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Review

Thank you Kristen Ashley, for yet ANOTHER Colorado Mountain Man for me to drool over! Jacob Decker, or ‘Deck’, is the best friend of Chace Keaton from Breathe (Oh God, give me a moment to hyperventilate at the mention of that man! Oh Chace… *dreamy sigh*). Ahem, ok I’m done, back to Deck, who is totally droolworthy in his own right. Deck is a badass bounty hunter/investigator type of guy who has been called to Gnaw Bone to assist the Police in tracking down and bringing in a local crime ring.

When he arrives in town, he gets a very pleasant surprise when he runs into Emmanuelle, a friend from his past, who with one look, completely knocks him on his ass. Deck and Emme met 12 years ago when Deck started dating Emme’s best friend. Over five years they grew extremely close, but they lost touch when Deck’s relationship fell apart. Now, nine years later, they discover that the very special bond they once shared is still very much there, and they don’t waste any time catching up and quickly infiltrating each other’s lives. And God, I love that! No messing about, no game playing, they acknowledge how much they have missed each other, and they are right back to where they always were, except this time they allow their previously unexplored feelings to blossom.

But of course there are complications – mainly that the crime ring Deck is in town to investigate includes Emme’s boyfriend. But that’s a minor issue to a protective, possessive, controlling and badass uber Alpha like Deck, and it’s not too long before he gets Emme exactly where he wants her.

“Your girl?” I asked, my voice coming out in a near on squeak.
“Yeah,” he answered, his voice deep, low and firm.
“This is, well…kinda weird.” Understatement! “And fast.” Extreme understatement!
“Met you twelve years ago and we’re just gettin’ here. I don’t call that fast. I call that a waste of fuckin’ time I’m about to rectify.”

Thank God, Emme doesn’t put up too much of a fight, and as expected, the relationship between these two characters is absolutely beautiful! They’re open and honest, with lots of focus on the little moments that KA does so brilliantly – the funny moments, the banter, the arguments, and of course the sex. Lots and lots of sex! Damn, Emme is a lucky girl!!!

“Emme, baby, talk to me.”
“I want this,” I whispered.
And I did. Badly…
“Good. You got it.”

The relationship is also, thankfully, functional… mostly. Emme has some nastiness in her past which continues to impact on her, and causes some issues, but it didn’t really bother me. It was more like a background issue, and although it impacted on Emme heavily, and therefore the way she handled their relationship, in fine Alpha form, Deck wasn’t about to put up with any shit from her, so at no stage did it get carried away. He is there for her, supporting her, calling her out whenever she tries to push him away, and just being generally awesome the whole way through.

“Because it means that much to me, I’m gonna handle this with care. You just gotta believe me.”

The book is completely focussed on Deck and Emme – mainly their relationship, of course, but also on the other aspects of their lives (family, pets, house renovations and the past) – and I enjoyed how it all tied in together. I did feel, however, that the crime-based part of the story that Deck was involved in was a little weak. Of course this could be a good thing, because how much more can the citizens of Gnaw Bone and Carnal possibly endure? It’s enough to bring the two of them together, and provide a bit of storyline away from the romance, but it sort of fizzles out by the end, and I honestly didn’t care what happened. For me, it was all about Emme and Deck.

And of course, the rest of the crew! There is lots of time with Chace (and Faye), which is awesome, because Chase is one of my all-time fave KA men! And I loved that we got to see some of their story progression. Plus the bond between Deck and Chace is something really special, and I may or may not have teared up a bit when they had a moment. There’s also glimpses of the other Colorado guys, and even a cameo from a couple of the Hot Bunch *swoon*. But it’s the girls who feature in this one, as the Colorado women accept Emme into their posse.

“Is the sex good?” … “I hope it’s good but not great,” Krystal remarked. “Sex slave to an alpha. Bad news.”
This time my head didn’t jerk. I blinked again.
“I’m a sex slave to an alpha and I have no complaints,” Lauren muttered, grinning at Zara.
“Me either,” Zara replied, grinning back.
“I’ve had mine longer than all of you,” Nina announced. “And I’m of a mind that there will never be a time to complain.”

This book is heavy on the KA-alpha speak. If you’re a frequent reader of Kristen Ashley you’ll know exactly what I mean by this. With the story told in dual POV, we not only get Deck’s dialogue, but also his inner monologue, and as much as I love KA’s style, I will confess that there were times I had to reread passages over again to figure out what he was actually saying/thinking. But the man is awesome, and it all adds to his character, so it wasn’t a problem for me.

While not packing the punch that I usually get from a Kristen Ashley book, this was still a great read. I loved the characters, I loved their story, and it’s pure KA – the big moments, the little moments, and even those deep and meaningful conversations with one person laying it all out while the other person constantly interrupts – it’s all there! I found the transition from the end of the book to the epilogue to be a little bit weird, with the story abruptly ending (to the point where I didn’t actually realise it was the end of the book) and then instantly picking up again in the epilogue…? But it does continue on to give us some WONDERFUL glimpses of Deck and Emme’s future, and I was left with a massive smile on my face at the satisfyingly swoony completion of their story.

Loved it – 4 stars.

*ARC received via NetGalley, courtesy of Forever (Grand Central Publishing), in exchange for an honest review*