DNF: When The Sun Falls From The Sky

Just couldn't finish it:




I need to just stick to Kristen Ashley's contemps. I made it to almost 70% before I decided that I just didn't care anymore. I hated Leah. I hated Lucien. The worldbuilding sucked. There were no redeeming qualities that I could find.

Just my opinion. For what's it worth.

Review: Play It Safe by Kristen Ashley

One of the amazonians loaned me this book, with the caveat that she didn't think that it was one of Kristen Ashley's best efforts. Having read it, I would have to say that I agree.



Overall, I would rate it at 3 stars. It is one of the least engaging of Ms. Ashley's books that I have read, although I can't exactly explain why. Gray, the hero, was really almost too good to be true, and the heroine, Ivey, was, for an extremely smart girl, pretty darned dumb. It had all of the usual Kristen Ashley ingredients: a couple of really unlikeable villains, some persecution, a fair amount of vindictive criminal behavior, way too many descriptions of Ivey's stylish clothes and expensive shoes, and the whole "star-crossed lover" aspect that is a common feature of the Ashley romance.

Play It Safe just felt uninspired.

Review: Law Man by Kristen Ashley

Law Man is the third book in the Dream Man series. I have heard rumors that it will be the next to last book in the series, with the last book intended to be Tack's story.



I really liked Law Man. As far as the Dream Man series goes, each book, in my opinion, has gotten progressively better. I was not crazy about Mystery Man. I really liked Wild Man. I liked Law Man better than either of those. It rivals Sweet Dreams as my favorite of the KA books I've read.

As far as the plot goes, it is typical KA. The H is Detective Mitch Lawson, who has been a character in each of the preceding Dream Man books. I've been waiting a while for Mitch's story, because I just had a feeling that he would be my favorite H in the series. He was. He is yummy . . . strong and protective, with a kind streak a mile wide. He actively pursues the h, which is a nice change from some of the other books, and, in fact, has to work very, very hard to convince her that he is serious, and that he is the guy for her. The h, Mara, has had a rough go, but is bone-deep decent. Her self-esteem issues were significant, but were well explained by her childhood.

Some of the secondary characters in this book were also fantastic characterizations. Mara's mom and aunt were over the top, but very amusing, and the scene where Mara finally stands up for herself is awesome. Mara's boss is a wonderful character, as are her neighbors. One of this authors particular strengths is in characterizations, and this book is no exception to that rule.

Much of the obligatory KA drama was present in this book -- there are bad guys, criminal bad guy drama to deal with, and a number of the characters from the prior Rock Chick/Dream Man series make an appearance. Elvira, one of my favorite characters, shows up for a pair of highly amusing cameo appearances.

In spite of the rough-around-the-edges nature of KA's books (or possibly because of?) I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it the day it was released, in about three hours. 4 stars.

New author: Kristen Ashley

Well, I've already posted three reviews for Kristen Ashley books -- The Gamble, Sweet Dreams and Lady Luck. Since then, I've read a few more. Since I am 12 reviews behind, & I just can't stand the thought of doing full reviews for all five of these books, I'm going to do a quick and dirty summary/comparison of them.

The KA formula: attractive heroine who has been smacked around by life meets alpha male, probably with law enforcement/commando/bounty hunter/military background and commitment issues, they have lots of good sex, she falls in love, he falls in love, for some reason neither of them (but especially him) can admit it, someone kidnaps the heroine because he is going to kill her/rape her/get back at the hero, hero rescues her & they live happily ever after. Add in a crazy ex-wife or a couple of kids or mafia connections or something like that, lather, rinse, repeat.

The formula works. Sometimes better than others.

Since then, I've also read:



This is a sort of a tribute to The Game of Thrones story of Daenerys & the barbarian warlord. A lot of my compadres on the amazon forums loved this book. I found it utterly mediocre, however. Kristen Ashley does one thing very well -- the contemporary romance with the alpha male hero. Her formula did not translate well to the fantasy setting.

Also:



This was was not my favorite. I really didn't much like the H, Hawk, and I thought that the h, Gwen was a bit of an idiot. I was pulling for her to end up with Mitch Lawson, who is apparently going to get his own book. This would violate the formula, and is clearly not an acceptable resolution, therefore, it is not going to happen.

