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A review by robinbridgefour
The Gamble by Kristen Ashley
3.0
FREE not sure for how long so if you like KA or romance time to pick it up. on Amazon
Another KA buddy read with my girls at Buddies Books & Baubles we are doing great with our one KA book a week plan.
After all the ridiculousness of the Rock Chick series this was a down shift into something a little more serious. There are still those great fun moments filled with banter and she devil smack downs but this book had a undercurrent of something a little more serious.
The Rundown
Nina lives in England but after coming to the realization that her fiancé really has no interest in her or their relationship since he proposed she has decided to escape and decide once and for all does she wants to be married and still feel alone or leave him and actually be alone. However when she shows up in Colorado for her time out from Niles there is a mix up with the cabin she is renting and the owner is there. Enter the hero Max, who at the beginning doesn’t particularly seem that heroic as he is telling Nina she can’t stay in his cabin since he is obviously staying there. However Nina is pretty sick and ends up being stuck there letting Max take care of her for a few days after which Max totally acts like the hero we all want him to be and has decided he likes this spunky feisty woman and if the man whose ring she is wearing doesn’t know what he has well then too bad finders keepers and all.
Max is what I’ve come to expect from a KA alpha male. He is protective, stubborn, tells it like it is, he is all man and he will not give up even when the heroine tries to pull away. It’s cute in an alpha male way and since Nina has been neglected for so long she isn’t sure what to do with all this attention in a town that seems to have adopted her.
This is clearly a romance novel but there is a little side action happening with the murder of a local developer that no one in the town really liked but especially not Max since they have a bit of history. I’m just going to say I did not clue into who the murder was until it was too late so I was very surprised.
The Good
KA built a fantastic little town where everyone knew everyone else and they were all up in your business. She showed how that could both be good and bad and because of the way the town is you get a ton of extra details about many of the side characters to give you the feeling that you could go visit said town and have a beer at the local pub with any of the side characters.
I felt emotionally attached to a few of them and that is KA’s special talent making me care not only about the main characters of the story but also about many of the side characters.
The romance was interesting and Nina had quite a few verbal smack downs with various people throughout the story. Even though hers were good, really great actually my favorite scene is when Max went up against Nina’s then ex-fiancé. It was crass and very macho man but I love scenes like that where a man totally stakes his claim.
The Bad
KA is always one for the details, especially fashion wise but she got a little out of control in this book. I found myself sorta skimming a few of the times when she went into little side stories about random characters or some of the scenery. Normally she has quite a bit but she was a little overboard in this one and maybe could have edited out a few things.
Also minor complaint…the chapters were so long. She has gotten better at this as her writing has progressed but when I look at my kindle and the time left in chapter is over an hour I cringe a little.
Another KA buddy read with my girls at Buddies Books & Baubles we are doing great with our one KA book a week plan.
After all the ridiculousness of the Rock Chick series this was a down shift into something a little more serious. There are still those great fun moments filled with banter and she devil smack downs but this book had a undercurrent of something a little more serious.
The Rundown
Nina lives in England but after coming to the realization that her fiancé really has no interest in her or their relationship since he proposed she has decided to escape and decide once and for all does she wants to be married and still feel alone or leave him and actually be alone. However when she shows up in Colorado for her time out from Niles there is a mix up with the cabin she is renting and the owner is there. Enter the hero Max, who at the beginning doesn’t particularly seem that heroic as he is telling Nina she can’t stay in his cabin since he is obviously staying there. However Nina is pretty sick and ends up being stuck there letting Max take care of her for a few days after which Max totally acts like the hero we all want him to be and has decided he likes this spunky feisty woman and if the man whose ring she is wearing doesn’t know what he has well then too bad finders keepers and all.
Max is what I’ve come to expect from a KA alpha male. He is protective, stubborn, tells it like it is, he is all man and he will not give up even when the heroine tries to pull away. It’s cute in an alpha male way and since Nina has been neglected for so long she isn’t sure what to do with all this attention in a town that seems to have adopted her.
This is clearly a romance novel but there is a little side action happening with the murder of a local developer that no one in the town really liked but especially not Max since they have a bit of history. I’m just going to say I did not clue into who the murder was until it was too late so I was very surprised.
The Good
KA built a fantastic little town where everyone knew everyone else and they were all up in your business. She showed how that could both be good and bad and because of the way the town is you get a ton of extra details about many of the side characters to give you the feeling that you could go visit said town and have a beer at the local pub with any of the side characters.
I felt emotionally attached to a few of them and that is KA’s special talent making me care not only about the main characters of the story but also about many of the side characters.
The romance was interesting and Nina had quite a few verbal smack downs with various people throughout the story. Even though hers were good, really great actually my favorite scene is when Max went up against Nina’s then ex-fiancé. It was crass and very macho man but I love scenes like that where a man totally stakes his claim.
The Bad
KA is always one for the details, especially fashion wise but she got a little out of control in this book. I found myself sorta skimming a few of the times when she went into little side stories about random characters or some of the scenery. Normally she has quite a bit but she was a little overboard in this one and maybe could have edited out a few things.
Also minor complaint…the chapters were so long. She has gotten better at this as her writing has progressed but when I look at my kindle and the time left in chapter is over an hour I cringe a little.