. He goes from town to town, state to state, works for a while, but never gets settled. Even with all the traveling throughout the years, he’s never lost touch with Zara. They’ve kept their relationship going with many phone calls and several visits when Reece is in the area. It works for Reece, but eventually, it’s not enough for Zara. She gives Reece his shot, he doesn’t take it, so they both move on.
Fast forward several years later, Zara is newly divorced and happens to see Reece on the news (If you’ve read KA’s For You, book one in the Burg series, you’ll know why). She gets freaked and calls him. He comes right away. They have words and thats that. Zara still has feelings for Reece, but she can’t go there right now. After a fight, Reece takes off like he always does.
“You found a man, babe. You walked away from me.”As a little more time passes, Zara’s life goes from bad to worse. After her divorce, losing her business and home, she’s just in a bad way. Reece comes back into town. This time, he takes a job as a manager of a bar, not just bartender. He gets a condo. He’s putting down roots for the first time. He wants to be there for Zara, help her. Even if she will only let him be a friend to her, thats okay.
“You let me.”
Zara and Reece’s relationship started a little rocky for me. I didn’t love how easily Reece could just let her go. Not the normal possessive KA alpha. But when he came back that second time, how helpful, kind, patient and loving he was with Zara won me over. I started to fall for Graham Reece.
As Zara starts to get back on her feet again, she and Reece become closer. Much closer. Zara’s got a job she enjoys, a little money in the bank, and Reece back. Life is better than it has been for a long time. Everything is not perfect. There is a ton of family drama on Zara’s side. Lies, deceit, secrets come out of the wood work. One of the best things to come out of this mess was getting to meet a character by the name of Zander. I just loved him!
‘Life has certain things planned. For some people it takes you places you don’t want to go but the path leads to where you need to be.’What I loved about Jagged: It was a beautiful second chance romance. Zara was a great heroine. Strong, likable, funny, sassy and sweet. Just like a KA heroine should be. She did not settle for Reece when he couldn’t give her the things she wanted. As hard as it was, she tried to move on. I respected her for that. Though it took me a little longer to warm up to Reece than some of the other KA alpha’s, I still really liked him. I loved how he was with the Zander situation, how he overcame his past so he could try and give Zara the future she deserved. The cookie nickname was adorable.
One thing I didn’t love is the nickname Ham. I just couldn’t do it. I know it’s not a huge deal, but when you have a name like Graham Reece, why in the world would you call him Ham? Anyway, every time I saw the word ‘Ham’, I just replaced it with ‘Reece’ in my head. Worked for me. If you’ll notice in my review- this small part is the only place you will see the word ‘Ham’. Also, the book seemed so short compared to her other Colorado Mountain books. It was just missing a little something. I can’t even put my finger on what it was, but something wasn’t there that normally is.
Kristen Ashely is one of my go to authors. She balances steam, humor, romance and suspense perfectly. Anytime I’m in a slump, I can read one of my favorites from her and it’s all good. Although this won’t go on my favorites list, I still enjoyed it. I’m really looking forward to CM #6 (Kaleidoscope)- I loved Deck in Chace and Faye’s book!
‘Cookie, pay attention. I’m gonna give you everything.’
*ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
January 6, 2014
Some thoughts on paper...
3.5-4 KA Dreams and Stars
"Life has certain things planned. For some people it takes you places you don't want to go but the path leads to where you need to be"
The usual successful KA recipe of alpha males, the sassy women who love them and a crazy bunch of friends, family members and psychotic individuals. I am always satisfied and heart-warmed by any of her books, I just think that the hero was too much of a rolling stone for my tastes, no great amount of grovel was involved (but sure as hell it should have...), no mystery or suspense factor in this one, only feelings and humans... Sometimes too thickheaded to deal with them.
I am and always be a Kristen Ashley Fan!!! Because, with her every word, she makes me believe in the power of love...
Pre-read mini-rant
Jagged (Colorado Mountain, #5)
by Kristen Ashley
*Available as a Read Now ARC in NETGALLEY!!!*
All Kudos to Allison for the heads up! Run girlies!
Expected publication: November 5th 2013
3.5-4 KA Dreams and Stars
"Life has certain things planned. For some people it takes you places you don't want to go but the path leads to where you need to be"
♪♫ Well, it's a winding road
When you're in the lost and found
You're a lover – I'm a runner
And we go 'round 'n 'round
And I love you but I leave you
I don't want you but I need you
You know it's you who calls me back here, baby ♪♫
The usual successful KA recipe of alpha males, the sassy women who love them and a crazy bunch of friends, family members and psychotic individuals. I am always satisfied and heart-warmed by any of her books, I just think that the hero was too much of a rolling stone for my tastes, no great amount of grovel was involved (but sure as hell it should have...), no mystery or suspense factor in this one, only feelings and humans... Sometimes too thickheaded to deal with them.
I am and always be a Kristen Ashley Fan!!! Because, with her every word, she makes me believe in the power of love...
Pre-read mini-rant
Jagged (Colorado Mountain, #5)
by Kristen Ashley
*Available as a Read Now ARC in NETGALLEY!!!*
All Kudos to Allison for the heads up! Run girlies!
Expected publication: November 5th 2013
February 5, 2014
Kristen Ashley is more than just a great writer - she’s a master storyteller. I’ve been waiting for this book for a long time – Reece has just been screaming to have his story told - and I was not disappointed. There were things I would have liked to see more of, but all in all, this is another fabulous book from one of my favorite authors!
4 Stars
My thanks to Grand Central Publishers and Forever for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.
December 26, 2024
After revisiting some of my favorite KA stories, I decided to give one I hadn’t read before a try. Let me just say, past me made a great decision skipping this book. Current me, wishes she could rinse her brain of this manwhore nonsense and the simpering FMC who, for some inexplicable reason, couldn’t love anyone but him. She was hooking up with him on and off for five years while he was also sleeping with ow.
The magic that KA typically brings to her stories was completely missing here. It felt like both characters were settling, and I didn’t like either of them.
This wasn’t a second chance, it was a 3rd or 4th chance.
The FMC should’ve gotten her life together on her own, without him swooping back into town to rescue her. And him? He’s a bartender. That’s his big "superpower." Serving drinks, hooking up with random women, and drifting from town to town doesn’t exactly scream hero material to me.
I couldn’t buy into their love story at all. Where was the heart? The emotion? The angst and drama KA writes so well? This felt so bland and uninspired.
That said, the ending was beautiful, classic KA. But I could’ve done without so many of their conversations revolving around Feb. It felt unnecessary and detracted from what little connection the main couple had.
The magic that KA typically brings to her stories was completely missing here. It felt like both characters were settling, and I didn’t like either of them.
This wasn’t a second chance, it was a 3rd or 4th chance.
The FMC should’ve gotten her life together on her own, without him swooping back into town to rescue her. And him? He’s a bartender. That’s his big "superpower." Serving drinks, hooking up with random women, and drifting from town to town doesn’t exactly scream hero material to me.
I couldn’t buy into their love story at all. Where was the heart? The emotion? The angst and drama KA writes so well? This felt so bland and uninspired.
That said, the ending was beautiful, classic KA. But I could’ve done without so many of their conversations revolving around Feb. It felt unnecessary and detracted from what little connection the main couple had.