And:



This one was good, I thought. The formula worked well. I really liked the Hero & really, really liked the heroine. Tess may be my favorite heroine of all of the Ashley books I've read. She owns a bakery & is straight forward and sweet. There is a crazy ex-wife who is a gold digging slut, and a pair of great kids. All in all, a good one.

Two more:



This one is so formula, it defines the formula. It is over the top. Joe, the hero, is monumentally alpha. He's also kind of a dickhead. Add to this a villain who is pure nuts, who has murdered Vi's husband, and is basically a mob killer. We have the obligatory dumping by Joe, and the required kidnapping of Violet. Again, I was sort of hoping for Violet to dump Joe & go for Mike Haines. Again, this would violate the formula. But, Joe was no way good enough for Violet. Again, I had issues with this one.

Finally,



This one was actually a little bit different. In Rock Chick, the hero pursues and the heroine plays hard to get. It had potential, but the heroine, Indy, was so bloody annoying that it just didn't work for me. However, because it had potential, I am going to give the rest of the Rock Chick books a try.

Review: Lady Luck by Kristen Ashley

So, I've now finished a total of 6 Kristen Ashley books, & I am pretty much done for a while. I will be posting reviews for the other three over the next few days, but this one is for:



REVIEW (3 1/2 stars):

This is the third Kristen Ashley book that I have read, and is probably my least favorite of the three. This doesn't mean that I didn't like it, but reading three of them in a row really highlighted Ms. Ashley's weaknesses as an author.

First for the strengths, though. The two protagonists of Lady Luck are younger than the protagonists in the first two books I read (The Gamble and Sweet Dreams). I thought that Ms. Ashley captured them very well, and I enjoyed getting to know Ty and Lexie, and I enjoyed the further adventures of the Carnal, Colorado crowd. Both Ty and Lexie are interesting in that they have both experienced more than their fair share of the bad side of life, and as a reader, I was rooting for them find happiness. There is no doubt but that they deserved it. As always, the plot was fun, convoluted and fast moving. The secondary characters were great.

Now, for the weaknesses. I understand from Ms. Ashley's blog and from what I have read about her that she writes fast, and gets her books uploaded at light speed. This makes for, at times, writing that is rough and choppy. She has a casual, breezy style that is mostly enjoyable, but sometimes veers into annoying. I do not get the sense that she does a lot of editing to her work, and, while this breezy style is sometimes charming, it can also grate at times.

In addition, Lexie's constant description of things -- whatever they were -- costing "a whack" grew tedious. Actually, in general, the extremely materialistic bent of each and every heroine so far has grown tedious. While I've not yet reviewed them, I've also read Mystery Man, Rock Chick and Golden Dynasty, and the heroine's obsession with *stuff* has been a constant in each of these books. Lexie was not my least favorite heroine (I'm going with Indy for this title), but, just once, could she write a heroine who isn't totally clothing obsessed? Her heroine's definitely tend towards shallow, which is not a strength so far as I am concerned. And, while I'm at it, could we get through a book without having the heroine kidnapped by an insane bad guy?

Nonetheless, with the exception of Golden Dynasty, I have enjoyed her books. Although, at this point, it is definitely time to take a break from the Ashley formula. If amazon would let me give 1/2 stars, this would be a 3 1/2 star read, but since they don't, I'm rounding up.

Review: Sweet Dreams by Kristen Ashley

Review (4 stars):

Sweet Dreams is the second of the Colorado Mountain series, and was the second book that I read after discovering her books through the Amazon romance forums, where she is very popular. In the last week, I have read all three of the Colorado Mountain series -- The Gamble, Sweet Dreams, and Lady Luck.

The upside: Kristen Ashley writes highly immersive books. She seriously sucked me in deep. Sweet Dreams is not set in Gnaw Bone, the town where The Gamble is set. It is set in Carnal, Colorado, Gnaw Bone's rough-around-the-edges neighbor and biker town. The heroine, Lauren, is extremely likeable -- a woman who has been scorned by her husband, betrayed by her best friend, a little overweight and a lot disillusioned, looking for a home. Tatum Jackson, the hero, is Ashley's best male character so far -- strong and protective. The romance between the two of them is completely believable. The secondary characters in this book are, as they were in each of the three Ashley books I read, wonderful and well-developed. There is a lot going on in Sweet Dreams, including family drama, ex-husband drama, ex-girlfriend drama, rape, murder and police corruption. It is flat-out a great story.

