Review: Who would have thought that Ham could be sexy?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 19, 2014
In Jagged we head back to Gnaw Bone and meet Zara and Graham “Ham” Reece. Zara and Ham have been playing this game for years. And although she knows that she loves him, she also knows Ham is not the kind of guy that settles down. But Zara wants more. She wants a family one day. So when Zara finds herself with the option a go-nowhere-romance with Ham or moving on with Greg, she walks away… and Ham lets her. But three years later Ham is back. Zara’s marriage is over and Ham is ready to step back in and help her get back on her feet – whether she wants his help or not.Something shifts within Ham’s world. He has Zara in his life for nearly a decade and after letting her walk away he is not going to let that happen again. But now he just has to get her to realize it. Zara never stopped loving Ham or wishing he was the type to settle but since she is so certain of that she fails to see the signs that something has changed for Ham. And he just has to be sure to show Zara what he can’t seem to find the words for.In typical KA fashion we get a strong-tell-it-like-it-is alpha male, but we also get that tender side that makes you instantly melt. There was something missing a bit in the typical drama side to the story in this one for me though. We did get drama, but not the same type we usually see. I kept waiting for the other shoe to fall and it just never really did. But what I absolutely loved about this was purely about Ham. He was so tender when it counted.I had to prepare for this book by reading the first four in the series and although other ones in the series stood out more for me, I was happy to get the return trip to Gnaw Bone to get updates on the locals. Although Nina and Holden weren't forgotten in the other books, we get a lot more of them in Jagged along with the rest of the characters of The Gamble.There is just something about the way Kristen Ashley writes, not just in the characters she creates – but the way she is able to create such strong heroes. The ability to balance the alpha male and the tender side of the same tough as nails guy when he falls in love.There is a reason why when we all read a romance that has as alpha male in it, we all relate it to KA. She sets the bar when it comes to bada's. Heck, KA could be its very own genre among romance novels.