Jagged (Colorado Mountain, #5)

by Kristen Ashley

Zara Cinders, who has lost her business and marriage, accepts help from Ham Reece, who was unwilling to settle down with her despite their love, but finds it hard to trust him, even as he tries to prove to her that he has changed.

• ISBN10: 1455599131
• ISBN13: 9781455599134
• Publish Date: 30 September 2014 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown & Company
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
The romance and the closeness in Jagged hit me right in the chest - it was beautiful!



One of the things I loved the most about Jagged was the fact that Ham's voice got jagged in certain situations. And I have to say, my feels with this story were completely off the charts. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank Brandee enough for introducing me to Kristen Ashley's books!

The characters are grown-ups, which is something I find refreshing in romance, and while there was still a bit of drama, the action, the suspense, and the relationships were all easy to relate to, and I found I had a lot of love for the characters as they went through some fairly iffy stuff.

Written in third person point of view, past tense, I enjoyed getting close to the main characters and feeling all their fears and their love and frustrations.



He also didn't pull any punches. If he liked something, he liked it and said he did. Same with the opposite. Same with anything. If he had something to say, he said it.

"I'm not out of the woods, Ham. You're helpin' a lot but I have a loose hold on easy."
"We'll get you there," he promised.

"New rule. You don't do that shit when I'm in the house," he growled and I blinked.
"What shit?"
You use your toy to get off when I'm not fuckin' here."
Oh my God. He heard me.

[Eve1972]

Probably the worst book KA has ever written, HATED IT! Ham was a douche who would have picked Feb had she been available, and Cookie (gag nickname) was the biggest doormat known to man...

[stacey_is_sassy]

It's Kristen Ashley what else can I say...LOVE IT!!

[Cocktails and Books]

I’m always excited when Kristen Ashley writes a new book and I have to admit, I’m a big fan of hers. JAGGED is her fifth installment in the Colorado Mountain series. From the first page, I was transported to Gnaw Bone, a small town in Colorado.

This story is about Zara, a woman who has lived her entire life in Gnaw Bone, Colorado. Zara’s life has never been easy. Even though Zara comes from a dysfunctional family, she has always remained sweet and optimistic. Through everything, one constant in Zara’s life has been her girlfriends, who always rally around her.

Graham Reece or Ham, is a hot, big bear of a man who always speaks his mind and is honest. Ham works in bars. He stays at one for awhile and when he gets the urge, he moves on to another town.

The story begins when Ham and Zara are in the fifth year of their relationship. Ham has never been interested in putting down roots anywhere and expects Zara to accept him for who he is. With Ham there are no promises and no expectations. They have a friend’s with benefits kind of relationship. Ham is a travelin’ man, who can’t stay in one place and their relationship consists of sporadic phone conversations and hook ups whenever he visits Gnaw Bone. Zara loves Ham and wants a commitment from him. She wants to get married and have a family, but she knows Ham has no interest. They are both good people, who have gone through some tough times, through no fault of the own. They care about each other, but are in different places in their lives.

Kristen Ashley is a wonderful storyteller. Her characters come alive on the page. When Zara and Ham are together, the air crackles with sexual tension. Some of the characters from other books in this series make an appearance. Is it possible for a travlin’man to settle down?

Reviewed by Karen for Cocktails and Books

[chemicalscream]

I am a HUGE fan of Kristen Ashley and when I saw this up for grabs on Netgalley I was all over it. I read this book almost 2 months ago and I don't even remember what happened in this book. Most Kristen Ashley books have a way of grabbing hold of my brain and staying there, this one did not. I couldn't connect with the characters at all. Unlike other Kristen Ashley books, this one had nothing going on that kept me on the edge of my seat biting the inside of my mouth.. I'm so very disappointed by this book, but I guess it was bound to happen eventually, right? The rest of this series is amazing so far, but Jagged just doesn't live up to the first four books in the Colorado Mountain series. I really hope that she brings it with Kaleidoscope, the next book in the series! If you're a big Kristen Ashley fan like me, I would still recommend that you read it. It might be a watered down version of a Kristen Ashley book, but it's still a KA book and it will hold you over until her next book comes out. Which, if you stalk her like Melanie and I do, you've already read the sneak peek of on her website.

[leelu92]

3.75 Stars for me...
Like any other KA book I’ve read, I enjoyed this one. Did I go all crazy, gaga over it like I did for the others in this series? No and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Jagged was a fun read and I liked Ham and Zara and their story. I did not care for the nicknames Ham and Cookie. Graham was Graham to me and Zara was just Zara. Visiting Gnaw Bone and spending time with Nina and Max was great too. This book felt…quieter to me and it was less dramatic than the previous books. It was certainly shorter, like 200 pages less and we love a prolific KA don’t we? There was no high octane in your face drama to be found. For whatever reason it was different than the others… do we talk about the elephant in the room? I mean, change is good in a series right? Shifting gears and changing up the pace within a series is a good thing. Right? For me, the characters felt a bit over familiar but again… I do enjoy KA men. But I think I was expecting something a little different. This series, by its nature is intense and dramatic and this one didn’t completely check all of those boxes. Again, this is not a bad thing.

But wait! There is WALL SEX! And there is lots of excellent sexytimes, Zara and Ham (hubba hubba) are quite fantastic together.



Received copy for review via NetGalley.