For me, it all started with a Facebook message from a dear friend whom I’ve never actually met. “A friend of mine bought me some books – said I HAD to read them. I’m trying. I think my friend has problems.” Needless to say, this completely piqued my curiosity. Upon further inquiry on my part, it turned out to be Kristen Ashley’s Colorado Mountain series. I’d never heard of it, but evidently they are bestsellers. I have now read the first two, The Gamble and Sweet Dreams.
I WANT THOSE HOURS BACK, *NAME REDACTED*. THIS IS YOUR FAULT.
They are essentially the same book. The names of the characters and the locales may be different, but the plot points are the same, the characterizations are the same, the bad dialogue, the alpha male grunts, the sex scenes that read like the author has been watching porn but doesn’t know how to write a sexy scene, are all the same. Even their physical affection is the same – the heroine is forever cuddling into the side of the hero and stroking his stomach while he puts an arm around her shoulders or hugs her neck. There’s a murder to drive plot, drama with exes, supportive family, all the same. I’m seriously not kidding.
It really bothers me that the hero is forever accusing the heroine of not communicating or not being considerate of his feelings when he doesn’t communicate, either. In fact, I would not be at all surprised to find out that this author avidly reads those “7 tips to keep your man happy” or “15 ways to be a better wife” blog posts that turn up on Huff Po and then go viral on Facebook. She may have even written them herself. These books really have that vibe.
Skip these books. If you want to read bad romance, there’s plenty available on amazon for 99 cents or even free, and at least with those you can be amused at how bad they are. People actually LOVE these books – both have 4+ star ratings on Amazon with hundreds of reviews. I like to think my fellow Cannon Ballers have better taste than that. :)
I guess some people don’t appreciate the idea of a man constantly hauling a woman to and fro while uttering single-word commands. It’s ROMANCE, geez!!
(Seriously bad romance)
I love your review! I have not read these, and thanks to you I will not read these , but ugh, I’ve spent too many hours shamefully reading similarly bad books. There’s a wide swath of books that just tell the same story over and over and it’s as comfortable as old smelly slippers and those alphabet procedurals on tv.
Glad to be of service! ;)
I now have Lady Gaga stuck in my head…
This was a really good review. I’ve read those books before that make me wonder if the author has ever actually had sex, and this sounds like much of the same. What a shame!
The thing is, I wasn’t crazy about the first book, but I didn’t hate it. Then I read the second and realized that the author is lazy and unimaginative, and just writes the same book over and over. In fact, I wondered if maybe she had a ghost writer, but I think that theory holds up only if the same writer writes all of her books. They’re that similar.