Review: Awesome
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 1, 2013
Book 1 in the Burgs Series which Kristen Ashley refers to as a `crime' series on her website. It is in fact an edgy romantic suspense with a sadistic hatchet wielding homicidal maniac on the prowl with February Owens (our heroine) as his object of desire and will stop at nothing to avenge the wrongs he perceives have been done to her over the years. And we are talking years here - he carves up someone she once had an argument with at high school right at the beginning of the novel.He leaves this body at the back of the bar Feb works in and part owns with her brother Morrie for her to discover. Enter stage left - Lieutenant Alexander Colton - our hero. He's a cop and is called to the scene. Alec `Colt' and February have a long history which is drip fed to us slowly through the book. They were high school sweethearts and broke up due to a `big misunderstanding' and Feb went off the rails allegedly sleeping with every guy in town. They both married other people - Feb's marriage ending when her husband beat and attempted to rape her. Colt exacted a physical revenge on Feb's bottom -dwelling pond sludge of an ex and Feb left town.15 lonely years later, Feb returns to town to help run the bar with Morrie now that her parents have retired and studiously avoids the newly-divorced Colt for a couple of years until her world explodes when our killer starts his work and Colt wades in to protect her.Kristen Ashley really does write suspense well with the killer an ever present threat lurking ominously. He's totally psychotic and sadistic and reminded me very much of a Karen Rose villain although the book is way sexier than a KR novel.It's also a great romance - you can tell that fate intends for these two to be together. They've been totally unable to find happiness with anyone else but circumstance has intervened to keep them asunder for years. Colt even speculates that they can be happier now because of this....Then in my ear, he said, "I remember everything about you and I remember all the reasons why I loved you. Never could forget even when I tried." I sucked in breath, unprepared for this stealth attack, while he went on. "Who knows, baby? We had all that time together, I coulda got used to it, learned to take it for granted." His arms gave me a squeeze. "Now, that'll never happen."Le sigh. Colt is wonderful - he's totally genuine, caring, protective and very, very hot. They really set the pages on fire with this one. February is, at first, very reserved, unwilling to let Colt back in but you know she's always been in love with him and it's just a matter of time and I adored how they loved each other. They've a lot of history together and this is very much a story of a love once lost, refound and rekindled.Fabulous.5 stars romantic suspense.