The Gamble by Kristen Ashley

The Gamble (Colorado Mountain, #1)

by Kristen Ashley

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.

Reviewed by stacey_is_sassy on

5 of 5 stars

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Kristen Ashley magic...or my blind devotion?

I absolutely love this story, but sometimes I feel guilty. It makes me feel like a hypocrite. It sort of has cheating in it, sort of has Nina trapped against her will and is completely OTT insta-love.

It must just be KA magic. I'm blinded to the things that would normally make my eye twitch. I honestly never saw those things when I initially read it and had to have someone tell me.

How the hell does she do it? Magic, I tell you...

**********

The Gamble definitely paid off.

I've decided that my re-reads will be done on audio. With my busy schedule and real life, I don't have time to enjoy my re-reads anymore. The beauty of audiobooks is that you can listen to them anytime. I listen to them when I'm exercising, baking, doing school pick-ups (obviously not when my little munchkin is in the car) and when I'm mucking around on Pinterest. As these are re-reads, I don't need to worry that I'll miss something important or need clarification on a plot point, it's just a nice and relaxing way to keep reading while I'm doing stuff.

The Gamble was one of the first books I read by Kristen Ashley and I have a signed paperback that sits on my shelf and never gets touched. If I want to see the message inside...I look at the photos I took. I want it to stay in mint condition. I wasn't sure how the audio would go, to be honest. Nina's character is an American who has spent a lot of time in England and has a "bit" of an accent. The narrator managed Nina's English accent perfectly while also giving Max a fantastic slow and smooth drawl. I always knew when the characters were changing as there was a slight difference in the accents and the way they talked which made it easy to distinguish them.

Max and Nina's story is still one of my favourites. Nina comes to America from England to have a break from her fiancé and to decide if she really wants to stay with him. They had been having difficulties in the relationship leaving Nina concerned she was making the wrong decision. Unfortunately, Niles, the fiancé, wasn't listening when Nina voiced her concerns and didn't really see any problems with the way things were. It doesn't take Nina long to realise that she doesn't really matter to Niles and his work was a lot more important to him than she was. Even when she finally explains this all to him, he can't be bothered or is too busy to "deal" with it. I was glad to see the back end of Niles.

Max has faced heartache and managed to keep going even though he's not happy. When Nina rocks up to his house for her holiday, they realise a mistake had happened and Nina's holiday destination will need relocation. Stuff happens, Nina's sick, the plans are a mess and Max ends up having to nurse Nina back to health. It doesn't take Max long to realise that Nina is awakening feelings in him that he hasn't had for a very long time. He knows he wants more with Nina and doesn't want to see her return to England. When Niles eventually comes out to see what the problem is, Max explains to Niles where he went wrong and why he doesn't get to keep Nina.

The Gamble is at times funny and at times so sad you can't help but shed a tear. All of these emotions are hard to hold back as you're sitting in your car out the front of your kid's school. The squirming at the set of lights when Max is speaking all husky and smooth, demanding that Nina "tell him" (while he's deep inside her) the words he wants to hear. The crying when your heart is breaking for the woman who feels dirty and unclean. The laughing out loud when Nina turns into Zombie Nina in the mornings. But generally, this book just leaves me with a smile on my face.

I still love The Gamble and the audio just reinforces my love.


To buy The Gamble from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1QIuPmO

To buy the audio of The Gamble from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1SEnQ0U

I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -


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  • Started reading
  • 22 April, 2016: Finished reading
  • 22 April, 2016: Reviewed
  • Started reading
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  • 22 April, 2016: Reviewed