November 1, 2013
A Short Recap:
Zara and Graham are old lovers. Graham is a traveling man, never settling down in one place, and Zara is happy to meet his needs and serve her own whenever they can meet up for awhile. He's a good guy, just not the permanent type. And she's a good girl, but she's definitely not a rambler.
When Zara decides that she's not going to even expect any more from Graham, she calls off the relationship. It's an easy breakup on the outside. But each of them seems to have some inner turmoil with regards to their feelings on the split. Zara is a little broken up...she cares a lot for Graham, and the fact that he puts up not even a token of resistance really gets to her. But she moves on, marrying a great guy and settling in to live her life. Graham's feelings are a bit more complicated. He continues with his lifestyle, but deep down, he knows he'll always regret the one who got away.
Only now, Zara is in a bad place emotionally and physically. Things have just flat out gone wrong for her at every turn. And when Graham stops back in town, he sees what's happening. And he pulls the KA alpha guy takeover. And Zara's first and only real, passionate lover is there, in her face, doing the one thing no one ever has: he's taking care of her. Now, they have to figure out whether or not Graham can stick around...and if Zara can believe in him.
MY LIKES:
** I love how Zara is not a typical hysterical woman when it came to their initial separation. She's a really practical woman, and I can appreciate that. I tend to never dislike KA's heroines, but it deserves repeating. I really liked Zara as a person.
** I LOVED the rambling man story. I love the fact that after all these years of random places and women and lives he's lived, Graham always felt a pull to come back to Zara. That's romance
My Graham and Zara:
I loved this book. For me, this was just the kind of book that made me fall in love with this author. She writes romance for women...she writes about destiny and deep, abiding love...but with a gritty, modern feel. She writes sweet and flowery with more than a touch of badass.. She writes my kind of hero, and Graham lived up to the norm. I'd say he's about on the level of Max. He's a badass, he's an alpha, but he's not quite so over the top as Tate or Dax Lahn.
Also, just like with other KA books, this book comes with a soundtrack...and one of the most apropos songs in relation to the story that I've heard yet. I bought this song after reading about it, and I've listened to it now probably fifty times. Each time, it brings me back to this book. Only KA has ever done that for me...I have an actual Kristen Ashley playlist on my phone...it's one of my most listened to. Here is the link if you want to listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oouFE5...
It's Colder Weather, by the Zac Brown Band
MY DISLIKES:
** I despise the name Ham. If I had the power, I'd seriously delete every time that name was mentioned and replace it with his real name, Graham. In fact, I'd rather she call him "Gra" or "douchebag"...anything but Ham. I don't even care if they were forced to eat eggs and Gra for breakfast. It's the most ridiculous name for a hero I've ever come across...seriously. Terrible.
** This was pretty short! I suppose it's because the publisher limits her words, but I had gotten used to Kristen Ashley's rambling, wordy style of writing. In fact, that's one of the things she was known for, and what made her such a popular writer...part of the life that she breathed into her characters came from the punchy dialogue and the wordy, descriptive narrative. So I missed that here.
So for me, KA still has it. This is my first book that I've read by her since she stopped self pubbing, and so far so good. Although I don't know why a publisher would want to mess with a good thing...for me, the heart of Kristen Ashley still comes through, albeit in much fewer words. I just hope she can keep on keepin' on. Retain her unique, indescribable and much imitated but never recreated style.
October 31, 2013
3.5 stars for the story
4.5 for the kickass KA Epilogue we know and love!
Zara has shit for a family in this world, but when it comes to the friends she's got in Gnaw Bone, she's blessed. One such constant over the years has been Graham Reece, aka "Ham." It doesn't matter where Ham travels, being a sort of wanderer, he's always there when she needs him. He's not the commitment kind, doesn't like to settle too long, but when Zara needs him, he's there. This, however, isn't the life Zara wants. She wants to settle down, have a family, so it comes down to choices....and Ham loses. Walking away was the hardest thing either of them did but Ham would do it....for Zara. But is this guy, Greg, Zara claims to love and want to settle down with THE guy for her? Is she settling?
Long term, is a life without Ham a happy one? Why can't Ham just stay put, grow roots, settle down? What will it take?
This book is textbook romance to me. A bit of angsty push and pull, two characters that clearly love one another but fail miserably in admitting it.....but in the end, love prevails.
What can I say that anyone whose read a Kristen Ashley book doesn't already know? She's the queen of badass. She is, quite frankly, my literary badass hero! Is that a title? It should be. I LOVE her voice. So many authors try to mimic it, failing miserably. Reading a KA book is much like coming home....it's just comfortable and familiar for me. Is this my favorite book of her's? Nope. I was finding myself a tad bored with the general storyline in parts, being a bit anticlimactic. I was hovering between 3-4 stars throughout but in all KA awesomeness, she kicks my ass with the Epilogue. NOBODY writes epilogues like she does. It's all wrapped up but most importantly, it always seems to tug at your heart strings and just makes me feel all warm inside. What a sap, I know. Loved it.
Ham, what can I say? The guy is a bartender, runs five miles a day on one cup of coffee, exceeds 6 feet tall and manages to call Zara "Cookie" without losing one tiny bit of his Man Card. Loved him. A man stung not one, but several times by women in the worst kind of way but still would walk through fire for Cookie. Gah! Fan-girling here!
And this quote just made me chuckle....in true Ham style.
Favorite? Nope. But I still loved it!
Arc received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
4.5 for the kickass KA Epilogue we know and love!
Zara has shit for a family in this world, but when it comes to the friends she's got in Gnaw Bone, she's blessed. One such constant over the years has been Graham Reece, aka "Ham." It doesn't matter where Ham travels, being a sort of wanderer, he's always there when she needs him. He's not the commitment kind, doesn't like to settle too long, but when Zara needs him, he's there. This, however, isn't the life Zara wants. She wants to settle down, have a family, so it comes down to choices....and Ham loses. Walking away was the hardest thing either of them did but Ham would do it....for Zara. But is this guy, Greg, Zara claims to love and want to settle down with THE guy for her? Is she settling?
Long term, is a life without Ham a happy one? Why can't Ham just stay put, grow roots, settle down? What will it take?
This book is textbook romance to me. A bit of angsty push and pull, two characters that clearly love one another but fail miserably in admitting it.....but in the end, love prevails.
What can I say that anyone whose read a Kristen Ashley book doesn't already know? She's the queen of badass. She is, quite frankly, my literary badass hero! Is that a title? It should be. I LOVE her voice. So many authors try to mimic it, failing miserably. Reading a KA book is much like coming home....it's just comfortable and familiar for me. Is this my favorite book of her's? Nope. I was finding myself a tad bored with the general storyline in parts, being a bit anticlimactic. I was hovering between 3-4 stars throughout but in all KA awesomeness, she kicks my ass with the Epilogue. NOBODY writes epilogues like she does. It's all wrapped up but most importantly, it always seems to tug at your heart strings and just makes me feel all warm inside. What a sap, I know. Loved it.
Ham, what can I say? The guy is a bartender, runs five miles a day on one cup of coffee, exceeds 6 feet tall and manages to call Zara "Cookie" without losing one tiny bit of his Man Card. Loved him. A man stung not one, but several times by women in the worst kind of way but still would walk through fire for Cookie. Gah! Fan-girling here!
