Nina Sheridan desperately needs a timeout vacation. With a fiancé 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.
Kindle Edition, 629 pages
Published April 18th 2011
Source: Purchased
Our Review---
Like the addict I am, I know enough about my mad love for all things Kristen Ashley to know that if I'm not careful I will overindulge on her books to the point of ignoring my family, my life, my work, and anything else that gets in the way of entering her world. Because of this, I try to limit my time with her books to holidays, weekends, and summers when I can fully immerse into all things Colorado/alpha/badass/rock chick without the daily time constraints my typical work day forces upon me. We've had to do that haven't we? Because for reals, if not...we would never leave that world...and well, I have no qualms about that actually...lol.Since Courtney and I have blown through all of the Rock Chick, Dream Man, Unfinished Hero, and Chaos books released I decided it was time to start with the Colorado Mountain series and, as usual, the first book in this series DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Shee-it. No it did not. I like that it has the same flair as the others and I fell in love immediately...but it also brings in that small town America feel with the everyone knows everyone and just a different tone that KA is able to give to each series to make them their own special work of art.
This is the story of Nina and Max. Nina, an American living in England, has come to Gnaw Bone (best name ever for a town, right?!) to take a time out from her fiance and Brit, Niles. She arrives after an exhausting flight, an impending sinus infection, and driving in an unfamiliar place in a snow storm to find that the beautiful A-frame house she's rented for 2 weeks is occupied. After having words with the owner, Max, and storming off to find an alternative place to stay, Nina manages to drive off the road. Too exhausted to try to manage one more thing, she crawls in the back seat, covers up and vows to find solutions when she wakes up. Unbeknownst to her, Max finds her, transports her back to the A-frame, nurses her back to health from the flu (NOT a sinus infection) and the sometimes tumultuous, sometimes sweet, and always entertaining story of Nina and Max begins.
Uhhmmmhmmmm. I am always surprised when the hero is kind of a grade-a jerk in the beginning and are shocked when they get sass back. I am now used to it and find it fraking hilarious because I find this is usually the beautiful start to something even more beautiful even though they make me cringe in a bad way in the beginning. Max don't take no shit, and well...soon finds out that Nina doesn't either. LOVED that.
These two, Nina and Max, are great. The chemistry, the banter, the fights, their equally strong personalities, and interesting backstories keep the pages turning. Nina has had the crappiest luck with men...I mean THE CRAPPIEST...she's managed to find loser after loser. It doesn't help that her dad is one of the biggest douche canoes ever. And Max..well Max had a tragedy that set him off going through women like nobody's business. Do their combined poor track records, the fact that she's engaged and not from there, and that he's got a reputation derail the potential hotness between them? Hell NO!!!!
The odds are definitely stacked against them starting any kind of relationship. Her being engaged to a man in England being the kicker of them all....sooooooo how does she work that out? Uhhhh.....it's pretty insane. And I don't think I can say anything more than it is a freaking fantastic journey...the staying up all night to finish it kind of journey!
Additionally the mystery of who killed Max's nemesis, Nina's asshole stalker, the family distractions, and the soul crushing story of suicide and other horrors create a story that is absolutely impossible to put down. This novel completely hooked me on this series and I absolutely cannot wait to read the next one in line. !!! There is so much meat to this book, that it is seriously more than a romance. It is about this part of Colorado and the people that live there and what they will do to protect their own from bad things happening to them or derailing their happiness. It is awesome, y'all!
Shelley: 5 Stars!!!
Courtney: Also 5 stars!
About the Author---
Kristen Ashley grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana, and has lived in Denver, Colorado, and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.
Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multigenerational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland, and Kristen grew up listening to the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon, and Whitesnake.
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.
Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multigenerational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland, and Kristen grew up listening to the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon, and Whitesnake.
Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music and love was a good way to grow up.
And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.
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