Review: Jagged
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 9, 2013
***This book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.***It is a truth universally acknowledged that no one writes alpha men the way Kristen Ashley writes alpha men. (OK…so it’s not…but it should be!)Colorado Mountain men, how I have missed thee. There’s just something about these men…when they are in, they are all in, and it’s so damn sexy.I absolutely loved this book. I love it anyway when character’s have a history, but there’s always something so different when it’s Kristen Ashley writing it. The history is never just mentioned–it’s fleshed out, and you just know that every piece of information revealed is somehow going to pop up later in the story and fit into the present flawlessly.This book had me hooked from the get-go–a late night call always gets your heart racing–and I didn’t put it down until I was finished.I loved that Zara accepted Ham for who he was and what he was willing to give. That though she loved him, she knew he wouldn’t be able to give her what she wanted in the long run. When she found someone who could, she mustered the strength to move on. And I think that’s why I liked Zara so much. She was a survivor. She took whatever life threw at her and rolled with the punches.Ham…oh, Ham. Your name never quite grew on me…but your personality and sexiness was enough to make up for it.I loved Ham’s alpha ways. I loved that when Zara needed him (even if she didn’t know she did,) he was there to swoop in and help her take care of things. And this is where Ham differs from other KA heroes for me. While he stepped in and took control, he kept Zara right by his side and tried to guide her with her decision making. He didn’t need for her to know he was in control; all he needed to know was that she was safe and provided for. He was always able to anticipate her needs, and he was patient in waiting for exactly the right time to meet them.I love the way their story evolved. There was so much history there, but this story was very much about the here and now. I think it was Ham’s character that grew the most, but I also think he was the one who needed to. A life-changing event was what it took for Ham to reevaluate his life, and when he didn’t like what he saw, the man took action!This book broke the Colorado Mountain mold, and I think the series is better for it. There’s the same depth to her characters and the laughs that seem to come just when you need them. There are all the twists and turns you’ve come to expect in a Kristen Ashley novel, but they’re different twists and different turns than we’ve read before.It’s definitely made one thing clear: When it comes to KA and her mountain men, all bets are off.