And this quote just made me chuckle....in true Ham style.
Favorite? Nope. But I still loved it!
Arc received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
December 4, 2015
4 great stars.
My thoughts after a re read.
Yes, it could have been longer. I love KA's longer stories, and did feel at times, that the issues and just their relationship could have benefited from being written about with a lot more depth.
However, this is a personal preference, and I have read reviews where others have not liked that it can get so "long winded" with some of her older stuff.
In saying that, I liked their history together, and that Reece became aware that he had left the best thing to ever happen to him, but at the time, he was not a man who could appreciate or would have been able to commit to it, and thought it was done well.
He was a different type of KA hero, a wanderer. His past relationships had shaped him and changed him, but he knew this, in a way he made the decision to make it change him, in a way to protect himself.
Him waking up and realising what he has had all along, took an axe to the shoulder!
I loved Reece and Zara together, and how when he came back for Zara, he was aware she was now not in that place, but he still had her back and wanted to look after her.
And Zara, she was brave, she knew how she felt for Reece right from the start, but she knew (or thought at the time) she could not change how he was, and knew even trying would be a mistake and hurt them both more, so she had him the way she could, but when it was no longer working, and she wanted more out of life, knowing how much it would hurt, she still made the break and made it clean. It did not work out for her, but she did it with a hope for more for her, and a sadness in losing Reece.
It was a different tone to the rest of the Colorado Mountain series, no mad man murderer, or insane police chiefs or "The Elite" burying ppl alive, but I was kind of relieved about that, was all getting a bit "murder she wrote" with so much happening in one place (or in the case of Jessica Fletcher, around one person...I reckon it was always Jessica Fletcher and she has been getting away with it for years)
An excellent 4 stars.
My thoughts after a re read.
Yes, it could have been longer. I love KA's longer stories, and did feel at times, that the issues and just their relationship could have benefited from being written about with a lot more depth.
However, this is a personal preference, and I have read reviews where others have not liked that it can get so "long winded" with some of her older stuff.
In saying that, I liked their history together, and that Reece became aware that he had left the best thing to ever happen to him, but at the time, he was not a man who could appreciate or would have been able to commit to it, and thought it was done well.
He was a different type of KA hero, a wanderer. His past relationships had shaped him and changed him, but he knew this, in a way he made the decision to make it change him, in a way to protect himself.
Him waking up and realising what he has had all along, took an axe to the shoulder!
I loved Reece and Zara together, and how when he came back for Zara, he was aware she was now not in that place, but he still had her back and wanted to look after her.
And Zara, she was brave, she knew how she felt for Reece right from the start, but she knew (or thought at the time) she could not change how he was, and knew even trying would be a mistake and hurt them both more, so she had him the way she could, but when it was no longer working, and she wanted more out of life, knowing how much it would hurt, she still made the break and made it clean. It did not work out for her, but she did it with a hope for more for her, and a sadness in losing Reece.
It was a different tone to the rest of the Colorado Mountain series, no mad man murderer, or insane police chiefs or "The Elite" burying ppl alive, but I was kind of relieved about that, was all getting a bit "murder she wrote" with so much happening in one place (or in the case of Jessica Fletcher, around one person...I reckon it was always Jessica Fletcher and she has been getting away with it for years)
An excellent 4 stars.
February 10, 2015
3.5 Stars
Zara (Cookie) and Graham (Ham) have had a "friends with benefits" relationship for years off and on. Zara has to call it quits because she is getting married. Ham lets her walk away from him that day.
Yes, we have a Ham and Cookie...
Three years later...
Zara is now divorced, papers signed. She sees Ham on the news. He was attacked by a serial killer (from the first book in this series) and calls him and they get reconnected. He comes back to see that Zara's life is tougher than it was before. Her financial situation isn't great and he has decided to take it upon himself to take care of her.
Zara is definitely hesitant as Ham has always been a "free spirit." He never stays in one place for long so she doesn't want to start depending on him. Ham decides he needs to prove to her that he is in this for the long haul.
"Drove away from you nine years ago, knew it was wrong then, didn't know that it was the biggest mistake I'd make in my life." ~Ham
"Best woman I ever met."
"Cookie, pay attention. I'm gonna give you everything."
Final thoughts,
It was good, but not great and it wasn't long enough for me. It definitely felt anticlimactic. I love KA's longer books so I hope she goes back to these. The last few have been shorter and disappointing to me.
Check out our hilarious commentary for this epic Buddy Read!
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Zara (Cookie) and Graham (Ham) have had a "friends with benefits" relationship for years off and on. Zara has to call it quits because she is getting married. Ham lets her walk away from him that day.
Yes, we have a Ham and Cookie...
Three years later...
Zara is now divorced, papers signed. She sees Ham on the news. He was attacked by a serial killer (from the first book in this series) and calls him and they get reconnected. He comes back to see that Zara's life is tougher than it was before. Her financial situation isn't great and he has decided to take it upon himself to take care of her.
Zara is definitely hesitant as Ham has always been a "free spirit." He never stays in one place for long so she doesn't want to start depending on him. Ham decides he needs to prove to her that he is in this for the long haul.
"Drove away from you nine years ago, knew it was wrong then, didn't know that it was the biggest mistake I'd make in my life." ~Ham
"Best woman I ever met."
"Cookie, pay attention. I'm gonna give you everything."
Final thoughts,
It was good, but not great and it wasn't long enough for me. It definitely felt anticlimactic. I love KA's longer books so I hope she goes back to these. The last few have been shorter and disappointing to me.
Check out our hilarious commentary for this epic Buddy Read!
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 4, 2019
3 Stars!!
Talk about family drama, Zara's family is messed up! It did make for a more interesting read though as without it there would be nothing going on at all.
I found I just couldn't get into this one and found it very underwhelming.
Oh well, can't win em' all.
Talk about family drama, Zara's family is messed up! It did make for a more interesting read though as without it there would be nothing going on at all.
I found I just couldn't get into this one and found it very underwhelming.
Oh well, can't win em' all.
January 29, 2018
Note: Ham first appears in another series, The ‘Burg, in the first book, For You. I highly recommend reading that book first (I didn’t) as his backstory is important. I didn’t feel lost but think I would have better understood this character if I had.
Zara Cinders and Ham Reece have a history. She fell for him years ago, he wasn’t ready to settle down and he followed his wander lust, checking in from time to time. The last time he checked in, though, Zara had moved on and gotten engaged. Now, Zara has hit some hard times, losing her business, her marriage and her home. Adding further to her complications, Ham’s back in town and is reinserting himself back into her life.
While there’s starting to be a certain sameness about the men in this series, Ham still has some individual qualities that distinguishes him from the others, not necessarily in a good way. His communication skills left a lot to be desired and he was a bit ham-handed (pun intended) in his dealings with Zara. I often agreed with her when she took issue with him about something he said, did or didn’t do that could have been resolved if he’d thought two minutes about her perspective. Thank goodness we got his points of view so we could see he was better than the way he showed up. Overall, I liked him but I had a tough time with him. I also liked her but thought she let him off too easily at times.
