Review: Reads more like a “very special episode of Kristen Ashley’s characters” than a complete story and series continuation
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 7, 2013
First reviewed at Red Hot Books [...]I believe I have mentioned before that I am a Kristen Ashley fangirl. I happily overlook issues that might get under my skin with other authors because Ms. Ashley writes such compelling stories. However, the reverse is also true in that I expect certain things from her books. Unfortunately, Jagged, the fifth book in her Colorado Mountain series, reads more like a “very special episode of Kristen Ashley’s characters” than a complete story and series continuation.The main romance is between Graham “Ham” Reece, who was a minor character in For You, and Zara Cinders, owner of the Karma boutique. After being friends with benefits with Ham for the last five years understanding that he was never going to be tied down to anyone anywhere, Zara makes the decision to cut Ham loose and settle down with another guy. Even though he cared for Zara as much as Zara cared for him, Ham lets her go.Fast forward three years and life has not been kind to Zara. She’s lost her business, lost her house and called quits on her marriage. She now works at a crappy retail job and lives in a small studio apartment in a crappy neighborhood. Enter Ham on his white steed to save the day. Ham has been keeping tabs on Zara all these years, so when he learns she’s in a bad way, he decides he’s ready to settle down and hightails it back to town. Ham basically kicks down her door and makes her move in with him because “it’s safer”.With just a little a little push, Zara moves in with Ham and they end up rekindling their romance. Ham explains to Zara why he’s been a travelin’ man and Zara owns up to why she dissolved her marriage. They understand each other, forgive and move on. There is no drama. There is barely any conflict, hence my disappointment. I kept waiting for her to be kidnapped or some major secret to blow up or some kind of wacky over the top drama that Ashley’s books follow, but the suspense is a mild family drama that is quickly rectified. Even the epilogue felt like it was just a dashed off two page dealio.The book took so much time re-introducing characters from other books that barely any time was focused on the romance. Ham and Zara weren’t a bad couple. It was just all very ho-hum and, for a fangirl, that’s disappointing. All the trademarks that make up a KA book were missing. I can only hope that this is only a mid-season blip and not a trend to come.Grade: C*ARC provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing)