Review: Jagged by Kristen Ashley

Jagged: Ham Reece and Zara Cinders

(Colorado Mountain #5)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

An old flame rekindled . . .

Zara Cinders always knew Ham Reece was the one, but he wasn't interested in settling down. When she found someone who was, Ham walked out of her life. Three years later, Zara's lost her business, her marriage, and she's barely getting by in a tiny apartment on the wrong side of the tracks. As soon as Ham hears about Zara's plight, he's on her doorstep offering her a lifeline. Now, it will take every ounce of will power she possesses to resist all that he offers.

Ham was always a traveling man, never one to settle down in one town, with one woman, for more time than absolutely necessary. But Ham's faced his own demons, and he's learned a lot. About himself, and about the life he knows he's meant to live. So when he hears that Zara's having a rough time, he wants to be the one to help. In fact, he wants to do more than that for Zara. A lot more. But first, he must prove to Zara that he's a changed man.

Review:

Jagged by Kriste Ashley is from the Colorado Mountian’s series, while Ashley is not a new to me author this series is a new to me series. I’ve read other Kristen Ashley books and have adored them all to date so when I saw this one pop up even though I haven’t read any other from this series I grabbed it anyway. If you are new to Kristen Ashley or to the Colorado Mountain Series you can pick this book up and not be lost. There are mentions to previous events as well as characters but this can definitely be read as a standalone as is the case with pretty much all of K.A.’s titles.

So have I ever mentioned that I adore rekindled love?? We were actually just talking about our favorite romance tropes over at Anna from Herding Cats & Burning Soup’s Facebook Page and it reminded me just how much I do love this trope. I think it’s the sense of history with rekindled love affairs, it makes the bringing together in a short period of time that much more believable and almost like fate always meant for these two to get together but the timing just wasn’t right yet. So this book, it starts with Zara breaking things off with Ham, because he is a rolling stone and she has found someone she can settle with. Seriously, their parting almost had me in freak’n tears and it was just the damn prologue!

So three years pass and Zara’s life is falling apart, her perfectly constructed life is gone and she has lost everything. Ham’s life has literally flashed before his eyes when he is attacked by a serial killer. Zara sees this on the news and contacts Ham for the first time in three years; this is the beginning of the rekindling. Ham has been a rolling stone since his disastrous marriage as a young man, but he has always wanted a family. While he was laid up in the hospital it gave him time to reevaluate his life and what is important. What he realized was that Zara has always been one of the most important people in his life when Zara had told him that it was “always him” he should have never let her walk away and now it may be too late. Zara has had a rough life, like really rough.. Just when she thought everything was going to plan, it all fell apart. Her marriage, her home, her business, all gone… The last thing she thinks she needs is a bossy ex-lover to re-enter the picture. Ham is not taking no for an answer, he is going to help Zara pick up the pieces whether she likes it or not.

As always I loved Ham’s alpha personality. He is a take charge sort of guy, but with most of Ashley’s males while they are Alphas they don’t overpower. They respect their women and know when to swoop in and when to back off and to let their woman handle it herself. Zara may be in a bad place in her life but she is a survivor and always has been, when most would have gone another route she keeps on trucking and makes due. I really liked Zara, but then I typically do like a survivor typically they do what they got to do and don’t whine about it and this is how I found Zara. For the most part she is not a whiner she takes her knocks and keeps on… There was a moment when I was a bit annoyed with her when it came to Ham, I was thinking what more does this dude have to do to prove it, but then she has her light at the end of the tunnel moment and admits to how stupid she was being. See she can even admit when she is wrong, I like the quality in a person. Ham, dude, he sticks by his woman! Just when you think these two are catching a break something else happens. He proves his loyalty to his woman over and over and I think my heart melted more and more as the book moved on.

Kristen Ashley can write a story that keeps you turning pages. I don’t think I was bored for even a moment in this book; there was always something to keep things moving on. Whether it the push and pull between two forceful personalities or circumstances you are in deep from beginning to end. As with most KA books, the sexy times in this book are hot hot hot, definitely steaming up the pages in this one. You may have to fan yourself off every now and then. LOL… For me there wasn’t anything to dislike with this book and liked it so much and loved the side characters so much I’m going to have to go back and read the first four books of the series. Kristen Ashley fan’s, you’re going to love it as much as you loved the rest of her books!

*This book was provided to me through NetGalley for an honest review no other compensation was provided.