I liked this story, a lot, but didn’t love it the way I have the others. But, my headphones were still glued to my head despite my issues. There were a lot of hilarious moments, too, lightening up a story with some very serious issues. Still a fan of the series and the narrator.
Zara Cinders and Ham Reece have a history. She fell for him years ago, he wasn’t ready to settle down and he followed his wander lust, checking in from time to time. The last time he checked in, though, Zara had moved on and gotten engaged. Now, Zara has hit some hard times, losing her business, her marriage and her home. Adding further to her complications, Ham’s back in town and is reinserting himself back into her life.
While there’s starting to be a certain sameness about the men in this series, Ham still has some individual qualities that distinguishes him from the others, not necessarily in a good way. His communication skills left a lot to be desired and he was a bit ham-handed (pun intended) in his dealings with Zara. I often agreed with her when she took issue with him about something he said, did or didn’t do that could have been resolved if he’d thought two minutes about her perspective. Thank goodness we got his points of view so we could see he was better than the way he showed up. Overall, I liked him but I had a tough time with him. I also liked her but thought she let him off too easily at times.
I liked this story, a lot, but didn’t love it the way I have the others. But, my headphones were still glued to my head despite my issues. There were a lot of hilarious moments, too, lightening up a story with some very serious issues. Still a fan of the series and the narrator.
December 28, 2023
2023
Needing some space to regroup, I took a ride back to re-discover books and authors that touched me and wouldn't let go. Kristen Ashley has always been my calming go to. She has this way of writing that once you get her mindset and understand how she weaves a tale, it can be addicting, especially with her "Vintage OG series. These books are always something I come back to.
4 Stars Awarded for the Man called Ham
* * * * Spoiler Free
This recent book of KA was something I waited for with anticipation. I knew of the main character Graham Reece from For You of the Burg Series. He had a very minor but meaningful role causing great interest about who this man was and if we would ever get to know him better.
Well, I can say, thank you for allowing me to know Graham Reece AKA Ham. This man was someone who had lived a life as best he could from all of the lessons he had learned.
As a child he learned of love and caring by watching his father and mother together. He knew by his father's actions what a real man did for his woman and child. He decided that would be his goal, to give love, take care of his family when he had one and everything would fall into place.
Ham thought he was on that path with his high school sweetheart, Rachel. He devoted himself to her; made sure he told her he loved her when he left in the morning and when he came home at night. Told her all his wishes and dreams. Told her of his goal to live that life of children and family and Rachel said yes to it all. She would tell him she loved him with words but when it came to showing him, she failed as all of her actions proved differently.
Ham tried a few times after his failure with Rachel to be open with his love but he kept learning the same awful lesson over and over again: People may tell you things but the real truth is shown by what they do. So he learned not to trust. Learned to hold himself a little separate and learned he was better moving from place to place - woman to woman.
One of the women Ham connected with was Zara. She was younger than him by a decade, yet had a life that caused her to be an old soul. She was able to confront the ugly of life; take it on and handle it. Her path had not been an easy one. She and her sister suffered from a father's abuse and a mother's blindness to it. One sister couldn't out run the demons although she had tried. The other sister, Zara, had the granite in her not to break; to somehow find the beauty and light and persevere, no matter what was thrown at her.
This quality of light and beauty and all that was good was what drew Ham to her. Yet, because he had learned all of his lessons... he promised nothing... just gave Zara what she needed and then went on his way. Zara also knew to let him go... even though he was "the One" for her...she knew he needed to be a traveler... so they developed a bond of being there for each other without the strings. Just knew if one or the other needed something, they would be there.
And it continued this way for years... Ham in and out of Zara's life; until that fateful moment when everything came together for Ham. When he realized all this time it was Zara... that was where he wanted to be. And Zara gave him that opening when she reached out to see if he was ok after the attack on his life.
This is where we start... we are experiencing Zara reaching out to Ham to see if he is ok... and it just so happens at one of the lowest points in her life. She has lost her business, custom home, dissolved her marriage and is really on the brink. The two of them talk and the next thing Zara knows, Ham is at her door taking in the state of her affairs. It pains him she is in a house with nothing in it except a sofa which would look at home by the side of the road; a lamp and broken coffee table, cousins of the sofa and a box TV that had seen better days.
Ham is concerned; Zara gets her back up embarrassed and nasty things are said. Fast forward a few months and Ham does the unthinkable; he takes a job with the decision to plant himself. He has decided Zara is the one. He is going to help her get on her feet; he also wants her to see they are going to be together.
It is a process as both are stubborn and both have baggage.
This is a KA story and with that being said, she delivered full blast with Ham. This was a man who you would want to watch your back. This was a guy who didn't try to put things over on ANYONE. He didn't mince words and he showed by his actions who he was at all times.
Now was he a Poet Laureate; no. He spoke with run on sentences and phrases. But I would take those in a heartbeat because he was true... he was able to reason things out and make his points. He was sure in what he believed and when ready- would tell you.
And he also was an amazingly sexy guy... with all different ways of kissing, touching, playing and just making me wish I could throw Zara out of the picture and insert me.
This book had many lessons of love and life. The most important one for me was how clear it was Ham loved Zara. It took her a while to really get her man's way... but once she was able to understand how to deal with all he had experienced; she was able to just accept his love for her.
So.... was this a shoot'em up, kidnapping or chase type of KA story? Nope. This was an everyday interpersonal tale of dealing with how we are raised impacts us and what we do with those challenges. But it is still a KA story and Damn... for Ham it is worth the read.
The Gamble (Colorado Mountain, #1)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sweet Dreams (Colorado Mountain, #2)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Lady Luck (Colorado Mountain, #3)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Breathe (Colorado Mountain, #4)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jagged (Colorado Mountain, #5)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Kaleidoscope (Colorado Mountain, #6)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Bounty (Colorado Mountain, #7)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
Needing some space to regroup, I took a ride back to re-discover books and authors that touched me and wouldn't let go. Kristen Ashley has always been my calming go to. She has this way of writing that once you get her mindset and understand how she weaves a tale, it can be addicting, especially with her "Vintage OG series. These books are always something I come back to.
4 Stars Awarded for the Man called Ham
* * * * Spoiler Free
This recent book of KA was something I waited for with anticipation. I knew of the main character Graham Reece from For You of the Burg Series. He had a very minor but meaningful role causing great interest about who this man was and if we would ever get to know him better.
Well, I can say, thank you for allowing me to know Graham Reece AKA Ham. This man was someone who had lived a life as best he could from all of the lessons he had learned.
As a child he learned of love and caring by watching his father and mother together. He knew by his father's actions what a real man did for his woman and child. He decided that would be his goal, to give love, take care of his family when he had one and everything would fall into place.
Ham thought he was on that path with his high school sweetheart, Rachel. He devoted himself to her; made sure he told her he loved her when he left in the morning and when he came home at night. Told her all his wishes and dreams. Told her of his goal to live that life of children and family and Rachel said yes to it all. She would tell him she loved him with words but when it came to showing him, she failed as all of her actions proved differently.
Ham tried a few times after his failure with Rachel to be open with his love but he kept learning the same awful lesson over and over again: People may tell you things but the real truth is shown by what they do. So he learned not to trust. Learned to hold himself a little separate and learned he was better moving from place to place - woman to woman.