The downside: However, Ashley's strengths as a writer, in some ways, also represent a weakness, because this book, like the three others was bloated and badly in need of trimming. There are certain aspects to each of these books that are downright irritating. In Sweet Dreams, again, the descriptions of Laurie's clothing just about killed me. Description can be good. It brings the reader into the writer's world. Ms. Ashley took this to an extreme. She described clothing, right down to the underwear, bracelets and other accessories, hair, furniture, shoes, boots, shopping trips, landscapes, restaurant meals, and anything else that might be even remotely relevant, in excruciating detail. I got to the point that as soon as a paragraph relating to someone's attire began, I skimmed through it. This is not a good thing -- it pulled me out of the story. And Sweet Dreams is a really great story.

From a technical perspective, Ms. Ashley also could really use the services of a good proofreader and editor. I am not especially sensitive to typographical errors, but this is a common complaint with respect to her books. However, I am sensitive to clunky language, and Ms. Ashley does have a problem with clunky language. I can totally see how a reader would find it difficult to read any of Ms. Ashley's books if technical deficiences really bother them.

So, to sum up: the strengths of this book were in the plotting and the characterizations. The weaknesses were in the overblown descriptive detail and sometimes clunky language. This would be a stronger book if it were between 50 and 100 pages shorter, and if someone knowledgeable took an editor's pencil to it. Overall, though, I genuinely enjoyed it.

Review: The Gamble by Kristen Ashley

I have several reviews to write, and several to post, so I'll get started with:



REVIEW: 4 stars

Kristen Ashley writes highly immersive romantic fiction. The Gamble is the first of the Colorado Mountain series, and was the first Kristen Ashley book that I read after discovering her books through the Amazon romance forums, where she is very popular. In the last week, I have read all three of the Colorado Mountain series -- The Gamble, Sweet Dreams, and Lady Luck.

The upside: When I say that she writes immersive books, I really mean it. These books suck a reader in deep. In The Gamble, the main character, Nina, has traveled half-way around the world, from England, for a "timeout" from her English fiance. She arrives only to find her rental occupied by its owner, Max, immediately becomes extremely ill with the flu, and the story is off and running. Ms. Ashley packs her books full. There are a lot of characters, and there is a lot going on with all of the characters. The secondary characters are well-described and contain depth. I think that this is why her books are addictive -- Gnaw Bone, Colorado, (great name, by the way) feels very real. Everyone, from Nina and Max, to Mindy, Damon, and Bitsy, feels complete. Heck, even the dead guy has been more completely developed that the secondary characters in a lot of novels. I suspect that Ms. Ashley could answer any question, no matter how random, about just about any of her characters. These are tremendous strengths.

The downside: However, this strength, in some ways, also represents a weakness, because each of the three books that I read were bloated and badly in need of trimming. There are certain aspects to each of these backs that are downright irritating. In the Gamble, in particular, the descriptions of Nina's clothing just about killed me. If I had to read one more description relating to the neckline of Nina's sexy top, I thought that I might scream. Description can be good. It brings the reader into the writer's world. Ms. Ashley has taken this to an extreme. She describes clothing, hair, furniture, shoes, boots, shopping trips, landscapes, restaurant meals, and anything else that might be even remotely relevant, in excruciating detail. I got to the point that as soon as a paragraph relating to someone's attire began, I skimmed through it. This is not a good thing -- it pulled me out of the story. And it was a really great story.

The second complaint I have about The Gamble is that I really hated Nina's mother. She was intended to be quirky and fun, but, in the end, she was just extraordinarily annoying. Anyone with a mother that was that intrusive, that overdone, that flaky and irritating, would have been driven batty in short order.

From a technical perspective, Ms. Ashley also could really use the services of a good proofreader and editor. I am not especially sensitive to typographical errors, but this is a common complaint with respect to her books. However, I am sensitive to clunky language, and Ms. Ashley does have a problem with clunky language.

So, to sum up: the strengths of this book were in the plotting and the characterizations. The weaknesses were in the overblown descriptive detail and sometimes clunky language. This would be a stronger book if it were between 50 and 100 pages shorter, and if someone knowledgeable took an editor's pencil to it. Overall, though, I genuinely enjoyed it.