Review: 4 stars
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 1, 2013
Another sterling contemporary romance from Kristen Ashley - we're back in Carnal for the story of Chace and Faye. This is one of my favourite plot lines - the tough, protective alpha hero with the sweet and really rather geeky heroine.There's a heartbreaking tale at the centre of this story about a homeless child, Malachi, living rough on the streets of Carnal and his plight is the driving force that brings Chace and Faye together. Malachi's story will tug at your heart strings and helping him allows Chace and Faye's caring natures to really shine through.So, Chace. He's absolutely typical KA hero material. He's bossy, domineering, given to outbursts of jerk like behaviour, protective, caring and super hot - everything we've come to expect in a KA hero. He's had a lot to contend with in his life so far - everyone who should have been there for him, has not been and people have taken advantage of his loyalty. He considers himself tainted by association with `dirty cops', a storyline from Lady Luck, and is suffering from a serious dose of low self-esteem.Enter stage left - Faye Goodknight. Never was a heroine more aptly named. She may be the heroine of the novel but she is the good knight in shining armour come to rescue Chace from his lack of self-worth and show him what he means to her and everyone else in Carnal. Faye is a sci-fi geek sweetheart - she's a 29 year old virgin and, after reading her for a few pages, I realised she's one of us!! Chances are, if you're reading my review, that you're a romance novel addict, always got your head in an e-reader and have a harem full to bursting of drop dead gorgeous fictional boyfriends at your disposal. This is Faye - she's definitely one of us!!I really don't know how likely a very beautiful, well-educated 29 year old virgin actually is in modern day America, but KA writes Faye well and when she finally gives up that virginity to Chace, it's really everything you could possibly hope it would be. Rather surprisingly painless, but deeply romantic and tender. Every girl should have a Chace as her first!Chace and Faye take a fabulous journey together - each of them growing with their love, becoming the person they always should have been. They complete each other. There is an absolutely thrilling and suspenseful climax to their story during which I could hardly breathe and, as always, a really great epilogue. Kristen Ashley really does give good epilogue! There are also several scenes with all the Colorado Mountain men together - truly a KA fangirl's wet dream!Things I lovedFaye reading a hot sex scene and wanting to try it out with Chace afterwards. Sound familiar girls??Faye's `righteous' cyber-buddy Serenity.All those mountain men together.The promise of a Graham Reece novel.Deck.So, why 4 stars and not 5?This may be an unpopular opinion, but I felt I'd met Chace before - he's extremely similar and possibly interchangeable with several other KA heroes we've read before. Also, some of the sentences are overlong, especially speeches given by the central characters and I think some more stringent editing would probably improve these books.But, it's still a fabulous KA romance, very much in her usual style.4 stars contemporary romance.