Play it Safe

5 STARS SQUEEEEE!! SWOON! DREAMY SIGH!.... I SERIOUSLY ADORED THIS BOOK!! WOW! This book was a heart breaking, heart warming, heart racing, keep-you-up-all-night, have-you-swooning-squeeing-and-declaring-your-undying-love-for-the-hero kind of story. It made me laugh, squee, swoon (a LOT), cry, grin.... everything you could want in a book. This was my first 6 star (above and beyond) KA read. I was hooked!!! I started it just after midnight and it kept me riveted to it until the sun came up and my iPad died and then after only a few hours of sleep I was wide awake again and finished it. I literally could not tear my eyes away from the story. I just love a book about a crazy-in-love functional couple where all the drama in the story comes from external sources, not from problems within their relationship and not from any stupidity from the characters. Basically, Ivey and her older brother Casey come from a really horrible messed up family. When things got really bad and Ivey was attacked, Casey beat up her attacker and they have been on the run every since, going from town to town, hustling people to make ends meet. Its not the life Ivey wants, but its the only life she's known. But she always has to play it safe - never make any connections. But when they pass through the town of Mustang, Ivey meets Grayson Cody - who is a beyond swoony Alpha cowboy rancher. They both feel this pull towards each other but Ivey is wary of making connections. But when she is attacked and Gray steps in to save her and takes her home to keep her safe, it becomes harder and harder to ignore the fact they have something really serious to explore between them. "You still fallin' in love with me?... 'Cause you know, baby, I'm already gone for you." Their relationship progresses at a beautiful, intense but not rushed pace. But just when things are starting to seem to good to be true, they are betrayed by someone close to them and an old enemy of Gray's will stop at nothing in order to hurt him.... Separated for many years, their feelings for each other are still as strong as before. And when Ivey gets word that Gray is in trouble, she rushes back to Mustang and as soon as they figure out that they were betrayed, nothing will ever again keep them apart. "I loved you then. I love you now. I've loved you every day for the past seven years... Every day, every minute, every second." Grayson Cody. *swoon-drool-sigh* LOVE LOVE LOVED him right from the start. It was instant swoony love. He was another of those PERFECT male characters in my eyes - there is nothing about him I would change. He was a seriously macho man cowboy rancher, but also a hot-as-all-hell Alpha who was kind, oh-so-loving, sweet, thoughtful, confident, oozing natural authority, generous, understanding, with serious do-not-fuck-with-me vibes who was head-over-heals in love with his woman. Ivey was a delightful heroine. She was never annoying, so insanely loyal to her man, and turned into quite a spitfire by the end of the book. Ivey and Gray's connection, even from the start, was SO strong and built itself up so beautifully that its so hard to imagine what could ever possibly tear them apart. They were just perfect for each other. And when the betrayal comes, its just so numbing. (Just for your peace of mind, neither of them betrays the other - its again, completely external). The betrayal though is just plain dirty, it rips your heart out and you just can't stop from turning the pages cuz you NEED them back together again. But their reunion!!!!! Wow! That might have been one of the best reunion scenes I've ever read. It had me squeeing out loud, fanning myself (I did a lot of that this book) and grinning till my cheeks hurt. "Never before, never since have I felt for any woman, fuck, anyone the way I felt about you. I want that back. I want my girl back." And the HEAT in this book!! Some of even just their kisses had me breathless and fanning myself. There was lots of steam in this book - really beautiful, intense, HOT bedroom scenes with really deep emotion in them. This book has a super sweet HEA and a beautiful epilogue as well :) I can't say how much I adored this book. This is KA at her best. And I just found out, its the first of a series, so... SQUEEEEEE!!!!

review by: Aestas Book Blog

#review #western #alpha #favoriteauthor #adultcontemporary #angst #kristenashley #5stars