KRISTEN ASHLEY AT HER BEST!

Here's the deal, Kristen Ashley has kind of ruined me for other authors because of the incredibly detailed and beautiful love stories she creates! And, let me say, THE WILL, the first of the Magdalene series was a masterpiece!

You have this incredible build up and chemistry between Jake and Josie. Both of their backgrounds were so interesting, and you wouldn't think that a high class, fashion-savvy babe like Josie could fall in step with Jake, a man who lives in a small town, owns a boxing gym (and another business that might be perceived as indecent), has a string of troublesome ex's and 3 kids, BUT THEY WERE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER. K.A. builds an incredibly beautiful love story showing just how perfect they were for each other. In fact, this will be one of my K.A. favorites.

I loved how Jake and Josie fell in love. Regarding Josie, though, I had to get used to her extremely formal way of expressing herself. Most of the time she sounded like a person with high functioning autism, or a pedantic, university professor. However, if her speech wasn't a problem for all of the other characters who received and loved her, it wasn't a problem for me....LOL

The way Josie bonded with Jake's kids was so tender and melted my heart like butter. She found a way into the hearts of Amber, Conner, and Ethan and it was such a treat! Now regarding, JAKE, OMG that man is a fine man who understood women well. That is to say, he seemed to understand Josie well and gave her so much in terms of love, patience, attention etc. It's a tricky thing to date a woman while handling his businesses, caring for his children etc., but he was smooth, and overall a very strong masculine figure.

One of the most touching aspects of this love story is how Josie's deceased grandmother seemed to be present everywhere in their story. It was absolutely incredible how Gran found a way to set up Jake and Josie. What a wonderful lady!

To me this story was perfection and I can't wait to continue with the series!

Narrator: Hollis McCarthy performed well, but I would like for her to work on her masculine voice a bit more. Overall, this was an extremely enjoyable K.A. novel.

39 people found this helpful

✫✫ 3.75 Stars ✫✫

I think I would have enjoyed this book more with a different narrator and if it was a little shorter. I enjoyed the beginning and the end very much but the middle seemed to drag on for me. I love that Jake and Josie were compete opposites and I loved the family dynamic. I think having so much of the kids lives in the story really helped me come around to Josie. In the beginning I was having a hard time connecting with her but after she came out of her snooty shell I did like her a lot more.

As always I really enjoy that Kristen Ashley writes ADULTS! I love the change in pace from all the new adult drama romance I've been reading lately. All her characters are always so much more mature and they actually talk to each other instead of getting mad over misunderstandings. I think my favorite thing about her characters is the way the are with ex's, they are always reasonable and make decisions based on the best interest of the kids and not just selfish jealousy!

11 people found this helpful

Happy I Used A Credit

1. Some people complained about Josie speech. If you like the Harlequin old english type books kind of speech then this will not irritate you. She is very proper and speaks old english so yes there are some "thus" and "indeed", but not enough to irritate. 2. The narrator to me was fine. I could tell the difference between the characters and no ones voice was just too bad. 3. The story itself was pretty good, not too predictable, not too smutty but gives you just enough. 4. There were some bad guys but not any real violence. 5. The alpha male wasn't too overbearing which is good to me because I can only take so much of that. 6. The main female character while she has her submissive old fashion ways she is still strong and frequently speaks up which I appreciated. It seemed more real that way where some of these book makes the woman so week that well you start wishing it to be over...quickly.
This book is 23 hours long and I will admit that I finished it in 2 days which means that I lost a lot of sleep. But it was well worth the credit. If you liked "Breathe" by Ashley then this book may be what you are looking for.

31 people found this helpful

I Loved It

I Love Kristen Ashley Books. She takes her time and let's you get to know the characters. And before you know it your hooked. Josie and Jake were a little older, but you don't have to be in your 20's to fall in love.
The kids and their relationship were great. The book provides laughs, tears and shocks. I enjoyed every moment of it.

34 people found this helpful

KA Rocks!

I love all books that Kristen Ashley has written, this one, for me, is by far her best. This book is so fantastic, I'd waste all 3 of my credits on it!

This story focuses on Josie and Jake and their struggles to overcome their pasts and move on together. Josie is left to Jake in her Grandmother's will, and this starts a nice friendship between the two of them and Jake's kids, and later leads into a beautiful family. I laughed and cried out loud several times.

Narrator is just "OK" I read this book on my kindle and have been waiting for the audio version. If you love KA, I would suggest reading the hard copy first so the narrator doesn't ruin it for you or prevent you from finishing. She's not terrible, she's just nowhere near as good as the other 2 ladies who narrate for KA. I am not struggling to listen, and I'm about 1/2 way through. But I saw another review where a credit was being returned due to the narrator. In my opinion, she isn't that bad - but hopefully KA goes back to one of the other two narrators for the next book!

24 people found this helpful

I can't believe how bad this book is

I always finish a book if I start This one should have made me break that rule. I did fast forward thru the excruciatingly poorly written sex scenes. Don't waste your time.
The narrator should find a different profession. Maybe she and the author could open a used clothing store.

5 people found this helpful

Thus, I was very bored for almost 24 hours...

I think I will cringe every time I hear the word "thus" from now on. This was a very simplistic story that took way many words to tell. The overuse of profanity was also very annoying, not because I was offended, but because the author's use of the f numb and others made the characters sound ridiculous as opposed to tough or intriguing.

40 people found this helpful

Love at all points in your life.,

Lovely story. Ashley has done it again! Career focus woman and single sexy dad are brought together by a Will! The story shows there is truly life. In Death.. Love at all points in life.. You just have to be ready for it!

9 people found this helpful

It was great until "He" opened his mouth.

Would you try another book from Kristen Ashley and/or Hollis McCarthy?

This story was so promising at the beginning and the narrator was great but as it went on and Jake started talking, it became tedious. This book probably would have been 5 hours shorter if the author had eliminated half of Jake's use of the "f" word. It really wasn't a bad story, it just got lost in his pathetic inability to communicate in anything other than four letter words.

Would you ever listen to anything by Kristen Ashley again?

Probably not, I hate to waste my credits and be disappointed.

Have you listened to any of Hollis McCarthy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard any other books by her but she did a good job with what she had to work with.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Basically, this wasn't a bad story, it just got to be a annoying.

Any additional comments?

Could someone please explain to me what the excessive use of the "f" word adds to a story. Please note that I said excessive.

41 people found this helpful

Horrible

Just horrible. Don't waste your time. Zero plot line, contrived, and pointless graphic sex scenes. Demeaning of women and. sexist.

31 people found this helpful