One of the women Ham connected with was Zara. She was younger than him by a decade, yet had a life that caused her to be an old soul. She was able to confront the ugly of life; take it on and handle it. Her path had not been an easy one. She and her sister suffered from a father's abuse and a mother's blindness to it. One sister couldn't out run the demons although she had tried. The other sister, Zara, had the granite in her not to break; to somehow find the beauty and light and persevere, no matter what was thrown at her.
This quality of light and beauty and all that was good was what drew Ham to her. Yet, because he had learned all of his lessons... he promised nothing... just gave Zara what she needed and then went on his way. Zara also knew to let him go... even though he was "the One" for her...she knew he needed to be a traveler... so they developed a bond of being there for each other without the strings. Just knew if one or the other needed something, they would be there.
And it continued this way for years... Ham in and out of Zara's life; until that fateful moment when everything came together for Ham. When he realized all this time it was Zara... that was where he wanted to be. And Zara gave him that opening when she reached out to see if he was ok after the attack on his life.
This is where we start... we are experiencing Zara reaching out to Ham to see if he is ok... and it just so happens at one of the lowest points in her life. She has lost her business, custom home, dissolved her marriage and is really on the brink. The two of them talk and the next thing Zara knows, Ham is at her door taking in the state of her affairs. It pains him she is in a house with nothing in it except a sofa which would look at home by the side of the road; a lamp and broken coffee table, cousins of the sofa and a box TV that had seen better days.
Ham is concerned; Zara gets her back up embarrassed and nasty things are said. Fast forward a few months and Ham does the unthinkable; he takes a job with the decision to plant himself. He has decided Zara is the one. He is going to help her get on her feet; he also wants her to see they are going to be together.
It is a process as both are stubborn and both have baggage.
This is a KA story and with that being said, she delivered full blast with Ham. This was a man who you would want to watch your back. This was a guy who didn't try to put things over on ANYONE. He didn't mince words and he showed by his actions who he was at all times.
Now was he a Poet Laureate; no. He spoke with run on sentences and phrases. But I would take those in a heartbeat because he was true... he was able to reason things out and make his points. He was sure in what he believed and when ready- would tell you.
And he also was an amazingly sexy guy... with all different ways of kissing, touching, playing and just making me wish I could throw Zara out of the picture and insert me.
This book had many lessons of love and life. The most important one for me was how clear it was Ham loved Zara. It took her a while to really get her man's way... but once she was able to understand how to deal with all he had experienced; she was able to just accept his love for her.
So.... was this a shoot'em up, kidnapping or chase type of KA story? Nope. This was an everyday interpersonal tale of dealing with how we are raised impacts us and what we do with those challenges. But it is still a KA story and Damn... for Ham it is worth the read.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
August 22, 2020
“…His deep voice could go jagged with tenderness or desire.”
Graham “Ham” Reece was introduced to us in “For You”, the first installment of the ‘Burgs series. A former lover of Feb Owens, he survived a vicious and brutal attack at the hands of a crazed axe murderer. It is that attack which causes a domino affect, forcing Reece to reassess his life and change it’s course.
Zara, “Cookie”, is one of his many conquests. Their relationship spans over a nine-year period, during which Ham has walked away from her many times. With each departure, Zara was left gutted and longing for his love. Knowing Ham is not the kind of man to settle down, it is Zara who finally walked away from the love of her life to marry another man. She is a strong female character – surviving a horrible childhood, an abusive father, a failed business, and a train wreck of a marriage, and is now destitute. Wow, what more can a girl live through? (Trust me, there’s more). But Zara is strong willed and perseveres. I admired Zara; she showed her true inner strength at her weakest moments.
When Ham decides to find permanency, he sets his sites on Gnaw Bone and Zara, to claim her as his woman, heal her broken spirit, and prove that he is a changed man. Having a new outlook, Ham sets forth on a new life plan and Zara becomes the center of his world. But like all good love stories, the road is bumpy, but it’s one hell of an emotional and passionate filled ride.
Ham’s character, although described as the quintessential “alpha male” (built, strong, hot headed, gorgeous, dominant in both his sexuality and personality), is vastly different from any other KA male lead and gave the story a different vibe. Ham is not chasing Zara because of her sassy tendencies, stubbornness or complex personality. His philosophy veers from the pack (The typical KA alpha male like Tack Allen, Lee Nightingale, Knight, Tatum Jackson, etc.) because he seeks a woman who is “easy”. Someone who is easy to get along with, rolls with the punches, and easy to love. What Ham comes to learn is anything in life worth having does not come easily. So it is up to Ham to help Zara turn her life around in order to get to the “easy”.
Assuring Zara that he has changed his ways and she is in his heart is easier said than done. For over two decades, Ham has wandered, so the abrupt turn has not convinced her that he will stay. There is always the fear of Ham leaving, which she will not survive. Zara needs to know that Ham's feelings for her are unconditional and that she is not a consolation prize for losing Feb. Ham is not one to verbalize his amorous feelings. To him, expressing love is more a “show” of actions rather than a “tell” of words. Saying you love someone is easy, because words can be empty. It’s showing them how much, in all things that you do, that speaks volumes. That’s Ham, pure and simple. Zara has to learn to read what he does to see how much he truly loves her. And boy, does Ham adore her.
“Cookie, pay attention. I’m gonna give you everything.”
"Now's your time where you get everything you need.”
I loved Zara and Ham’s story. I love how the characters from prior books in the series become involved in the plot. (Max and Nina make a comical appearance). Although “Jagged” does lack angst, their journey was highly emotional and romantic. The love scenes where HOT and Ham was a sexy beast. I enjoyed witnessing their relationship evolved. And the best part…. the epilogue. Kristen Ashley is a masterful writer whose words touch my heart and ending her stories rips out a piece of my soul. Thank you for sharing another wonderful love story. Here’s to waiting for the next book.
September 25, 2013
Colorado Mountain Men series by Kristen Ashley is probably one of my favorite KA series. The other being the ‘Burg series. Individually, I like some of her other books, but not the whole kit and caboodle. I was so excited to get my advance copy of Jagged. I pushed everything aside just so I could read it as soon as it hit my grubby little fingers. I was expecting a GREAT read in line with Sweet Dreams and Lady Luck. Instead, I got a story I was able to put down at will. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem. But for me to be able to STOP reading a KA book and walk away was telling. And all that it was saying wasn’t good.
Now don’t get me wrong, the book was good. And if some other writer had written this story, I would hazard to say it would have been a solid read for me. But I expect certain things from a KA book. One is length. And this book is about half of her other books in this series in word count and pages. Right there, that was a HUGE let down. And the drama was missing. Not that there wasn’t drama, but it was not high octane-can’t put the book down- must know what happens next- kind of drama. It was run of the mill kinda drama.
I liked Zara. I liked Reece. I didn’t like their pet names, Cookie and Ham, respectively. Most of all, I didn’t buy their relationship. I didn’t like them together. Don’t get me wrong, they had a certain amount of chemistry together. But it wasn’t the deep, all the way to the marrow of the soul deep. Not like say Joe and Vi. Or Tate and Laurie. It just felt like they were just at the right place at the right time to get together. It was missing the whole, even if it isn’t the right time, it isn’t the right place and this is the crappiest shit going on ever, I can’t stop myself from falling into you, grabbing onto you and keeping you forever and ever. Amen.
