The Gamble (Colorado Mountain #1) by Kristen Ashley
Love is the greatest gamble of all . . .
Nina Sheridan desperately needs a timeout vacation. With a fiance who can't even remember how she takes her coffee, Nina wants some distance to rethink her engagement. Flying halfway around the world from England to a mountain town in Colorado should do the trick. But when she finds a gorgeous man at her rental cabin, Nina's cold, lonely adventure suddenly heats up.
The owner of the house, Holden "Max" Maxwell is surprised by the beautiful woman who turns up at his door. But when Nina becomes ill, Max spends days nursing her back to health. A private man with a broken heart, Max finds himself drawn to the strong-willed woman. Soon it becomes impossible for Nina and Max to deny their growing attraction to one another. Yet even as these two wounded lovebirds think about taking a chance on a relationship, a dangerous secret from Max's past emerges-and threatens to end their love for good.
Sweet Dreams (Colorado Mountain #2) by Kristen Ashley
When you lose everything, anything is possible. Lauren Grahame needs a whole new life. A simpler life. After leaving her cheating husband, she moves to Carnal, Colorado, takes a job as a waitress, and realizes she might have finally found the hometown she'd been searching for. Except things are about to get a lot more complicated . . . Lauren's fresh start does not include her growing feelings for her boss, Tate Jackson. She'll take the new friends, the new job, not to mention the incredible banana bread from the local coffee shop, but love is not on the agenda. However, the people of Carnal know chemistry when they see it, and they're not about to let Tate and Lauren miss their chance.
Lady Luck (Colorado Mountain #3) by Kristen Ashley
Is love in the cards?
Since birth, Lexie Berry has had nothing but bad luck. Orphaned at an early age, she had a rough childhood and a boyfriend who was murdered. Now the beautiful, stylish Lexie is determined to change her luck and her life. But first she's got to make good on a promise: to pick up Ty Walker from prison. One look at the gorgeous ex-convict and Lexie knows she's in trouble-and already thinking about taking a walk on the wild side . . .
For five years, Ty was imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Now he wants revenge on the people who framed him. Yet when the high-stakes poker player sees the leggy Lexie, he suddenly has other desires on his mind. Realizing that Ty is innocent, Lexie tries to stop his plan for vengeance and help him become a better man. But as Ty battles his inner demons, dirty cops and criminals plot to take him out. Can he and Lexie find a way to escape the past?
I've mentioned before how I'm a huge Kristen Ashley fan. She's one of my favorite authors, right up there with Jennifer L. Armentrout. I've flown through so many of her books (but not all of them yet -- she has a ton)...and doubled back to re-read them on more than one occasion. And since I just finished a re-read of the currently released books in the Colorado Mountain series, it's really about time I wrote some reviews for them.
First up, there's The Gamble. This was the first full KA book I ever read (I'd peeked at parts of Jagged and Kaleidoscope before) and it's what pulled me down into the depths of my KA obsession. While Kristen Ashley is known to write long (and she DOES), the book still gets right to the point by starting with Nina pulling up to where she's supposed to be staying and meeting her love interest. From there, there's lots of banter, sweetness, and a perfect bit of quirk in a small town setting. I love Max and Nina! My only small issue with the book is that Nina holds back from communicating with Max about a certain aspect of his past that she learns about before he shares it with her. Communication issues in couples rarely work for me. That said, it wasn't a lingering issue and the couple was together a majority of the book which I LOVED -- and overall, I am so glad I made the decision to give this one a re-read because it does so many wonderful things to my heart.
4.5 stars (rounded up because The Gamble deserves it) - Love Max & Nina!
Next is Sweet Dreams. I'd always liked this one, but it was clearly not a favorite. It features a woman named Lauren who's gotten divorced and after that upheaval in her life, decides to drift until she finds a town where she believes she can live content. That town is Carnal. And she finds herself a job at a bar called Bubba's -- where she meets friends and officially meets her love interest, Tate. One great thing about this story is that is has great depth. Tate and Laurie are flawed. They have serious chemistry, but in order to own up to it and be together, they have to accept things about one another that aren't ideal. And once they get together, I am absolutely on board with this book. I'm just not personally a fan of the drama that goes on before they get together. That may just be me being too picky, though, because they make mistakes but they also clearly move on from them, which I respect. And overall, I do love Tate and Laurie as a couple and enjoy their story -- and I'm glad I gave this one a re-read, because I liked Sweet Dreams even more than usual this time around!
4 stars - A strong, addictive story!
Third is Lady Luck. AKA my favorite book in the series and also my favorite KA book. It's the story of Ty and Lexie, two people who have had the worst of luck in their lives. They start a pretend relationship for a purpose that turns real SO quick. I love it so much. Their dynamic is the definition of perfection. Ty is all big and strong and manly and Lexie is goofy and funny and bubbly and they make the BEST couple. This book is basically them against the world (along with the help of great friends in the lovely town of Carnal), save for when they have some personal bumps in their relationship. But those don't drag the story in the slightest and every time, Ty and Lexie come out stronger. This book never fails to fill my heart. Lady Luck is always and forever a favorite.
5 stars - love love love love love so much love
All three of these books are ones I'd recommend, and they are honestly an amazing place to start if you're considering picking up a Kristen Ashley book for the first time. They're addictive, well written adult contemporary romances!
I don't believe I've read anything from this author before. I will definitely have to check this series out. I love the covers for each of these. Great reviews!
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