Review: Almost a five star read - classic Kristen Ashley but ended too soon!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 6, 2013
Let me preface by saying I have read all Kristin Ashley's books (no joke) incl. the paranormal/ghost stories and yes there is a formula to her writing and it is repetitive but that is the POINT.  There is a romance with a HEA, a kickass epilogue and on some occasions a prologue too.  And the point is they are all awesome or she wouldn't sell any books.  Some will undoubtedly be better than others depending on your personal preference.  I feel the need to defend the characters in this book after seeing some of the reviews.  In Jagged the heroine is Zara who falls upon hard times and loses her business, her home goes into foreclosure and her marriage ended.  I found that to be completely realistic (we have all experienced hard times and they usually all happen at the same time for some bizarre reason) and that is why the first half of the book is kind of morose.  Zara is the product of an unhappy childhood, has no family and the love of her life was not the type of man who wanted to commit. Now about Reece (I took half a star off for his nickname which was a poor choice and completely un-Alpha in my opinion...what was Kristen Ashley thinking ?  After giving us Max, Tate, Ty, Creed, Raid, Hawk, Tack etc.  she picks "Ham"?  Seriously?) I felt like we got to experience his thoughts and feelings a lot in this book although told in third person.  I actually understood Reece better because of it.  He has commitment issues and is very clear and honest about it to his women.  In other words he doesn't lead them on and respects their decisions while at the same time staying connected and being there for them when they need him.  I didn't think he favored Feb because it seems he hooked up with her when Zara was already married to Greg (this takes place in "For You").  He goes back to Gnaw Bone 3 years later after he finds out she is divorced and decides to win her back.  Zara was insecure and was reading too much into his relationship with Feb in my opinion which is a familiar theme in most other Kristen Ashley books.  There is usually another woman competing for the hero's affections. This is explained very well in the second half of the book and Reece is so open and forthcoming with the information and I loved that about him.  I took another half star off because I felt the book was missing more around the story of Zara and her family.  The book would have been a lot richer had it included these additional details which seemed to have been edited out.  Having said all that the book had so much of Kristin Ashley's magic that the rating is based on her own individual scale.  It's a good story and would have been great if it were a hundred pages or more longer.