Maybe my expectations were too high. I dunno. But something was missing for me in this book. And it wasn’t just pages. From another author, I would be gushing cause this was a good book with decent characters and well-plotted story. But from KA? Not so much.
Now don’t get me wrong, the book was good. And if some other writer had written this story, I would hazard to say it would have been a solid read for me. But I expect certain things from a KA book. One is length. And this book is about half of her other books in this series in word count and pages. Right there, that was a HUGE let down. And the drama was missing. Not that there wasn’t drama, but it was not high octane-can’t put the book down- must know what happens next- kind of drama. It was run of the mill kinda drama.
I liked Zara. I liked Reece. I didn’t like their pet names, Cookie and Ham, respectively. Most of all, I didn’t buy their relationship. I didn’t like them together. Don’t get me wrong, they had a certain amount of chemistry together. But it wasn’t the deep, all the way to the marrow of the soul deep. Not like say Joe and Vi. Or Tate and Laurie. It just felt like they were just at the right place at the right time to get together. It was missing the whole, even if it isn’t the right time, it isn’t the right place and this is the crappiest shit going on ever, I can’t stop myself from falling into you, grabbing onto you and keeping you forever and ever. Amen.
Maybe my expectations were too high. I dunno. But something was missing for me in this book. And it wasn’t just pages. From another author, I would be gushing cause this was a good book with decent characters and well-plotted story. But from KA? Not so much.
May 22, 2018
Reread: May 21, 2018
I was thinking about Reece and Zara after “Colder Weather” by Zac Brown Band came up on my playlist yesterday so naturally I had to revisit them, I’m so glad I did!!
Re-read October 2014~ Audio Book Review
4.5 Stars!!!
I absolutely loooooved the audio book version of Jagged so much so that I upped my initial rating, just goes to show the power of great narration! Reece (I refuse to refer to him as "Ham") is a wonderer who never stays very long in one place, he has woman in a few of those places, Zara being one of them till she wants more from a relationship and marries someone else for all the wrong reasons. When she tells Reece, she's secretly hoping that he'll somehow, someway find it in himself to not let her go, to keep her, and choose a future with her. Instead he wishes her the best and walks away......
Reece Gets a rude awakening when he is almost killed by a deranged man (in For You) and Zara with her marriage over, falls on hard times. When Reece hears of Zara's divorce and troubles he makes a decision to finally put down some roots, now all he has to do is win Zara back.
I really liked Zara, she has a strength that I admire, especially considering her upbringing, she is definitely a favorite KA heroine. I had issues with Reece in the beginning (as I do with a lot of KA's hero's) but naturally he redeems himself and becomes the man Zara needs, and more importantly the man she deserves!! Zara and Reece face some challenges, it's a bumpy road to their HEA but they thankfully get it. As always we get KA's amazing signature epilogue!!!
Zara choose this song as "Their Song", it's absolutely perfect and the effect it has on Reece is touching.
"Colder Weather" by Zac Brown Band
http://youtu.be/vd_K4KTchBg
Originally Read in November 2013
Another great KA Read with another amazing epilogue!!!
I was thinking about Reece and Zara after “Colder Weather” by Zac Brown Band came up on my playlist yesterday so naturally I had to revisit them, I’m so glad I did!!
Re-read October 2014~ Audio Book Review
4.5 Stars!!!
I absolutely loooooved the audio book version of Jagged so much so that I upped my initial rating, just goes to show the power of great narration! Reece (I refuse to refer to him as "Ham") is a wonderer who never stays very long in one place, he has woman in a few of those places, Zara being one of them till she wants more from a relationship and marries someone else for all the wrong reasons. When she tells Reece, she's secretly hoping that he'll somehow, someway find it in himself to not let her go, to keep her, and choose a future with her. Instead he wishes her the best and walks away......
Reece Gets a rude awakening when he is almost killed by a deranged man (in For You) and Zara with her marriage over, falls on hard times. When Reece hears of Zara's divorce and troubles he makes a decision to finally put down some roots, now all he has to do is win Zara back.
I really liked Zara, she has a strength that I admire, especially considering her upbringing, she is definitely a favorite KA heroine. I had issues with Reece in the beginning (as I do with a lot of KA's hero's) but naturally he redeems himself and becomes the man Zara needs, and more importantly the man she deserves!! Zara and Reece face some challenges, it's a bumpy road to their HEA but they thankfully get it. As always we get KA's amazing signature epilogue!!!
Zara choose this song as "Their Song", it's absolutely perfect and the effect it has on Reece is touching.
"Colder Weather" by Zac Brown Band
http://youtu.be/vd_K4KTchBg
Originally Read in November 2013
Another great KA Read with another amazing epilogue!!!
December 21, 2023
Reread
Whew 😥😅 I threw up a little reading this, Zara wasn't a doormat she lived under the mat in a different zone where spineless pathetic women reside. I couldn't even feel sorry for her with the bs she allowed. She knew Ham was with other women, 5 years of being one of his hookups and she loved him so she took it. When she finally broke it off with him to take her shot at happy she was more broken hearted than he was.
3 years later her life's in a mess Ham rides in to the rescue but wow the way he treated her, her thinking he'd had sex with another woman and yet STILL she was the one who went to him.
I've got so many highlights of Zara just being desperate for Ham but this book depressed me I'm not even going to bother.
Another thing is Zara finds out her nephew is alive and she and Ham decide to lawyer up end fight for him. Her in a relationship with a man who'd already proven he could up and leave at any moment, living with him because she couldn't affird better, both if them working in the bar.....not once did she stop and think maybe to check out the situation to make sure she needed to make that move before they set about it?
Ugh this book deserved a rating lower than 1 star tbh
Spoilers ahead
I accidentally started this book. On my initial read of this series i didn't touch this one. I got till chapter 3 realized that Zara was basically in love with a man she knew was fucking other women and though she was in a relationship now she was all torn up about ending things with him. For 5 years she'd been fucking this man who she knew was fucking other women!!!!! I'm sorry but community dick really doesn't work for me so I skimmed to the end and found that this shithead admitted to having feelings for Feb(I did not touch that book at all) but since she now had a man she loved and was pregnant for he realized he in truth for real loved Zara and not Feb 🙄 right so i basically skimmed this one but I got the highlights so I consider this another fail but one I "read"😂
*Sometimes wine may be needed when reading a KA book, not to relax but so you get drunk and forget you ever read the bs 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Whew 😥😅 I threw up a little reading this, Zara wasn't a doormat she lived under the mat in a different zone where spineless pathetic women reside. I couldn't even feel sorry for her with the bs she allowed. She knew Ham was with other women, 5 years of being one of his hookups and she loved him so she took it. When she finally broke it off with him to take her shot at happy she was more broken hearted than he was.
3 years later her life's in a mess Ham rides in to the rescue but wow the way he treated her, her thinking he'd had sex with another woman and yet STILL she was the one who went to him.
I've got so many highlights of Zara just being desperate for Ham but this book depressed me I'm not even going to bother.
Another thing is Zara finds out her nephew is alive and she and Ham decide to lawyer up end fight for him. Her in a relationship with a man who'd already proven he could up and leave at any moment, living with him because she couldn't affird better, both if them working in the bar.....not once did she stop and think maybe to check out the situation to make sure she needed to make that move before they set about it?
Ugh this book deserved a rating lower than 1 star tbh
Spoilers ahead
I accidentally started this book. On my initial read of this series i didn't touch this one. I got till chapter 3 realized that Zara was basically in love with a man she knew was fucking other women and though she was in a relationship now she was all torn up about ending things with him. For 5 years she'd been fucking this man who she knew was fucking other women!!!!! I'm sorry but community dick really doesn't work for me so I skimmed to the end and found that this shithead admitted to having feelings for Feb(I did not touch that book at all) but since she now had a man she loved and was pregnant for he realized he in truth for real loved Zara and not Feb 🙄 right so i basically skimmed this one but I got the highlights so I consider this another fail but one I "read"😂
*Sometimes wine may be needed when reading a KA book, not to relax but so you get drunk and forget you ever read the bs 😂😂😂😂😂😂
December 2, 2024
Another big huge failure from this author.
Hero and heroine have a friend with benefits agreement, she knows he’s banking other chicks, but she’s not, of course. She’s madly in love with him even if she knows he is not available and won’t commit.
Yuck.
She eventually meets a good man and decides to end it with the hero, and she gets married to this other man.
Sadly she’s a first class loser, and she dumps him after three years because she can’t love him enough.
Well, this makes me say, some women deserve to be treated like shit because they want it, and they don’t have self respect enough to end with someone who doesn’t value them at all.
So let them be abused and mistreated and cheated on.
Especially if they have a good man that only love them.
The excuses for dumping her good husband, he didn’t like to travel, he preferred quiet nights at home with her watching foreign movies.
wtf.
She’s 30 not 17.
The hero comes back after she calls him because she saw him in the news, he’s a victim of a psycho.
He disappears for other six months during which he’s not celibate of course.
And when he comes back she’s there. Like the good little bitch that she is, meaning dog.
Humiliating.
Embarrassing.
I felt myself blush for her.
The hero basically wants her now that he’s in his forties and maybe it is becoming too hard to find new women and to shoo them away when they would like to commit and he wouldn’t, so he eventually takes the heroine as his woman.
Want to know something better?
He was getting serious with another woman during the three years they were apart, but she was hung up on another loser, so she dumped him, eventually. But he was ready to give her what he never did to the heroine.
Happiness and joy.
Because the heroine doesn’t care if she’s second, third, thirteenth best, or last remaining of the list, she wants the loser hero and she’s happy.
Really? Ways to hate women.
Hero and heroine have a friend with benefits agreement, she knows he’s banking other chicks, but she’s not, of course. She’s madly in love with him even if she knows he is not available and won’t commit.
Yuck.
She eventually meets a good man and decides to end it with the hero, and she gets married to this other man.
Sadly she’s a first class loser, and she dumps him after three years because she can’t love him enough.
Well, this makes me say, some women deserve to be treated like shit because they want it, and they don’t have self respect enough to end with someone who doesn’t value them at all.
So let them be abused and mistreated and cheated on.
Especially if they have a good man that only love them.
The excuses for dumping her good husband, he didn’t like to travel, he preferred quiet nights at home with her watching foreign movies.
wtf.
She’s 30 not 17.
The hero comes back after she calls him because she saw him in the news, he’s a victim of a psycho.
He disappears for other six months during which he’s not celibate of course.
And when he comes back she’s there. Like the good little bitch that she is, meaning dog.
Humiliating.
Embarrassing.
I felt myself blush for her.
The hero basically wants her now that he’s in his forties and maybe it is becoming too hard to find new women and to shoo them away when they would like to commit and he wouldn’t, so he eventually takes the heroine as his woman.
Want to know something better?
He was getting serious with another woman during the three years they were apart, but she was hung up on another loser, so she dumped him, eventually. But he was ready to give her what he never did to the heroine.
Happiness and joy.
Because the heroine doesn’t care if she’s second, third, thirteenth best, or last remaining of the list, she wants the loser hero and she’s happy.
Really? Ways to hate women.
December 31, 2013
The story of Ham and Cookie, aka Graham and Zara. Can you trust a man that doesn't commit, to commit?
Likes:
• While I love this series, I'll just keep saying that I wish she would switch up the characters. All the men sound. exactly. alike.
• I did enjoy getting Ham's POV even though I didn't connect with it as much as I would have liked.
• I loved having Max and Nina so involved in the story but I would have loved having more Tate than just a paragraph!
• The emotional drama...even though I didn't care for some of the situations, I loved all the emotions they evoked.
• I loved the house scenario.
• Zander...what a sweetie!
• Zander, Ham and the Harley!
• Zander and the ghost stories!!
• ♬ Ham & Cookie's song ♬ (OMG...you have to listen to it, it's perfect. Just click on it)
• The Epilogue...KA is the Queen of Epilogues!
Dislikes:
• I really didn't like that Ham hadn't made peace with some of his prior relationships. Zara had her own too but Ham KNEW it wasn't serious while Zara didn't know where things stood.
• The fights! They both said some pretty mean things to each other.
• The story was sooo predictable! Some things were sweet ~ like what she whispered in his ear while they were dancing ~ but not the others. And I sure would not like to come between any of these women and their friends!
• Not everyone has to be rich...I thought they were doing fine!
• The sex scenes...seemed like there were an awful LOT. (why am I complaining?)
• There were some unanswered questions for me...like what was the reason for keeping Xenia alive?
• Hairy Ham!
Overall:
So, my main complaint is that the men in these books all sound alike but that is a small issue really. I loved all the emotional drama in this story and it really took me by surprise. I hope that KA continues to change things up. Can't wait to read about Deck!
Favorite quotes:
♡ “This is our beginning. Don’t let them fuck it up.”
♡ “I’m never comin’ to The Rooster again,” Max declared.
♡ “Bruiser drags me to bed. Mein herr bosses me around. And Mr. Reece is like a life professor, smart and generous with his wisdom.”
♡ “I’m all right.”
“You always are, baby,” he replied just as quietly.
“And you’re always there when I need you,” I returned.
Likes:
• While I love this series, I'll just keep saying that I wish she would switch up the characters. All the men sound. exactly. alike.
• I did enjoy getting Ham's POV even though I didn't connect with it as much as I would have liked.
• I loved having Max and Nina so involved in the story but I would have loved having more Tate than just a paragraph!
• The emotional drama...even though I didn't care for some of the situations, I loved all the emotions they evoked.
• I loved the house scenario.
• Zander...what a sweetie!
• Zander, Ham and the Harley!
• Zander and the ghost stories!!
• ♬ Ham & Cookie's song ♬ (OMG...you have to listen to it, it's perfect. Just click on it)
• The Epilogue...KA is the Queen of Epilogues!
Dislikes:
• I really didn't like that Ham hadn't made peace with some of his prior relationships. Zara had her own too but Ham KNEW it wasn't serious while Zara didn't know where things stood.
• The fights! They both said some pretty mean things to each other.
