Review: Belle was just too pathologically shy for me...Jack was OTT hot, though!!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 17, 2013
I love love love Kristen Ashley. I think she is a wonderful writer. Her alpha-males are sexy without being annoying. So I typically will just buy her books without too much thought.I did not love this book. 3 stars.you may LOVE this book, if you like strong alphs-males and timid shy females.I need strong independent, sassy, witty females. Belle is NOT that at all.So Belle is a very (pathologically) timid and insecure woman. She was in a terrible marriage and was able to extract herself from it.She meets the ever so sexy, rich, and intelligent/driven Jack who proceeds to seduces the pants off of Belle.I don't mind when the hero and heroine immediately jump into bed with each other. But I didn't see what held them together AFTER that.Yes, sex can be a very strong bond for a couple, INITIALLY. but what the heck are these two going to do when that wears off. They rarely have long interesting conversations. Most of the time Belle is being described at "looking at Jack's nose, or neck, or ear, etc" When is she going to be able to make consistent eye contact with her lover? This woman is SHY!!!!!It gets old for me really quickly. I understand that she has been through a major trauma. I am not totally jaded. But when will she stop being so insecure, timid and almost weak. She constantly questions Jack's interest in her. She couldn't POSSIBLY be worth his attentions. I do not like such timid/insecure people, even though I understand why she is that way. It just doesn't appeal to me.She makes her own clothing and has her own store. A woman needs to have a strong independent streak to be able to put herself out there like that. It didn't match with how shy she acted.Jack seemed to have found a little kitten that he needed to take care of. He is a drop-dead gorgeous guy that create a billion dollar company on his own. This guy seems like someone as shy as Belle would bore him in a few months.Where was the true deep attraction?The book attempts to make it supernatural....it didn't work for me.The ghosts didn't bother me, but to declare their love to be 200 years old did. I wanted to read some amazing dialogue between the two characters. To read how their relationship grew deeper than just spending time together hugging and kissing. (yeah- okay, that was nice too. Kristen Ashley is know for pretty awesome steamy scenes).But this author typically write great dialogue that I just didn't see b/w these two. Between OTHER characters it was great. Just not the main ones. Bummer.The other characters were great. They were lively, funny, sassy and sarcastic. I love that. But it wasn't enough to save this book.The book had a decent plot that revolved around the supernatural. Kristen's book end with a big HEA and no cliffhanger, and an epilogue that give you a nice big bow at the end. I like those. Yes - the climax to the story had some pretty big problems that got resolved fairly quickly and easily, but we can gloss that over since we can't split hairs when it comes to ghosts and the supernatural; can we?Again, if you like the shy, insecure type matched with the hunky A-type hero, then this book will be great for you! (oh, and there is supernatural stuff with ghosts and reincarnation, etc).