• The story was sooo predictable! Some things were sweet ~ like what she whispered in his ear while they were dancing ~ but not the others. And I sure would not like to come between any of these women and their friends!
• Not everyone has to be rich...I thought they were doing fine!
• The sex scenes...seemed like there were an awful LOT. (why am I complaining?)
• There were some unanswered questions for me...like what was the reason for keeping Xenia alive?
• Hairy Ham!
Overall:
So, my main complaint is that the men in these books all sound alike but that is a small issue really. I loved all the emotional drama in this story and it really took me by surprise. I hope that KA continues to change things up. Can't wait to read about Deck!
Favorite quotes:
♡ “This is our beginning. Don’t let them fuck it up.”
♡ “I’m never comin’ to The Rooster again,” Max declared.
♡ “Bruiser drags me to bed. Mein herr bosses me around. And Mr. Reece is like a life professor, smart and generous with his wisdom.”
♡ “I’m all right.”
“You always are, baby,” he replied just as quietly.
“And you’re always there when I need you,” I returned.
March 6, 2014
No cone of shame for me. I enjoyed reading this book. This is my first book in the Colorado Mountain series. Even though I started with this book in the series I didn't feel lost. KA writes her novels in such a way that each book could be read as a standalone.
Reece & Zara are the featured couple of JAGGED. I wasn't a huge fan of their nicknames; Ham & Cookie.
Reece wasn't into commitment and Zara watched him walk in and out of her life over the years. Some major life situations happen that make Reece realize what he is searching for in his life. Working on gaining Zara's trust becomes his sole purpose.
Jagged wasn't as long as KA's other books but it had a lot going on to keep the readers interest.
***Pre-Review**
SERIES:
Book 1 - Max & Nina | Book 2 - Tate & Lauren | Book 3 - Ty & Lexie | Book 4 - Chace & Faye | Book 5 - Reece & Zara | Book 6 - Deck & Emma | Book 7 & 8 Check here for when they will be released.
**ARC courtesy of Forever via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Reece & Zara are the featured couple of JAGGED. I wasn't a huge fan of their nicknames; Ham & Cookie.
Reece wasn't into commitment and Zara watched him walk in and out of her life over the years. Some major life situations happen that make Reece realize what he is searching for in his life. Working on gaining Zara's trust becomes his sole purpose.
Jagged wasn't as long as KA's other books but it had a lot going on to keep the readers interest.
***Pre-Review**
SERIES:
Book 1 - Max & Nina | Book 2 - Tate & Lauren | Book 3 - Ty & Lexie | Book 4 - Chace & Faye | Book 5 - Reece & Zara | Book 6 - Deck & Emma | Book 7 & 8 Check here for when they will be released.
**ARC courtesy of Forever via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
August 2, 2016
*** 3.35 ***
A buddy read with my girls at BB&B, trying to enhance our KA addiction:):):)
"You shouldn’t miss a moment of feeling that feeling if you can. And if you do, if you remember to enjoy life a little bit and stop thinking all the time about how bad it’s been, your mind might clear of some of the things bogging it down and you can move on. Including move on from being hung up on a man you can’t have.”
This was a great advice given to the Lady of this book, Zara, by her girl/lawyer Nina. The same Nina who stole our hearts with her British accent and made Max fall madly in love with her in the first book of the series. And it is a good thing Zara listened to her:-)
This book was OK. I liked many parts, but nothing moved me to either love it or hate it... The main characters were cool, but did not sizzle together, the way the last KA couple just lit the pages on fire with their passion... I just couldn't buy that they were madly in love. They were good to and with each other, they cared for each other, but it felt like they were both settling for best available left... And that coolness was even more highlighted when Zara met her sister's kid and I could finally see her personality glow out of her. If she showed even 30% of that emotion towards Ham, I know, terrible nickname, I might have believed them good together. And he was a mish-mash of contradictions, who had to do a lot of explanations for his words and actions in order to sometimes makes sense...
Overall, this was a pleasant contemporary romance, with a great kid in it as always, and the usual Happily Ever After:-) Not her best, but definitely not her worst.
Wish you Happy Reading and only good books in your future!
A buddy read with my girls at BB&B, trying to enhance our KA addiction:):):)
"You shouldn’t miss a moment of feeling that feeling if you can. And if you do, if you remember to enjoy life a little bit and stop thinking all the time about how bad it’s been, your mind might clear of some of the things bogging it down and you can move on. Including move on from being hung up on a man you can’t have.”
This was a great advice given to the Lady of this book, Zara, by her girl/lawyer Nina. The same Nina who stole our hearts with her British accent and made Max fall madly in love with her in the first book of the series. And it is a good thing Zara listened to her:-)
This book was OK. I liked many parts, but nothing moved me to either love it or hate it... The main characters were cool, but did not sizzle together, the way the last KA couple just lit the pages on fire with their passion... I just couldn't buy that they were madly in love. They were good to and with each other, they cared for each other, but it felt like they were both settling for best available left... And that coolness was even more highlighted when Zara met her sister's kid and I could finally see her personality glow out of her. If she showed even 30% of that emotion towards Ham, I know, terrible nickname, I might have believed them good together. And he was a mish-mash of contradictions, who had to do a lot of explanations for his words and actions in order to sometimes makes sense...
Overall, this was a pleasant contemporary romance, with a great kid in it as always, and the usual Happily Ever After:-) Not her best, but definitely not her worst.
Wish you Happy Reading and only good books in your future!
May 25, 2017
It pains me to say it, but this was my least favorite Kristen Ashley ever. I found it to be very...underwhelming...
I went into this knowing that a lot of KA fans had read this prior to the release date via netgalley and found it lacking. So I was prepared for the male lead to be saddled with the atrocious "Ham" handle and I read reviews describing the heat between Ham and Zara being lukewarm.
Boy was it ever. I was actually shocked because--even when I didn't love the story line or the female lead--KA has never failed to make me feel the powerful connection between the two main characters; however, that was just lacking for me here.
Ham is the first male KA lead I haven't actively liked. I didn't like the way he treated Zara up until about the 50% mark and I didn't like his back story. Also, I loathed the nickname cookie. Ham and Cookie? Seriously? And I didn't like that Zara called people "darlin." Right or wrong, I associate that as an endearment typically used by a male and, not gonna lie, it threw me off.
Long story short, I think I'm gonna go re-read Lady Luck to de-Ham and cookie myself.
I went into this knowing that a lot of KA fans had read this prior to the release date via netgalley and found it lacking. So I was prepared for the male lead to be saddled with the atrocious "Ham" handle and I read reviews describing the heat between Ham and Zara being lukewarm.
Boy was it ever. I was actually shocked because--even when I didn't love the story line or the female lead--KA has never failed to make me feel the powerful connection between the two main characters; however, that was just lacking for me here.
Ham is the first male KA lead I haven't actively liked. I didn't like the way he treated Zara up until about the 50% mark and I didn't like his back story. Also, I loathed the nickname cookie. Ham and Cookie? Seriously? And I didn't like that Zara called people "darlin." Right or wrong, I associate that as an endearment typically used by a male and, not gonna lie, it threw me off.
Long story short, I think I'm gonna go re-read Lady Luck to de-Ham and cookie myself.
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